Ecclesiastes 9:13 says, This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:  Verse fourteen continues with, There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:  Then, verse fifteen concludes the thought stating, Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.  Solomon says that he has seen a great wisdom in what he is about to say.  We must look to wisdom , which in my understanding comes from God, if we have in hope of finding purpose in this world.  Matthew Henry says,   This wisdom, that is, this which he here describes, enables a man to serve his country out of pure affection to its interests, when he himself gains no advantage by it.  When we are looking for service to our country simply in terms of what is in it for me, or for self glory, we are not acting wisely.  We should do what is best without concern for what we get out of it.  Solomon speaks of a little city besieged by a powerful king.  There is no reason given as to why the king wanted this city, but don't have to look far today to see this happening all over the world.  It may just be that a stronger nation feels they have the right to take over a weaker nation.  There is seldom a declaration that this is happening just because the stronger nation can do it and wants to.  We may think that the powerful will always win, but as we look around the world today, we can see this isn't always so.  Verse fifteen speaks of a poor, wise man in the city who by his wisdom delivered the city, but no one remembered him.  The poor are often overlooked and their council ignored.  Somehow there is a belief in the world that if a person is rich they must be wise, and if they are poor they cannot be.  Being rich does not equate to being wise, since wisdom comes not from material possessions, but from God.  We cannot afford to listen to only the rich and powerful in the world, but must listen for the wisdom of God, no matter the material status of the one who shares it.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.  People were not created to be idle, but to care for and have dominion over the earth.  There may even be times in our life when others get upset because they feel that we are working too hard.  We do what our hands find to do instead of looking for ways to avoid doing anything, and others feel this makes them look bad or that more will be expected of them.  As followers of Christ, we have an obligation to do our best by our employers.  In our own lives, we have a responsibility to do what God gives us to do as long as we are able, because as we get older, ability decreases until at death we can do no more.  As long as we do everything for the glory of God, we will always do our best.  Verse eleven says, I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.  I believe Solomon was saying that life doesn't always go according to plan and expectations.  We have seen races where the fastest was winning and suddenly tripped, and someone else won the race.  Sometimes, simple overconfidence in ones own ability can lead to failure.  We cannot put our faith in the things of this world, but must trust the guidance of God.  Ultimate victory is assured if we do, no matter how many failures we experience in this life.  Verse twelve says, For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.  We cannot know the time of our death, but we can be tempted into actions that may lead to death much sooner than would be normal for a person.  Fish tempted by bait or just unfortunate enough to be swimming where a net is cast die sooner than those who don't take the bait or get caught by the net.  Some actions we take can lead to a sudden, unexpected death, while at other times just being in the wrong place can cause our death.  We may feel that we live in an evil time, and for so many people in the world today, that is especially true.  Still, we as God's people, must not live in despair, but in hope through Christ.

Ecclesiastes 9:7 says, Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.  I believe that Solomon is saying to us that as we live our life for God, under His direction, these are things that we should do.  When we have been blessed with food, we are to enjoy eating it.  We are to enjoy what is ours and not attempt to claim what belongs to others.  Solomon tells us to enjoy our wine with a merry heart.  This does not mean to get drunk to get happy.  I also believe we can assume this was alcoholic wine, but we are called on to enjoy both food and drink in moderation.  When we are content to live with what God blesses us with we will be joyful and God will accept our works.  We need to realize that just because we say we are doing something for God doesn't mean that God has to accept what we do.  God will always look beyond the action to the reason for the action.  Verse eight says, Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.  I believe that Solomon is saying to us that we are always to attempt to live a pure life in dedication to God.  We are not being called on to only wear white clothes and have our heads annointed with oil but to live a life that these things represent.  White means purity, and we are to live our lives in purity before God and other people that we encounter.  Yet, until we live in purity before God we cannot hope to live in purity toward others.  There are no magic or holy clothes that can make us pure before God, but only a pure heart.  Annointing ones head was a sign of God's blessing, but for us it is more than a physical act.  We are to let all our thoughts be under God's guidance, and if they aren't, no amount of oil will help us.  Verse nine says, Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.  Solomon had three hundred wives, but that was never God's plan.  God's plan is one man and one woman completing one another for a lifetime.  If both are dedicated to each other under God's guidance, it will be a joyful marriage.  We must always approach marriage with this understanding, even if things have gone wrong in the past.  We must live satisfied with what God blesses us with materially, but we must live joyfully in our marriage.

