As we consider life and death this morning, we
find ourselves again in Ecclesiastes. It's a
book that has not shied away from the reality
of death. Really, it encourages us to live in
light of knowing that death is coming. And we've
arrived this morning, the end of another season,
at least in terms of sermons, finishing chapter
nine today. Lord willing, we'll get to continue
this book study sometime. after Christmas. So
it might be quite a while before Solomon provokes
your thinking. So I'm going to pray that this
morning is both a challenge and an encouragement
for you, as it has been for me. Last time, we
wrapped up with the idea of wisdom to live. Knowing
that death is coming should influence how we
enjoy and pursue the life provided to us. We
concluded with a timeless and encouraging truth.
Death is not the end for those who are in Christ.
And that's what we got to celebrate with Chris
this morning. Now, the questions that we had
last time pushed us to consider how we're living,
taking stock of our priorities, our dreams, our
aspirations, and to be specific in enjoying this
life for God's glory. Now today, the conversation
that Solomon's having with us is going to continue,
but he's going to pivot a little bit to show
us something unique. And while we ponder the
temporary nature of life and the uncertainties
that come our way, we're also going to see something
that surprised a man who seemingly would be very
difficult to surprise. I forgot my clicker, so
I'm going to ask Casey to help me out today.
He's got me. So let's go to that first slide.
I want you to take a look at the outline to see
how today's theme fits within the book. I'm going
to have to look backwards because my monitor
is not working either. I'm just calling out all
the tech. That's my fault on the clicker, though.
You see where it fits with the prescription for
living with vanity today, wisdom amidst uncertainty.
So in keeping with that theme, we're going to
see how wisdom helps us in the uncertainties
or the unexpected parts of life. Now let's stand
for the reading of God's word in Ecclesiastes
chapter 9. Beginning in verse 11, you can either
listen or follow along in your Bibles as I read.
that the race is not to the swift and the battle
is not to the mighty, and neither is bread to
the wise nor riches to the discerning nor favor
to men who know. For time and misfortune overtake
them all. Moreover, man does not know his time.
Like fish seized in an evil net and birds seized
in a trap, so the sons of men are ensnared at
an evil time when it suddenly falls on them.
Also this I came to see as wisdom under the sun,
and it was great to me. There was a small city
with few men in it, and a great king came to
it, surrounded it, and built large siege works
against it. But there was found in it a poor
wise man, and he provided a way of escape for
the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered
that poor man. So I said, wisdom is better than
strength. but the wisdom of the poor man is despised
and his words are not heard. The words of the
wise heard in restfulness are better than the
shouting of a ruler among fools. Wisdom is better
than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys
much good. Amen. You can be seated. So hopefully
you see today will not be overly complicated,
but there are some shrouded statements that will
be helpful for us to unpack. Now looking at the
outline for today, I see two sections, the unpredictability
of life and the remarkably forgotten poor wise
man. I'm really looking forward to explaining
that second one, but let's start with verses
11 through 12. Solomon is observing something
unique. We noted before that Proverbs deals with
norms. Ecclesiastes deals with exceptions. In
other words, Proverbs tells us how things typically
work. They're not promises, but they are generalities.
You could imagine, though, we often take the
norms as promises, even though that's not their
intent. Now, Ecclesiastes deals with the exceptions,
the things that break the norms, the things that
confuse us because they're against how things
normally operate. And verse 11 is a perfect example
of this nuance. Don't you think that the race
should go to the swift? Don't you think that
the battle should be to the strong and to the
mighty? So he's contradicting what we have come
to expect in this life, but he's doing so to
help us not be so surprised, even though we are
surprised when such things occur. He gives us
five negative categories that we would expect
to have different outcomes. These are the exceptions
that trouble us. Five examples of situations,
I underlined which ones, when things don't work
like we expect. The swift doesn't win the race.
The strong or the mighty doesn't win the battle.
