"Injustice and the Mercy of God" Ecclesiastes 3:16-4:3

Father, we thank you for this book of Ecclesiastes,

that it is wisdom from you to see real life,

would see areas where we need to repent from. Lord, that we would see areas that we need to seek your

healing for. Lord, in your word, by your spirit, everything we need is available to us. And Lord,

we pray that we would be so bold this morning as to ask for these things. Bless this time,

we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. We are on page 16, but before we get into the text, a bit of a story to

help us contextualize our time in God's word this morning. So when I was single in my early to mid

20s, I and a few others, actually some people here this morning, lived in a lower town, downtown

Ottawa, in a house that served both as kind of like communal living, but also as an evangelistic

outreach to the area. One Christmas, we did kind of like a blitz of the neighborhood where we handed

out tracks and the Jesus DVDs. Have you ever heard of the Jesus DVD? It's like in well over 100

different languages. It is like the worst quality of filming ever. But it is remarkable at how this

little DVD has made such an impact, especially in the 1040 window, where there's primarily a lot of

Islam. Anyways, that's such an aside. There's this one apartment where we lived, close by,

and through this distribution, I met this lady, an elderly sweet lady from South Sudan. And she would

have me over and some other people over every now and then. And she'd make tea or oftentimes, it was

pretty much the same dish. It was a spicy fish dish with some kind of stewed vegetable and some kind of

grain. I don't know what else it is. I'm not sure. It was good. And she would just talk. She'd tell us

about her experiences. And one time she told us a story about how she fled the Sudan. This is before

South Sudan became a state. She fled the Sudan into Cairo. And she stayed there essentially as a stateless

person for about five years. Like eking out whatever kind of income. She had some of her children with her.

Anyways, before she came to Canada as a refugee, one of her daughters was murdered. Couldn't believe it.

It was the first time I'd heard a story like this. And it wasn't the first time she told the story.

Another time when she was bringing up, her other daughter was there. And her other daughter got

terribly upset recalling the story. Because in this murder, being sub-Saharan African,

being stateless, being in Egypt, no justice was given to them. The police didn't bother seeking out

the murderer. It was kind of forgotten. And they had to swallow it. Anyways, the daughter that was in

Canada when this elderly lady was telling the story, she was livid, and rightfully so. Her mom said,

we have forgiven those people. That's a sermon and an illustration for another time.

Just a remarkable lady. I bring up the story to highlight

how egregious

the miscarriage of justice

and

wickedness can be.

How horrible it is to experience

and how it totally unravels the very fabric of society.

For this lady, thank God, her and some of her children were able to come to Canada

where we do have a far more robust

legal system.

Nevertheless, injustice exists in our country.

It exists in our city.

It exists in our neighborhoods.

So far, the sage in Ecclesiastes

has been leading us on a quest for meaning.

He's demonstrated that

human purpose

and ultimate meaning, it cannot be found

in pleasure

or work

or morality

or creativity

and other similar pursuits.

We've seen that already in three short chapters.

And the reason is

is because as human beings

we live an existence

under the sun.

The sage, I've talked about it in other weeks,

the sage describes this life

under the sun

as

seeing

and feeling

and engaging with

the material world

but not really having a grid

to understand

the spiritual life

or a metaphysical understanding

of reality.

To live under the sun

is to live

in the here

and the now

with all of the difficulties

involved in it.

This week,

the sage continues

to deepen this exploration

by helping us

to understand

that one of the main reasons

humanity cannot find meaning

under the sun

is the enduring

human tendency

towards injustice

and oppression.

So we're going to sit

at the sage's feet again

this morning

and we'll come to understand

what injustice

and oppression

looks like

and then

what it does

to us

and then hopefully,

hopefully,

hopefully

we will see a pathway

to real justice

and real righteousness

and real mercy.

We'll jump right

into the text.

I'm not going to be

going through it

sequentially

but we're going to touch

on every verse.

Look with me

at verse 16

of chapter 3.

Moreover,

I saw under the sun

that in the place

of justice

even there was wickedness

and in the place

of righteousness

even there

was wickedness.

Before talking

about justice,

injustice rather,

and oppression,

it would be good

to talk about justice

and righteousness

and why it is

so very necessary

for our society

to flourish

or any society

to flourish.

So we're looking

at verses,

just verse 16

of chapter 3

and the ideal

of justice

that is implied here,

that's behind the text,

is symbolized

by Lady Justice,

a blindfolded woman

holding scales

and an unsheathed sword.

We have a version

of Lady Justice

at our Supreme Court.

Interestingly,

it's not,

she's not blindfolded.

I have no idea why.

I'm not going to read

into that.

Nevertheless,

she's there.

