WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.700 As I said we take time now to go to his word 00:00:04.700 --> 00:00:12.480 and we will be in Ecclesiastes chapter 3 16 through 00:00:12.480 --> 00:00:24.960 22 Ecclesiastes 3 16 through 22 We're picking 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:28.800 up where we left off in this Old Testament wisdom 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:33.079 book And we've probably noted several times about 00:00:33.079 --> 00:00:37.840 how Kohelet, the Hebrew name for teacher or preacher, 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:40.960 quite literally the convener for the purposes 00:00:40.960 --> 00:00:44.920 of teaching, how he is very real within this 00:00:44.920 --> 00:00:48.700 letter. He's very honest and that continues here 00:00:48.700 --> 00:00:55.159 even as he covers some difficult material. And 00:00:55.159 --> 00:00:59.020 so let us hear this now. from God's word, Ecclesiastes 00:00:59.020 --> 00:01:04.920 3, 16 through 22, and it reads in this way. Moreover, 00:01:06.140 --> 00:01:10.599 I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, 00:01:10.760 --> 00:01:15.340 even there was wickedness. And in the place of 00:01:15.340 --> 00:01:20.200 unrighteousness, even there was wickedness. I 00:01:20.200 --> 00:01:23.040 said in my heart, God will judge the righteous 00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:26.040 and the wicked, for there is a time for every 00:01:26.040 --> 00:01:29.840 matter. and for every work. I said in my heart 00:01:29.840 --> 00:01:32.280 with regard to the children of man that God is 00:01:32.280 --> 00:01:36.560 testing them, that they may see that they themselves 00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:40.120 are but beasts. For what happens to the children 00:01:40.120 --> 00:01:43.000 of man and what happens to the beast is the same. 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:48.379 As one dies, so dies the other. They all have 00:01:48.379 --> 00:01:52.060 the same breath and man has no advantage over 00:01:52.060 --> 00:01:56.379 the beast for all is vanity. All go to one place. 00:01:56.650 --> 00:02:00.109 All are from the dust, and to dust all return. 00:02:00.489 --> 00:02:03.629 Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward, 00:02:03.769 --> 00:02:06.790 and the spirit of the beast goes down into the 00:02:06.790 --> 00:02:10.969 earth? So I saw there is nothing better than 00:02:10.969 --> 00:02:14.229 that a man should rejoice in his work, for that 00:02:14.229 --> 00:02:18.830 is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will 00:02:18.830 --> 00:02:22.810 be after him? The grass withers and the flower 00:02:22.810 --> 00:02:26.000 fades, but God's word stands forever. Let us 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:32.860 pray. Father, we give you praise and thanks for 00:02:32.860 --> 00:02:36.479 your word, even when your word covers difficult 00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:40.439 ground. And so certainly we recognize our dependence 00:02:40.439 --> 00:02:43.800 upon you and our need. And so would you open 00:02:43.800 --> 00:02:46.080 up our ears, our hearts and our minds to hear 00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:49.919 from you? Would you grant us understanding? We 00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:56.050 pray these things for Christ's sake. Amen. My 00:02:56.050 --> 00:02:59.750 children, and I didn't say I was going to talk 00:02:59.750 --> 00:03:03.169 about them today, but my children are in this 00:03:03.169 --> 00:03:07.370 age and stage of life where it seems like at 00:03:07.370 --> 00:03:13.710 just about every turn, at every holiday, at every 00:03:13.710 --> 00:03:17.909 birthday, every random Tuesday, they're saying, 00:03:18.009 --> 00:03:24.500 Dad, when can we get a dog? Every time we drive 00:03:24.500 --> 00:03:26.699 to school and we see someone walking their dog 00:03:26.699 --> 00:03:29.639 in the neighborhood, every time we drive home 00:03:29.639 --> 00:03:33.560 