Tread Guard (Ecclesiastes 5:1-7)

The British royals maintain a lot of protocols. From their sleep schedule to their dress code to what they eat and how they eat it, they have a long list of the way things should be done.

A lady in the royal family may only wear a tiara indoors and after 6pm, unless it is the day of her wedding. Boys cannot wear long pants until age 8. Wedding bouquets must contain myrtle flowers. Royals must look into their teacups while sipping. And they are to be weighed before and after Christmas dinner, to prove whether they really enjoyed themselves.^[1]

There are even protocols concerning their daily steps: When going down a flight of stairs, royal ladies are to always look up while descending and they do not grip any banister that may be available (though gliding their hand above it is acceptable). While walking on level ground, they should brush their knees together slightly with each step, to ensure an elegant look.^[2]

The Teacher was another royal who paid close attention to step protocols. He starts chapter 5 by saying, “watch your step.” But this isn’t just etiquette – this is essential. In fact, for the first time, the Teacher is going to actually address us directly.^[3] It’s not “these are some things I’ve seen from time to time,” it’s: You need to guard your steps. From steps, he then moves on to words. You need to measure your words. From words he then moves to the vows and promises you make to God.

Tonight, we don’t just watch the Teacher as he experiences life. He leads us into the presence of Almighty God and implore us to treat the situation seriously.

Ecclesiastes 5:1 – Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Better to approach in obedience than to offer the sacrifice as fools do, for they ignorantly do wrong.

These seven verses pulse with this challenge: Why are you doing the things you’re doing? Why are you saying the things you’re saying? Specifically when it comes to your relationship to God.

Now, God’s house isn’t like the temples Indiana Jones breaks into. If he steps on the wrong spot, a poisoned arrow shoots out. God doesn’t set boobytraps for us. And yet, the Teacher gives us a solemn warning: Watch your step. Mind the gap. Pay attention.

We’ve gathered here tonight in what we call the house of God. Of course, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, but we know that gathering as God’s people in what we call church is a special and commanded and important aspect of living out our faith. In fact, Hebrews tells us that we should gather together as a church “all the more” as we see the return of the Lord approaching.

Why did you come tonight? The Teacher asks us because it matters. My answer to that question reveals a lot about my relationship with God. It reveals certain assumptions and inclinations.

If I answer, “It’s my habit,” it would reveal a certain lifelessness in my faith. We should gather habitually, but if that’s my main reason, it reveals that I don’t really expect anything supernatural to happen. I don’t really believe there will be a transaction between myself and my Savior.

The Teacher wants us to watch our steps. To say to ourselves, “Where am I going right now? Well, I’m going into the presence of my King along with my spiritual family. I have a special opportunity to bring my Savior an offering of thanksgiving and adoration and worship. I’m going into a gathering where I’ve been promised that Almighty God Himself will meet with us in a special way, to speak and to direct and to build me up and give me comfort.” We believe these things to be true doctrinally, but the Teacher challenges us to ask whether we’re actually walking in those beliefs.

But it’s not just about the why. The how matters too. God cares about the way we do things. Even if our doctrine is correct, our practice might fall out of step. Think of safety protocols at work. We take the training, recognize the possible dangers. But then you see people not walking in the protocol.

In this verse there’s a difference between the religious activity of fools and the religious activity of those who are pleasing to God. The Teacher says, “approach in obedience.” Your version may say “draw near to hear.” We don’t just come to God’s house to check a box. We come close to God so we can listen and then obey. There’s meant to be an interaction and communication.

When a person enters God’s house without guarding his steps, he ends up making a serious mistake. He may become a legalist. He does the motions, but it’s out of routine, out of self-righteousness. He’s not listening. He doesn’t come with an expectation that he’s actually going to have a personal connection with God Who has something to say. And so, his sacrifice is foolish.

There were times in Israel’s history where individuals or the nation at large would be going through the motions and God would send them a message that was, essentially, “I don’t want the blood of your bulls. I don’t recognize that fast you’re doing. You’re not obeying Me because you’re not listening to Me. So don’t bother with your sacrifices.”

Ecclesiastes 5:2 – ² Do not be hasty to speak, and do not be impulsive to make a speech before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.

Ours is a culture of hasty and hollow words. But words can set an entire life on fire. We learn at the end of our text that they help create the futility that makes the world such a difficult place to live in.

When it comes to our communication with God – our prayer – we should be careful and purposeful about our words. Not hasty. But, what about “pray without ceasing?” What about when I don’t know what to pray and I’m just calling out to God in groans and anguish? That’s fine. That’s not what I’m talking about or the Teacher is talking about. Even the Teacher would acknowledge that God is always watching and listening and keeping account of what we say and do.