Ecclesiastes 9:4 says, For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.  In life, there is hope.  No matter how hard life seems to be for a person, as long as life exists, there is always hope that tomorrow will be better.  This should especially be true of God's people.  We should always live life in hope that tomorrow will be better than today.  I don't believe that God told us what was to come as the end of time drew closer to lead us to a life of resignation.  We, as followers of Christ, are to live in hope, victorious over the things of this world.  As long as we have life, we are to live in and proclaim the hope of Christ to the world.  A live dog is indeed more powerful than a dead lion.  Some people may seem to have all the power in this world, but in death, nothing of this world remains.  Death may release us from the stresses of this world, but we are not to seek death, but we are to live life in the hope of God.  Verse five says, For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.  As long as we live, we know that death awaits us, but once we die, we no longer know anything of this world.  Solomon also states that once we die, we have no more reward.  What we do with Christ in life is all that matters in the life to come.  There is no purpose in praying for the souls of the dead, and there is certainly no need to be baptized in the place of those long dead.  It is only what a person does with Christ in this live that matters, so no matter how big a sinner a person may be, as long as there is life, there is hope.  Then in verse six we read, Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.  Solomon said it doesn't matter how we feel about a person here on earth, whether we love or hate them, once we are dead, those feelings perish.  The things of this world truly no longer hold any power over us once we are dead, and as followers of Christ, they shouldn't have power over us even now.

Ecclesiastes 9:1 says, For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.  Solomon declared that those that believe God, the righteous and the wise, and all their works are in the hands of God.  The only wisdom we can claim is the knowledge that God is ultimately in control.  People may attempt to prove that they know just as much as God, but they only deceive themselves.  We cannot know the love of God based on the material world.  We can only know it through faith.  People may attempt to judge Christians by their wealth or even health, but people are only Christians by a spiritual relationship with God, and it is not dependent on materialism.  If we begin to proclaim a gospel based on material possessions, then we are not proclaiming what God's word states.  At least this is my understanding, and I believe is what Solomon was stating also.  Verse two states, All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.  I believe Solomon was saying that it doesn't matter what comes to us in live does not matter, but how we live our lives in relationship to God is what makes the difference.  Those who declare that there is no God may prosper, as may those that believe in God, leading those that do not believe to conclude that it is foolish to follow God.  Verse three says, This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.  Solomon proclaimed that the heart of men was full of evil.  This has not changed.   Without the direction of God, we all live under the evil and madness of the heart.  What can be more of a sign of evil and madness than to devote everything to the acquisition and hoarding of the things of this world when death awaits us, and those material things are forever lost.  We, as followers of Christ, must live in accordance with His leadership.

Ecclesiastes 8:14 says, There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.  I believe that Solomon was exploring the question we hear so often today, which is why do the evil prosper while the righteous suffer.  Solomon is saying that even if that is the case, we can never blame God.  Again, my understanding of this idea would be that we cannot claim that everything that happens in life is caused by God or is His will.  If it is, then we could indeed hold God accountable.  I realize that some people hold a different view, and that they see God as controlling ever aspect of life but as I have stated many times, this is not my understanding.  When bad things happen to good people, that is not God's will, but the result of people being given the freedom of choice.  Verse fifteen says,  Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.  Solomon said he commended mirth, or joy.  We, as God's people, should indeed be full of joy, no matter what is going on in the world.  We can really ask for nothing more than to eat, sleep and be merry, or joyful. A lot of money is spent today just to help people sleep, often because they are just too worried about gaining and maintaining the things of this world.   Verse sixteen and seventeen say, When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:) Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.   I believe Solomon is saying that even if we spend every moment day and night attempting understand everything that happens in the world, we would never be successful.  All we would accomplish is losing sleep and giving in to worry.  We must acknowledge that there are some things that we can never understand.  Like Adam and Eve, we may want to be as knowledgeable as God, but we never will be.  We must, as followers of Christ, learn to be content with simply enjoying our lives in a right relationship with Him.  As long as we accept that we have everlasting life with God, not someday but from the day we accept Christ as our Savior, then nothing else of this world really matters.

Ecclesiastes 8:9 says, All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt.  Solomon was stating a fact that we today see everywhere, and that is that some rulers are not concerned with how much their actions may hurt others.  We really should not be surprised when this happens.  We too often look at the world from the perspective of life in America and think of how bad things have gotten, ignoring the abuse of people in the rest of the world.  We know that in some countries that those who oppose those in power are routinely killed, but somehow we are not really concerned.  We will really never change this through anything other than reaching people with the Gospel.  We may see leaders come and go, some supposedly to change things for the better, but once they are in power, they prove to be as bad or worse than those they replaced.  We must change their hearts by the acceptance Christ to really change anything.  Verse ten says, And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.  Those who abuse and mistreat the ones that they rule over may be buried with honor, their abuse forgotten.  This is not the final ruling of their life though.  One day, God will hold them accountable.  Verse eleven states, Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.  Solomon was continuing his study of those who do evil, especially rulers, and said since a sentence against evil was slow to come, they grew even bolder in their wickedness.  The same remains true today.  The longer a person lives successfully while doing evil in the world, the bolder they become.  We see so many instances of this in the world today, but we need to rest assured that one day they will face God, and they will then realize how vain their power and wealth really are.  Verses twelve and thirteen continue this thought stating, Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.  We cannot be upset with God if the wicked live long and prosperous lives here on earth, because our call is simply to serve God.  We need never think that because evil abounds that God has lost control or left us.  One day, God will judge all, and even those who thought they had a long life will realize how much like a vapor it really was.  Evil will never win in the end.