from school in the same neighborhood, every time 00:03:33.560 --> 00:03:37.680 we see one on TV, in a book, or on a greeting 00:03:37.680 --> 00:03:42.439 card, Dad, when can we get a dog? I usually remark 00:03:42.439 --> 00:03:45.039 that I love dogs. I just love other people's 00:03:45.039 --> 00:03:49.759 dogs. There was a time, though, when I didn't 00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:53.020 love having a dog. Growing up, we had a lot of 00:03:53.020 --> 00:03:55.759 them. And there was a time when I said, I will 00:03:55.759 --> 00:04:00.400 never have my own dog. And the reason was because 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:05.400 I got tired of burying them. How many times did 00:04:05.400 --> 00:04:08.719 it happen that I was in the backyard with a shovel, 00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:12.240 crying, putting the family pet into the ground, 00:04:12.659 --> 00:04:17.279 and it just seemed too hard? And I thought surely 00:04:17.279 --> 00:04:20.319 that Alfred Lord Tennyson was wrong when he says, 00:04:20.699 --> 00:04:23.279 better to have loved and lost than never to have 00:04:23.279 --> 00:04:25.620 loved at all. I thought he didn't know what he 00:04:25.620 --> 00:04:28.319 was talking about. He didn't have man's best 00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:33.480 friend. What we're talking about today is death. 00:04:34.399 --> 00:04:38.060 And that is a heavy and a hard topic. And yet 00:04:38.060 --> 00:04:41.399 it's one that the preacher, the teacher, Solomon 00:04:41.399 --> 00:04:45.500 likely in Ecclesiastes He covers many times. 00:04:45.639 --> 00:04:47.839 You might even say that death is one of his favorite 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:50.279 topics, not because he loves to talk about it, 00:04:50.339 --> 00:04:53.120 because it is something that is so hard for him. 00:04:53.980 --> 00:04:57.660 And certainly God, in his word, he gives us this 00:04:57.660 --> 00:05:00.699 because we need to understand the reality of 00:05:00.699 --> 00:05:05.620 death. There is surely, as he says, a time for 00:05:05.620 --> 00:05:10.120 every season under heaven, including death, and 00:05:10.120 --> 00:05:14.660 Solomon confronts it head on. But what leads 00:05:14.660 --> 00:05:17.899 to it? What leads to such a heavy section here? 00:05:17.959 --> 00:05:23.079 No, it's not the death of a dog. Actually, what 00:05:23.079 --> 00:05:26.579 precipitates this is the injustice that he sees 00:05:26.579 --> 00:05:30.399 in this world. Many believe, and I think that 00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:32.879 I do too as well, that Solomon, as he writes 00:05:32.879 --> 00:05:36.980 Ecclesiastes, he is at the end of his life, that 00:05:36.980 --> 00:05:40.180 he's facing his own mortality. And he has seen 00:05:40.180 --> 00:05:43.759 injustice and corruption over and over and over 00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:49.379 again, and he is tired of it. And so, yes, what 00:05:49.379 --> 00:05:53.079 precipitates this discussion on death is injustice. 00:05:54.199 --> 00:05:59.100 And yet, as that is, and as we ponder and wonder, 00:05:59.420 --> 00:06:03.180 why, Lord, is there such injustice in this life? 00:06:03.379 --> 00:06:07.699 And why do we have to go through death? My hope 00:06:07.699 --> 00:06:11.100 is that we will be driven to see the one who 00:06:11.100 --> 00:06:16.079 is perfectly just and the one who died to satisfy 00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:20.819 divine justice. And so we'll look first at injustice 00:06:20.819 --> 00:06:26.079 primarily from verses 16 and 17. You see in verse 00:06:26.079 --> 00:06:30.879 16 that Solomon here names the problem right 00:06:30.879 --> 00:06:32.779 from the start and I actually think that what 00:06:32.779 --> 00:06:37.240 Solomon is doing in verse 16 and 17 is he's bolstering 00:06:37.240 --> 00:06:40.759 his argument for you remember earlier in chapter 00:06:40.759 --> 00:06:44.279 3 he's gone over all of these times and all of 00:06:44.279 --> 00:06:46.680 these seasons he said there's a time to be born 00:06:46.680 --> 00:06:50.759 at a time to die and yet sometimes people look 00:06:50.759 --> 00:06:54.199 around and they look at injustice and they say 00:06:54.199 --> 00:06:56.850 well I thought that there would be a time for 00:06:56.850 --> 00:06:59.730 judgment. And yet why haven't we had judgment? 