As I said we take time now to go to his word
and we will be in Ecclesiastes chapter 3 16 through
22 Ecclesiastes 3 16 through 22 We're picking
up where we left off in this Old Testament wisdom
book And we've probably noted several times about
how Kohelet, the Hebrew name for teacher or preacher,
quite literally the convener for the purposes
of teaching, how he is very real within this
letter. He's very honest and that continues here
even as he covers some difficult material. And
so let us hear this now. from God's word, Ecclesiastes
3, 16 through 22, and it reads in this way. Moreover,
I saw under the sun that in the place of justice,
even there was wickedness. And in the place of
unrighteousness, even there was wickedness. I
said in my heart, God will judge the righteous
and the wicked, for there is a time for every
matter. and for every work. I said in my heart
with regard to the children of man that God is
testing them, that they may see that they themselves
are but beasts. For what happens to the children
of man and what happens to the beast is the same.
As one dies, so dies the other. They all have
the same breath and man has no advantage over
the beast for all is vanity. All go to one place.
All are from the dust, and to dust all return.
Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward,
and the spirit of the beast goes down into the
earth? So I saw there is nothing better than
that a man should rejoice in his work, for that
is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will
be after him? The grass withers and the flower
fades, but God's word stands forever. Let us
pray. Father, we give you praise and thanks for
your word, even when your word covers difficult
ground. And so certainly we recognize our dependence
upon you and our need. And so would you open
up our ears, our hearts and our minds to hear
from you? Would you grant us understanding? We
pray these things for Christ's sake. Amen. My
children, and I didn't say I was going to talk
about them today, but my children are in this
age and stage of life where it seems like at
just about every turn, at every holiday, at every
birthday, every random Tuesday, they're saying,
Dad, when can we get a dog? Every time we drive
to school and we see someone walking their dog
in the neighborhood, every time we drive home
from school in the same neighborhood, every time
we see one on TV, in a book, or on a greeting
card, Dad, when can we get a dog? I usually remark
that I love dogs. I just love other people's
dogs. There was a time, though, when I didn't
love having a dog. Growing up, we had a lot of
them. And there was a time when I said, I will
never have my own dog. And the reason was because
I got tired of burying them. How many times did
it happen that I was in the backyard with a shovel,
crying, putting the family pet into the ground,
and it just seemed too hard? And I thought surely
that Alfred Lord Tennyson was wrong when he says,
better to have loved and lost than never to have
loved at all. I thought he didn't know what he
was talking about. He didn't have man's best
friend. What we're talking about today is death.
And that is a heavy and a hard topic. And yet
it's one that the preacher, the teacher, Solomon
likely in Ecclesiastes He covers many times.
You might even say that death is one of his favorite
topics, not because he loves to talk about it,
because it is something that is so hard for him.
And certainly God, in his word, he gives us this
because we need to understand the reality of
death. There is surely, as he says, a time for
every season under heaven, including death, and
Solomon confronts it head on. But what leads
to it? What leads to such a heavy section here?
No, it's not the death of a dog. Actually, what
precipitates this is the injustice that he sees
in this world. Many believe, and I think that
I do too as well, that Solomon, as he writes
Ecclesiastes, he is at the end of his life, that
he's facing his own mortality. And he has seen
injustice and corruption over and over and over
again, and he is tired of it. And so, yes, what
precipitates this discussion on death is injustice.
And yet, as that is, and as we ponder and wonder,
why, Lord, is there such injustice in this life?
And why do we have to go through death? My hope
is that we will be driven to see the one who
is perfectly just and the one who died to satisfy
divine justice. And so we'll look first at injustice
primarily from verses 16 and 17. You see in verse
16 that Solomon here names the problem right
from the start and I actually think that what
Solomon is doing in verse 16 and 17 is he's bolstering
his argument for you remember earlier in chapter
3 he's gone over all of these times and all of
these seasons he said there's a time to be born
at a time to die and yet sometimes people look
around and they look at injustice and they say
well I thought that there would be a time for
judgment. And yet why haven't we had judgment?