But when we come to God in prayer on purpose, it should be thoughtful and deliberate.

For an example of what the Teacher means, we can look to Luke 18. There a Pharisee was praying loud and proud about how great he was – how glad he was that he wasn’t like this disgusting tax collector. The Teacher would say, “Don’t do that.” Well, of course we wouldn’t do that.

Let’s look at a closer example: Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration. We’d have to say he was a little hasty to speak. “Lord, how about I set up three shelters? One for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah?” In fact, Mark tells us Peter blurted that out because he didn’t know what to say.

What was God’s response to Peter? “This is My Beloved Son…listen to Him.” Again an emphasis on being attentive to God and hearing what He would say. Again, the suggestion that God is not just a powerful Being we pay off with certain religious activities, but a Person Who desires to have a real and personal relationship with those who worship Him.

As we pray, the Teacher invites to remember Who we’re talking to: The God of heaven. The Judge. The Supreme Sovereign. The Creator and Master and Commander of all things.

The other day someone said something that caught my attention: We can’t even look at the sun (which is 93 million miles away) for more than a second or two before we have to look away. But when it comes to the Maker of the sun – the One Who contains the nuclear fusion of the sun – we often don’t consider His glorious, awesome power the way we should.

Ecclesiastes 5:3 – ³ Just as dreams accompany much labor, so also a fool’s voice comes with many words.

The Teacher mentions dreams a couple of times in these verses and commentators have a hard time nailing down exactly what they think his point is. But here it’s a simple comparison. The stress dream you have before the big job interview doesn’t help or benefit you. Neither do the many words of a fool who’s thoughtlessly speaking to God – blathering on without consideration.

This doesn’t mean that all prayers should be short. Sometimes Jesus prayed all night. All of John 17 is Jesus praying. But long and flowery prayers don’t automatically signify spiritual depth. Some of the most profound prayers were extremely short. Nehemiah’s prayer is one of our favorites. Or that tax collector from earlier: “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.” The challenge is to measure.

Ecclesiastes 5:4 – ⁴ When you make a vow to God, don’t delay fulfilling it, because he does not delight in fools. Fulfill what you vow.

From steps to words, now to vows. In the Old Testament, people made a lot more vows to God than we typically do. It feels like every few chapters someone is saying, “May God punish me and do so severely if I don’t do this or that by the end of the day.”

Vows to God are voluntary, but they are binding. We live in a time where you can make and break promises as often as you like without any major consequences. There are a lot of relational consequences, but no one is going to stone if you if you break a promise.

But we need to be very careful about the promises we make to God – the commitments we make to God. Making and breaking these sort of vows to the Lord is the fast track to foolishness.

It’s not always wrong to make a formal vow to the Lord. Paul did in Acts 18. But it’s definitely something we shouldn’t be rash about. The Teacher simply wants us to consider why we’re doing it and what we’re promising. And when we promise, do what you promised without delay.

Ecclesiastes 5:5 – ⁵ Better that you do not vow than that you vow and not fulfill it.

Jesus expanded on these very topics in His sermon on the mount. He said, “Instead of making a bunch of empty oaths, let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no.’”^[4] But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t make commitments to the Lord. In fact, we’re commanded to make certain commitments. But, when we do, we should take them seriously because God takes them seriously.

Take the marriage commitment. If you are married, unless you had a very non-traditional wedding, you said vows “before God and these witnesses. “And you know what? God cares about those vows and He expects you to keep them. When we don’t, God is not pleased.

Your words matter. Your promises matter. Your integrity matters. Why? Because your life matters. God has great intentions for your life and for your place in the world. He has a part for you to play in His ongoing work. When we stop caring about our integrity, what we do, what we say, how we act, what we promise, then it impacts God’s ability to do what He wants to do in our lives.

Ecclesiastes 5:6 – ⁶ Do not let your mouth bring guilt on you, and do not say in the presence of the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands?

Rather than take responsibility, the fool tries to talk his way out of his poor choices. And though God is love and full of tender mercy toward us, we must recognize that we can anger Him. We can make choices that cause Him to stand in our way so He can put a stop to what we’re doing. Think of Ananias and Sapphira. That’s not the kind of interaction with God that we want. But if we don’t consider what our relationship with Him is really about, if we don’t consider His holiness, if we don’t acknowledge His authority over our lives, we will not please God, we will anger Him.

Ecclesiastes 5:7 – ⁷ For many dreams bring futility; so do many words. Therefore, fear God.

At the very end of the book this will be the same conclusion: Fear God. That’s how we maintain a proper posture and proper protocols and proper relation with this God Who loves us.

