As you heard from Jeff in our call to worship,
as you've heard from Grant in his prayer, our
week has not gone as we planned. You heard that
even in the passage that Jeff read. On Wednesday
night, we thought that Jeff was going to be preaching
Titus. On Wednesday, we didn't expect to hear
of a tragic car accident. In our prayers, though
we know that God is in control of all things,
we didn't expect to be grieving the loss of a
dearly loved brother by Thursday night. I know
not everyone in here had the privilege of knowing
Jared. You've heard a bit from Jeff. His wit
was unmatched, truly. His stories were captivating.
And you could always count on Jared to say something
entirely outlandish and yet incredibly insightful
at the same time. I don't know how he did it.
But most importantly, it's been said, Jared was
and he is. a believer who loves Jesus. His love
for Jesus didn't change this week, neither did
ours. But our earthly plans did. Within barely
more than 24 hours, we had this whirlwind of
prayer, of communication, renewing our minds,
asking God for a miracle, and comforting our
hearts with truth. By Thursday night, God had
clearly answered our prayers. But his answer
was to deny our request for Jared's recovery
and instead to bring Jared home to glory for
his good pleasure and for our good. As we prayed
in solemn recognition of God's ways at the close
of our elder meeting on Thursday night, we were
all together when we heard the news. Grant asked
if it would be beneficial to bring our hearts
back to Ecclesiastes. To allow Jeff some bandwidth
and Tanya some bandwidth to grieve well? To minister
to others in their grief? I knew where we left
off in Ecclesiastes. This is one of my favorite
passages in the entire letter. Some of you have
sat with me and walked through this. But I thought
we'd be getting back to this in different circumstances.
For example, last time we were in chapter...
beginning of chapter 7 and verse 2, and it just
stings. The house of mourning has been brought
to us. We didn't go to it. We didn't have a choice.
The house of mourning came to us. It was eight
weeks ago that we walked through those first
10 verses that taught us that trials are the
great teachers in this life. We saw that time
as well, that there are thieves. that rob us
of life and its meanings, the pleasures and the
preoccupations that we pursue, the painkillers,
to dull the realities of life because life under
the sun hurts. And last time, I purposefully
cut out these verses from today. They were supposed
to be part of that sermon. I was going to walk
through verses 1 through 14. And as I was preparing
on Saturday night, I couldn't fit it in. It was
too much for that morning. But God knew. And
I would dare say he foreordained that the greater
purpose of excluding that passage from that Sunday
was to bring these truths this morning in light
of present circumstances. And there is no better
salve for the wounds of life. than for God's
eternal word. Of that we are convinced. As you
heard in the call to worship, through today's
verses, Solomon is going to instruct us about
how to approach trials with wisdom. And yet,
we're also going to see that wisdom itself is
not salvation, even if it is a great benefit
to the believer in this life. If you have your
Bibles and you're already opened, you see verse
14. We'll be there in a moment. But it confronts
us with this reality. God ordains both days of
good and days of evil. Both. And we might struggle
to comprehend God's ultimate goodness and righteousness.
We may even at times be tempted to question God's
goodness on the basis of our perspective of goodness.
I think it's common for believers to struggle
to understand God's ways, especially when you're
in the circumstance of losing a loved one. Here's
encouragement. All of us, whether you are grieving
the loss of Jared today or walking through another
trial, or even if your days are good right now,
we must grow in our understanding of the character
of God, the wisdom of God. And to understand
evil, we must understand good. And to better
understand God, we must submit to his word and
seek to apply his wisdom from above. His everlasting
word can help to deepen our understanding of
life, this side of glory, and can give us hope
for the other side to come. There's a lot to
go through this morning, so if you haven't already,
please. Turn in your Bibles to Ecclesiastes chapter
7. Now, as I mentioned last time, we walked through
the first 10 verses. And I pointed out that this
chapter marks the turning point for the entire
work. At the beginning of the third section of
the book, we gave it a title, The Prescription
for Living with Vanity. Now, in these remaining
verses and chapters, Solomon is moving away from
his proof that all is vanity apart from God.
to now explaining to the reader, to the listener,
how to live in light of that recognition. There's
a lot here with wisdom literature, but I would
say that at this point, beginning in chapter
7, it is more straightforward generally than
those first six chapters were. For those of you
who have been following along, there's an outline.
