ENJOY YOURSELF, IT’S LATER THAN YOU THINK!?! ~ A Study in Jeremiah

 

Death is around the corner for every one of us. For some, the walk around the block is longer than for others. In other words, we never know when we are going to reach the end of the block and be forced to turn that corner. People think they can somehow delay the inevitable by eating right, living “right”, staying physically active, and mentally sharp. Eager to enlighten themselves with the newest fad promising greater longevity, the masses spend money like it is water from the fountain of youth to be ‘in the know’; not so much to impress others, but to apply to themselves the latest, most newly-discovered secrets. It is our sinful human nature that does not want to think about death. Somehow we know we were created eternal beings, yet we are born loving and wanting to hold on to this world. We see death all around us, and our flesh recoils at any thoughts that death is coming for us, too. While death is a reality for all of us, the fact that you can do nothing to stop it, is also true. Psalm 139:16—Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them. Job 14:5—Since his days are determined, the number of his months is with You; and his limits You have set so that he cannot pass.

We hear people who profess to follow Christ but who do not want to hear about sin or judgment, “God wants me to be happy!” As such, their mantra becomes: “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die,” It usually means this: Enjoy life, because we will not live forever. Guy Lombardo had a song entitled, “Enjoy Yourself, It’s Later Than You Think”. That sounds right, doesn’t it? It sounds right to us as believers because we live in America, where modern evangelical Christianity looks nothing like it has in the past. There is no denial of ‘self’ and picking up our crosses to follow Jesus in American Christianity. Does God want us to enjoy life? It is not a trick question. Ask yourself: Did Jesus enjoy life? Did His Apostles and Prophets enjoy life? Psalm 16:11 says: You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever. John 15:11 says: These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. From where does our confusion come?

“Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die” is the mantra for those who love this world. Even believers struggle against a love for this fleeting world. Unbelievers, refusing to think about the unpleasant reality of death and judgment stick their heads in the sands of every sort of hedonistic pleasure available. Weighing thoughts of death on one side of the scale with grabbing all the gusto they can on the other side, they refuse to face facts, pretending they do not exist. Death weighs more heavily on man than anything he can throw on the scale to support his need to feel good, be entertained, amused, or have his ego stroked. Turning a blind eye to absolute truth by pretending it does not exist, he just throws more ‘stuff’ onto the ‘positive side’ of the scale—even though it never budges. The undeniable truth is this: Any moment he could wake up on the other side of eternity to find out exactly what is around the corner at the end of his journey. “Wait a minute, Karla! Eat, drink, and be merry is in the Bible,” you say? You are correct—not just once but four different places in some form.

Isaiah 22:13—Instead, there is gaiety and gladness, killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, eating of meat, and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.” Ecclesiastes 8:15—So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, ant this will stand by him in his toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun. 1 Corinthians 15:32—If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, LET US EAT AND DRINK, FOR TOMORROW WE DIE. Luke 12:19—And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.” Wrenching any of those verses out of their context could be detrimental to one’s spiritual health!

In Isaiah 22, God through Isaiah calls the people to weep and wail over their sin (verse 12) and the judgment that was coming to them. What was their response? They celebrated with “wild parties in a marked lack of vision in their oblivion to the destruction that awaited them.” John MacArthur Study Bible note (verses 1-2). They were called to mourning; instead, they had a party! Their attitude was, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.” (verse 13) How did the Lord respond? Verse 14—“Surely this iniquity shall not be forgiven you until you die,” says the Lord God of hosts.

What about Ecclesiastes 8:15? Does this verse support hedonism? Is this saying: “Go out and partake in a gluttonous, drunken, party life if you want to really live it up and enjoy yourself”? No. If we look at the context of the verse, Solomon has said that it is not easy for the righteous to live in this world. Often he experiences injustices at the hands of the wicked as if they were the wicked ones. Even so, it will go better for those who fear God and who are reverent before Him. With an eternal perspective, no matter what the righteous experiences on this earth, he would do well to maintain a thankful attitude with whatever his lot in life. We should eat, drink, and be happy because we find our contentment in Christ. Therefore, Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:8 that if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Time spent in prison will prove that truth for the true believer.

