Why does the Preacher urge people to act while they are alive?

The Preacher says that the works of just and wise people are in God’s hand. Yet people do not know with certainty whether they are worthy of love or hatred. The future remains uncertain. The just and the wicked can face the same events. The speaker calls this a great evil and describes hearts filled with evil before death.

A living dog is better than a dead lion, he says. The living know that they will die, while the dead no longer share in the affairs of this world. Challoner explains the words about the dead knowing nothing as referring to earthly affairs, unless these are revealed to them. His note also says that a person cannot secure an eternal state after death by neglecting it during life.

The listener is urged to enjoy bread, wine, clean clothing, and life with a loved wife during the days given to him. Work should be done earnestly while it can be done. The chapter’s words about no work, knowledge, or wisdom in hell belong to this warning about death and the end of earthly opportunity.

But effort does not give complete control. The swift do not always win a race, nor the strong a battle. Wisdom, learning, and skill do not always bring food, riches, or favor. Time and chance affect everyone. An unexpected end can catch people like fish on a hook or birds in a trap.

The Preacher tells of a poor wise man who saved a small city from a great king’s siege. The man was then forgotten, and his words were ignored. Wisdom is better than strength and weapons, the speaker says. Quiet wise words can matter more than a ruler’s shouting among fools, but one offense can destroy much good.