There's so much wickedness in the world. Why
doesn't God do something about this? But what
Solomon helps us to see is that it's all in his
time. It is all in his perfect timing. But he
also observes what we observe. And so in verse
16, he says, I saw under the sun that in the
place of justice, even there was wickedness."
What he's doing here is he's dropping us into
a legal setting, into a courtroom type of setting.
Because if you can't find justice in the courtroom,
where can you find it? But yet look what he says
here. In the place of justice, there was wickedness.
So he's observing places that should be, there
should be justice and there's not, right? And
so no doubt he's probably seen the innocent convicted
and he's seen the guilty go scot -free. And remember,
this is all coming from a king. And so if the
king, even with his power, could not find perfect
justice, what are we to do? If this is how a
king feels how much more the person who has been
through and experienced terrible injustice And
yet that's not all Again from verse 16 in the
place of righteousness even there was wickedness
and so same kind of thing. Just like you would
expect to see justice in the courtroom, now he's
taking us to the place of righteousness and saying,
there is none. Why is that? He's talking about
religious leaders here. And for a religious leader
to be about something other than righteousness
is a heinous crime. If you can't find a commitment
to righteousness in the house of the Lord, what
hope is there? Jeff Wint. Who was a pastor is
a pastor and he was up at second prez He said
when he preached on this text that this is a
sobering statement For any who would find themselves
in positions of power in the civic or religious
sphere This is a this is a flashing billboard
to all of those in positions of authority to
uphold righteousness and to uphold justice I
think Solomon would greatly appreciate being
able to read the prophets, prophets like Amos
who said in chapter 524 of that book, but let
justice roll down like waters and righteousness
like an ever flowing stream. He would have appreciated
that, but instead all he can look around and
see is injustice and in righteousness. And it
seems like he's crying out, it's not fair. It's
not fair. The same thing that we say when we
see terrible injustice out there, it's just not
fair. And it's especially difficult in nations
that supposedly do uphold justice, right? Even
within our own country, we know the Pledge of
Allegiance, liberty and justice for all, which
is a wonderful statement. And yet we can't keep
it perfectly in this life, can we? We just can't.
Because there is really only one place to find
perfect justice and perfect righteousness. And
no, it's not in the courtroom. And no, it's not
in the sanctuary even. It's not in a particular
city. It's not in a particular country. The only
place to find real and true and perfect justice
and righteousness is in God alone. Philip Riken
says here, our confidence does not lie in a justice
system, but in the chief justice himself, Jesus
Christ. And so what Solomon really does here
is he helps us to look to God who is perfect
in these ways. Verse 17, he says it, I said in
my heart, and there he is talking to himself
again. God will judge the righteous and the wicked
for there is a time for every matter and For
every work what he is doing as he's pointing
us to God who is at work behind the scenes Consider
Deuteronomy chapter 10 verse 17 for the Lord
your God is God of gods and Lord of Lords, the
great, the mighty, and the awesome God who is
not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice
for the fatherless and the widow. This is what
we need to remind ourselves of when we see injustice
in the world. To remind ourselves that God is
the God of Gods and Lord of Lords and He will
execute perfect justice. But sometimes in this
life, Who God is gets crowded out by all the
other noise of this world and Here's where I
want to give you some practical application Friends,
I'm gonna say this because I think it's true
of many of us Sometimes we need to turn off the
news Sometimes we need to turn off the news some
of us are Utilizing this constant cycle of news
that comes our way And there's nothing wrong
with being informed. You should be. But if we
are so consumed by the news, it can have a tendency
to crowd out truth. And the truth is this, that
justice, perfect justice is only found in God.
There is a time for every matter, including turning
off the news. Take it from a former journalist.
You can get so consumed by these things and so
fearful of life. Make sure to pick up the good
news, friends, and to be in the scriptures, especially
if you've been a victim of injustice. I wonder
if you've been a victim of some form of injustice,
how it feels to read verse 17 and to hear that
God will indeed judge the righteous and the wicked.
He will. I hope that this gives you incredible
hope. Yes, it's true. Thieves and crooks do deals
in the dark, but God knows all and God sees all.