The wise doesn't get the meal. The discerning
doesn't get the riches. The skilled or knowledgeable
one doesn't get favor. Each of those can be explained
biblically. We're going to work through them
at face value. But before we go to the exceptions
and the explanations of these, let me summarize
these two verses. Solomon's pointing out that
what you thought the outcome would be may not
be the outcome. You see the swift, you think
they're going to win, but what about when they
don't? When you think the strong is going to
win the battle, what about when he doesn't? The
wise, discerning, the knowledgeable people, aren't
they guaranteed with blessings? He says, no,
no, they're not. You can't guarantee outcomes
in this life. There will always be exceptions
that shock and surprise you. That's what he's
bringing in front of us. Now, to begin to understand
the nature first, starting with the swift, we
actually get to do a little bit of history. So
Jeff will be excited on this one. We get to dig
into Judah and Israel and a story that happened
with Solomon's dad. Remember who his dad is,
hopefully? David. Good. Okay, good. We're there.
Now, up on the screen, we have some characters
because there might be some names that you're
less familiar with. familiar with. And there
might be some that you remember, but this is
taken from second Samuel chapter two. You don't
need to go there if you don't want to, because
I'm not going to read the whole thing. I'm going
to paraphrase the story, but we have to assume,
we have to assume that Solomon grew up hearing
the tales of what happened during his dad's life,
right? You read the opening chapters of Proverbs.
He says, when I was young and I sat at the feet
of my father, the feet of my mother, and I learned,
what do you think he was listening to? All the
stories. You've heard your own parents' stories.
I'm sure Solomon heard his dad's. Now, the story
in 2 Samuel 2 takes place after Saul's demise,
and it has a description, really, that is the
exact scenario that we see in Ecclesiastes 9,
verse 11. So here, setting the stage, Saul and
Jonathan have died. David has lamented. And now
we have Abner, who is the commander of Saul's
army, coming to grips with what is to happen
in the kingdom. Now, it's not officially labeled
the divided kingdom at this point, but it is
after, because that happens after Solomon's reign.
But functionally, it's not yet the united kingdom.
Functionally, it is actually a divided kingdom.
And Abner was key to this dynamic. David, see,
he was anointed as king over Judah. Abner, though,
seems to be pursuing Saul's son, Ish -boshet,
if you like to say fun names, as the king over
Israel. That's what he was working towards. And
all this takes place over several years. Now,
we know the guy as Joab. If you were to say it
in Hebrew, it would be Yoav. But Joab is who
we always call him. He's serving David essentially
as his commander of the army. And here's where
the situation comes to bear. He brings some warriors.
To a place of meeting where Abner is coming with
his warriors to a place of meeting. They each
bring 12. Now Joab and Abner, these are the guys.
These are the warrior leaders of their day. They
commanded thousands. These guys are living legends.
I can only imagine the situation. You have these
guys that they've killed. They've destroyed on
the battlefield. They've been strategic. They're
respected. They're really skilled warriors and
leaders. They meet at this place called Gibeon.
There's a cistern there that they come to, and
it's a fascinating thing. If you try to envision
it, I didn't use AI or anything. I'm going to
try to paint it with my words the old school
way, right? That's not a knock, by the way. That's
just, anyone could do that, right? Think of the
movies, though, that you've seen. With the ancient
warriors that are wearing their armor and they
have their weapons with them. These guys, they're
not showing up in a phalanx to go and attack,
but they're walking up ready for action. They're
ready to fight. It's an okay corral. If you guys
like Westerns, although this didn't happen in
Westerns, that's why I like the old ones. You
got to think like, I don't know, Achilles or
something like that. But they show up with all
their gear. All their weapons of war, but they're
not attacking each other. Could you imagine how
odd that would be? Two opposing forces. In chess,
this would be a check. Saying, hey, I got you.
I'm here. Joab shows up to let Abner know they're
not going to give the kingdom away easily. They're
not going to give up Judah easily. And Abner
arrives with an equal resolve. Remember, Abner,
he's Saul's man. He makes a wager. He sees it.