We find ourselves here in the third section of
the book, the prescription. for living with vanity,
and today's theme, God's wisdom. Now, if you
remember all the way back to the introductory
sermon, it was many, many months ago, and the
guys had given me a hard time, because I've been
in this series almost as long as Jeff Steele
was in Joseph. I don't know how many years that
was, but we're getting close. I said that this
passage, verses 1 through 14, they're the key
to understanding the whole book. If you can understand
this passage, then you have the key to understanding
Ecclesiastes. So we need to dig in here. Now
as you look at verse 11, there's a callback actually
to earlier sections of Ecclesiastes multiple
times. In his case that all is vanity, Solomon
asked the reader to consider what advantage there
is to materialistic thinking. He asks multiple
times. Take note that he's still answering that
question from 6 .12 about who can tell a man
what is good. We're considering, well, what is
good then? Is there an advantage? What could
possibly be good? And you see up on the screen,
there are many things that are good. This word
for good, the Hebrew root word is tov. He uses
it so many times. Who can tell a man what is
good? Well, Solomon is going to tell you what
is good. Solomon, the wisest man to have ever
lived, is going to tell us what is good. In verse
1, better is a good name. Gooder is a good name.
It's literally the way that it reads in Hebrew.
In verse 2, better is a house of mourning than
a house of celebration. That's what we're feeling
for those of us who have known Jared. In verse
3, he said better is vexation. Gooder is vexation
than laughter. In verse 5, better to listen to
the rebuke than the song of fools. In verse 8,
better is the end of a matter. Better is patience.
In verse 10, he cautioned us. Don't ask why the
former days are better. Don't go to that painkiller
of nostalgia. And now in verse 11, in Hebrew,
not in our English Bibles, but in Hebrew, the
word better is the first word of verse 11. Now,
I'm not trying to call into question Hebrew Bibles
or English Bibles, but I'm pointing out sometimes
studying the original language can help convey
the meaning of the text in a more precise manner,
even though we can trust our English translation.
So here's what's said. Better is wisdom with
an inheritance, an advantage to those who see
the sun. Now that term advantage, it needs some
explaining because Solomon has used this lingo
before. It's not the main point of the passage
here in terms of advantage, but it impacts the
flow of the entire work, and I think it's profitable
for us to understand, especially because Solomon
uses two different words for advantage in Ecclesiastes.
In verse 11, he uses this Hebrew word yoter,
which he also used in verse 8. It asks about
the advantage of the wise man over the fool,
the man of sorrows over the living. He uses the
same word in chapter 6, verse 11, yoter, to understand
man has no advantage even with his words. So
even if you take all the actions away, can man
find an advantage with those words? He cannot.
Many English translations also have the word
advantage in verse 12. If you look down at your
scripture, the second half of verse 12 says the
advantage of knowledge. But in that verse, verse
12, it is not the same word as in verse 11. The
advantage to those who see the sun. So let's
take a look here. We need to do a little bit
of linguistic study. You see both sides of the
screen explaining Yoter and Yitron. You don't
have to pronounce those, but those are the Hebrew
words. Now on, this is reversed. I'm just going
to turn around. I can't do this. On the left,
you have Yoter. That's the one that we see in
verse 11. And on the right, you have Yitron.
These are two different Hebrew words. And yet
in English, we use the same word to describe
it. But there's a slight different meaning between
the two. So these different words, the first,
yoter, emphasizes superiority. It's something
that is comparatively better. The second word
on the right, yatron, emphasizes profit or excellency.
So here in verse 11, Solomon is emphasizing that
when put together, when you take wisdom and you
add an inheritance, that that is comparatively
better than either one on their own. It may seem
curious to you that Solomon is pointing out to
a benefit with money because he spent so much
time in Ecclesiastes pointing out that wealth
and possessions can't be taken with you in the
life to come. But to be clear, I don't want you
to be confused. He is not advocating for a person
to chase material inheritance. He's linking these
two things, saying there is an advantage when
both wisdom and an inheritance are had by a person.
He doesn't emphasize money and possessions over
wisdom. He points out that wisdom gives value
to an inheritance. So if you were to read this
in Hebrew properly, it would say this. It's good
to have wisdom with an inheritance. That's the
way that it should be read. And the emphasis
is on the combination. Wisdom preceding inheritance
also is a matter of priority and primacy. Some
of you have seen in the news, think of the tales
of the foolish people who receive a great inheritance
and they just squander it. They waste it away.
The person who wins the lottery, they gambled
for wealth in the first place and they end up
poorer than they began because of foolish So
what kind of protection or advantage can wisdom
and inheritance provide? Hebrew says this, the
shadow of wisdom is as the shadow of money or
silver. And the prophet of knowledge preserves
the life of the one who has wisdom. See, in the
Hebrew text, the word protection is not there.
