Seeking Justice (Ecclesiastes 7-9)
We have been studying the book of Ecclesiastes and covering many different topics that help us think about life correctly. Today, we are going to look at the topic of injustice. Have you ever taken the time to consider the injustices of life? If you grew up with a sibling, I'm sure you did. I have heard, "It's not fair," a few times in my household, and I'm the one who used to say it when I was little. We all believe that life is not fair sometimes, but I think we get used to it after a while. It becomes normal for the righteous to suffer and the wicked to prosper, and we stop caring about it.
Start With Gratitude
In Chapter 7 of Ecclesiastes, Solomon commends going to the house of mourning. He says that is where we will find our greatest benefit because we are reminded that we will all die, and we will become grateful for the time we have to live.
Ecclesiastes 7:3--4 (ESV) --- 3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad. 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
He has many other wise sayings throughout Chapter 7, but these words are essential for what Solomon says throughout Chapters 8-9. Consider these words. Solomon tells us it's better to go into a funeral home and endure sadness than to go to a party. Do you feel like that is the case? Why would Solomon say that?
The reasoning behind these words is that we gain wisdom as we consider the future. We will all die, and we cannot stop that from happening. We don't know when. We don't know how. We don't know why. But we know that day will come. Solomon tells us that considering this will make our hearts glad. Why? We aren't dead yet. We still have some life to live.
As we move forward with the injustice of life, Solomon has prepared the way by telling us to be grateful that we still live. He will hint at this multiple times as well.
The Uncertainty of Life
In Chapter 8, Solomon talks about following the king's command when he says this.
Ecclesiastes 8:5--9 (ESV) --- 5 Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way. 6 For there is a time and a way for everything, although man’s trouble lies heavy on him. 7 For he does not know what is to be, for who can tell him how it will be? 8 No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death. There is no discharge from war, nor will wickedness deliver those who are given to it. 9 All this I observed while applying my heart to all that is done under the sun, when man had power over man to his hurt.
In this text, he mentions the uncertainty of life. He says, "No man has power to retain the Spirit," and, "he does not know what is to be, for who can tell him how it will be?" Hasn't Solomon ever heard of fortune tellers? Doesn't he know that people always think they can predict the future? The truth is that no one knows what the future may hold. There is not a single person on Earth who has the power to control all the events that occur on Earth as God can.
So often, we feel like we know what will happen next, but we cannot know. Everything can easily change in an instant. When we feel like we have considered everything, everything may change in a moment. As he indicates here, I could die.
Doesn't that seem unjust to you? We could be doing all this work planning for our future only to have it all ripped away. There is no way of knowing what the future may hold.
Life Gets Twisted
In the next section, he tells us that he sees injustice everywhere.
Ecclesiastes 8:10--13 (ESV) --- 10 Then I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place and were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity. 11 Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. 12 Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him. 13 But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God.
Can you imagine? Isn't this a picture of the avid churchgoer who is found to be crooked as can be? They cheat on their spouse, steal from their company, and hurt weaker ones while putting on a good show. Doesn't that just make us all angry?
In verse 12, Solomon believes those who fear God will do better than him. We get the impression that he believes God is just. God will surely kill the wicked for their evil and punish them.
Then, he looks at the righteous and sees them suffering.
Ecclesiastes 8:14 (ESV) --- 14 There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.
Injustice is everywhere. Those who are righteous should not be suffering like the wicked. They should be living their best life.
All Things Appear The Same
If we skip to Chapter 9, Solomon looks again at everything and comes to the same conclusion. Everything is in God's hands, but it doesn't seem right.
Ecclesiastes 9:1--2 (ESV) --- 1 But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. 2 It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath.
We all die. In Solomon's eyes, there is not one person who can avoid death. This is a point that Solomon gets stuck on. He can't figure out what God is doing because things shouldn't be this way. Those who are righteous shouldn't die, and those who are evil should die. Justice demands a difference.
Advice For Life
When we consider all of this, it's easy to get discouraged. Many faithful people throughout the Old Testament have been discouraged when considering society's injustices. But Solomon doesn't want us to be discouraged. Instead, he encourages us to do two things.
