Text: Ecclesiastes 8:1-17
Date: January 18, 2015
AN UNJUST PLACE
It’s no secret that we live in a world filled with injustice.
The Preacher of Ecclesiastes understood this and so he crafts a message that has the two-fold goal of encouraging his hearers to use wisdom in our dangerous and unjust world, while, at the same time, cautioning them to understand that human wisdom has it limits.
The Preacher’s goal speaks to two kinds of people.
- The first group are those who are not making use of wisdom as they make their way through life. And we don’t have to look far to find numerous examples of those who fall into this category!
- The second group are those who cannot live with the mystery of life. He speaks to those who think they should be able to find answers to all their questions. If you fall into this group and do not pay attention to what the Preacher has to say, you are going to drive yourself nuts!
The first point the Preacher makes is…
I. You must use wisdom to help you survive in our dangerous, unjust world.
The Preacher opens his message by praising wisdom. He praises wisdom by asking a rhetorical question. “Who is like the wise?” The implied answer would be “no one”. No one is like the wise man. Wise men and women are very hard to find, but they are not impossible to find! He goes on to ask “And who knows the interpretation of a thing?”
Perhaps the Preacher has Joseph in mind. Remember that Joseph had the God given ability to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams. Daniel, like Joseph, also had the ability to give the interpretation of a thing as he interpreted God’s communication to a pagan king. Joseph and Daniel represent the exception and not the norm.
The Preacher continues to praise wisdom by highlighting the effect wisdom has on those who possess it. What is the effect? Their countenance is changed. The Preacher says in effect that their wisdom is written all over their face!
But wisdom is not given to us to simply help us look better but to live better!
That’s the point that the Preacher makes in verses 2 – 5. We can summarize what the Preacher says in these verses with this statement: Use wisdom whenever you interact with those who are in positions of authority.
The Preacher uses an example that would have been a familiar one to those he originally addressed – the King. The King was the ultimate authority figure. Most commentators believe that the Preacher has an unpredictable King in mind. Because you could never be sure how the king was going to react you wanted to be sure that you used wisdom whenever you were in his presence.
None of us here have a human king to worry about but we do have to deal with those in positions of authority every day. Perhaps you have an unpredictable boss. Maybe you have an unpredictable professor. How should you deal with them?
The Preacher gives us two pieces of wisdom.
- First recognize and come to terms with their authority and obey what they tell you to do. “I say: Keep the king’s command, because of God’s oath to him.” (Ecclesiastes 8:2, ESV)
- Second, practice patience and discretion when you are in their presence. The Preacher says, “Be not hasty to go from his presence.” In other words don’t turn your back on the King and storm out in a huff.
The Preacher closes this section with a proverb that the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way to deal with the situation you find yourself in. In order to act properly you must either think very quickly on your feet aided by your knowledge of the Scriptures or you should refrain from speaking or acting until you’ve had the chance to properly think through the situation.
What the Preacher is advocating is illustrated in the life and the teachings of Jesus. In Matthew 15 the Pharisees asked Jesus if it was lawful to pay taxes to which Jesus responded by saying “Yes you should pay your taxes.” In Mark 3 the Pharisees were trying to figure out a way to destroy Jesus. What did Jesus do? Mark says the Jesus simply withdrew from the situation. In Matthew 16 Jesus instructed his disciples to “be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” Why because Jesus certainly understood that we live in a dangerous and unjust world.
The Preacher’s second point is…
II. You must understand the limitations of human wisdom
Now the Preacher has a particular limitation in mind. Specifically he wants us to understand that human wisdom does not enable us to know all the work, all of the activity of God.
The Preacher describes this limitation of human wisdom as “man’s trouble”. He says in verse six that this trouble “lays heavy on man”. It is troubling to many people that they don’t know everything that God has planned for the future.
Our trouble is twofold: First we do not know what the future holds. Second we’re also troubled that we don’t have any control over present events.
To prove his point the preacher gives us several examples.
- The first example the Preacher gives is that no one, wise or foolish has any power over the day of our death.
- The second example the Preacher gives is that once the battle starts, the soldier no longer has the opportunity to leave the battle.
- The final example of the Preacher has to do with the wicked. He says that the wickedness of the wicked will not deliver them. What he means is that those who live lives of wickedness will one day have to deal with the consequences of their wickedness.
There are things – plenty of things in this life that we have no control over. And to try and control the uncontrollable is not a display of wisdom. The Preacher is not advocating that we adopt a fatalistic mindset. If there are things that we have the power to change and need to be changed then by all means change them. But understand that there are things in this life that we are powerless to control and remember that God is working all things for his glory and our good!
In light of the confusing circumstances of life what should we do? How should we respond?
In verse 12 the Preacher says “yet I know (even though there are lots of things I don’t know – yet this I know) that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him.”
Implied in the Preacher’s statement is this comforting thought, that God has revealed what we absolutely need to know in order to function properly in life. God has revealed enough truth to help us successfully navigate through life in a fallen world. Take comfort in that.
The Preacher says one day all will be well for God’s people, for those who fear him.
But what should we do in the meantime? Philip Ryken writes “The same fear of God that will lead us to eternal life also helps us find enjoyment in the here and now.”
Why does he say that? Because that’s what Solomon said. Look at verse 15
“And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 8:15, ESV)
We should not let the limitation of human wisdom limit our experience of joy in this life.
Admittedly the Preacher has on several occasions told us to enjoy ourselves. The Preacher has said in spite of all the vanity “under the sun”, it is possible for us to find real genuine joy in the ordinary things of daily life. Notice The Preacher is growing more and more confident about this joy. If you remember he wrote in chapter 2 that he had found nothing better than joy. In chapter 5 he told us that he had seen joy. But now here in chapter 8 he encourages us to experience God’s joy for ourselves.
Notice in verse 15, “And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him
Philip Ryken says: “Yes, there is vanity under the sun. Yes, we see injustice that is hard to understand and accept. Yes, we have a lot of hard work to do. Nevertheless, there is joy for us in the ordinary things of life – eating – drinking and sharing fellowship with the people of God.
And that’s how you can use wisdom in an unjust world.