#20 Aim for the Bushes (Ecclesiastes (9:7-10)
Notes
Phil unpacks Ecclesiastes 9:7-10 as one of his favourite sections in Scripture, framing Solomon’s counsel through three virtues: grateful enjoyment of God’s good gifts (food, drink, clothing, marriage), humble acceptance of our limited lot and short life under the sun, and eager wholehearted living—“whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.” He balances the call against both naive positivity and excessive asceticism, then roots it in the gospel: justification by faith, resurrection hope, the coming feast, and Jesus as the passionate Bridegroom and high priest who loves his people and works with gusto.
"Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going" (Ecc 9:7-10).