00:06:59.810 --> 00:07:02.610 There's so much wickedness in the world. Why 00:07:02.610 --> 00:07:07.769 doesn't God do something about this? But what 00:07:07.769 --> 00:07:12.329 Solomon helps us to see is that it's all in his 00:07:12.329 --> 00:07:19.189 time. It is all in his perfect timing. But he 00:07:19.189 --> 00:07:22.750 also observes what we observe. And so in verse 00:07:22.750 --> 00:07:27.329 16, he says, I saw under the sun that in the 00:07:27.329 --> 00:07:33.750 place of justice, even there was wickedness." 00:07:33.750 --> 00:07:36.029 What he's doing here is he's dropping us into 00:07:36.029 --> 00:07:40.149 a legal setting, into a courtroom type of setting. 00:07:40.589 --> 00:07:43.810 Because if you can't find justice in the courtroom, 00:07:44.569 --> 00:07:47.769 where can you find it? But yet look what he says 00:07:47.769 --> 00:07:52.560 here. In the place of justice, there was wickedness. 00:07:52.779 --> 00:07:56.180 So he's observing places that should be, there 00:07:56.180 --> 00:07:59.860 should be justice and there's not, right? And 00:07:59.860 --> 00:08:03.360 so no doubt he's probably seen the innocent convicted 00:08:03.360 --> 00:08:07.339 and he's seen the guilty go scot -free. And remember, 00:08:07.339 --> 00:08:11.139 this is all coming from a king. And so if the 00:08:11.139 --> 00:08:14.779 king, even with his power, could not find perfect 00:08:14.779 --> 00:08:19.920 justice, what are we to do? If this is how a 00:08:19.920 --> 00:08:24.220 king feels how much more the person who has been 00:08:24.220 --> 00:08:30.439 through and experienced terrible injustice And 00:08:30.439 --> 00:08:35.860 yet that's not all Again from verse 16 in the 00:08:35.860 --> 00:08:40.419 place of righteousness even there was wickedness 00:08:40.419 --> 00:08:43.769 and so same kind of thing. Just like you would 00:08:43.769 --> 00:08:46.610 expect to see justice in the courtroom, now he's 00:08:46.610 --> 00:08:48.870 taking us to the place of righteousness and saying, 00:08:49.169 --> 00:08:53.649 there is none. Why is that? He's talking about 00:08:53.649 --> 00:08:57.490 religious leaders here. And for a religious leader 00:08:57.490 --> 00:08:59.629 to be about something other than righteousness 00:08:59.629 --> 00:09:02.570 is a heinous crime. If you can't find a commitment 00:09:02.570 --> 00:09:05.389 to righteousness in the house of the Lord, what 00:09:05.389 --> 00:09:13.950 hope is there? Jeff Wint. Who was a pastor is 00:09:13.950 --> 00:09:17.610 a pastor and he was up at second prez He said 00:09:17.610 --> 00:09:20.289 when he preached on this text that this is a 00:09:20.289 --> 00:09:23.289 sobering statement For any who would find themselves 00:09:23.289 --> 00:09:26.009 in positions of power in the civic or religious 00:09:26.009 --> 00:09:30.389 sphere This is a this is a flashing billboard 00:09:30.389 --> 00:09:33.730 to all of those in positions of authority to 00:09:33.730 --> 00:09:40.620 uphold righteousness and to uphold justice I 00:09:40.620 --> 00:09:42.960 think Solomon would greatly appreciate being 00:09:42.960 --> 00:09:45.980 able to read the prophets, prophets like Amos 00:09:45.980 --> 00:09:49.240 who said in chapter 524 of that book, but let 00:09:49.240 --> 00:09:52.860 justice roll down like waters and righteousness 00:09:52.860 --> 00:09:58.100 like an ever flowing stream. He would have appreciated 00:09:58.100 --> 00:10:00.740 that, but instead all he can look around and 00:10:00.740 --> 00:10:03.500 see is injustice and in righteousness. And it 00:10:03.500 --> 00:10:09.129 seems like he's crying out, it's not fair. It's 00:10:09.129 --> 00:10:13.610 not fair. The same thing that we say when we 00:10:13.610 --> 00:10:17.470 