They see it. They didn't bring their armies on
purpose. They brought 12 on purpose. They were
going to settle this much smaller. He makes a
wager, and he says, rather than go to war, why
don't we just bring these warriors and let the
young men fight it out? And whoever wins, that
can have the throne. Whoever wins. My 12 best,
your 12 best. Let's see who wins. Well, Joab
goes for it. 12 versus 12. And they say it was
a bloody, bloody fierce battle. Lasted all day
is what it says. And Abner's men are ultimately
losing. And this is hand -to -hand combat. Not
ranged combat. This is hand -to -hand, vicious
combat. Joab, the leader of David's army, he
wasn't alone in terms of his family when he came
to that meeting. He brought his brothers, and
I listed them up there so you could see the relation.
Joab. was David's nephew. He had two brothers.
One of them is named Asael. Someone you need
to pay attention to because he was quoted as
being swift -footed, like a gazelle. Keep that
in mind. Now near the end of the battle, as it
was clear that Israel and Abner's men are losing,
Abner seems to flee, to run away. He knows the
battle's lost. He's going to go away. But Asael
would not allow it. He was determined to put
an end to Abner and began chasing him. Now Abner,
he's running and he looks back and he sees who's
chasing him. He says, is that you, Asael? He
knows him. This is a famous warrior. And he tells
him, turn around, turn around, go to your left
or to your right. Take one of those young men
and the spoils, but don't come after me. Asael
wouldn't turn to the left or the right. Abner
warned him again and even told him that he didn't
want to strike him down. He said, how can I look
upon the face of your brother Joab if I strike
you down? So Abner gives him another warning.
Abner respected the warrior Joab. He respected
Asael. He didn't go to strike him first. He gave
him a warning, but Asael would not turn. So the
story goes, Abner struck him with the butt of
his spear. Text is very clear on this. The spear
has an end that's intended to pierce. That's
the front. The butt of the spear is not intended
to pierce the same way. That's the end that he
struck Asael with. And it says he ran him through
entirely. Through his back. So shocking was his
death that the text in 2 Samuel 2 says that the
soldiers came to where Asael was struck and they
stood still. They were shocked. They were stunned
in disbelief. How could this swift and fierce
soldier have fallen? That same word for swift
in Ecclesiastes 9 -11 is used of Asael in 2 Samuel
2 -18. It says that the three sons of Zariah,
we say Zariah, that's not the right way. Anyone
can correct me later. But Yoab. Abishai and Asael.
Asael was swift -footed as one of the gazelles
in the field. That's the way it describes him.
He was famous. Surely Solomon grew up hearing
tales of this soldier and the personal history
of his father David, how Abner didn't initially
yield to his kingship after the death of Saul.
Surely Solomon heard about the warriors of his
father David's day, and surely Solomon knew this
battle. Surely he knew how the soldiers stopped
in awe after their swift and fierce warrior friend
shockingly fell in battle. Because the race is
not always to the swift. Solomon learned this
as a young man, hearing lessons and stories from
his father. He would also know how things ended
for Abner if he were... Listening several weeks
or months ago, Jeff was walking us through the
nature of a front gate. Remember, we're talking
about Mordecai and being at a front gate. And
he gave the example that Abner was murdered at
the gate. But it's not a gate like we think of
it. There were rooms to the gate. And the example
he gave was Abner being killed by Joab. And why
was he being killed? Because Abner killed Asael.
So even though Abner... Won that day, survived
that day. He went on to be killed another day.
So the race wasn't to the swift in Asael's case,
nor was it to the mighty in Abner's case. What's
another one we could think of when the battle
is not guaranteed to the strong? How about 1
Samuel 17? The story of this very, very large
man named Goliath. And there's that young shepherd
boy. Who was it again? David, Solomon's dad.
That mighty giant, he struck fear into every
Israelite, and yet he was felled by a single
stone from a shepherd boy. Because that youth,
what David said that day was that the victory
wasn't going to be by sword or spear, but by
Yahweh, by God himself. And when he won, the
Philistines, they scattered when their mighty
warrior fell in a surprising feat. They were
shocked. Laughter one moment of this boy who
was going to fight this monster of a man. And
the next moment, fleeing in fear because their
greatest and mightiest warrior came down from
a stone. The race is not to the swift, nor is
the battle to the mighty. But there are other
exceptions that Solomon gives as well. So we'll
continue here, paying attention to the wise.
