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Easy Reading Edition March 3-910

READ FOR THIS WEEK’S STUDY: Ecclesiastes 9.

MEMORY VERSE: “No matter what you do, work at it with all your might[ability]. Remember, you are going to your grave. And there isn’t [is not]any work or planning or knowledge or wisdom there” (Ecclesiastes 9:10,NIrV).

IN 2004, A 70-YEAR-OLD ITALIAN MAN DIED. Seventy-year-old Italians dyingis not anything new. But how he died was new. Aldo Busato was a retired farmer.He was killed quickly by a World War I bomb. The bomb was part of his collec-tion of military things. He was in his garden, showing his collection to a friend.The bomb exploded. It killed him and seriously injured his friend.

We cannot make sense of things like this. We must learn to trust in God’sgoodness.

Solomon again touches on this theme in Ecclesiastes 9. His focus is on death.This is a theme that has appeared in other places in Ecclesiastes. Rememberthat Solomon is at times giving opinions from a worldly viewpoint. This viewpointshould help us understand the uselessness of our life without a God who prom-ises justice, answers, and eternal1 life. Solomon is focusing on death. He is alsotalking to us about life and how we should be living now.

SABBATH—MARCH 3

“No Matter What You Do, Work atIt With All Your Might [Ability]”

1eternal—forever; without beginning or end; lasting forever.

Lesson 10 “No Matter What You Do, Work at It With All Your Might [Ability]”

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IN GOD’S HANDS (Ecclesiastes 9:1)

Read Ecclesiastes 9:1. This versecontinues the flow from Ecclesiastes8:17. In Ecclesiastes 8:17, Solomonexplained that we cannot understandGod’s ways. Then in Ecclesiastes 9:1he says something like this: We surelydo not understand God’s ways. Butwe can know that the Lord looks afterthose who are faithful to Him, wher-ever they are.

How fair do you think this state-ment is? Even if you agree with it,what does it mean that the faithfulare “in God’s hands”?

(PIX #37)

To say that we are in God’s handsdoes not mean we will never havepain, suffering, or tragedy. The most

faithful of all Christians can never besure of what will happen to them.Thatis perhaps what Solomon meant bythe last part of Ecclesiastes 9:1. Sure,we might be in God’s hands. But thatdoes not mean we will not suffer. Thedifference is that, as Christians, wecan trust God’s goodness and mercy,2

no matter what happens to us.Imagine suffering without knowingthere is a loving, caring God whopromises to “ ‘wipe away every tearfrom [our] eyes’ ” (Revelation 7:17,NIV).

Put yourself in the place of afaithful Bible person who was ingreat trouble, but who was still inGod’s hands. How about Joseph orJohn the Baptist, when they werein jail? How about Esther savingher people from death? Or maybeDaniel in the lions’ den? Whicheverperson you pick, try to imaginehow easy it would have been forthat person to have doubted God’slove and care. What lessons canyou learn that could help you whenyou are tempted to doubt God?

ONE END? (Ecclesiastes 9:2)

Read Ecclesiastes 9:2. This verseis a good example of how important itis to read Ecclesiastes with the wholeBible in mind. This is also a good timeto repeat the warning given in The

MONDAY—MARCH 5

SUNDAY—MARCH 4

2mercy—kindness we do not deserve.

Jesus holds us in His hands.

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Lesson 10 “No Matter What You Do, Work at It With All Your Might [Ability]”

SDA Bible Commentary: “Versessuch as these should not be twistedout of the Bible and made to teachsome supposed truth that God neverplanned them to teach” (vol. 3, p. 1060; adapted).

At the same time, Solomon’s pointis very good if we understand it cor-rectly. Everyone dies. Death isstronger than nature. One couldargue that death is part of natureitself. Anything that lives dies. And itmakes no difference if you are right-eous (holy) or not. Death always winsout.