see terrible injustice out there, it's just not 00:10:17.470 --> 00:10:20.350 fair. And it's especially difficult in nations 00:10:20.350 --> 00:10:24.269 that supposedly do uphold justice, right? Even 00:10:24.269 --> 00:10:26.950 within our own country, we know the Pledge of 00:10:26.950 --> 00:10:31.649 Allegiance, liberty and justice for all, which 00:10:31.649 --> 00:10:35.490 is a wonderful statement. And yet we can't keep 00:10:35.490 --> 00:10:40.789 it perfectly in this life, can we? We just can't. 00:10:40.970 --> 00:10:43.830 Because there is really only one place to find 00:10:43.830 --> 00:10:47.690 perfect justice and perfect righteousness. And 00:10:47.690 --> 00:10:51.649 no, it's not in the courtroom. And no, it's not 00:10:51.649 --> 00:10:54.730 in the sanctuary even. It's not in a particular 00:10:54.730 --> 00:10:57.909 city. It's not in a particular country. The only 00:10:57.909 --> 00:11:02.590 place to find real and true and perfect justice 00:11:02.590 --> 00:11:06.259 and righteousness is in God alone. Philip Riken 00:11:06.259 --> 00:11:10.039 says here, our confidence does not lie in a justice 00:11:10.039 --> 00:11:14.580 system, but in the chief justice himself, Jesus 00:11:14.580 --> 00:11:19.500 Christ. And so what Solomon really does here 00:11:19.500 --> 00:11:23.200 is he helps us to look to God who is perfect 00:11:23.200 --> 00:11:29.659 in these ways. Verse 17, he says it, I said in 00:11:29.659 --> 00:11:32.460 my heart, and there he is talking to himself 00:11:32.460 --> 00:11:36.350 again. God will judge the righteous and the wicked 00:11:36.350 --> 00:11:40.269 for there is a time for every matter and For 00:11:40.269 --> 00:11:43.850 every work what he is doing as he's pointing 00:11:43.850 --> 00:11:50.590 us to God who is at work behind the scenes Consider 00:11:50.590 --> 00:11:54.350 Deuteronomy chapter 10 verse 17 for the Lord 00:11:54.350 --> 00:11:58.539 your God is God of gods and Lord of Lords, the 00:11:58.539 --> 00:12:01.740 great, the mighty, and the awesome God who is 00:12:01.740 --> 00:12:05.799 not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice 00:12:05.799 --> 00:12:11.360 for the fatherless and the widow. This is what 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:15.259 we need to remind ourselves of when we see injustice 00:12:15.259 --> 00:12:17.919 in the world. To remind ourselves that God is 00:12:17.919 --> 00:12:20.379 the God of Gods and Lord of Lords and He will 00:12:20.379 --> 00:12:24.779 execute perfect justice. But sometimes in this 00:12:24.779 --> 00:12:29.759 life, Who God is gets crowded out by all the 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:33.519 other noise of this world and Here's where I 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:37.259 want to give you some practical application Friends, 00:12:37.620 --> 00:12:39.840 I'm gonna say this because I think it's true 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:44.659 of many of us Sometimes we need to turn off the 00:12:44.659 --> 00:12:48.279 news Sometimes we need to turn off the news some 00:12:48.279 --> 00:12:53.419 of us are Utilizing this constant cycle of news 00:12:53.419 --> 00:12:55.950 that comes our way And there's nothing wrong 00:12:55.950 --> 00:12:59.169 with being informed. You should be. But if we 00:12:59.169 --> 00:13:02.970 are so consumed by the news, it can have a tendency 00:13:02.970 --> 00:13:07.450 to crowd out truth. And the truth is this, that 00:13:07.450 --> 00:13:12.009 justice, perfect justice is only found in God. 00:13:13.769 --> 00:13:17.330 There is a time for every matter, including turning 00:13:17.330 --> 00:13:22.309 off the news. Take it from a former journalist. 00:13:22.669 --> 00:13:26.370 You can get so consumed by these things and so 00:13:26.370 --> 00:13:31.250 fearful of life. Make sure to pick up the good 00:13:31.250 --> 00:13:36.009 news, friends, and to be in the scriptures, especially 00:13:36.009 --> 00:13:39.529 if you've been a victim of injustice. I wonder 00:13:39.529 --> 00:13:42.230 if you've been a victim of some form of injustice, 00:13:42.590 --> 00:13:47.070 how it feels to read verse 17 and to hear that 00:13:47.070 --> 00:13:50.450 God will indeed judge the righteous and the wicked. 