The discerning are those with knowledge. We've
already dealt with several of these actually
in Ecclesiastes already. In chapter 5, verses
13 through 16, Solomon talks about the reality
of bad business ventures. In one moment, everything
is going your way. The next moment, everything
is taken and you have nothing. That happens.
You didn't do anything wrong, just things ended
poorly. Think about those who were impacted by
the financial fallout of the mortgage crisis
in 2008. Some of you are old enough to remember
that. That had an impact. That affected many
people. Most of us probably are not old enough
to remember the Great Depression, but we probably
heard stories about it. We know that people were
impacted by things outside of what they were
doing. Any season of life or history could be
similar where difficulties come unexpectedly.
You can be wise, you can be discerning, but you
can't guarantee that things will end up the way
you want them to. Still, we shouldn't give up
on wisdom. We just don't depend on it. You don't
depend on wisdom like you ought to depend on
the Lord. Remember Job? He had everything and
then he had nothing. And then he had everything
again. And Job says, blessed be the Lord who
gives and takes away. That should be our heart
posture as well. No amount of skill or knowledge
can make things go your way. You remember Joseph
in Genesis 40? He's interpreting dreams, has
an amazing skill. Even in prison, he interprets
for the cupbearer who was supposed to tell of
him to Pharaoh. But how long did he forget? Two
years. Two years Joseph persisted in prison because
the cupbearer forgot until he remembered. So
much for that skill. Life is unpredictable. There's
no simple formula to get an outcome, no matter
how swift or strong or wise or discerning or
knowledgeable. What Solomon's teaching is that
misfortune or bad outcomes, they come upon us
all and no one is immune from that reality. No
one gets their way 100 % of the time. I remember
a tragic incident in 2015. I was working with
Children's Hunger Fund with a pastor in Nepal.
There was an earthquake there that year. I don't
know how many of you remember. It was massive.
Thousands of lives were claimed. I was working
with this pastor and he shared a story. of over
100 testimonies of children who were at home
when the earthquake struck. And whether by landslide
or by the home falling down, parents and family,
they perished in a moment. In a moment, these
children became orphans. They didn't see it coming.
They didn't know what was about to happen. No
one can predict what's going to happen next.
And when the outcome is not what we expected,
that's when we're shocked the most. And tragedy
strikes when we least expect it, right? We think
that things are going to go a certain way. We're
comfortable with the norms. But when the exceptions
happen, when the unexpected befalls us, then
that's when we're shook to the core. But we need
to learn something. You know, chance is not what
you think it is. Or at least I should say, chance
is not what the world tells us it is. To the
world, they understand chance as an idea of randomness,
that anything can happen or befall anyone for
any reason at any time. Now, that's a source
of all kinds of irrational fear. You know, all
the phobias that the world likes to diagnose,
fear of flying, fear of driving, fear of germs.
Fear of spiders, sorry, any of you. But really,
all of them can be termed fear of getting a bad
outcome. That's what it should be called. Fear
of not getting your way. Such fear is not really
rooted in knowing God. Yes, bad things can happen.
Actually, they will happen. Bad things will happen.
And yes, there are certain activities that may
be more risky than others. If you're jumping
and skydiving out of an airplane, there's a bigger
risk than walking with two feet on the ground
in terms of falling out of an airplane, right?
That should make sense. But you need to know
this. And if you don't know it, by God's grace,
you'll learn it today. And if you know it, remind
yourself of this constantly when you're prone
to forget it. There is no such thing as chance
in terms of things being random. No such thing.
