"The Divine Aristocracy"

by James Jacob Prasch

An examination of Ecclesiastes 9 & 10 and how it applies to the contemporary church..

  1. Introduction
  2. Two Aspects
  3. As It Applies to the Church
  4. God's Philosophy
  5. The Contrast of Good and Bad People
  6. Thanatology
  7. In Memoriam
  8. Earthly Relationships
  9. Making the Most of This Life
  10. Who Will Escape?
  11. Don't Take the Bad with the Good
  12. The Chronic Sinner
  13. Ungodly Rulers
  14. Who Are the Truly Rich?
  15. There is No Wisdom
  16. Where's the Discernment?
  17. Peasant Rulers
  18. We Will See Who Is Rich and Who Is Poor
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Earthly Relationships

Let's continue in Ecclesiastes 9:8:

"Let your garments always be white, and let your head lack no oil."

The perpetually white garments point to those who wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb. The “garments of salvation”, as Isaiah calls them, or the “wedding garment” in the Gospels – let them be white all the time: live a godly life. “And let anointing be always on your head” - we should always be trying to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. When we come to church it is fairly easy to be spiritual; however, when I'm stuck on the tarmac at O'Hare Airport, about to miss a connection, my blood pressure tends to go through the ceiling! At times like those it is difficult to remember that I am still under the anointing and need to keep my garments white. When you work with an unsaved person, or persons, it is very difficult to keep your garments white and oil on your head at all times. To do this we must keep the eternal perspective.

Ecclesiastes 9:9:

"Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun."

Marriage was designed to be a blessing. Because of the fall of Man, however, there is a curse on the relationship between men and women that can be partially reversed in Christ. A godly marriage is a blessing. The Bible says to make the most of it. There are reasons to make the most of it: one of these reasons would be that it is one of the things that teach about eternity.

Again, let's go back to the sh’ma: Sh’ma Israel Adonani Eloheynu Adonai echad; "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is Oneness", Jesus said, quoting Moses. (Mk. 12:29) The oneness that takes place in marital intimacy is a picture of Christ's intimacy with His bride the Church, and God's intimacy with Israel. The kind of intimacy that takes place in a godly marriage is a small hint of the intimacy that the Church will have in eternity with Christ as a corporate Bride; this is much of what the Song of Solomon is about. But the fact that it says “while your life is fleeting (or vain)”, well; no one stays young and good-looking forever. Romance can become a little difficult in your geriatric years, so make the most of it in your youth! God's philosophy of life is very practical. Christians can become so heavenly-minded that they're no earthly good. The Bible is never like that – rather, it deals with life for what it is. It deals with the realities of living in this world, while also dealing with what we are eternally, showing a balanced relationship between the two.

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Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.