Most of our English Bibles have it. So we need
to understand what is a shadow. All of this has
to fit together to be able to understand these
verses. Why? Why do our English Bibles prefer
this rendering of protection rather than shadow?
Let's think of what a shadow is. A shadow is
the evidence of being shaded from the heat of
the sun. Is it not? And what does verse 11 say?
Verse 11 finishes, an advantage to those who
see the sun. And Solomon's using, again, wisdom,
poetry, a play on words to help us understand
deep truths in a beautiful way. There's a protection
under life and under this sun. How many of you
remember Jonah? You remember he was swallowed
up by the fish, finally preached repentance to
the Ninevites, and then he was what? He was protected
by a plant, was he not? From what? From the harsh
heat. You can see the text on the screen if some
of you haven't read through Jonah. You know what's
interesting? So it's the same word. The shade
that's provided for him is the shadow. Same exact
Hebrew word. But I want you to consider something.
It says that that shade that was given to Jonah
was to deliver him from his miserable evil. What
was Jonah's miserable evil? I think it was his
own heart. Jonah was so extremely glad. That's
what the text says about the plant providing
him shade. Was he extremely glad about the 120
,000 persons that God had pity on that he was
to warn? He was not. He didn't think that they
were deserving of God's grace and kindness. Shadows
can help protect. They can provide shade. Another
passage you may know about a shadow, Psalm 36.
I'm not going to show it on the screen, but it
speaks of God's loving kindness. How the believer
is to take refuge in the shadow or the shade
of his wings. And that passage goes on to describe
the satisfaction that one can find in God. It's
a common theme throughout the Old Testament.
So to better understand shadow as protection,
we also need to understand advantage a little
bit more. So these are the two words again, but
we're going to dig in slightly differently here.
These two words, one in verse 11 and another
one in verse 12. Verse 11, advantage means comparative
superiority, something better. In verse 12, it
focuses on yielding a profit, being more excellent.
And this is a play on words. Solomon doesn't
use the word for inheritance in verse 12. Instead,
he uses katsep. It means money. It actually means
silver. That's what it means in verse 12. And
it's going along with that word advantage, which
in this sense is a profit. Silver yields a profit.
Here's, let's take a big picture now. Here's
what's being said. Wisdom and money can offer
a protection this side of glory. But Solomon
is pointing out that the investment of wisdom,
not of money, is what truly profits a person.
That's what verse 12 is pointing us to. Because
we as people, we often think if you invest money,
that's the protection, right? Get your 401k in
order, save for your kids, pay off your house,
all these things. And none of those are evil,
but we think of those as protection in this life.
Solomon's pointing something out. You think of
what money can protect you from. It can protect
you from hunger, right? It can protect you from
poverty. It can protect you from living on the
streets. And these are all good things in terms
of protection. Now, what can wisdom protect you
from? Foolishness. Sin. That has eternal ramifications
compared to the temporal realities that the protection
of money provides. Yet even with the reality
of eternal ramifications, Solomon, he is saying
wisdom is only good for you this side of glory,
under this sun. Verse 11 pointed that out, the
last part of that verse, an advantage to those
who see the sun. There is a blessed combination
of wisdom with an inheritance for those who see
the sun. And the protection or the shadow of
wisdom does help to preserve life because the
shadow is protection or the shade is protection
from the sun. There's such a master class here
in the poetry because Solomon, he's teaching
us language can be used to help the reader consider
great, great things in a very simple, beautiful
way. Great things. There is a blessing of having
wisdom and money. We could say amen to that.
But he's pointing the reader to not just rely
on wealth. Not just rely on money. Now these
next two verses are going to help us to recognize
that wisdom must be understood in light of the
work of God. But before we do and wrap up verse
12, I want you to note something about this word
knowledge. Because he says knowledge is what
brings this advantage. And some commentators
will say knowledge is synonymous with wisdom.
It can be, but it is a different word. The Hebrew
word, da 'at, it can be... rendered a skill or
discernment, depending on where we find it in
the text. And I think there's another interesting
callback here and a connection with what we're
going to see as well within this passage. I think
the callback here is to Genesis. The word for
knowledge is a commonly understood word. In Genesis
2 .9 and Genesis 2 .17, you have the tree of
what? Knowledge of good and of evil. It's the
same word. The tree of knowledge. And those terms,
knowledge and wisdom and discernment, are often
interchanged by Old Testament scholars because
what they note is that the biblical authors,
they didn't make a great effort to differentiate
these from a point of emphasis at certain times.