The rich fool in Luke 12 has achieved “success” in this world if looking through the lenses of a worldly perspective. He has more crops than he knows what to do with them. Facing this dilemma, he decides to tear down all his barns and build larger ones to store his bounty. Twisting the words of Ecclesiastes 8:15 he seems to justify his sin of materialism and gaining wealth just for the sake of accumulating success and security in this life. It is his attempt to control, to watch over, or protect what he has accomplished in life. It is an attempt to keep a tight grip on what rightfully belongs to him. That very night, he dies and leaves all his riches behind. The moral of the story is that the one who lays up for himself treasures in heaven is the one who is truly and eternally rich in God’s eyes.

1 Corinthians 15 is the ‘resurrection chapter’. Paul, addressing those who did not believe in the resurrection, sarcastically says to them in essence, “If you don’t believe in the resurrection, then you may as well live for this life alone—eat, drink, and be merry…today—for you really have no hope of anything more than that.” Now, that is an indictment on their eternal damnation.

“Eat, drink, and be merry,” is an expression of hopelessness. If you live for the here and now, that is all you have. It makes sense to those who have nothing else to live for to cater to their flesh, indulging their every passion and lustful desire because they face judgment in the wrath of God for all eternity. The bigger reality is that anyone who lives for pleasure’s sake alone is to be pitied.

God’s children are called to seek to live a life of holiness in Christ. This involves a choice we make daily to obey God and leave our old, pleasure-seeking life behind us as we learn what is pleasing to Him. Because of all that God has done for us, it is our reasonable service to Him. Romans 12:1-2—Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. We serve a good God, a God who loves us with an infinite, perfect love. He calls us to obey Him because it is right and what He is alone deserves. In all that He commands us, He knows that our greatest joy and satisfaction comes in that obedience as we abide in Him.

Jesus told His disciples in John 15:9-11, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in My love. If you keep My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

Judah forgot her purpose, why God had chosen the nation of Israel for His own. Judah had forgotten her bitter slavery in Egypt, and how God had brought her out of bondage. She forgot the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness (what should have been a relatively short journey lasted 40 years because of disobedience and unbelief.) The generation who entered the land flowing with milk and honey knew what her calling was; so what happened? She experienced prosperity and the ‘good life’. She came to believe that life was all about her own enjoyment and happiness, and this is what she craved above all else. She bought the lie that life was about her greatest fulfillment in this world. Therefore, she began to seek her greatest joy and fulfillment outside God. She began to view His Law as too restrictive, too unloving. In fact, it was just the opposite. Her delusion was so strong that when Jeremiah came proclaiming judgment, she dug in her heels even deeper, plugged her ears, and refused to look back at what had happened to Israel in history time and again.

The Lord asks Judah what she is going to do when judgment comes? She is ready to go out clubbing. Primping herself as she gets ready to go enlist the help of her enemies to give her the support she needs, she hears the sound of the horseman and bowman and flees anywhere she may find a hiding place, but to no avail. Those enemies she looked to will turn on her suddenly. The awful realization would come that they used her secretly all the while despising her. She will not be able to sweet talk her attackers or plead for mercy. No mercy would be shown to her. Crying out as a woman in labor giving birth to her first child has the picture of drawing short, panting breaths as she stretches out her hands for help, but there is no one there to rescue her.

At the sound of the horseman and bowman every city flees; they go into the thickets and climb among the rocks; every city is forsaken, and no man dwells in them. And you, O desolate one, what will you do? Although you dress in scarlet, although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold, although you enlarge your eyes with paint, in vain you make yourself beautiful. Your lovers despise you; they seek your life. For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor, the anguish as of one giving birth to her first child, the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands, saying, “Ah, woe is me, for I faint before murderers.” (Jeremiah 4:29-31)