Have Joy
First, he commends joy and contentment with all of life's blessings.
Ecclesiastes 8:15 (ESV) --- 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 9:7--10 (ESV) --- 7 Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. 8 Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head. 9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.
Solomon's conclusion on this observation is to enjoy the good things in life while you have them. Those who are righteous are not guaranteed to have good days. They would do good to enjoy life's good things while available. These things are a gift from God. Work with all your might, enjoy your wife, and enjoy the finer things in life as you have the opportunity.
At this point, I would like to note that this may be Solomon's advice, not God's. Remember for a second that Solomon (Solomon most likely wrote this book) abandoned God because he chose to become idolatrous. These comments help us understand how the riches and worldly deceptions of Satan might have entangled him. So, although his advice may be wise when considering life under the sun, it might not be the right approach for a child of God in Christ. We will get to that soon.
Stop Trying To Understand
The second thing Solomon wants the reader to do is to stop trying to understand what God is doing.
Ecclesiastes 8:16--17 (ESV) --- 16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on earth, how neither day nor night do one’s eyes see sleep, 17 then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out.
Solomon tells those who are trying to stop. They will never find out what God is doing. No one can find that out. He works as he knows best. His actions accord with his desires and work for his own glory. We cannot change his mind once he has set it.
All of this reminds me of the Book of Job. In that book, we see a righteous man suffer, and despite all of his pleading, his suffering doesn't end until God decides to end it. It all seems so unjust, but God's name was glorified in the submission and obedience of Job. In the end, God gave him more to be happy about.
Learn To Accept It
When it comes to injustice, we don't see the half of it. God understands the complexities of righteousness and evil in the hearts of men better than we ever could. What happens in life might not make sense, but we must trust that God will get it right.
Ecclesiastes 9:11--16 (ESV) --- 11 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. 12 For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them. 13 I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me. 14 There was a little city with few men in it, and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siegeworks against it. 15 But there was found in it a poor, wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man. 16 But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man’s wisdom is despised and his words are not heard.
All of this sounds highly depressing. This is probably the worst news we could ever imagine. We all like to live in a fantasy world that believes, "If we do all the right things, good things will happen to us." Unfortunately, that's not the case in every situation. Many times, bad things happen to good people. But that doesn't mean that God doesn't care. The truth is that we don't know what God is doing. His ways and his thoughts are beyond our own.
Jesus Knows
When we come into the New Testament, we find Jesus as the perfect representation of God. What does he do? He lives in injustice. He's not living in a bubble where nothing wrong ever happens to him or those he loves. He experiences it as well. Also, notice that he doesn't come in dividing up the righteous and the wicked. Instead, he does three things. He explains true justice, demonstrates true righteousness, and becomes a truly just judge.
Explains True Justice
First, notice how he explains true righteousness in a way that makes us all undeserving of a reward.
John 8:2--11 (ESV) --- 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
He points out that we who call ourselves righteous aren't righteous. There is none righteous except Jesus. We don't want what is fair because that means we would all suffer greatly.
Demonstrates True Righteousness
But the wonderful thing Jesus shows us is that God is willing to be patient toward the wicked. He suffered tremendous injustices against him so we can be blessed (John 18-19). God is gracious beyond our wildest dreams so that we don't suffer for the sake of justice. Jesus shows us that God knows more about injustice than we could ever imagine.
Becomes A Truly Just Judge
In Matthew 25, we learn about Jesus determining who will enter eternal glory not based on appearing righteous but on genuinely loving people. Justice will be served at the end of the day, and all those who put their faith in God will be counted righteous. Those who rebel and resist the grace of God will be helpless. They have no ground to stand on.
Conclusion
How do we deal with life's struggles? Do bad things always seem to happen to you? Go to the house of mourning and consider the benefits you have as you live. Develop a heart of wisdom and gratitude for the time you have left. Then, enjoy the blessings and the good things in life, but use them to serve others. Use them to glorify God because the faith-filled life will spend eternity in the joy of the Lord. Don't become bitter or rebel against God because we have no idea about the complexities of his decision-making. But he has shown himself to be good, true, and faithful in Jesus Christ. He is worthy of our devotion and our lives.