Now at times, you might foolishly think that
there is a randomness nature to chance, but if
it were true for even one millisecond, then God
would not be God. If he is truly all -powerful,
if he is all -knowing, all -seeing, all -purposing,
all the things that he says he is, then chance
is not a thing. Not like we have come to understand
it. Because nothing bad can happen to us that
is not overseen or even intended by God. Now
that might be uncomfortable to think about. But
there is no randomness with a sovereign creator
and God. Everything has purpose. Everything has
meaning, but it's all according to him and his
ways. And yes, he even uses hardship and pain
in a fallen world to bring about his good purposes.
And in case you're going to say, yeah, but look
at the wisdom from Proverbs 21. There is no wisdom,
no discernment, and no counsel against Yahweh.
What does that mean? He knows what he's doing
and you and I are not able to question him. Even
when that fish gets unexpectedly caught in the
evil net, even when the bird is snared, sometimes
it's because we pursue evil and then bad things
happen. And sometimes evil befalls us because
we live in a broken, fallen world. We may not
have an answer for that, but God does. And we're
not the ones to question him. Friends, people
have heart attacks. People in shape die. The
seemingly perfect couple gets a divorce when
one spouse is unfaithful. The friendship ends
due to a silly misunderstanding or difference
of opinion. The sports star flops in their big
break due to an injury. The ministry never seems
to grow or expand no matter how much is poured
in. An untimely diagnosis ruins short -term plans,
brings doubt to future plans. A successful young
person with a seemingly bright future dies in
a tragic accident. Solomon is teaching us that
there are no guarantees in life. You cannot be
certain about outcomes. And time will prove that
to everyone. So brace yourself for the unexpected.
Brace yourself for the uncertainties. Brace,
but don't fear. You can't control it. So don't
expect perfect outcomes. But for the one who
knows, that he's in the hand of God, be encouraged.
Because nothing can happen to you outside of
God's sovereign and good control. You may not
like your circumstances. You may even question
his goodness. You shouldn't, and truly you can't.
You can't. But in pain you might. When things
are hard and when they hurt, you might. But if
you're his, you're gonna come back to the same
truth that God is doing as he pleases and he
is working for his glory and for your good. Solomon
transitions from that thought to an interesting
one that may seem to be disconnected, but it's
not. We'll see this in verse 13. He's seen much,
but something, strikes him as very interesting.
Solomon doesn't seem to be a surprisable guy.
He's paying attention to everything. So if he
tells you, hey, here's something interesting,
we should listen. In your Bibles, in verse 13,
probably many of your versions say he sees something
great. But in Hebrew, it means something very
different than we think it means. It's not awesome
or magnificent. Really, he's saying it's significant,
it's noteworthy, it's really surprising. He's
drawing our attention to something surprising,
and he's going to note the circumstances still
contain wisdom. So what is that surprisingly
significant thing? To help us understand, he
tells us a story. He said, look, there's a small
town that's getting sieged by a big, bad king,
and seemingly they're doomed. Now think Lord
of the Rings. If you've seen those movies, the
siege towers that are approaching a small city,
they were not going to stand a chance against
that great army and all the weapons of war. But
then in that little city comes along a poor yet
wise man. And his wisdom allows that city to
be saved. Now we're not told exactly how, but
we're told that it was directly a result. of
the poor wise man. He delivered the city. Now
the surprise, or the thing that Solomon thought
was significant, was not that the city was saved
by this poor wise man, but that the city forgot
him. That's what he was surprised by. That's
what he says is the great thing, is that this
man does this wonderful thing, and yet he's forgotten.
Shouldn't the hero be celebrated? I mean, maybe
he was for a moment, but it seems that after
a very short while, after saving the city, the
people went on with their days, forgetting what
he did. Now, this isn't a side conversation to
his earlier point. You know, in the earlier two
verses, the previous ones, he points to the things
that unexpectedly, you know, they don't go our
way. And in this tale, he shows that when our
outcomes are threatened, it seems like we're
not going to get our way, but then, then, we're
delivered from hardship. We are yet an ungrateful
people. Solomon, he's stumped. Just like those
warriors who stopped in their tracks when Asael
the Swift was slain. They stopped. They were
stumped. Solomon stops to consider this surprising
event. When wisdom rescued the people, yet they
took it for granted. People taking things for
granted or being ungrateful, that's all too common.