But I think here Solomon is. Solomon is speaking
so much about wisdom, a common theme of the day,
because he was the wisest man to have ever lived.
And yet he's using the word for knowledge here
in accordance with wisdom that hearkens our thinking
back to the creation account. This is to help
solidify our thinking. Knowledge can lead to
a great blessing, but it could also lead to ruin
if not received at the right time. Wow. Such
knowledge could be too wonderful for us, could
it not? We'll come back to that. We'll come back
to Genesis as well in a moment. But I want you
to know that while money and wisdom are good
together, there is a huge difference between
the two. Money can be taken from you, can be
lost in a bad venture, but wisdom will give life
to its owner. Solomon isn't saying that money
is better. Ecclesiastes 4 .13 says a poor...
materially poor yet wise young man is better
than an old and foolish king, a wealthy man who
no longer knows how to receive a warning, who
is foolish. So Solomon is not saying that wealth
supersedes wisdom. Wisdom still supersedes wealth.
In Ecclesiastes 5 .10, we're reminded that wealth
doesn't bring satisfaction. Money and silver
do not bring satisfaction. So money is inferior
to wisdom. Let's not lose that. The inheritance
is not the aim, but both could be an advantage
to a person when they're put together. Now I'm
thinking about Genesis again. So many times in
Ecclesiastes, Solomon calls us back to Genesis
to consider the creation account because he knows
God's word extremely well. He knows who God is,
even if he has lived foolishly for part of his
life. But in this verse here, he also uses the
word life. So he's used knowledge, he's used
the word life. And I think this word life also
draws us back to Genesis chapter 3. There's another
tree. So there's a tree of knowledge, right?
Then there's a tree of life. Genesis 3, 22 through
23. Then God said, Behold, the man has become
like one of us, no good and evil. Where did they
learn that from? And the word for live right
there is the same that we find here in Ecclesiastes.
Now while that passage there in Genesis 3 is
the first usage, In the historical canon, the
same word is often used to denote a lifespan
or really sometimes a full life, a period of
one's life. Often, even in the Old Testament,
in various poetry, it'll denote healing or preservation.
So here, I want to make clear, even though it's
a callback, here, Solomon is not telling the
reader that wisdom will save your life or give
you eternal life like the tree does. wisdom is
not akin to the tree of life. Nonetheless, wisdom
can help you live. Wisdom can help you live a
full life. It can revive you when you're low.
It can sustain you through trials. It can refresh
you from the harsh heat of the sun. Wisdom can
grow you. Wisdom can preserve you. And unlike
money, wisdom can't be taken from you. That's
the excellency of wisdom compared to silver.
It has an advantage over wealth, and we should
take that to heart. And yet wisdom has its limitations.
I think, wouldn't Solomon of all people know
that? Gifted wisdom above everyone else, wouldn't
he know that wisdom has its limitations? You
think he also had the inheritance. Son of King
David, heir to the throne in Israel. He had it
all. He had wisdom. He had material inheritance.
God was so, so overwhelmingly kind to this man.
And yet, even with the greatest of wisdom, even
with wealth that was not surpassed in his day,
Solomon was not immune to the sovereignty of
God. Solomon was not immune to God's ultimate
divine wisdom in bringing Solomon low in his
life as well. Now, as you look at verse 13, Solomon
is calling our attention to consider the work
of God, and he asks us a question. Who can straighten
what God has bent? Now, in case you start to
think that wisdom is your answer for everything,
You have to note that Solomon says all the wisdom
in the world cannot change what God has done.
Cannot. Who can put in order what God has put
out of order? And he said this from the beginning.
In Ecclesiastes 1 .15, he said, what is bent
cannot be straightened. What is lacking cannot
be counted. Are you able to adjust what God does?
A Hebrew word for able. Yakol, it's sometimes
rendered as to prevail, to overcome, to overpower.
When it's used negatively, it often means cannot.