And the idea

is that justice

is impartial.

It seeks the truth.

It has legitimate authority

to prosecute.

It aims for righteousness.

It seeks to suppress

wickedness.

Without justice,

society,

it descends

into chaos

because the rule of law

cannot be maintained

and there is no recourse

for the wicked.

Without justice,

we live in

an anarchic state.

I always think of

the movie

Waterworld

and I don't care

what you say,

it's a good movie.

It's maybe one of

Kevin Costner's

top three.

Okay, I'm pushing it.

But this is what happens

when justice

is not realized.

Okay?

Things break down.

People suffer.

Wickedness is allowed

to flourish.

So thank God

we live in Canada.

We are fortunate

to reside in this nation.

It strives to uphold

the rule of law

for all citizens.

However,

we know at a very

fundamental level

that our justice system

is far from perfect.

It's good.

It strives to be excellent,

but it is not perfect.

These days,

it is poorly staffed.

Many of our justices

adopt a more

progressive approach

to legal interpretation.

And it allows

child abusers

to be released

on day parole

or individuals

who have committed

aggravated assault

to serve their sentences

and be released

with time served.

Now, that's not all the time,

but it happens.

On the flip side of it,

just this summer,

we had an example

of a man being charged

with aggravated assault

and assault

with a deadly weapon

for trying to defend

his home and his family

from home invaders.

Okay?

We have a great

justice system,

but when stuff like this

happens and we have

this kind of contrast,

we know fundamentally,

fundamentally,

it is not perfect.

Again,

when justice is not

administered with fairness

and impartiality,

wickedness has room

to flourish.

Let's pause there.

We'll flip the page

over to page 18

and we'll read

chapter 4,

verse 1.

Yes,

just verse 1.

Again,

I saw the,

again,

I saw all the oppressions

that are done

under the sun

and behold

the tears

of the oppressed

and they had no one

to comfort them.

On the side

of their oppressors,

there was power

and there was no one

to comfort them.

Here we have

the consequences

of allowing

oppression

to persist

for wickedness

to flourish.

The oppressed

have neither power

to fight back

nor comfort

to help them

in their time of need.

The word oppression

is mentioned

three times

in this one verse.

this differs

somewhat

from the injustice

and wickedness

described in

verse 16

of chapter 3

as here

it refers to

a cheating

or a defrauding

or a robbing

of one's neighbor.

Using one's

elevated status

and power

to exploit

someone who

is vulnerable

in some kind of way.

my friend

who

suffered the loss

of her daughter

in Egypt

was oppressed.

There's no advocate

for the oppressed

verse 1 says.

And because

injustice

has replaced justice

and wickedness

has replaced

righteousness

the oppressor

operates

or sorry

the oppressor

operates

without restraint.

Therefore

we observe

two forms

of wickedness

here.

We observe

injustice

and oppression.

And this

the sage

is helping us

to understand

reflects the reality

of life

under the sun.

Life

that does not

take into account

that there is

a judge

that there is

a higher power

an ultimate power.

Injustice

wickedness

and oppression

become commonplace.

Failure

in

failures

injustice

and abuses

of power

again

they will

persist

in this

life

no matter

how

much

we

strive

for

an

equitable

and fair

society

if we are

trying to solve

the problems

as people

living a life

under the sun.

So before

we continue on

I want to clarify

this a bit for us

because sometimes

we think

in generalities

and sometimes

it is difficult

to apply

wisdom

and truth

to our

specific

lives

to the

day in

and day out

of what it

means to live

here in Ottawa

in 2025.

The reality is

we are a suburban

church

situated in one

of the city's

wealthier areas.

We luckily

don't face

much injustice

ourselves

or face

oppression.

We don't see

first hand

the effects

of wickedness

on our

streets

at least

not necessarily

the kind

that are

described

by the

sage yet

if we examine

the root

of both

injustice

and oppression

we see

that

the very

causes of it

reside in our

hearts

and in our

families

and in our

neighborhoods

and in this

part of town

as well.

favoritism

surely exists

in our day

in our area

maybe within

our families.

We also

see the deadly

sins of

envy and

gluttony

pride and

greed and

boastfulness

and we must

consider

we have to

consider

how we might

be guilty

of these

on a smaller

less obvious

scale

nevertheless

even if

they're smaller

they still

cause damage

and harm

relationships

and start

to unravel

our social

fabric.