Solomon, he thinks this is great. This is noteworthy.
This is something to make us pause and consider.
Not because he thought it was uncommon. He's
not dim. He's very sharp. He's very wise. But
he is calling our attention to this. Because
it should surprise us more than it does. When
it comes to that small city being saved from
the big bad king, the people should be grateful.
They shouldn't forget who saved them. Yet that
poor man who rescued the city, he just slips
into obscurity. The hero, he stands up for the
people, but then the crisis passes and they have
no use for him anymore. So in gratitude abounds,
they just forget him. How befuddling that is.
But pay attention to this. Because Solomon is
seen so much, but he's saying, look, take note
of this. Take note that this example of heroism
is met with ingratitude. Pay attention. The way
that it reads in Hebrew, Solomon makes a point
that this man was poor. He makes it a point that
this man wasn't rich, that he wasn't anything
special. And his status as a poor man is of primary
concern for Solomon. He was a poor man with wisdom.
He wasn't rich. He wasn't noble. He wasn't handsome.
He wasn't anything special. Sure, he had wisdom,
but he was a poor man with wisdom. Think about
today. Who do we like to listen to? You like
to listen to the poor man? I think we like to
listen to those with status. We remember the
lofty ones. We don't often listen to and remember
those who are lowly. We quote the famous, right?
And then we forget the humble. Now, I find it
interesting, and Solomon does as well, because
it's often those who have humble means who are
granted wisdom about what truly matters. Those
who go through hardship are typically more likely
to appreciate the simple things in this life.
People who have to live practically day in and
day out to just survive without any form of greatness,
they're often quite skilled in many ways. But
that's not who the crowds are drawn to, are they?
No, we love the loud, the raucous, the sarcastic,
the biting, the intellectually proud, the emotionally
connected voices of our day, do we not? People
who shout their points to get clicks and views.
Those who appeal to emotions with their emotions.
They garner support no matter how foolish or
wicked their cause is. Supposed Christian celebrities
do the same. Shameless self -promotion disguised
as noble service. Somehow they're an expert to
your exact problem even though they've never
met you. Their generalized words are somehow
more poignant than the seasoned, loving, intentional
words of your fellow Christian member, discipler,
or elder. It's easy to ignore the poor, wise
person in your church. After all, they don't
have a platform. They don't have letters after
their name or accolades or royal. Their book
deals are few. Now, we see it in other realms
too. What about politics? Pundits, they yell,
they mock. Politicians, they scream and they
demean. And people clack away on their keyboards
on social media for catharsis and pseudo -affirmation.
Loudness. We see it when people are drawn to
celebrities. and to writers for advice and for
counsel. And let me be intense for a moment.
Some of you know me as that. I'm gonna cut to
the quick and be really practical here. Don't
ever listen to a pop star like Taylor Swift to
learn how to walk and how to live. Not for this
side of glory, but before you think that I'm
judging any specific person, hear this. Don't
think that C .S. Lewis or any other Christian
guru is a better guide than God's word. You can
appreciate good words. You can appreciate good
warnings, wherever they come from, whenever they
come. But Solomon is pointing something out.
He says, we forget the wise ones from within
our own camp because we don't esteem them. You
ever wonder why children rebel against the wisdom
of their parents? That's what's going on here.
Now, not every bit of advice from parents is
perfect. None of us are perfect. I'm not trying
to throw us under the bus, but we're not perfect.
We know that. But isn't this a general understanding
that children reject the wisdom of their parents
and repeat the same kind of mistakes, even though
they hear about it all the time? Why? Parents
are ordinary. They see you all the time, take
you for granted. But that professor, they were
brilliant. That Christian author, mind -blowing,
right? That internet personality said it exactly
the way I wanted to hear it. Speaking precisely
about that dynamic nearly a thousand years later,
Paul writes about the tendency of the human heart
to turn away from truth and from wisdom. 2 Timothy
chapter four, verses three to four, for the time
will come. Well, they will not endure sound doctrine,
but wanting to have their ears tickled, they
will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance
to their own desires and will turn away their
ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
People are prone to acknowledge those that we
deem worthy of our attention. We remember certain
people, but our scale of importance is off, Solomon
says. And Paul repeats that. We want to hear
what we want to hear. We are an entitled people.