Note here that my many words can actually contribute to the hevel problem of the world. So far, hevel has been something we experience – a frustrating byproduct of a fallen world. But here we see that we can be little hevel factories, too. We are reminded that we have responsibilities when it comes to our words, our actions, our steps, our promises, and our relationships to God and men.

There is a subtle reminder here that your life is not about your dreams, it is about God’s will. Now, God’s will for you is good. But these seven verses are powerful for recalibrating our perspective. We have the negative example of this foolish person, breezing into the temple, praying whatever, speaking words that don’t matter, focused on all his big dreams. He has doctrinal beliefs but doesn’t walk in them. He doesn’t fear God. He doesn’t reverence Him or respect Him or listen to Him. In the end all he accomplishes is creating futility for himself and others and angering God.

So, does the Teacher mean that we should cower in terror as we come to church? That we should only pray words that we know are approved by God? Some Bible commentators use this passage to say that God “cannot be approached casually.” Or that it is sin to be “casual” with God.^[5]

But formalism and terror is not what fearing God is about. Fearing God does include respect and reverence and a growing understanding of the awesome, almighty, supreme power of God, but it also recognizes what God has revealed about Himself. That He is gracious and loving and kind and that He desires a personal, communicative relationship with you individually. Fearing God means understanding the incredible privilege of being in Him and He in us.

When we walk in relationship with God, we discover that He is excited to teach us how to properly fear Him. He tells us in Proverbs, “Listen to Me and I will teach you the way of wisdom and guide your steps.”^[6] He gives His word to light our steps so that we can guard them and walk worthy.

And consider the fact that even though God dwells in heaven, for some reason He has a house on earth. Why does He keep a house here? If you lived in heaven, would you want a house on earth?

Let me ask you this: Would you buy a summer home in Gaza? How about Darfur? Why would God have a house on earth? Many houses? Because His love for us is so great. Because His desire to commune with us is so great. Because He wants true, intimate friendship with us.

There was a lot of formalism in the worship of God in the Gospels. Jesus came and dismantled that formalism. He told us to become like loving, affectionate children if we want to enter the Kingdom of heaven.^[7] When Jesus died, the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom, signifying that God was granting access to His presence to everyone. The old formalism was made of no effect.

But that intimate access doesn’t mean our attitude and behavior toward God no longer matters. Approaching an almighty and holy God is still a very serious thing and we should take it seriously, while also understanding what He has revealed about His character and nature – His kindness and patience and long-suffering and all the rest. So, this idea that approaching God must always be totally formal just isn’t true. What others might call “casualness,” we might call gracious intimacy.

But the tearing of the veil didn’t do away with the fear of God. Our attitude and approach toward God can still anger Him. Just ask the Corinthian church. What we’re doing, how we do it, and why we do it matters. Your relationship with God is a serious thing and it requires care and attention.

Let me close with a practical application of these principles: Communion. We recognize that communion is an “ordinance” of the church – it’s a God-ordained ceremony.^[8] You’re not saved because you take communion. But, we are commanded to observe this ceremony. Jesus said, “do this in remembrance of Me.”

On top of communion being a memorial, when we take it we are also agreeing to a covenant with the Lord – the new covenant. So, by taking communion, you are making a vow to God. Paul sounds a lot like the Teacher of Ecclesiastes when he says, “Be careful about making this promise to God. Don’t be foolish when you come to the Lord’s table.” In fact, we’re warned that there are times when we shouldn’t take communion. And we’re told that there were Christians in Corinth who were taking communion in an unworthy way, so when they drank from the cup, they were drinking judgment to themselves. Sickness, weakness, and even death was being meted out to them as discipline.^[9]

Paul’s instruction to them was very similar to the Teacher’s: Examine yourself. Guard your steps. Is there unrepented sin in your life? Is there something in my heart or life that is grieving the Lord or angering Him? Is there something that needs to be dealt with before I draw close to listen to God?

Our relationship with God matters and therefore our behavior, attitudes, and conversation in that relationship all matter. You don’t need to be afraid, but be purposeful about walking worthy according to the path He has set before us, knowing that there is an eternal weight of glory at the end of the road.

Without Friends Like These, Who Needs Economies? (Ecclesiastes 4:4-16)

Three months ago, Financial Times published an article titled, “America’s Crisis Of Loneliness.”^[1] In it they discuss what they call a “a pervasive sense of anxiety and an emotional hollowing out.” Then they ask how we should define “the good life.” Their conclusion is that the best way to happiness is to first cross a certain middle-class, economic threshold – meaning a certain amount of money and security and stuff – and then you’re able to be happy with family, friends and community.