00:13:50.730 --> 00:13:53.590 He will. I hope that this gives you incredible 00:13:53.590 --> 00:13:59.990 hope. Yes, it's true. Thieves and crooks do deals 00:13:59.990 --> 00:14:06.169 in the dark, but God knows all and God sees all. 00:14:06.429 --> 00:14:09.549 It's actually a huge point in this book. It's 00:14:09.549 --> 00:14:13.049 actually the final point in this book, if you 00:14:13.049 --> 00:14:20.860 will. Ecclesiastes chapter 12, verse 14. Kohelet's 00:14:20.860 --> 00:14:28.019 closing thoughts. Ecclesiastes 12 -14, for God 00:14:28.019 --> 00:14:32.960 will bring every deed into judgment with every 00:14:32.960 --> 00:14:40.159 secret thing, whether good or evil. Perhaps you 00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:43.980 remember the parable of the unjust judge, a parable 00:14:43.980 --> 00:14:47.549 that Jesus tells, that there is this woman, who 00:14:47.549 --> 00:14:50.769 is seeking justice for what we don't know. And 00:14:50.769 --> 00:14:53.429 she continues to go to the judge crying out to 00:14:53.429 --> 00:14:58.250 him for help. And eventually she wears him down. 00:14:58.529 --> 00:15:03.830 She is persistent. And so if this judge will 00:15:03.830 --> 00:15:06.529 eventually administer justice, how much more 00:15:06.529 --> 00:15:10.090 will a completely just God give justice? He will. 00:15:10.590 --> 00:15:13.769 And you won't have to be like the persistent 00:15:13.769 --> 00:15:18.240 widow with God. Because justice flows from him. 00:15:18.980 --> 00:15:24.059 If God had DNA, justice would be in it. But you 00:15:24.059 --> 00:15:26.960 might say, well, all of that sounds good. But 00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:30.879 how do I know? How do I know that God is just 00:15:30.879 --> 00:15:34.779 in this way? Well, we see it in Jesus Christ. 00:15:35.700 --> 00:15:40.159 Jesus was the victim of incredible injustice. 00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:44.279 False testimony was issued against him. A real 00:15:44.279 --> 00:15:48.139 criminal was released in his place. 1 Peter chapter 00:15:48.139 --> 00:15:52.100 2, he committed no sin. Neither was deceit found 00:15:52.100 --> 00:15:55.759 in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not 00:15:55.759 --> 00:15:59.899 revile in return. When he suffered, he did not 00:15:59.899 --> 00:16:03.399 threaten, but continued entrusting himself to 00:16:03.399 --> 00:16:10.320 him who judges justly. Jesus was sinless in every 00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:14.919 single way and yet bore the fullness of the penalty 00:16:14.919 --> 00:16:20.740 for our sin. Because God is just. And sin had 00:16:20.740 --> 00:16:23.980 to be punished. Punishment had to be handed out. 00:16:24.220 --> 00:16:28.700 But for those who are in Christ Jesus, you are 00:16:28.700 --> 00:16:35.419 safe. You are safe. Because your sin is imputed 00:16:35.419 --> 00:16:39.340 to Jesus. meaning it's given to him, it is credited 00:16:39.340 --> 00:16:42.440 to his account, and what do you get in return? 00:16:43.779 --> 00:16:48.720 You get the righteousness of Christ. Consider 00:16:48.720 --> 00:16:55.519 Acts chapter 17. You may remember this passage, 00:16:56.620 --> 00:17:00.419 Acts 17, Paul is at the Areopagus and he's making 00:17:00.419 --> 00:17:04.940 a very good and reasonable appeal for the Lord 00:17:04.940 --> 00:17:11.809 Jesus Christ. Acts 17 30 and 31 reads in this 00:17:11.809 --> 00:17:16.890 way the times of ignorance God overlooked But 00:17:16.890 --> 00:17:21.390 now he commands all people everywhere to repent 00:17:21.390 --> 00:17:25.009 Because he has fixed a day on which he will judge 00:17:25.009 --> 00:17:29.109 the world in righteousness By a man whom he has 00:17:29.109 --> 00:17:32.150 appointed and of this he has given assurance 00:17:32.150 --> 00:17:37.450 to all by raising him from the dead Friends, 00:17:37.490 --> 00:17:43.549 