If God chooses to do something, can you overpower
him? No, you cannot. And it's this verse that
begins to open up one of the most difficult aspects
of theology. What does it mean when God makes
something bent or crooked? We have to answer
that. Because when we get to verse 14, we have
to deal with the reality of evil, calamity, adversity,
and God's sovereignty. So let's begin here. What
does it mean that God has made things bent or
crooked? From a humanistic perspective, we might
think this to mean God has made things wrong.
or even wicked or corrupt. But is that the true
sense of the word? How is it rendered in other
passages? That same word for bent is used by
one of Job's friends. He asked Job this in not
a very kind way, but he says, does God pervert
or bend justice? Does the Almighty pervert or
bend what is right? That word pervert is the
same word for bent or crooked. So you have to
answer the question from Job's insensitive friend.
Does God do evil? I think this is one of the
most painful pills for us to swallow. You know,
I see it on display every time I travel to some
of the most difficult places on the planet with
some of the most immense amounts of suffering.
See, if our understanding of evil is only based
on what we see, if it's based on how things affect
us, if it's based on how we temporally judge
situations from our moral compass, then we might
be prone to accuse God. Why does a righteous
man like Job suffer? Why does the wicked prosper?
We're going to get to verse 15 next time, and
it speaks about that. So you have to ask, is
God doing wrong? Is God doing evil? The emphatic
answer to that has to always be no, never. God
is not doing evil. In him is light. There is
no darkness at all. He's perfectly righteous.
He is just in all he does. God does not sin,
nor does he compel us to sin. God is the rescuer
of mankind. God's common grace covers even the
wicked man under this sun. But our view of things
is limited. Job's story is a helpful one. There
were heavenly realities at play in his suffering.
Satan pursued Job's suffering, but God did allow
it. And we want to know why. Why does God allow
or even purpose things to be bent? To be crooked
from our estimation. And this is hard for us.
We want an answer. But what does the Almighty
owe us? Pause. Think about that. What does the
Almighty owe us? Apart from Christ, does he owe
us anything? Who purposed Christ for the believer?
God did. He owes us nothing other than the recompense
for our sins. He owes us death, eternal torment,
separation from his glory and blessings, but
that's not solely what he gives, is it? That
God would even save one person would be an immeasurable
kindness. One person. That he would extend salvation
to a people. exponentially multiplies that innumerable
blessedness of his grace, that God would lay
down his own life, that God would suffer and
die for sinful humans while we were yet sinners.
Christ died for us. So friends, in these hard
moments, in any hard moment, how could we ever
accuse God of crookedness? How could we ever
accuse him of perversion, of evil? Think of some
of these passages. I'll share them with you on
the screen. I'm not going to read through all
of them, but Psalm 18 and 77 and 145, Deuteronomy
32, Revelation 15, all speak of God in a very
specific way. He is blameless. He is holy. He
is righteous. He is perfect. He is faithful.
He is without injustice. He is upright. He is
true. We cannot and we should not accuse God
of being crooked. And I appreciate that the LSB
renders that word bent. I prefer that. Who can
straighten what he has bent? I think that's an
easier switch for us in English than crooked.
Crooked connotes something that's wrong. God's
not wrong. But it causes us to pause and consider
this. And that's what Solomon's calling us to
do. That word to consider is to see, to look
at. Consider God's work. Consider what he does.
Does he have a mind like man? Some of you may
even thought of this passage in Isaiah 55. My
thoughts are not your thoughts. My ways are not
your ways, declares Yahweh, for as the heavens
are higher than the earth, so my ways higher
than your ways and my thoughts higher than your
thoughts. We cannot demand God to stoop to our
lowness. He is exalted above the heavens, above
and beyond time and space. To demand that God
meet our version of good is the utmost evidence
of pride. We must recognize our station as creation.
We humbly submit. To the creator. To further
understand what God has bent, consider Romans
11, another New Testament passage. The depths
of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God.
How unsearchable are his judgments. How unfathomable
his ways. For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who became his counselor? Or who has first
given to him that it might be repaid to him?
From him and through him and to him. are all
things, to him be the glory forever and ever.
Unsearchable judgments, unfathomable ways. We
struggle, we see things as bent from our perspective,
as crooked from our perspective, but we need
to remember, even if it appears bent or crooked
to us, it is purposeful in God's plans. Wisdom,
good as it is, better than silver even, can never
help us achieve the kind of control over our
life that we so desperately seek. God controls
all things. God rules over all things. One of
the guys that I've quoted in this study in Ecclesiastes,
David Gibson, he said this, although you can
live well and die well and know some things truly,
you cannot know all things completely. But God
does. So trust him and do not make an idol. Out
of wisdom. So we find ourselves in verse 14.
A practical exhortation. It continues from the
notion in verse 13. We can't straighten what
he's bent. In the Hebrew, Solomon again is calling
us to consider what is good. Remember early on?