To say that one end (death) awaitseveryone, no matter how we live, isthe same as saying that one endawaits everyone who drinks, no mat-ter if we drink water or arsenic.3 If wetake only the short (blind) view ofthings, death is the same end for all.But the short view is just the shortview. It is the same as reading thefirst few sentences of a great storyand mistaking those sentences forthe whole story. The whole Biblegives us the long (wise) view.

What is the final end of all peo-ple? Daniel 12:2; Matthew 25:32-41; John 3:16; John 5:29; Revela-tion 20:6-15.

The Bible is clear that there is notone end for all. There is either eternallife or eternal destruction. There is nomiddle ground. Either we will live for-ever, or we will be dead forever.

The good news is that throughJesus, every human has the chanceto live forever. Jesus died as the Sub-stitute4 for all people. Jesus’ sacrificewas more than enough for everyone.Which of the two ends is yours? Itreally depends on our own choice.

(PIX #38)

Think about your choices, notjust the big ones, but the day-to-day “little” choices. What end arethese choices pointing to?

THE DEAD (Ecclesiastes 9:3-6)

Here let me die: for to give birth to those

Who can but suffer many years and die,

Methinks, is merely propagating [con-tinuing] death,

And multiplying murder.—Lord Byron

TUESDAY—MARCH 6

3arsenic—a poison used to kill insects.4substitute—someone who takes another person’s place. Jesus is our Substitute because He died for our sins.

We all have a chance to live foreverbecause of Jesus.

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A famous Russian writer, LeoTolstoy, wrote, “A man understandsthat death is the end of everything.Then he knows that there is nothingworse than life either.”—Adapted.

Tolstoy’s words are negative. Buthe does have a good point. It is sad tothink that life ends in death and thatdeath is the end of everything.

Think about Ecclesiastes 9:3-6from the viewpoint of someonewho does not believe in God or inany afterlife. Try to put yourself inthe mind of someone who believesthat death is the end of everything.What purpose can you find to life?What sense can you make of allthe things you do when you knowthat one day you, your children,and all their children will be dead?

Now read Ecclesiastes 9:3-6from our viewpoint as Seventh-dayAdventist Christians. How differentis the message you get from theseverses when comparing5 thembetween the Seventh-day Adventistviewpoint and the worldly view-point?

We should be so thankful for whatChrist has offered us through Hisdeath and resurrection (return to life).Without Him, we would have only thehopelessness shown in Ecclesiastes9:3-6. How valuable our faith shouldbe to all of us. How important it is for

us to guard and protect our faith. Ourlives depend on it!

(PIX #39)

NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION(Ecclesiastes 9:5-10)

As Adventists, we use Ecclesiastes9:5, 6 to support our position on thestate of the dead.6 And this is right,because the dead “do not know any-thing,” and “they will no longer have ashare in all that is done under thesun” (NASB). At least, that is, untilJesus comes back. But Solomon isnot just writing about the state of thedead. He is trying to make an impor-tant point about life itself. Yes, theverses talk about death. But they alsopoint to the bigger picture of life andto how we should live.

What point about life is Solomonmaking in Ecclesiastes 9:5-10?

WEDNESDAY—MARCH 7

5comparing—showing how things are the same.6state of the dead—the condition of people as they lie in death (Job 14:12; Psalm 6:5; Psalm 115:17; Psalm

145:4). Seventh-day Adventists believe that after people die, they have no awareness (knowledge) of life. But whenJesus returns the second time, He will bring believers back to life and take them home to heaven.

What hope we have!

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Lesson 10 “No Matter What You Do, Work at It With All Your Might [Ability]”

How can we use this point in ourlives?

This life is temporary (Job 8:9).One day, this earth will be gone (2 Peter 3:10-12). But this life is impor-tant because how we live on earth willdecide our future for eternity.7 Thedecisions we make here can take onlyseconds and can decide our future inheaven. How important it is for us totake our time on earth seriously. Wemust make wise decisions for oursouls. With such eternal results atstake, it would be foolish to live anyother way.

How do the following versessupport the idea of living for eter-nity?