it is true. All will be judged. And only those 00:17:43.549 --> 00:17:46.089 with the righteousness of Christ will be able 00:17:46.089 --> 00:17:49.089 to stand. Those who do not have the righteousness 00:17:49.089 --> 00:17:51.690 of Christ will be attempting to stand based upon 00:17:51.690 --> 00:17:55.170 their own works. But apart from Christ, your 00:17:55.170 --> 00:17:57.950 good works are nothing more than filthy rags. 00:17:59.470 --> 00:18:03.240 And so you need the righteousness of Jesus. But 00:18:03.240 --> 00:18:06.200 you might say, and I think that Kohela is anticipating 00:18:06.200 --> 00:18:11.519 this, why doesn't God judge right now? If there's 00:18:11.519 --> 00:18:15.440 so much rampant wickedness and unrighteousness 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:17.500 in the world, why doesn't he just go ahead and 00:18:17.500 --> 00:18:23.940 do it? Why the delay? Look in verse 18 as we 00:18:23.940 --> 00:18:27.960 move into our second point today of death. It 00:18:27.960 --> 00:18:30.500 reads, I said in my heart with regard to the 00:18:30.500 --> 00:18:34.630 children of man, that God is testing them that 00:18:34.630 --> 00:18:38.369 they may see that they themselves are but beasts. 00:18:41.329 --> 00:18:46.509 The time of judgment is put off so that we will 00:18:46.509 --> 00:18:50.650 see how beastly we are towards one another. The 00:18:50.650 --> 00:18:53.309 teacher shows that we are responsible for our 00:18:53.309 --> 00:18:58.119 death. Yes, God establishes the times. But we 00:18:58.119 --> 00:19:01.299 in our own sin, we bring it on and we are compared 00:19:01.299 --> 00:19:04.680 to wild animals here. We are compared to wild 00:19:04.680 --> 00:19:09.039 animals who treat each other in a horrific way. 00:19:12.839 --> 00:19:15.480 To illustrate a few years ago, I was in Wyoming 00:19:15.480 --> 00:19:17.960 and I was camping and it was lovely and you should 00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:21.519 definitely go. And at one point we are driving 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:24.880 down the highway. And I saw a group of people 00:19:24.880 --> 00:19:26.960 with cameras on the side of the road. And you 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:28.759 know whenever you see a group of people with 00:19:28.759 --> 00:19:30.980 cameras, you got to get your camera out too. 00:19:32.460 --> 00:19:34.660 We got out of the car, walked to where the people 00:19:34.660 --> 00:19:39.559 were, and they were looking across a river. On 00:19:39.559 --> 00:19:42.599 the other side of a river was a bald eagle sitting 00:19:42.599 --> 00:19:45.880 on the carcass of a buffalo that apparently had 00:19:45.880 --> 00:19:50.920 been killed by a grizzly bear. That's what Solomon 00:19:50.920 --> 00:19:55.589 shows us. That's how we are sometimes. Benjamin 00:19:55.589 --> 00:19:58.410 Shaw says, the lion shows no sympathy to the 00:19:58.410 --> 00:20:01.930 zebra. The fox shows no sympathy to the hare. 00:20:02.369 --> 00:20:05.829 The cat shows no sympathy to the mouse. Thus 00:20:05.829 --> 00:20:11.769 men treat one another. And so you see this injustice 00:20:11.769 --> 00:20:15.450 argument is flowing directly to here. Kohelet 00:20:15.450 --> 00:20:19.630 observes that men are not living at peace with 00:20:19.630 --> 00:20:24.609 one another. and it greatly disturbs him. But 00:20:24.609 --> 00:20:27.069 we're also like beasts, not just in how we treat 00:20:27.069 --> 00:20:30.289 each other, but we're also like beasts and that 00:20:30.289 --> 00:20:36.269 we all die. Verses 19 and 20. For what happens 00:20:36.269 --> 00:20:38.410 to the children of man and what happens to the 00:20:38.410 --> 00:20:44.009 beast is the same. As one dies, so dies the other. 00:20:47.150 --> 00:20:50.140 We could flip it around though. And say it like 00:20:50.140 --> 00:20:53.099 this, the animals are like us because people 00:20:53.099 --> 00:20:56.079 were the ones who brought death onto creation. 00:20:56.480 --> 00:21:00.380 By Adam's disobedience, all of creation was plunged 00:21:00.380 --> 00:21:03.740 into sin and suddenly death became a reality. 