Better, better, better, gooder, gooder, gooder.
Here in verse 14, that same theme reaches its
zenith. When the days are good, We're literally
better than the bad ones. Be joyful. Be of good
cheer. And some people today need to hear that.
Just consider for a moment. There are going to
be hard times, yes. But we're not called to a
stoic approach to the blessings of life. Why
should you deprive yourself of joy in the little
things? Why not get excited when Trader Joe's
brings back your favorite snack? Why? It's so
small, it's so little, and yet you can be of
good cheer. Why not rejoice at the tax return
that was more than you expected? If it's less,
I'm sorry. Why not marvel at the sunrise, even
if you've seen the same one a hundred times before?
Appreciate the little blessings. You know, the
world says stop and smell the roses, right? Solomon
is saying don't do it from vanity. Do it because
your creator is giving you a little glimpse of
goodness. Stop and hug your loved ones when you
can. Give an encouraging word. Receive an encouraging
word. Move slower through the little victories
and graces of this life. One of the other guys
I've quoted in this study, Zach Eswine, said
this. If something goes well in your day, no
matter how small, celebrate over it. No more
wondering if you can be happy about good things.
No more needing to wait and pray and discover
whether it's okay with God, whether you smile
or not. Each day becomes full of small but genuine
smiles when we take up joy in response to good
things. A great deal of happiness is passing
some of us by. Because we think that when a good
thing happens, we're supposed to consider it
rather than get on with rejoicing over it. Friends,
when times are good, enjoy life as a provision
from God. And when times are not good, when they
seem bent and crooked from our perspective, don't
run away from it. Don't pursue those painkillers
in verses 1 through 10 to avoid the hurt. And
don't over -spiritualize it to pretend the pain
isn't there. Some of your translations have the
word evil, actually, I think, in verse 14. If
you're reading in the LSB, it says evil. Some
may have adversity or trouble. Could be rendered
also as calamity. Coming back to this, is God
the author of evil? What is evil? To be clear,
going back to verse 13, we studied this. God
is perfect. He's righteous, he's good in all
his ways. We look to those verses. So here in
verse 14, we need to understand the kind of evil
Solomon is mentioning. He is not speaking of
moral evil as in God is the author of evil. God
is not. Nor is God somehow lacking control over
the evil in the world. If he did, he would not
be sovereignly in control. The reality of evil
is a result of the fall. Sin entered the world
through man's disobedience. Romans 5, 12. God
didn't create sin. Sin was brought forth through
man's disobedience and with sin came death, decay,
brokenness, malice, anger, hatred, and evil.
True evil is a result of the fall. It's not the
expression of God's goodness. However, The fact
that God meets out the reality of the fall, the
fact that he works all things and exercises common
grace to even limit and restrain evil and graciously
provided a savior for mankind, even after that
initial fall, these things should encourage our
hearts about the problem of evil. They may look
crooked from our perspective. They may look bent
to a degree, and we might call them evil. We
can call it evil when there is hatred and strife
among nations resulting in the death of innocent
people. We can call it evil when unborn children
are murdered in what is supposed to be the safest
place in the world for them, mother's womb. We
can call it evil when a young man dies in a terrible
accident and is buried by his parents. And yet,
in the midst of the evil of this world, under
the sun, God is not. And this is beyond us. He
so wonderfully ordains all of creation to bend
to his will. If you learn nothing this morning
other than this, recognize that verse 13 is not
speaking about things bend. Oh, that's what it
is. God bends things. to his will, for his purposes,
so that he is glorified and that his people are
blessed. We just might not understand it. We
don't always see it, but we can trust him. He
works outside of time, outside of space, beyond
our wisdom, and he coordinates all things for
his good pleasure and for the good of those whom
he loves. It may seem evil to us. And that's
why some of you might prefer reading in the ESV
or the NAS 95, adversity is fit there instead
of evil. The adversity, the calamity, the despair,
they come to test our hearts. They show us what's
in us. They're a reality of living in a broken
world, and yet God bends all things for his will,
for his glory, and for the good of his people.
And this keeps us in humility. And then even
still, even still, with all the calamity, God
brings little graces into our lives to delight
us. And I think you know, I could mention some
of them for you. I'll share one for me that just
baffles me. Being in some destitute places, seeing
such hardship of life, people literally starving.
You might think, how could there be joy there?
There's no gospel there. There's nothing good.
And then a ball comes out. And the kids just
light up as if they're not even starving anymore.