But pursuit of big piles of economic stuff has been central to the American culture for hundreds of years. We’re one of the richest nations in all human history. Yet when American’s are polled, their happiness erodes more every year.^[2] Less than half of American’s say their are satisfied with their lives.^[3] Sixty percent say they are lonely on a regular basis and research is starting to reveal that loneliness is actually killing us with increased stroke, dementia, and heart disease.^[4]

In his quest for meaning, the Teacher just took a tour of the halls of justice. He left brokenhearted because of the injustice he found there. He headed out into the highways and city squares to see if peace and satisfaction might be found there.

He discovered a society not unlike our own – where many people are convinced that wealth is the way to happiness – but also a pervasive unhappiness among the wealthy.

Tonight, the Teacher warns us about the dangers of isolation and individualism and the pursuit of wealth. After the warning, he gives us the better path.

Ecclesiastes 4:4 – ⁴ I saw that all labor and all skillful work is due to one person’s jealousy of another. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

The Teacher is speaking hyperbolically.^[5] After all, in an earlier passage he told us that work is a gift given by God for our enjoyment.^[6] His is describing a culture like ours – one driven by accumulation. Keeping up with the Joneses. Having the motivational picture of the yacht on your desk because that’s what you’re working for.

The mindset he’s talking about is why credit cards exist.^[7] And what he’s describing are things that are really fundamental to the American culture. Competition. Building self-worth by outperforming others. Striving for superiority in position or accolades or possessions.

Now, those characteristics make for a thriving economy and lots of innovation. But we shouldn’t make the same mistake the Teacher made all those years and forget the spiritual side of things.

God’s Word warns us that jealous is rottenness to our very bones.^[8] That envy is a fatal disease.^[9] If we give ourselves over to working just to accumulate or just to outperform or just toward the end goal of our own glory, that kind of labor is hevel. It’s like trying to grab onto smoke. And it’s going to destroy your relationships.^[10]

Ok, so then one might conclude, don’t worry about work. Just enjoy being, not doing.

Ecclesiastes 4:5 – ⁵ The fool folds his arms and consumes his own flesh.

Yikes. Didn’t know you were in for a little self-cannibalism tonight, did you?

In the Wisdom books, there’s nothing worse than a fool. On the one hand, the Teacher says, “It’s futile to work for wealth.” On the other hand he says, “It’s foolish not to work.” Either route is destructive to a heart and life.

So, what can we do? It seems like there’s no way to win. And that’s exactly what the Teacher wants us to understand: Under the sun, there’s no method that gives you meaning in life and lasting satisfaction. We need to break out of the system by living life the way God intends. So, the Teacher shows us the way out.

Ecclesiastes 4:6 – ⁶ Better one handful with rest than two handfuls with effort and a pursuit of the wind.

God has given you your life as a gift. He gives you specific work to do, also as a gift but according to His purposes. And when we live and work according to the prescription and administration of God our Maker, life not only fills up with meaning, we can enjoy it along the way.

The Teacher is going to use the word better three times in our verses tonight. This is the first. It means good, desirable, you-do-well-if-you-do-this.^[11] You want to live “the good life?” Do this.

The first detour sign toward the better way of life is here: One handful with rest.

When we live life the way God intends, we are able to receive something the Under-The-Sunners can’t: Rest. Peace. Satisfaction. Your version may say “quietness.” It means the absence of disturbance.^[12] The Bible word for it is contentment. As Paul told Timothy, Godliness with contentment is great gain. Way more valuable than a COLA next year or a dividend payout.

The image here is a contrast between two people. In fact, the Hebrew uses two different terms for “hands” in this verse.^[13] The first person has an open hand, ready to receive a gift into it. Not grabby. Not greedy. Not demanding. The second person has both hands cupped and clenched, trying to take as much as possible for themselves.

The Teacher says the good life, the better life is the first fellow. They may appear to have less in the hand, but their hearts are filled up with contentment, whereas the second fellow’s heart is empty. The thing they’re trying to grasp is going to pass through their fingers like smoke.

Ecclesiastes 4:7 – ⁷ Again, I saw futility under the sun:

Remember: These are always key words in the book of Ecclesiastes. Under the sun means life according to human wisdom, with human ideals, and natural values. Futility is that most important word hevel, which means smoke, vapor, a wisp that’s there and gone.

Ecclesiastes 4:8 – ⁸ There is a person without a companion, without even a son or brother, and though there is no end to all his struggles, his eyes are still not content with riches. “Who am I struggling for,” he asks, “and depriving myself of good things?” This too is futile and a miserable task.

This is Ebenezer Scrooge before his fateful night with the three ghosts. It’s every workaholic, whether they actually have kids or not. This person has allowed their pursuit of success to rob him of companionship, family, and other relationships.