It's actually a huge point in this book. It's
actually the final point in this book, if you
will. Ecclesiastes chapter 12, verse 14. Kohelet's
closing thoughts. Ecclesiastes 12 -14, for God
will bring every deed into judgment with every
secret thing, whether good or evil. Perhaps you
remember the parable of the unjust judge, a parable
that Jesus tells, that there is this woman, who
is seeking justice for what we don't know. And
she continues to go to the judge crying out to
him for help. And eventually she wears him down.
She is persistent. And so if this judge will
eventually administer justice, how much more
will a completely just God give justice? He will.
And you won't have to be like the persistent
widow with God. Because justice flows from him.
If God had DNA, justice would be in it. But you
might say, well, all of that sounds good. But
how do I know? How do I know that God is just
in this way? Well, we see it in Jesus Christ.
Jesus was the victim of incredible injustice.
False testimony was issued against him. A real
criminal was released in his place. 1 Peter chapter
2, he committed no sin. Neither was deceit found
in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not
revile in return. When he suffered, he did not
threaten, but continued entrusting himself to
him who judges justly. Jesus was sinless in every
single way and yet bore the fullness of the penalty
for our sin. Because God is just. And sin had
to be punished. Punishment had to be handed out.
But for those who are in Christ Jesus, you are
safe. You are safe. Because your sin is imputed
to Jesus. meaning it's given to him, it is credited
to his account, and what do you get in return?
You get the righteousness of Christ. Consider
Acts chapter 17. You may remember this passage,
Acts 17, Paul is at the Areopagus and he's making
a very good and reasonable appeal for the Lord
Jesus Christ. Acts 17 30 and 31 reads in this
way the times of ignorance God overlooked But
now he commands all people everywhere to repent
Because he has fixed a day on which he will judge
the world in righteousness By a man whom he has
appointed and of this he has given assurance
to all by raising him from the dead Friends,
it is true. All will be judged. And only those
with the righteousness of Christ will be able
to stand. Those who do not have the righteousness
of Christ will be attempting to stand based upon
their own works. But apart from Christ, your
good works are nothing more than filthy rags.
And so you need the righteousness of Jesus. But
you might say, and I think that Kohela is anticipating
this, why doesn't God judge right now? If there's
so much rampant wickedness and unrighteousness
in the world, why doesn't he just go ahead and
do it? Why the delay? Look in verse 18 as we
move into our second point today of death. It
reads, I said in my heart with regard to the
children of man, that God is testing them that
they may see that they themselves are but beasts.
The time of judgment is put off so that we will
see how beastly we are towards one another. The
teacher shows that we are responsible for our
death. Yes, God establishes the times. But we
in our own sin, we bring it on and we are compared
to wild animals here. We are compared to wild
animals who treat each other in a horrific way.
To illustrate a few years ago, I was in Wyoming
and I was camping and it was lovely and you should
definitely go. And at one point we are driving
down the highway. And I saw a group of people
with cameras on the side of the road. And you
know whenever you see a group of people with
cameras, you got to get your camera out too.
We got out of the car, walked to where the people
were, and they were looking across a river. On
the other side of a river was a bald eagle sitting
on the carcass of a buffalo that apparently had
been killed by a grizzly bear. That's what Solomon
shows us. That's how we are sometimes. Benjamin
Shaw says, the lion shows no sympathy to the
zebra. The fox shows no sympathy to the hare.
The cat shows no sympathy to the mouse. Thus
men treat one another. And so you see this injustice
argument is flowing directly to here. Kohelet
observes that men are not living at peace with
one another. and it greatly disturbs him. But
we're also like beasts, not just in how we treat
each other, but we're also like beasts and that
we all die. Verses 19 and 20. For what happens
to the children of man and what happens to the
beast is the same. As one dies, so dies the other.
We could flip it around though. And say it like
this, the animals are like us because people
were the ones who brought death onto creation.
By Adam's disobedience, all of creation was plunged
into sin and suddenly death became a reality.
