Introduction
- Carrie and I recently watched Murder on the Orient Express. I’m sure Agitha Christie’s novel was better, but it had a pretty unbelievable ending that perfectly wrapped up every loose end.
- Unfortunately, the Preacher won’t be doing that for us in Ecclesiastes…
- We will be left with the same challenges. But struggling teaches us to trust in God even when we don’t have the answers.
- The benefits of wisdom are often paradoxical (funerals > birthdays). Wisdom limited (7:27-28).
Read Ecclesiastes 8:1-17
- When Macbeth hears of his wife’s death he cries out,
Life is only a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
- The challenges of life sometimes fill us with this pessimistic way of thinking.
- Wisdom is most useful when it is accompanied by a proper fear of God.
- Human Insight (1-9)
- Human Injustice (10-15)
- Human Inability (16-17)
Human Insight (1-9)
- 1 Intro. Wisdom > discernment. The wise don’t prove themselves. 2positions within royal court.
- 3-4 The authority of office worthy of respect, even with corrupt dictators (ie, North Korea).
- 5-6 There is a proper way/time to approach the king. “Everything” would include righteous rebellion.
- 7-8 Ignorance increases our frustration. Examples of powerlessness: spirit, death, war (under king’s authority), and deliverance by wickedness.
- 9 “Under the sun” restricts scope.
- Proverbs 24:21-22 We see this kind of wisdom (that stems from a fear of both God and king) in the way Esther approached King Ahasueras in order to oppose his decree.
- She used cunning wisdom to scheme a plan that would reveal Haman’s wickedness before the king. But she remained respectful and fearful even asking for Mordecai and the Jews to fast for her saying, “If I perish I perish.”
- Nathan respectfully opposed David.
- Our submission to earthly authorities reflects our submission to Christ.
- We are to respect and honor the man God appoints. Obedience reflects submission.
- However, respect doesn’t excuse abuse! There is a proper time rebellion, just as there is a proper time to leave an abusive or adulterous relationship.
- Whenever instruction opposes God’s command we echo Peter and the apostles in Acts 5:29.
Wisdom provides insight before the king, and understanding in the face of…
Human Injustice (10-15)
- 10 Praising the wicked at their death is vanity. Makes it appear as though wickedness pays in life and death!
- 11 A slow justice system increases evil. Constant delays, exoneration due to loopholes and technicalities.
- 12-13 The Preacher “dropping the view of secularism” (Kidner).
- 14 Following immediately after his declaration of faith, reality strikes! Not mere appearance. Life is full of injustices.
- 15 God-centered perspective. Joy mitigates the turmoil.
- Psalm 73:3-5 Money and power corrupt, but the corrupt seem to accumulate more.
- The Preacher never considers an afterlife (3:18-21), but that is what ultimately makes sense of injustice.
- God alone is capable of righting every wrong, of cancelling out the injustices of life through Christ (Col. 2:15).
- Judgment follows death, which arrives sooner than anyone thinks. The righteous will receive eternal life, while the wicked will receive eternal punishment.
- In spite of the frustration, joy is possible. He’s called us to accept this 2x.
- The fear of God mentioned several times (Conclusion 12:13).
- Ultimately it is a call to trust God’s word over appearance (12-13).
- “I know” (not “I saw”) = Faith: He believes what he cannot see.
- Those who “fear before God” know that they are always in his presence (Rom. 8:38-39).
Despite these answers we still wrestle with questions.
Human Inability (16-17)
- We’ve learned that wisdom gives discernment before human authorities, especially when combined with fear of God (1-9).
- We’ve learned that the fear of God can provide hope and joy in the midst of injustice (10-15).
- 16 Humanity experiences a restlessness. Sleepless nights fretting and questioning.
Ryken Give us eight days a week and we would fill them with nine days of work.
- We can rest in God or settle in unbelief.
Humanist Marghanita Laski We are lonely, we are guilty, and we are going to die.
- She settled in unbelief, accepting this pessimistic view of reality.
- For the Preacher, recognizing the restlessness of man led him to a different conclusion…
- 17 We can trust him or remain restless.
- Jesus rejoices that this truth is revealed to children, and he says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
- God’s wisdom is superior! It’s deep, rich, and unsearchable (Rom. 11:33-34).
- Maybe authority figures have taken advantage of you, so rebellion feels like freedom.
- Maybe you have experienced so much injustice you simply can’t accept that God allowed all of that to happen to you.
- Or, maybe life’s challenges have left you so confused you simply don’t know who you can trust.
Despite appearances, you can know that final justice belongs to God.
Conclusion
- In tonight’s sermon we will see John the Baptist calling the people to repentance, warning them of the coming wrath.
- Jesus, in his own ministry, frequently spoke about hell. Fear of God begins with a fear of falling under his judgment.
- It’s a horrifying thought – but we must speak of it! Fear of God’s wrath fuels repentance.
Ryle Never will a man flee till he sees there is real cause to be afraid. Never will he seek heaven till he is convinced that there is risk of his falling into hell.
- Do you fear God? That’s the beginning of wisdom!