Jump Start # 140 

Ecclesiastes 9:4 “For whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion.”

  This is a great passage! It catches our attention and we can understand it. Solomon talks about death throughout Ecclesiastes. Death is part of life. Death happens. It doesn’t wait for us to be ready, it just comes. It comes to the busy and the bored, the important and the unimportant. Earlier in Ecclesiastes, Solomon would say that it is better to go to the house of mourning than the house of feasting. Death sobers us and wakes us up.

  In this passage, Solomon illustrates his principle by using two animals—a dog and a lion. A dog is no match for a lion. The lion is the king of the forest. It is the roaring lion that God used to compare Satan to. Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den. Samson ate honey out of the carcass of a dead lion. David killed a lion. The young prophet who disobeyed God was killed by a lion. The only lions we see are in the zoo. In the Bible lands, lions were a part of the wildlife.

  Lions are fierce. Their roar is intimidating. They are huge. They are extremely dangerous. A lion could easily kill a dog, any dog, any size. But a dead lion is not a threat. A dead lion cannot scare you, harm you or do anything to you. Even a little dog, can come up to a dead lion.

  The contrast Solomon is making in this passage is similar to the way some of the Proverbs are written. Given the choice between the dog or the lion, the lion would win in a battle. But add the qualifying words “a LIVE dog” and “a DEAD lion” and everything changes. The dog wins. He wins because he has life. There is hope with life.

  Even as a dog, when things aren’t going well, there is hope with life. Things can change, things can get better. When life has ended, so has the options. Solomon doesn’t explore “life after death.” Is attention is upon the now and the obvious. This verse demonstrates why suicide is never a good option. Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Death ends all hope and options. Things can be very bad right now. The loss of jobs, a stinky marriage, strained relationships can make us feel trapped and hopeless. But it’s not. There is hope. The day always brings possibilities. Doors can open. People can change. Situations reverse. What is a no can become a yes. But it takes life to have hope. Without life the situation is hopeless. All options have ceased.

  You may feel overwhelmed.  Your situation may make you seem like a dog facing lions. Don’t give up nor give in. Take your problems to the Lord. Trust in the Lord. Follow His path.

  I can’t help but think of Dorothy and Toto going down the yellow brick road with their scarecrow companion singing, “lions and tigers and bears, O my!” A lion appeared. But he wasn’t much.

  Don’t lose hope!

Roger