In the end, he’s rich in the world’s goods, but impoverished when it comes to love, support, and affection. Where’s the profit? Where’s the real meaning? Death destroys all that kind of success.

Howard Hughes was one of the most successful and important men in his millennium. When he died, there was no one to leave his vast fortune to. It took 34 years to settle his estate. His billions was split between 22 legal cousins, many of whom he never knew.^[14] What a tragedy! But heed his example and the Teacher’s point: Living for the wrong reasons will shipwreck our lives in the end.

Ecclesiastes 4:9 – ⁹ Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts.

Here’s our second better of the night. It is better to invest in people. It’s not only because God made us to be relational and communal beings, it actually benefits us to have relationships. When you partner with others, when you have meaningful relationship with them, you both are rewarded. And in the following verses we see a list of some of those benefits and rewards.

Bible dictionaries point out that the word he uses for “reward” can also mean “wages.”^[15] So there’s the Scrooge in verse 8, working so hard to pile up wealth but he goes to his end alone – relationally bankrupt. Instead, the better life is to partner with people. Yes, that takes away from your ability to spend all your time amassing physical wealth, but you will be rewarded with other wages.

Ecclesiastes 4:10 – ¹⁰ For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up.

In calamity, disaster, or injury, having a friend might literally save your life. Or if might keep you from having to saw your own arm off when you fall into a canyon.^[16]

But it’s not just about physical slips. Fellow Christians can help us when we have a moral fall as well.^[17] That can be a difficult thing to do, but it is a calling and command given to us in Galatians, to restore those who fall into sin or error with gentleness.^[18]

Ecclesiastes 4:11 – ¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm?

This could refer to marriage, but the Teacher is not talking about a romantic lying down here.^[19]

In those ancient times, travelers would sleep next to one another on the trail, using both their cloaks as blankets and their body heat shared to protect from the elements.

This applies more widely to supporting one another through adversity, temptation, grief.^[20]

This image shows us that even if we don’t have enough to build a whole bonfire, we still have enough to give warmth to others in a cold world.^[21] Remember, it’s not about stuff.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 – ¹² And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

It’s not just the dangerous pitfalls along the way or the harsh elements of travel. Now we see active aggressors – enemies or thieves targeting us. In that situation, it’s good to have a friend – even better to have more!

In 1986, an old man in The Legend Of Zelda famously told players, “It’s dangerous to go alone, take this!” and then gave them a sword. The Teacher is telling us, “Life is too dangerous to live alone. Maintain relationships with other people who are living life God’s way. When you do, you’ll be rewarded and you become a reward for others.” There is strength in principled community.

As the chapter closes, the Teacher shares a parable. Commentators have a hard time parsing exactly what he meant, but in general we’re going to see how human relationships impact not just individuals but whole empires.

Ecclesiastes 4:13-14 – ¹³ Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer pays attention to warnings. ¹⁴ For he came from prison to be king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom.

This is our third better. Again, he says that position or prominence is not as important as disposition of the heart and mind, even at the national level. These principles scale up.

In this parable, we have a king who started off in humble circumstances. He was poor and did some jail time, probably not for crimes – back then prisons had more to do with debts and politics^[22] – but through cunning, hard work, and wisdom, he became king. Unfortunately, in his old age, he allowed his relationships to die. He decided he was self-sufficient. Now a new youth who is willing to hear wisdom and warnings rises up to challenge the old king.

Ecclesiastes 4:15 – ¹⁵ I saw all the living, who move about under the sun, follow a second youth who succeeds him.

The old king stopped doing the better thing and that isolation bred folly. The people no longer had relationship with the old king, despite his former success, and so they turn to a new leader.

But, watch out: The parable isn’t over.

Ecclesiastes 4:16 – ¹⁶ There is no limit to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

There’s the Teacher we’ve come to know. He says, “Yes, the young man did the better thing, but then he eventually gets old and loses touch and the he gets caught in the gears, too.” Just when we think we have a system figured out to make everything work right, the hevel of life under the sun takes over. Because people are fickle. And none of us are perfect at doing the better thing.

There are a lot of warnings in this text that leave us in tension. Don’t be a workaholic, but don’t be a lazybones. Make and maintain relationships for your own good, but realize that even then you’re not guaranteed you won’t fall into a pit or be attacked or that people won’t become fickle and give their affection to someone else someday.

The important thing for us is to understand how God looks at our lives. We’ve got to ignore what our culture says is important, or how the world around us values work. Instead, we need to remember that God has given life as a gift, He gives each of us work to do for His purposes, for His glory, and for our enjoyment. And He has made us to be unified with other people who walk with us on this path.

We’re not supposed to live in competition. Not with the Joneses, not with the guy in the next cubicle, not with the church down the street. And though isolation can be easier in the short-run, it’s deadly in the end.