Without sin, there would be no death. But we
know this to be true, that the wages of sin is
death. And as long as the Lord tarries, we will
all experience it. We will all experience, verse
20, all go to one place, all are from the dust,
and to dust all return." That's actually a bit
of a perplexing verse if we really think about
it, isn't it? What is he really doing? What is
Solomon really doing? He's taking us back as
he does so many times to the book of Genesis.
Genesis chapter 3, 17 through 19, the consequence
of the fall. And to Adam he said, because you
have listened to the voice of your wife and have
eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, you
shall not eat of it. Cursed is the ground because
of you. In pain you shall eat of it all the days
of your life. Thorns and thistles it shall bring
forth for you and you shall eat the plants of
the field. By the sweat of your face you shall
eat bread till you return to the ground. for
out of it you are taken, for you are dust, and
to dust you shall return." Solomon here is reminding
us of the consequence of the fall, that death
exists because of sin, and yet the way that he
approaches this can, as I said, be perplexing.
Look at verse 21. This befuddling question who
knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and
the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth
What does he mean here in some ways? This seems
like the most anti -christian thing you could
say It sounds like a verse without hope and he
just leaves this verse sitting there open -ended
And this is why I really like Ecclesiastes Because
he doesn't sugarcoat things, does he? Sometimes
he just says it as it is, and he doesn't seek
to make us immediately feel better. He leaves
this question hanging there like an awkward moment
in a dinner conversation. He can't resolve it.
Not yet. And yet, if we think about it in another
way, maybe it's not so open -ended. Because as
he says, who knows? The implied answer is God
does. God knows the answer to this. And so we
must remember what this book is intending to
do. This book is giving us this teacher's honest
observations of life under the sun. And friends,
sometimes life under the sun does not feel good.
Sometimes life under the sun, it hurts. And it
hurts even for this king. But friends if there's
something that you are learning from this I hope
it is this That you can be honest with God You
can be honest with him in your prayers But I
would also give a caveat here be honorably honest
giving honor to God at all times even as you
lift up to him the concerns of your heart the
injustices that you see You can cry out as the
prophet Habakkuk did, how long shall I cry for
help and you will not hear, or cry to you violence
and you will not save. You can cry out to God
the way the psalmist does. Psalm 42, my tears
have been my food day and night, while they say
to me, where is your God? After all, we have
an entire book called Lamentations. You can lament
to God the challenges of this life under the
sun. Because we're living in a fallen world we're
living in a broken world and yet even as broken
and fallen as it is Look at verse 22 So I saw
there's nothing better than that a man should
rejoice in his work for this for that is his
lot Even with all of the brokenness and the pain
and the heartache and the death he continues
to commend joy in living He seems to say, you
don't know what's coming next. And so enjoy your
labor, enjoy your work, even though it's toilsome.
And so you see in a fallen world, God has not
removed all of joy. It's still there to be had.
And so whether you are in a season of lamentation
or enjoying God's gifts, enjoy, but do so with
faith in Christ. And as I begin to wrap up here,
I just want to end on a high note, on a message
of hope. There's a way in which many people have
looked at this phrase under the sun and they
have made it into a message of hope here. There's
a fun English connection that's happening. That
yes, we're living in a fallen world under the
sun, S -U -N, but in Christ we are under the
S -O -N, the very Son of God. And it's only in
Christ that you can make sanity out of vanity.
It's only in Christ that you can make sense of
this fallen world. And as for that difficult
verse 21, well, Kohelet takes it up again in
chapter 12 when he says, the dust returns to
the earth as it was and the spirit returns to
God who gave it. And so there's your answer.
Verse 21 is not the end of the story. And death
is not the end of the story for the Christian.
We can say it like this, vanity of vanities.
All is vanity, even death, because yes, even
death for the Christian is fleeting. Even death
for the Christian is evil, because death for
the Christian does not last forever. Because
what Jesus promised, is not everlasting death.
What Jesus promised is not everlasting judgment.
What Jesus promised for all who would believe
in him is everlasting life. This is life under
the S -O -N. Let us pray.