Mark 14:38____________________

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Romans 14:12__________________

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2 Corinthians 6:2________________

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2 Peter 3:10-14_________________

_____________________________

(PIX #40)

The decisions we make areimportant. But the most importantdecision of all is the decision wemake for Christ. This decisionrequires your answer to the HolySpirit. We choose to die to self andlive for Christ. Have you made thatdecision yet? Just going to church,or even believing in Jesus, is notmaking that decision. This onedecision will decide how you willspend eternity.

TIME AND CHANCE (Ecclesiastes 9:11-18)

We have all heard, seen, or evenexperienced injustice. Sometimes life

THURSDAY—MARCH 8

7eternity—life without end; forever.

Praying helps us to live for eternity.

Lesson 10 “No Matter What You Do, Work at It With All Your Might [Ability]”

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just seems to work in a way that isunfair to us.

A young woman is struck down witha serious disease.A man is laid off fromwork because of the poor economy.A star athlete slips and falls on thestairs. His career is ruined. The listgoes on and on.

What is Solomon’s point inEcclesiastes 9:11-18? Do youagree or not? If not, why not?

From a human viewpoint, it canseem that “time and chance” rule overall our lives. But that is not the Bible’sposition. The Bible teaches that thereis a God who sees all things (Psalm11:4; Proverbs 5:21). He is veryinvolved in human affairs (Proverbs16:9; Daniel 2:21; Matthew 6:25-31).The important thing for Christians isto come to a personal knowledge ofGod. This is the knowledge of Hislove that helps us to hold on to Himwhen it seems that “time and chance”are treating us cruelly.

What point does Ecclesiastes9:13-16 make?

Solomon is talking about moreinjustice. He is talking about someonewho does something worthy, but whois forgotten instead of honored. ButGod will not forget. He will alsoreward (Luke 6:35; Colosians 3:24;Hebrews 10:36; Revelation 22:12).

What do you say to someone towhom “time and chance” have dealt

a cruel blow? How can you tell thatperson about God’s love and care?

ADDITIONAL STUDY: Ellen G. White,Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, p. 191; Testimonies for the Church,vol. 3, p. 453; vol. 4, pp. 306, 307;Fundamentals [Basics] of ChristianEducation, p. 245; The GreatControversy [War], p. 662; SelectedMessages, book 1, p. 91.

“Christ wants His hearers to under-stand that we cannot get salvationafter death. Jesus explains whatAbraham answered, ‘Son, rememberwhat happened in your lifetime. Youreceived your good things. Lazarusreceived bad things. Now he is com-forted here, and you are in terriblepain. Besides, a wide space has beenplaced between us and you. So thosewho want to go from here to you can’t[cannot] go. And no one can crossover from there to us.’ (Luke 16:25,26, NIrV). So, Christ showed thehopelessness of looking for a secondchance. This life is the only time givento us in which to prepare for eterni-ty.”—Adapted from Ellen G. White,Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 263.

“In every period of history, peopleare given their day to understand.This is a testing time, in which theymay have a chance to be reunited toGod. But there is a limit to this grace.Mercy may plead for years and maynot be accepted. But there comes atime when mercy makes one last

FRIDAY—MARCH 9

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Lesson 10 “No Matter What You Do, Work at It With All Your Might [Ability]”

plea. The heart becomes so hard-ened that it stops accepting the lead-ing of God’s Holy Spirit. Then thesweet, winning voice pleads for thesinner no longer, and the warningsstop.”—Adapted from Ellen G. White,The Desire of Ages, p. 587.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• As a class, do you know someonewhom “time and chance” have reallyhurt? What can you, as a group, do toshow that person that God’s love isreal?

• How can you help those in your

church who have not yet made achoice to surrender to God? How canyou help them see that it is veryimportant not to delay this seriousdecision?

• Have people talk about a specialexample in which they saw clearly thecloseness and nearness of God intheir lives. What can you learn fromeach other’s experiences?

• As a class, discuss the need toprepare for eternity. How are we to“prepare for eternity”?

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