The Lord knows we need community and family and friendships. Think of how many arrangements God has established for us so that we can have the connections we need: Family, friendship, neighborhoods, the Church, nations, countless associations. From the beginning, the Lord said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” And then He started providing these points of meaningful connection.

And here’s something remarkable: Friendship is the one area of human life that the Teacher never labels hevel.^[23]

But, there’s always going to be a tension, even among Christians who share the same values, because none of us are perfect. And life is full of pressures and problems. And we’re still moving around under the sun, and therefore are impacted by time, death, and chance, not to mention our own mistakes.

What the Teacher is sharing with us is the better way: Better ways of working, better ways of relating, better ways of valuing our efforts and ordering our loves. Trust God, walk His way, receive the blessings of purpose, satisfaction, and contentment that He wants for you.

Injustice Fatigue (Ecclesiastes 3:15-4:3)

Do you consider yourself a good, law-abiding person? What if I told you that you are part of the injustice around us? Research shows that you commit about three felonies every day?^[1]

We may not worry too much about the technicalities of the crimes we commit, but usually we worry about the crimes of others. We’re concerned because of what that means for our society, for our family’s safety, how it impacts our lives.

The Teacher was also concerned about injustice. Actually, he was despondent about it. Remember: he dedicated himself to finding satisfaction and purpose and meaning in life. He’d spent decades in his pursuit – sparing no expense – going to lengths none of us could ever dream.

After a long process, he came to a tentative conclusion: The best thing you can do is accept life as it is and enjoy your days, because this is God’s gift to you. Be willing to receive whatever He’s written for you and try to keep the less desirable aspects of life in perspective, knowing God has a master plan. It seems that the Teacher has finally discovered the solution to this incredibly complex and important equation and so for the first time in decades, he’s able to sleep peacefully.

But in the middle of the night he jolts awake. He realizes a flaw in his solution. There is still sand in the gears: Injustice. If God is sovereign and if He has a plan for our lives, then why oh why would He allow humans to rebel against Him and carry out wicked injustice against innocent people?

The Teacher’s pursuit has again derailed. Though he has acknowledged God, he still does so from afar. But his distance from God leaves the Teacher in the wasteland of the secular human experience. Looking around, he is frustrated by what he sees. Death. Injustice. Oppression.

The final part of verse 15 is transitional, introducing the rest of the verses we’re looking at tonight.^[2]

Ecclesiastes 3:15b – However, God seeks justice for the persecuted.

Your version may have much different rendering of that sentence. The New King James says, “God requires an account of what is past.” The ESV says, “God seeks what has been driven away.” The NLT says, “God makes the same things happen over and over.”

Scholars are open with the fact that the words are very hard to translate. The idea the Teacher is trying to get across is that over all that follows there is a transcendent truth: that God is watching, accounting, advocating, and overruling. It’s important that we keep that in the back of our minds, particularly as we face the shocking statements made later on in our text.

This overarching truth reminds us that your life is not just about your enjoyment or your personal satisfaction or you making a mark on history. There is an eternal standard set by God Himself and He is keeping track of whether you meet His standard or not.

The problem is: None of us meet that standard. None of us are righteous. There’s injustice all over the place, even in the halls of justice!

Ecclesiastes 3:16 – ¹⁶ I also observed under the sun: there is wickedness at the place of judgment and there is wickedness at the place of righteousness.

In our last passage, for a brief moment the Teacher widened his scope to include a glimpse of heaven. But now we’re back under the sun. He is speaking from a purely human perspective of life on earth from the mind of a person trying to live apart from God.

But he has a point. How long do we wait for certain rulings to be overturned? How often do we hear people talking about how the justice department being weaponized? Right now, only 25% of Americans say they have confidence in the Supreme Court.^[3]

Human wickedness is a big problem because it impacts every aspect of our society. Sometimes it’s not even just the outright, purposeful evil. On top of that, sin has so debased our minds and systems that we get things wrong even when we don’t mean to.

For example: In 1906, the government passed the Meat Inspection Act. From 1906 until the 1990’s, the government mandated what was known as poke-and-sniff inspection. They would have all these hunks of meat, assembly line style, and they had metal skewers. They would pass the raw meat to an inspector, he would jab the meat, then sniff it. If it smelled fine, the meat must be fine. They would do that over and over. The problem? They didn’t wash the skewers! Infected meat would often pass inspection because it wasn’t smelly enough and then countless portions of clean meat became contaminated.^[4] The authority that was supposed to bring safety instead brought death because humans systems have been corrupted by sin. Wickedness prevails.

Ecclesiastes 3:17 – ¹⁷ I said to myself, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every work.”