Even when we're rescued, how quickly we forget.
So the response is these last few verses in Ecclesiastes
9. Solomon says, even still, wisdom is better
than strength. David did overcome Goliath. That
poor man overcame that great king. It's still
noteworthy that that poor man's wisdom is despised,
that no one truly listened to him or cared to
listen to him. Even still, Solomon says, don't
give up on wisdom just because others don't want
to listen. He says, don't give up on pursuing
something good just because others may not appreciate
it. You know, being noisy may be popular for
a moment. That's what verse 17 alludes to. But
the best words are spoken not to that clamoring
crowd. The best words are softly spoken in times
of peace. The wise man knows that even when fools
reject wisdom, the solution isn't to just be
louder. The solution is to be more clear, more
intent on speaking truth and crafting an even
better point to help their opponent go a good
way. See, wisdom focuses on winning hearts, not
just winning the argument. The story that...
Solomon shares, it highlights what verse 18 says,
that wisdom is better than weapons of war. Those
are symbols of power and strength. And wisdom
applied can be more beneficial than the practical
means of warfare. And that's something that every
world leader needs to learn. That's not a partisan
issue in America. It's a human heart condition
where we are bent towards folly. Because when
we don't go a good and wise way, that last part
of verse 18, it gives us this final caution.
A lot of good can be undone by just one sinner.
Solomon's going to have a lot more to say about
that in the next chapter. And with that, we've
come to the end of another chapter in Ecclesiastes.
I want to summarize what we've seen this morning.
Again, you can see the outline that we had for
today. Life is unpredictable. What may seem to
be a sure thing may not be, and that's life.
We should expect the unexpected, but we shouldn't
fear the unexpected. And when we look at our
lives, there are so many uncertainties. Will
you pass this class? What will you do for a living?
Will you get married? Will you have kids? Will
your kids have kids? Will your kids know Jesus?
Will you accomplish your bucket list before you
die? How much of it will you get to? Will you
outlive your loved ones? How long will you live?
How will you die? Will you live in California
for a long time? Will your spouse remain faithful?
What will your next hardship be? When will Jesus
come again? Friends, we live amidst so much uncertainty.
But there's one certainty you can count on. Death.
You thought I was going to say Jesus. Not yet.
You've got to wait. No, the certainty that's
been on the forefront since chapter 7 has been
death. That's what's coming. I don't say that
to be sad. I say that to remind you of that last
sermon, the beginning of chapter nine, because
you need to remember that death is coming so
that you live rightly today. There are so many
uncertainties. So what can you cling to with
the one certainty? Do you just, do you cling
to death? No, no, you don't cling to death. You
can know that death is a certainty. But you don't
need to cling to it. So what do you cling to?
Now it's the Sunday school answer. Jesus. And
so to understand that well, as we wrap up here,
we need to consider that poor wise man again.
You remember how he saved the city? How he rescued
it, and yet the people easily forgot him? The
blessing of their rescue didn't result in greater
righteousness or faithfulness. It resulted in
selfishness. So as you think about that poor
wise man who saved the city yet was forgotten,
have you made the gospel connection? Do you think
of Christ's lowly estate? For you know the grace
of our Lord, that though being rich, yet for
your sake he became poor, so that you through
his poverty might become rich. The example in
Philippians 2, have this way of thinking in yourselves,
which was also in Christ, who, although existing
in the form of God, did not regard equality with
God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself
by taking the form of a slave, by being made
in the likeness of men, being found in appearance
as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death, even death on a cross.
The poor man, the humble man. The servant man.
The God man. Are we like that forgetful city?