A piece of candy shared with a mom and then the
child lights up because they get to share it
too. A handshake or a hug shared with a downcast
man and his countenance, his distrust lifts.
You see it with your little ones. We have so
many little ones here. How many times have they
fallen down? How many times have they fallen
down today? You don't need to tell me how many.
But they fall down and there's those tears, right?
The big watery tears. And then you say something
funny because you're trying to distract them
from that because you know it wasn't that bad,
right? It's like a stubbed toe. It hurts a little
bit, but they'll be okay. And then with tears
in their eyes, they just start giggling. And
it was so quick, right? So quick from I'm dying
to just laughter. And then you're laughing together
with them. The whole room gets to be smiling.
Friends, pain is part of life under the sun.
Evil in this world exists because of sin. And
bad things happen to God -fearing and God -hating
people alike. And yet there is good as well.
And God's ways are so far beyond us that we can't
even fathom how he's able to bend even the brokenness
of this world in such a way that his name is
glorified and his people blessed. The unknowable
outcomes of the days, this is what keeps us dependent
on him. That's the end of verse 14. Knowing the
future, or better yet, if we were to determine
it, that would have astronomically bad consequences.
Think about it. Imagine if everyone on the planet
was able to be in charge of their own destiny.
Imagine if everyone was able to pursue their
own desires. Imagine how much we would compete
with one another for what we want. Imagine if
we were able to manifest, I hate that word, manifest
whatever aims they have for their life. Imagine,
imagine that kind of world. God would not be
in control. People would be absolute tyrants.
So if you think this world looks like chaos now,
that world where people are in charge of their
destiny would be the scariest world ever. And
this isn't the first time that Solomon's told
us about not knowing the future. He's brought
it up five other times. I'm not going to read
through all these, but you can see it. Chapter
three, three times. Chapter six, twice. He keeps
reminding us that we cannot know what's coming
after us, but it is with purpose. It's with intention.
And so here's the lesson. Accept life as it comes
to you. No one can predict what's going to happen.
You can't predict what's going to happen when
you leave here. We don't know if we might be
celebrating the life of somebody again next Sunday
because there's another car accident. Who can
determine that? Not one of us. So, there's no
secret formula for life. There's no hidden pathway.
There's no getting in with God where you can
make everything happen the way that you hope.
We're not in control. And that is part of God's
plan. Why? Well, God's answer is very simple.
Why? So you don't know. That's the answer. You
don't get another answer than that. So you don't
know. Well, that doesn't feel good. Yeah, because
you're not supposed to focus on that question.
You're supposed to focus on when the times are
good, rejoice. And when times are hard, consider.
Keep coming back to God. The good times, they
give us a reason to rejoice and be glad, and
the hard times, they draw us to consider God
in His sovereign ways. That's the reality. So
put together like this, the varied times, the
ups and the downs of life, they keep us in humble
dependence upon God. We recognize that we can't
seize the day any more than He allows, and His
will for all things can never be thwarted. rather
than push us to fear that actually should bring
us great comfort. If God is truly good, if he
is truly and fully righteous, if he always does
what is right and what is best, then we need
not fear the future nor try to manipulate outcomes.
We are recipients of what God wills, but we do
not tell God what to do, how to do it, or question
why he does what he does. You remember these
from earlier, putting them up again. To remember
God's ways, his goodness in all things. If you
don't know those passages, write them down to
encourage your heart. In the opening of this
sermon, I said that especially in verse 13, really
also in 14, this is a painful pill to swallow
in God's theology. He is sovereign over all things.
And that is easy to affirm when things go well.
Is it not? It's all hallelujah and amen at weddings
and births and accomplishments at graduations
and work promotions. And we've had so many of
those recently that we should rejoice in. And
it's easy to say God is good, but when things
are bent, when the job passes us by, when physical
injuries plague our bodies, when relationships
are broken, when we're confronted with the death
of a loved one, even if we know that truth, it's
painful because we want to know why. Why, God?
We want to question him as if he owes us an answer,
but he doesn't owe us anything. And we shouldn't
even approach his throne with that question.
Here would be my encouragement as we wrap up.
As we walk through the good days, the days of
adversity, the days of evil, we remember who
is sovereign over all things. And even as we
pursue wisdom, which is good, We remember not
to idolize wisdom because it cannot produce a
desired outcome in our lives. You're not guaranteed
tomorrow. We receive each day whatever the Lord
has for us, whether that's blessing or calamity.