God is a Judge and He will overrule the wicked. Unfortunately, that might not happen until the end of time. That can be a frustrating answer. It can feel like a cop out. But it isn’t. God will repay.

Maybe a financial illustration can give us some perspective: We understand the benefit of short-term savings and long-term savings. In the short term, we have some cash to work with right now, which is great. But it’s the long-term savings that grows and grows into a much larger return.

The problem of pain, of injustice, is one of the biggest obstacles in many people’s minds to trusting God. The truth is that He is not slack concerning His promises. He won’t forget to judge. There is no statute of limitations in God’s courtroom. The wicked won’t walk free just because it happened a long time ago. He keeps a record and the debt will come due.

Before we leave verse 17, it would be a mistake if we didn’t stop and ask, “What is the difference between the righteous and the wicked?” That seems to be a very important question. In chapter 7 the Teacher will say (and the Apostle Paul agrees) that there is no one on earth who is righteous and never sins.^[5] So we’ve got ourselves a serious problem in heaven’s court. Judgment is coming.

What are you going to do about that problem? As I said, all of us technically commit about 3 felonies a day. What if you knew that at the end of the week you were going to be hauled into court? How would you prepare? What attorney would you hire? What would your defense be?

Ecclesiastes 3:18 – ¹⁸ I said to myself, “This happens so that God may test the children of Adam and they may see for themselves that they are like animals.”

In these next verses, the Teacher is going to say some shocking things. But we need to remember the scope of his experiments. He’s talking about under the sun. He’s talking from the perspective of a person who is trying to use his own know-how, his own ability, human wisdom, to find meaning in life. He’s speaking as someone who thinks he can solve the problems himself.

This is the natural state of the human heart ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. Humans turned their backs on God, they did not think it was worthwhile to acknowledge God.^[6] Instead, humans appeal to humanity for salvation. That’s what the Tower of Babel was all about. That’s what every human religion is about. We want to find our own way out of death and guilt.

Now, God could put a stop to our rebellion. In some cases, He does. Babel. Nebuchadnezzar. Herod Agrippa. But generally God allows humans to rebel. Here the Teacher tells us why: God allows it so that the fallen nature of humanity can be exposed for what it is.^[7] It’s beastly.

In some ways humans are worse than animals. The level of squalor we’re willing to live in.^[8] The way we destroy ourselves with addictions and stubbornness and evil desires.

God allows humans to go their own way so that the difference between our way and His way is clear and so we can have an informed choice of which way we want to go. It’s Romans 1! The Gospel reveals the righteousness of God, man’s systems reveal the “righteousness” of humanity.

In fact, some scholars translate this verse this way, “God is making it clear to them…that…by themselves they are animals.”^[9] We are not gods. We are not heroes. We aren’t going to build our way out of death. On this level, we’re just like the animals.

Ecclesiastes 3:19-20 – ¹⁹ For the fate of the children of Adam and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; they all have the same breath. People have no advantage over animals since everything is futile. ²⁰ All are going to the same place; all come from dust, and all return to dust.

Did your eyebrows go up? The Teacher is not saying humans don’t have an immortal soul. He’ll say specifically that our spirits return to God after death in chapter 12.^[10] The word he uses for breath here isn’t the one that refers to the soul.^[11] He’s talking about breath in the way that humans and animals are alive in contrast to, say, plants. We have breath – we have an animated life.

The paradox is that humans long for eternal things but we die just like dogs. Ray Stedman said, “From a human standpoint, a dead man and a dead dog look as if the same thing happened to both of them.”^[12] But humans don’t think like dogs and dogs don’t think like humans. Humans want to come out of the grave. God put eternity in our hearts. So what are we to do about death?

The Old Testament lays out plainly that the only way to escape Sheol – the only way out of the grave – is if you are redeemed.^[13] But Who will save us? We cannot buy ourselves out. We cannot buy our loved ones out. All the believers of the Old Testament died waiting for the Redeemer to arrive.

As New Testament Christians who have the rest of God’s revelation, we know the answer. The Redeemer came. He paid the price. He came out of the grave. Now He offers to buy us back.

This is one reason why the reliability of the Scriptures is so important, by the way. We’re talking about how to get out of the grave – the most important issue imaginable. Islam offers a way. Hinduism offers a way. Joseph Smith offers a way. The Bible offers a way. Which book is reliable? Which book is proven? Which book is full of words that are actually from God the Creator?

Ecclesiastes 3:21 – ²¹ Who knows if the spirits of the children of Adam go upward and the spirits of animals go downward to the earth?

The Teacher didn’t know – not for sure. Because you can’t know this answer by observation. Or at least you couldn’t know it…until Christ came out of the grave! Now we know. Now it’s proven.