Are we believers today like that small city who
gets rescued and then forgets their savior? Are
we living indebted to the one who gave his life
for us? Or are we living with entitlement? Is
Jesus less remarkable to us? than the sages of
our day. The rhymers, the authors, the pundits,
the personalities and celebrities who take all
of our attention and yet give us none of theirs.
You know, if you read Isaiah 53, two through
three, you see a picture of the Savior that sounds
a lot like this poor wise man. I know they're
not the same, but there's similarities here.
Many of you know this passage well. He grew up
before him like a tender shoot, like a root out
of parched ground. He has no stately form or
majesty that we should look upon him, no appearance
that we should desire him. He was despised and
forsaken of man, a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief. And like one from whom men hide their
face, he was despised and we did not esteem him.
Nothing much to look at. no majesty, despised
and forsaken. Yet it's that man, the Messiah,
Jesus Christ, who is worthy above all, above
everyone. At his command, the wind and the waves
are stilled. He's the one who has the birthright
to open that final scroll and bring everything
into submission under his feet. And yet he's
the one who's rejected by men, forsaken by his
followers. And let that sink in for a moment.
Solomon thought that it was astounding that people
would so quickly forget the Savior of their city.
How quickly do we forget the Savior of our eternal
lives? And when the uncertainties of life come
our way, who do we turn to? When the unexpected
things crush our expectations, do we blame God?
Or do we worship at his feet? When you think
of the calamity that can befall the swift, the
strong, the wise, the discerning, don't forsake
excellence. Don't say, well, if that's going
to happen, I might as well not do anything good.
Last time we ended with verse 10 in chapter 9,
and it was a call to work heartily and excellently
for God's glory and for our good. So even if
being swift and strong and wise and discerning
doesn't land the outcome that you want, fix your
eyes on what ultimately matters. Jeremiah gave
us wisdom. This is the last bit. I know we jumped
around a lot of passages, but I'm trying to put
them on the screen to help you out. I wanted
to end practically. Jeremiah gave us this wisdom
several hundred years after Solomon, and he points
to where our trust should be. He says, Let not
a wise man boast in his wisdom, and let not the
mighty man boast in his might. Let not a rich
man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts
boast in this, that he understands and knows
me, that I am Yahweh who shows loving kindness,
justice, and righteousness on earth, for I delight
in these things. declares Yahweh. And the fullness,
friends, the fullness of his loving kindness
has been manifest in Christ. So we need to look
to him. We need to look to Christ. We need to
long for him. Not boasting in our outcomes, not
even boasting in our outputs of being strong
or swift or wise or discerning. We shouldn't
put our hopes either in our desires, but strive
to understand who God is and what he has done.
And we need to ask him for help to know him more.
Ask him for help to boast in knowing him, to
know the man who was crucified and risen, the
God -man, that poor, wise man, Emmanuel, God
with us. So my prayer this morning is that you
consider the wisdom of living amidst uncertainty,
that you will not forget the Savior of souls
or the wisdom he provides to help us truly live
this side of glory. Let's pray. God, we ask you
for help this morning as we think about the uncertainties
in our lives, as we think about the unexpected
things that can befall us, we do ask, help us
to brace, but also help us not to fear. God,
we need help to trust your ways. We need help
to not question your goodness, even when calamity
befalls us. God, we need your help to not find
our hope in the outcomes of our lives, but that
our hope would be in Christ, risen, alive. God,
help us to remember the wise ones among us. Help
us not to forget, though, the wisest one, Jesus.
He is our ultimate Savior. We want to know him,
to follow him. So give us hearts that are rendered
appropriately to not forget. We ask you to help
us not boast in ourselves and strength or speed
or intelligence, wisdom, knowledge. Help us to
boast in you. Help us to boast in the work of
Christ. That's what matters. So help us to praise
Christ's name. Help us to exalt his name because
he has displayed perfectly your loving kindness
to us. So now as we turn our hearts to sing,
may we lift our voices to declare truth to one
another, to respond in wisdom displayed through
your word. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.