Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:10

Bird's-eye view

Ecclesiastes 9:10 is a shot of pure, unadulterated, God-fearing realism. It is a command to live, and to live fully, right now. Coming on the heels of the Preacher's exhortation to enjoy the simple, creaturely gifts of God, bread, wine, a white shirt, and the wife of your youth, this verse provides the theological engine for that enjoyment. The logic is stark and bracing: work hard now because you are headed for the grave, where such work is impossible. This is not the cry of a hedonist trying to cram it all in before the lights go out, nor is it the counsel of despair. Rather, it is the wisdom of a man who understands both the finality of death and the goodness of the present life given by God. The command to work "with all your might" is a summons to robust, energetic, and faithful stewardship of the time, tasks, and talents God has given us under the sun. It is a thoroughly Christian charge to embrace our vocations, not as a grim necessity, but as a primary arena for glorifying God before the quiet of Sheol arrives.

The verse neatly divides into two parts: a positive command and its solemn justification. The command is comprehensive, "Whatever your hand finds to do", and intensive, "do it with all your might." The justification is the stark reality of the afterlife as understood in the Old Testament framework: "for there is no working or explaining or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going." This is not a denial of consciousness after death, but a recognition that the kind of earthly, embodied work we do now ceases then. This verse, therefore, is a powerful antidote to procrastination, laziness, and that kind of over-spiritualized piety that disdains the ordinary, dusty work of this life. It calls the believer to a life of what I have called "ploductivity", a steady, faithful, and mighty application of our energies to the tasks before us, all for the glory of God.

Outline

Context In Ecclesiastes

This verse is a key part of a larger section (9:7-10) that serves as a practical application of the Preacher's wisdom. Having surveyed the vanity, the endless cycles, and the inscrutable sovereignty of God "under the sun," the Preacher does not conclude with a shrug of despair. Instead, he commands joy. "Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already accepted your works" (9:7). This is gospel sanity. Because our standing with God is secure in His acceptance, not our performance, we are liberated to actually enjoy the life He has given us. Our work is not a frantic effort to justify ourselves, but a joyful response of gratitude. Verse 10 is the logical extension of this. Because God has accepted your works, you are now free to throw yourself into them without reservation. The looming reality of death doesn't negate the goodness of present work; it heightens the urgency and importance of it. It is the sharp, black velvet against which the diamond of present duty shines brightly.

Key Issues

Do It With Your Might

There is a brand of piety that is suspicious of excellence in worldly endeavors. It looks at the man who throws himself into his business, his craft, or his studies with all his might and wonders if he isn't a bit of a materialist. But this is a profound misreading of Scripture and of this text in particular. God is not honored by half-hearted, slovenly, or lazy work. He is the ultimate craftsman, and we, as His image-bearers, are called to reflect His diligence and creativity in our own work. The command here is not to work with a portion of your might, reserving the rest for "spiritual" things. The command is to pour all your might into the task at hand.

This is because all of life is spiritual. The line we draw between the sacred and the secular is an artificial one. A man can glorify God just as much by laying bricks straight and true as he can by preaching a sermon. As Paul would later say, "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men" (Col. 3:23). The Preacher in Ecclesiastes is laying the Old Testament foundation for this very principle. Your "might" is a gift from God, and it is to be expended fully in the station where He has placed you. To do otherwise is to bury your talent in the ground, and we all know how that story ends.

Verse by Verse Commentary

10 Whatever your hand finds to do,

This is a wonderfully expansive and down-to-earth phrase. It is not "whatever your heart dreams of doing" or "whatever grand, world-changing vision you can conjure up." It is simply what is right in front of you. It is the task at hand, the duty of the hour. This is the doctrine of vocation in its most basic form. Your hand might find a dirty diaper to change, a spreadsheet to populate, a lawn to mow, a sermon to write, or a leaky faucet to fix. The nature of the task is not the primary issue. The issue is that it is the task God has placed before you in His providence. This phrase democratizes diligence. It applies to the king on his throne and the farmer in his field. It cuts the legs out from under all our excuses about waiting for the "right" opportunity or a more "meaningful" job. The most meaningful job in the world is the one God has given you to do right now.

do it with all your might;

Here is the intensity. This is the opposite of sloth, of listlessness, of just going through the motions. "Might" refers to your strength, your energy, your full capacity. We are to engage our work with vigor and wholeheartedness. This is not a call to become a workaholic, for the Preacher has already commended the enjoyment of life, which requires rest and leisure. But it is a call to be fully present and engaged when you are working. When you are on the clock, work. When you are at your desk, apply your mind. When you are swinging the hammer, swing it hard. This robust energy flows from the confidence that God has accepted our works in Christ (9:7). We are not working for acceptance, but from acceptance. This frees us to pour ourselves out, knowing that our labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Cor. 15:58). It is a command to be productive, but more than that, to be faithful in our exertion.

for there is no working or explaining or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

Now comes the motivation, and it is a bucket of cold, clear water in the face. The reason for this energetic, present-tense living is the reality of death. The Preacher identifies our common destination as Sheol. In the Old Testament, Sheol is the realm of the dead, the grave. It is crucial to understand that Sheol is not the New Testament's Gehenna, or the lake of fire. It is the place of departed spirits, a place of shadow and silence. As I've said elsewhere, we must distinguish Sheol from Hell proper, because Revelation tells us that death and Hades (the Greek equivalent of Sheol) are eventually thrown into the lake of fire. The Preacher's point here is not about eternal torment, but about the cessation of earthly activity. The kind of work you do with your hands, the reasoning and planning you do with your mind, the accumulation of practical knowledge and wisdom, these things belong to life under the sun. They are not the activities of the grave. Your opportunity to build, to create, to learn, to provide, is now. This life is the time for labor. The grave is the time for... well, not for labor. This sober reality should not make us despair; it should make us diligent. The clock is ticking.

Application

The application of this verse is intensely practical and should strike at the heart of our daily lives. First, it kills procrastination. That project you have been putting off, that difficult conversation you have been avoiding, that task that seems too mundane, your hand has found it to do. Do it now, and do it with your might. The time is short.

Second, it sanctifies our ordinary work. Many Christians labor under the false impression that their "real" service to God happens on Sunday, or in their private devotions, or on a mission trip. This verse demolishes that sacred/secular divide. Your work on Monday morning is your primary stage for obedience and worship. When you work with diligence, honesty, and skill, you are offering a pleasing sacrifice to God. Your might, your strength, is to be expended in your vocation, loving God by serving your neighbor through your work.

Finally, this verse grounds our work in the gospel. We do not work with all our might in a desperate attempt to outrun death or to build a legacy that will last. All that is vanity. We work with all our might because God, in Christ, has already accepted our feeble efforts. We are secure. Because our eternal destiny is not in question, we are free to throw ourselves into our temporal duties with gusto and joy. We can work hard, not because the fate of the universe rests on our shoulders, but because it rests on Christ's. And because He has given us this brief, beautiful, and vain life as a gift, the only proper response is to receive it with gratitude and live it with all our might.