by Gary L. Evans
We Dwell in Animal Bodies
The book of Ecclesiastes is written to “the man under the sun,” to God’s children dwelling on the earth in these flesh bodies.
Ecc 1:2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
The word “vanity” is from the Hebrew “heh’-bel” which means “emptiness or vanity; figuratively something transitory and unsatisfactory.”
We’re all just passing through this place, my friends, as “strangers in a strange land.”
Ecc 1:3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
After all is said and done, what will a man have from all of his labor during his life?
Ecc 1:4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
Generation after generation, as one dies out, another takes its place “under the sun.” Whatever a man gains during his life of labor, after he dies other people will take everything he had accumulated before his death.
An important note is the declaration that “the earth remains forever,” because Christ will return to the earth and establish His Kingdom right here for The Eternity.
But for now, consider these things.
Ecc 3:18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
The word “beasts” is from the Hebrew, “be-hay-maw'” and means “properly a dumb beast; especially any large quadruped or animal (often collectively).”
Our Father wants us to know that we are just animals, inasmuch as that the bodies we dwell in are animal bodies. Some people get pretty arrogant thinking that they were like gods. But the truth is, this world is a rather humbling experience even for them eventually, starting with the fact that we are animals that get sick, grow old, and die.
Ecc 3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
When we consider our flesh bodies and compare ourselves to animals, the evidence is quite convincing: we breathe air, we eat, drink, defecate, urinate, mate, procreate offspring, and die. We are much like them and can’t claim to be any more than the animals. Because in the end we gain nothing from this process, and when we die, our bodies return to the dust of the earth and we return to The Lord carrying absolutely nothing with us.
Ecc 3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
As the lion’s body returns to the earthy elements that composed it during its life, so our bodies do exactly the same. Our bodies are made of the dust of the earth. We tend to bury our dead, but there is no profit in that practice, because the flesh body will eventually turn back to dust, no matter how much we might slow down the process.
Ecc 3:21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
And who is it that knows that our spirit goes up to heaven but the lion’s spirit goes down into the dirt? The Word of God teaches us that we return to our Creator after our flesh body dies. But we are not told much about the other animals whether they go up also or not.
Ecc 3:22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?
The best we can do from day to day is enjoy the fruits of our labor, because that is what we get for our work in this flesh world. That is our reward.
Please consider this saying within the context in which it is presented, because it is good advice, common sense for the universal condition of all men “under the sun.”
So the big question is, “Who shall show us what will be our future when we leave?”
Ecc 12:6-8 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
In conclusion, we are taught using a similitude to represent the death of our flesh body, that it will return to dust, but our “spirit” or “mind” will return to God Who breathed our spirit into our body when it was just an embryo in our mother’s womb…
Whosoever has eyes to see and ears to hear, let him hear.