00:21:04.039 --> 00:21:06.920 Without sin, there would be no death. But we 00:21:06.920 --> 00:21:10.460 know this to be true, that the wages of sin is 00:21:10.460 --> 00:21:13.960 death. And as long as the Lord tarries, we will 00:21:13.960 --> 00:21:17.339 all experience it. We will all experience, verse 00:21:17.339 --> 00:21:22.440 20, all go to one place, all are from the dust, 00:21:22.940 --> 00:21:28.119 and to dust all return." That's actually a bit 00:21:28.119 --> 00:21:30.440 of a perplexing verse if we really think about 00:21:30.440 --> 00:21:34.039 it, isn't it? What is he really doing? What is 00:21:34.039 --> 00:21:36.839 Solomon really doing? He's taking us back as 00:21:36.839 --> 00:21:40.079 he does so many times to the book of Genesis. 00:21:40.500 --> 00:21:44.680 Genesis chapter 3, 17 through 19, the consequence 00:21:44.680 --> 00:21:49.720 of the fall. And to Adam he said, because you 00:21:49.720 --> 00:21:52.359 have listened to the voice of your wife and have 00:21:52.359 --> 00:21:54.859 eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, you 00:21:54.859 --> 00:21:57.920 shall not eat of it. Cursed is the ground because 00:21:57.920 --> 00:22:01.339 of you. In pain you shall eat of it all the days 00:22:01.339 --> 00:22:04.440 of your life. Thorns and thistles it shall bring 00:22:04.440 --> 00:22:07.220 forth for you and you shall eat the plants of 00:22:07.220 --> 00:22:11.500 the field. By the sweat of your face you shall 00:22:11.500 --> 00:22:15.250 eat bread till you return to the ground. for 00:22:15.250 --> 00:22:18.670 out of it you are taken, for you are dust, and 00:22:18.670 --> 00:22:24.869 to dust you shall return." Solomon here is reminding 00:22:24.869 --> 00:22:29.289 us of the consequence of the fall, that death 00:22:29.289 --> 00:22:35.430 exists because of sin, and yet the way that he 00:22:35.430 --> 00:22:37.930 approaches this can, as I said, be perplexing. 00:22:37.990 --> 00:22:42.319 Look at verse 21. This befuddling question who 00:22:42.319 --> 00:22:45.680 knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and 00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:48.480 the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth 00:22:48.480 --> 00:22:52.559 What does he mean here in some ways? This seems 00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:54.660 like the most anti -christian thing you could 00:22:54.660 --> 00:22:57.059 say It sounds like a verse without hope and he 00:22:57.059 --> 00:23:01.420 just leaves this verse sitting there open -ended 00:23:01.420 --> 00:23:09.829 And this is why I really like Ecclesiastes Because 00:23:09.829 --> 00:23:14.529 he doesn't sugarcoat things, does he? Sometimes 00:23:14.529 --> 00:23:17.490 he just says it as it is, and he doesn't seek 00:23:17.490 --> 00:23:19.990 to make us immediately feel better. He leaves 00:23:19.990 --> 00:23:22.690 this question hanging there like an awkward moment 00:23:22.690 --> 00:23:27.230 in a dinner conversation. He can't resolve it. 00:23:28.269 --> 00:23:33.630 Not yet. And yet, if we think about it in another 00:23:33.630 --> 00:23:37.740 way, maybe it's not so open -ended. Because as 00:23:37.740 --> 00:23:41.440 he says, who knows? The implied answer is God 00:23:41.440 --> 00:23:46.660 does. God knows the answer to this. And so we 00:23:46.660 --> 00:23:48.680 must remember what this book is intending to 00:23:48.680 --> 00:23:52.940 do. This book is giving us this teacher's honest 00:23:52.940 --> 00:23:55.579 observations of life under the sun. And friends, 00:23:56.059 --> 00:23:57.880 sometimes life under the sun does not feel good. 00:23:58.859 --> 00:24:01.500 Sometimes life under the sun, it hurts. And it 00:24:01.500 --> 00:24:05.559 hurts even for this king. But friends if there's 00:24:05.559 --> 00:24:07.299 something that you are learning from this I hope 00:24:07.299 --> 00:24:11.220 it is this That you can be honest with God You 00:24:11.220 --> 00:24:14.299 can be honest with him in your prayers But I 00:24:14.299 --> 