A couple

of examples

I say this

often but

again I want

to say it

this is

me not

talking

down

upon you

this is me

talking with

you

okay

some of

these

examples

they apply

to me

who here

has dismissed

their

spouse's

genuine

concerns

not giving

them the

benefit of

the doubt

on minor

issues

making

mountains

out of

molehills

how many

of us have

been harsh

with our

children

oppressing

them with

our words

or expectations

or withholding

affections

for them

or how

might we

undermine

our

co-workers

we are

impatient

we are

quick tempered

we see

them as

obstacles

not as

people that

we can

help and

guide

not as

teammates

how many

of us

steal from

our employers

oftentimes

time

these are

all examples

of how

wickedness

can overshadow

righteousness

how we

can oppress

in small

ways

on the flip

side

maybe we

are the

ones that

are oppressed

!

Maybe we

are the

ones that

are quickly

dismissed

or spoken

to with a

harsh tone

or dismissed

church be

on your

guard

be on

your guard

do not

let

complacency

or delusion

blind you

to your

own

potential

to hurt

and to

harm

do not

think that

you are

immune from

unrighteousness

don't

think that

you are

immune from

wickedness

remember that

you live this

life under

the sun

such injustice

and wickedness

they have

serious effects

on us

as we have

seen

they also

distance us

from our

identity

as image

bearers

they also

cause us

to

have a

deranged

and a bent

and distorted

ability to

understand

the world

around us

and to

understand

God's

truth

what do I

mean

we'll get to

our second

point now

look with me

at verses

19 and

20 of

chapter 3

so we'll

flip back

to

page 16

of our

scripture

journals

19 and

20

so at

first glance

it appears

that the

sage is

merely making

the connection

that both

humans and

animals are

created beings

we share

similar traits

very specifically

that we are

physical beings

that we are

mortal

and that we

are subject

to death

and it's true

it's very

obvious

observation

worth our

consideration

but given

that verses

19 and 20

come immediately

after verse

16

it seems

that the

sage is

drawing us

to consider

something much

deeper

how

verse 19

and 20

relate to

injustice

and wickedness

and then

later on

in chapter

4 verse 1

oppression

the sage has

already affirmed

that humans

are a distinct

and unique

part of God's

creation

if you remember

if you were

here last week

we looked

at chapter

3 verse 11

where the

sage

he says

that God

has written

eternity

onto the

hearts

of man

which is

to say

that we

are made

in his

image

I won't

go into

great detail

last week

I went into

a bit more

detail

but the

short end

of it

is

that we

are created

by God

to image

God

to reflect

God

in his

image

and likeness

no other

creature

in all of

creation

is described

this way

it is

the very

intention

of God

that goes

back to

creation

itself

in the

earliest

verses

of Genesis

therefore

we ought

to

live out

this defining

characteristic

of being

a human

that means

embracing

the things

God

embraces

and

fighting back

against the

things

that he

hates

so why

then would

the sage

then claim

that we

are no

different

from animals

and this

is a

bit of

a

maybe

a

Bible

teaching

moment

about how

different

genres

work in

the Bible

the sage

is writing

wisdom

literature

and in

wisdom

literature

he is

constantly

wrestling

and ruminating

on an

idea

or an

aspect

of

reality

and its

implications

so sometimes

he does

the investigation

through the

lens of

one who is

entirely

under the

sun

someone who

can only

see and

understand

the physical

world

without the

slightest

understanding

of eternity

other times

he is

thinking

and dwelling

upon

the nature

of who

God is

and how

that reflects

and pertains

to us

here

he is

wrestling

through

what it

means to

be a

human

under the

sun

in light

of our

mortality

in light

of our

propensity

to engage

in

injustice

and oppression

and wickedness

so

with the

wisdom

literature

what we

are seeing

here is

the sage

on one

hand

in

chapter 3

verse 11

he affirms

human

uniqueness

that we

are made

in God's

image

and then

just a few

verses later

still in

chapter 3

he compares

us

to

animals

and

the point

is

for us

as we

are also

ruminating

on what

the sage

is saying

we are to

say

this seems

like a

contradiction

I'm

struggling

to understand

how the

sage can

say

one thing

and then

a

contradictory

statement

just a few

verses

later

and what

the sage

is doing

is he's

forcing us

to dig

to ask

questions

to turn

over

rocks

so back

to the

text

it's not

that the

sage here

in verses

19 and

20 is

comparing

human beings

to animals

as to

renege

on what he

has said

in chapter

3

verse 11

where he

is saying

that we

are

essentially

created in

the image

of God

but rather

he is

casting

doubt

on our

distinctiveness

when

wickedness

and

injustice

become

the

defining

marker

of the

human

being

more than

being an

image bearer

of God

instead of

living into

image bearing

and therefore

living justly

and righteously

and fighting

against injustice

and oppression

we take the

very structures

that establish