Did you know that in every sermon in the book of Acts the resurrection is mentioned?^[14] The resurrection is our hope. It’s the answer. It is the ultimate proof that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer.

There are a lot of beliefs about the afterlife. Which ones are true? The ones found in the Word of God which has been proven through the centuries and sealed with the indisputable stamp of Jesus’ bodily resurrection. Now we know. The question is, will you believe and trust?

Ecclesiastes 3:22 – ²² I have seen that there is nothing better than for a person to enjoy his activities because that is his reward. For who can enable him to see what will happen after he dies?

The Teacher drives home this point again: We can’t know on our own, through observation or interviews or study. The truth of what happens after we die must be revealed to us. And it has been revealed by a loving and merciful God Who wants us to know the truth.

The reliability of the Bible matters. It matters because it tells us Who God is and who we are and what happens next. We can’t surrender when it comes to the reliability of the Bible, the infallibility of Scripture, inerrancy. Through God’s word we are enabled to see.

Ecclesiastes 4:1 – Again, I observed all the acts of oppression being done under the sun. Look at the tears of those who are oppressed; they have no one to comfort them. Power is with those who oppress them; they have no one to comfort them.

As the Teacher kept investigating, he realized this wasn’t just a problem with a couple of random, corrupt judges. Oppression and injustice are the rule under the sun, not the exception. This leads him into a dark depression. One commentator calls this the saddest part of the whole book.^[15]

He’s heartbroken not only because of the suffering of the weak, but because there’s no one to comfort them. He mentions it twice. It begs the question: Why didn’t he comfort them? After all, he was rich, powerful, and wise.

But what was his life about? For all these years, his life had been about his enjoyment. His satisfaction. His greatness. His renown. In chapter 2 he admitted that he had gathered servants and slaves and concubines for his own use. He had done a lot of oppressing!

We think of “oppression” as something dictators do. But in the Bible, oppression involves “cheating your neighbor of something…defrauding him…abuse of power” of any kind.^[16] Humans are out for self and so we can’t help but wrong others. That is the nature of our human nature.

One application we can make from this verse is very simple, but so hard for us to hold onto: Don’t put your hope in the powers that be. Don’t trust human authorities to solve life’s problems. At worst they’ll be tyrants who crush you. At best, they give you poke-and-sniff.

More importantly: Solomon told us to look at the tears of those who are oppressed. Often there’s nothing we can do to ease the suffering of the others, especially today when we’re able to hear about every tragedy taking place all around the world. We look on, helplessly.

What does God do with tears? He counts them. He puts them in His bottle. He plants them so that those who sowed with their tears will reap joy.^[17] He wipes them from our faces, making everything sad untrue. Removing every disgrace. One day doing away with sorrow and pain forever.

But the Teacher doesn’t have close communion with this loving God. So, here’s his conclusion:

Ecclesiastes 4:2-3 – ² So I commended the dead, who have already died, more than the living, who are still alive. ³ But better than either of them is the one who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

Without a relationship with the God of the Bible, without His perspective on life and justice and the ultimate reconciliation of all things, then hopelessness is the only alternative. The Teacher says it would be better to never live at all. The same point is made in Herodotus, Sophocles, Cicero, Buddhism and other world philosophies, by the way.^[18]

John Mayer says it in a less despondent but no less hopeless way:

I’m so scared of getting older, I’m only good at being young…
One generation’s length away from fighting life out on my own…
Stop this train, I wanna get off and go home again…
I know I can’t but honestly won’t someone stop this train?

This is the hopelessness of life without Jesus.

Now, as believers, it’s not that we pretend there isn’t sorrow and suffering in life. But we’re the ones who have real life, true meaning, eternal peace.

Asaph, the great Psalmist, saw the same oppression that the Teacher had seen. Asaph was broken hearted about it – frustrated about the way things are. He said, “I’m afflicted all day long.” Here’s how his investigation ended:

Psalm 73:16-17, 22-28 – ¹⁶ When I tried to understand all this, it seemed hopeless ¹⁷ until I entered God’s sanctuary. Then I understood their destiny… ²² I was stupid and didn’t understand; I was an unthinking animal toward you. ²³ Yet I am always with you; you hold my right hand. ²⁴ You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me up in glory. ²⁵ Who do I have in heaven but you? And I desire nothing on earth but you. ²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever. ²⁷ Those far from you will certainly perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. ²⁸ But as for me, God’s presence is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge, so I can tell about all you do.

Whose perspective do you want to have? The Teacher’s or Asaph’s? Remember the end of verse 15. God is overruling. He is watching and advocating. He is just. He is tender and kind. He is calling to us, trying to show us the way to life. Are you on the way?