Because we trust that even in the calamity, he's
going to bend the brokenness of this world in
such a way that he is going to be glorified and
ultimately his people will benefit. We learned
last time that trials teach us about life and
trials force us towards God. We don't need to
pray for trials to come. They will. But we can
pray that God would be merciful to us in the
midst of our trials, that he would indeed draw
us towards himself in this life under the sun.
Wisdom with an inheritance is indeed good, but
God's wisdom is better. Not man's. God's wisdom
is better. To trust him, whether from our perspective
the road is bent or straight, to trust him is
better than silver. There is a God -given value
to the trials and hardships of our lives. We
should pray that he grants us the same kind of
wisdom that he eventually gave to Solomon, that
we would apply these principles. I know we've
been all over from Genesis and Psalms and Job
and Jonah even today, but there's one more scripture
that I want to leave you with. It's outside Ecclesiastes,
and I think it's the best approach to God's Word
to let Scripture interpret and preach Scripture.
And I want to leave you with hope. I said earlier
that wisdom itself is not salvation, so let's
not forget that. But the wisdom of God is salvation.
Notice the difference there? Wisdom is not salvation,
but the wisdom of God is salvation. So let me
read to you this portion of Scripture from 1
Corinthians 1. After this, questions will be
on the screen and we'll conclude our service
with some worship and praise. We preach Christ
crucified to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles
foolishness. But to those who are called, both
Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and
the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of
God is wiser than men and the weakness of God
is stronger than men. For consider your calling,
brothers. that there were not many wise according
to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble,
but God has chosen the foolish things of the
world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the
weak things of the world to shame the things
which are strong, and the base things of the
world and the despised God has chosen, the things
that are not, so that he may abolish the things
that are, so that no flesh may boast before God.
By his doing, by his doing, you are in Christ
Jesus. who became to us wisdom from God and righteousness
and sanctification and redemption, so that just
as it is written, let him who boasts, boast in
the Lord. Amen. Friend, my encouragement is that
we boast in the Lord's ways all the time, that
we trust in him for righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. Let's pray together. God, I imagine
many of our hearts are considering your wisdom
from above. We are trying to wrestle and grasp
your unsearchable, unfathomable, unknowable ways,
and we may struggle. We may struggle with a profound
truth that things may look bent to us, but actually
you are coordinating and superintending all things
for your glory and for the good of those whom
you love. And that's hard for us. We love control.
We love to tell you the way things should be.
We love to determine our outcomes. We love to
make plans and have them come to fruition. And
part of that is because we've been made in your
image. We plan and we purpose and we strategize
and we endeavor. But we have a fallen sin nature
and so we struggle because we want to be you.
We want to tell you how things should be. Whether
we're grieving the loss of Jared this morning
or whether we're grieving the hardship of broken
relationships, the loss of other loved ones,
difficult seasons of life, or whether we find
ourselves in that good season right now, we're
confronted by your word. Whether we receive good
or whether we receive calamity, it's still from
your hand. And we're not in control. So we ask
you for help. Help us to trust you. Not in our
wisdom, but in yours. God, help us to rejoice
in the little moments of the day, in silly, simple
things, to not be so serious and downcast. Help
us not to be frivolous either, moving past the
hardships of life and pretending like they don't
exist. Help us be balanced, receiving both good
and bad, knowing that you're going to work all
your ways wonderfully outside of time and space,
beyond our understanding, for your good. Help
us to look to Christ. We're so thankful for your
word that gives us clarity that Christ is our
ultimate redemption, that he is your ultimate
wisdom displayed. Thank you. Thank you for Jesus.
We would have no hope outside of life under this
sun without him. Your son has given us hope under
this sun, and so we thank you. Help us to appreciate
the days this side of glory, but help us to long
for eternal days when there's no more night,
when Christ is not just a lamp to our feet, but
the light of all creation. So Father, we pray
this hard prayer. Bend as much as you need to
bend so that we would be conformed to Christ
and have an eternal hope. Use the brokenness
of this world. Use sin and despair to draw people
to yourself. That we would praise your name because
salvation is found in you. You are just. You
are righteous. You are perfect. And you're beyond
us in every way. So may we exult in your sovereignty
and not lament because you are good. As good
as a name may be, you are better. As good as
wisdom may be, you are better. So lift our hearts
to praise you in song this morning. Lift us up
to think of eternal things and confront any of
our hearts that may not be trusting in you to
draw us in humble dependence before you. For
you are God and we are not. We pray all of this
in the name of Christ Jesus. Amen.