“Even a live dog is better than a dead lion.”
Ecclesiastes 9: 4
We start the ninth chapter of Ecclesiastes today and the writer, “the Teacher, whom many think is King Solomon, son of King David, seems to be stepping back for focus. What has he discovered as he has applied his wisdom to understand life? It would seem logical that the “good guys” should be rewarded for their goodness and the “bad guys” should suffer trouble. That’s the way we think God should act and it would be a good indicator of knowing we are doing life right. But God’s sun shines on the good and the bad. The righteous suffer with the foolish and the foolish may well be successful in their folly. There is a kind of underlying equality that unsettles us. We cannot guarantee tomorrow. Not only can we not guarantee tomorrow, we will all die eventually. He concludes with a proverb, “even a live dog is better than a dead lion.”
As Americans, we might think of a dog as some cute little house pet that is loved, fed, and trained. I suspect the Teacher was thinking of dogs who at that time were more scavengers, the ones that licked the wounds of Lazarus who sat begging for scraps at the gate of the rich man. Lions on the other hand were symbols of regal authority. We think of lions as “king of the jungle.” Even the concrete jungle. The Teacher decides that, “anyone who is among the living has hope. v.4”. And as far as he knew, death was the end of the road and the end of hope. All the lion had worked for will be evaluated by history but the dog can hope that its life will change. Perhaps someone will throw it a scap.
So what does hope mean to us? That is a great question right now as we debrief the Presidential debates from last week and as we celebrate July 4th this week, reflect on history, and ponder the freedom people fought for. What is the hope that sustains you during rough times? See if you can put some flesh on it with an acrostic.
H is for _____
O is for _____
P is for _____
E is for _____
Romans 5: 3-5 shares, “3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings,because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the “Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Lord, help us persevere in hard times that we might develop character and be filled with hope.
On the Way to Wonder 