b"SERMONHow to Live in The Face of DeathBy Apostle Lawerence & Dr. Sandra Powell [7] Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wineThe first imperative in v. 7, Go, is an interjectory with a merry heart, for God has already approvedusethatfocusesonthetwofollowingimperatives what you do! [8] Let your garments be always white.eat and drink.M anypeoplebecomeemotionallydevastatedLetnotoilbelackingonyourFinding satisfaction in what when greeted with the news of death!head. [9] Enjoy life with the wifeoneeatsanddrinkswas For the first time in your life you may be trulywhom you love, all the days ofpreviously commended in four facing the reality that someone who was intimatelyyour vain life that he has givenearlierpassages:2:24,3:13, connected to you has died!! youunderthesun,because5:1819(heb.Vv.1718), Thoughyouknowotherpeoplewhohavedied,that is your portion in life andAnd 8:15.In this context two none may have been as close to you as this personinyourtoilatwhichyoutoilobjects are added:and this news affected you in such a way that youunderthesun.[10]WhateverBread,lehem,witheating actuallyachedformanydays,evenmonths,toyourhandfindstodo,doitandwine,yayin,with come! with your might, for there is nodrinking.Inthisversethe workorthoughtorknowledgeprepositionalphrasesthat Whathappenswhenapersonfacestherealityorwisdominsheol(i.E.Thequalify the commands to eat that death is no respecter of persons??We all facedwellingplaceofthedead),tobread and to drink wine, with the reality of death many times in our lives!We seewhich you are going! (Esv) joy and with a merry heart, our loved ones die, people in our community, thoseThoughSolomonhasreflectthecelebratorynature we work with, and fellow believers!And if we're notpreviouslytreatedthesubjectof both imperatives!'caught up' or 'raptured', 'we' will die! of death on other occasions in In light of this certainty, Solomon, in EcclesiatesEcclesiastes,hedevotesmoreThetheocentricnatureof 9:7-10,commandshisaudienceto'joyfully'makespacetothisin9:16andthis verse should also be noted: the most of Gods basic gifts!!He gives a series of1112.Verses710arethefor God has already approved commands that not only applied to his generationcore of a pericope that extendsApostle Lawrence & Dr. Sandra Powell what you do!!but also to all other generations, including ours!from 9:1 through 9:12!Solomongivesthreeother Notice his advice: Theregenerateandcommandsinvv.89:Let unregenerate alike, in vv. 26, Inevitably face death! [your garments] be white, let [not oil] be lacking, Like fish and birds, people, in vv. 1112, Cannotandenjoy!Whilethethirdcommandisan imperative, the first two are imperative forms also Finding satisfaction in whatpredictwhentheywilldie!Inthecontextofvv.used as commands!!710, Solomon gives his advice by using a series ofEach of these commands extols the enjoyment one eats and drinks wasimperatives: of new elements in Ecclesiastes (for a listing of the Three commands in v. 7 Focus on food and drink;othergiftstoenjoy,seetheothercarpediem,or previously commended! three in vv. 89 On nice clothes, oil, and ones wife;enjoyment-of-life,passages:2:2426;3:1213,22; and one in v. 10 On living wholeheartedly! Continued on Page 18ADVERTISEYOUR CHURCH,BUSINESS or EVENTHERE! email information to:info@bocnews.comBODY OF CHRIST NEWS FEBRUARY 2022 13"