00:24:19.220 would also give a caveat here be honorably honest 00:24:19.220 --> 00:24:23.119 giving honor to God at all times even as you 00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:26.160 lift up to him the concerns of your heart the 00:24:26.160 --> 00:24:30.420 injustices that you see You can cry out as the 00:24:30.420 --> 00:24:33.539 prophet Habakkuk did, how long shall I cry for 00:24:33.539 --> 00:24:36.279 help and you will not hear, or cry to you violence 00:24:36.279 --> 00:24:38.859 and you will not save. You can cry out to God 00:24:38.859 --> 00:24:42.079 the way the psalmist does. Psalm 42, my tears 00:24:42.079 --> 00:24:45.059 have been my food day and night, while they say 00:24:45.059 --> 00:24:47.920 to me, where is your God? After all, we have 00:24:47.920 --> 00:24:51.519 an entire book called Lamentations. You can lament 00:24:51.519 --> 00:24:56.240 to God the challenges of this life under the 00:24:56.240 --> 00:25:01.029 sun. Because we're living in a fallen world we're 00:25:01.029 --> 00:25:04.809 living in a broken world and yet even as broken 00:25:04.809 --> 00:25:11.069 and fallen as it is Look at verse 22 So I saw 00:25:11.069 --> 00:25:13.210 there's nothing better than that a man should 00:25:13.210 --> 00:25:18.009 rejoice in his work for this for that is his 00:25:18.009 --> 00:25:22.349 lot Even with all of the brokenness and the pain 00:25:22.349 --> 00:25:25.049 and the heartache and the death he continues 00:25:25.049 --> 00:25:28.849 to commend joy in living He seems to say, you 00:25:28.849 --> 00:25:32.069 don't know what's coming next. And so enjoy your 00:25:32.069 --> 00:25:35.609 labor, enjoy your work, even though it's toilsome. 00:25:36.549 --> 00:25:40.589 And so you see in a fallen world, God has not 00:25:40.589 --> 00:25:44.250 removed all of joy. It's still there to be had. 00:25:44.410 --> 00:25:47.430 And so whether you are in a season of lamentation 00:25:47.430 --> 00:25:53.029 or enjoying God's gifts, enjoy, but do so with 00:25:53.029 --> 00:25:57.859 faith in Christ. And as I begin to wrap up here, 00:25:58.599 --> 00:26:02.220 I just want to end on a high note, on a message 00:26:02.220 --> 00:26:05.200 of hope. There's a way in which many people have 00:26:05.200 --> 00:26:07.660 looked at this phrase under the sun and they 00:26:07.660 --> 00:26:10.940 have made it into a message of hope here. There's 00:26:10.940 --> 00:26:13.740 a fun English connection that's happening. That 00:26:13.740 --> 00:26:16.380 yes, we're living in a fallen world under the 00:26:16.380 --> 00:26:20.940 sun, S -U -N, but in Christ we are under the 00:26:20.940 --> 00:26:25.839 S -O -N, the very Son of God. And it's only in 00:26:25.839 --> 00:26:28.920 Christ that you can make sanity out of vanity. 00:26:29.279 --> 00:26:32.859 It's only in Christ that you can make sense of 00:26:32.859 --> 00:26:37.799 this fallen world. And as for that difficult 00:26:37.799 --> 00:26:43.619 verse 21, well, Kohelet takes it up again in 00:26:43.619 --> 00:26:46.400 chapter 12 when he says, the dust returns to 00:26:46.400 --> 00:26:50.119 the earth as it was and the spirit returns to 00:26:50.119 --> 00:26:54.779 God who gave it. And so there's your answer. 00:26:55.500 --> 00:26:58.839 Verse 21 is not the end of the story. And death 00:26:58.839 --> 00:27:01.059 is not the end of the story for the Christian. 00:27:02.019 --> 00:27:04.440 We can say it like this, vanity of vanities. 00:27:04.599 --> 00:27:08.599 All is vanity, even death, because yes, even 00:27:08.599 --> 00:27:12.640 death for the Christian is fleeting. Even death 00:27:12.640 --> 00:27:15.319 for the Christian is evil, because death for 00:27:15.319 --> 00:27:20.319 the Christian does not last forever. Because 00:27:20.319 --> 00:27:25.319 what Jesus promised, is not everlasting death. 00:27:25.859 --> 00:27:29.420 What Jesus promised is not everlasting judgment. 00:27:29.799 --> 00:27:32.240 What Jesus promised for all who would believe 00:27:32.240 --> 00:27:40.279 in him is everlasting life. This is life under 00:27:40.279 --> 00:27:42.980 the S -O -N. Let us pray.