order and reflect

God's good design

that are intended

to glorify him

and to

benefit us

and we hijack

them so that

we glorify

ourselves

and unlike

God

who when

glorified

everything is

blessed

when we seek

to bless

ourselves

putting ourselves

on the very

throne of God

it necessitates

oppression of

others

it's not that

we can glorify

ourselves and

everybody else

is lifted up

with us

it necessitates

us to engage

in wickedness

to misuse

power

to act

unjustly

to embrace

all sorts of

sin and vices

see when we

look to glorify

ourselves

righteousness

becomes an

obstacle

because it

demands humility

and sacrifice

which are the

antithesis

of

the autonomous

hubris

self

and what

the sage

I believe

is trying

to help

us to

see

is that

when we

try to

become

God

we become

very

animalistic

it only

proves that

we are even

more a part

of the creation

than we ever

thought

in the animal

world

such behavior

is acceptable

it's neither

good nor bad

within the

animal kingdom

to oppress

I mean

it's weird

to even use

those terms

because animals

just are

some eat

some get

eaten

some get

knocked off

their thrones

so to speak

there's no

justice

or injustice

but for humans

such actions

diminish our

resemblance

to God

and therefore

such behavior

isn't indifferent

but it's

reprehensible

and it's

sinful

the sage

says

that this

revelation

is given

to us

by the Lord

for a very

specific

purpose

we see that

in verses

17 and

18

look with

me

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

verse 18

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

you catch

this

God is

testing

human beings

so that we

may know

our place

and that

place is not

his throne

but as

his children

in a

general sense

for he

is the

creator

and father

of all

we must

see this

as an

act of

divine

mercy

that we

come to

this

realization

that we

are a

part of

God's

creation

but we

are not

the

creator

himself

so

whenever

we

read

the

Lord

testing

his

people

throughout

the

Bible

almost

always

it's

a

positive

act

of

God

intending

to reveal

either

sinfulness

or to

illicit

faith

if you

think

about

the

binding

of

Isaac

Abraham

he

is

faithful

to

the

Lord

he

is

the

father

of

faith

he

has

a

child

in his

old age

the

child

of

promise

and he

loves

Isaac

oh he

loves

Isaac

okay

then God

says

sacrifice

him to

me

and what

does

Abraham

do

he's

being

tested

and he

goes

the

distance

again

an

incredible

remarkable

story

but the

result

of that

was that

Abraham

understood

that God

needed to be

first and not

Isaac

that the love

of God

had to

supersede

everything

so in

that example

the testing

of Abraham

was for

his benefit

so too

is it

in our

text

this morning

the sage

is helping

us to

recognize

that

on one

hand

we are

creation

a part of

creation

we are not

the creator

on the

other hand

we recognize

that such

participation

in

injustice

and wickedness

and oppression

resembles the

base animal

instincts

rather than

the all

powerful

triune God

that we

ought to

reflect

as image

bearers

because we

will return

to the

ground

like any

other animal

we are

reminded

that we

are the

creature

again

and not

the creator

it's such

an important

aspect of

the Christian

faith

there is

only one

God

there is

only one

Lord

there is

only

one

uncreated

one

one

giver

of life

and we

do not

have the

authority

or ability

to assert

this divine

power

for

we are

like

beasts

we are

created

beings

from the

dust we

were created

to the

dust we

shall

return

so such

wickedness

it doesn't

merely cause

us to

act like

animals

to

thumb our

nose

at God

and his

good design

for us

to be

image

bearers

but it

also

causes

us to

devalue

life

what do

I mean

by this

look with

me at

verses

two

and

three

of

chapter

four

and I

thought

the dead

who are

already

dead

more fortunate

than the

living

who are

still

alive

but better

than both

is he

who has

not yet

been

and has

not seen

the evil

deeds

that are

done

under

the sun

this

this could

very well

be

one of

the most

hopeless

verses

in the

entire

bible

wickedness

is so

bad

it is

better

that people

not exist

than to

experience

it

the sage

is

positing

that the

unborn

and dead

are actually

the real

ones to

be envied

again the

sage makes

this observation

as one

under the

sun

I think

it would

be

inappropriate

to take

this

these two

verses

and somehow

apply them

generally

to life

again the

sage is

constantly

ruminating

and pushing

the boundaries

of

understanding

in his

investigation

to understand

the meaning

and purpose

of life

and I think

what he is

getting at

here is that

when we

do not

have a

heavenly

vision

when we

are living

life

completely

under the

sun

and we

engage in

injustice

and oppression

and wickedness

we

inevitably

will not

value life

and life

is something

to be

valued

to be

valued

all the

way

so we

see this

evident in

our society

today

we panic

at the

prospect

of incurable

illness

and uncontrollable

disasters

and poverty

and addiction

and seemingly

endless conflicts

where peace

is nowhere

to be seen

we feel

oppression

and sometimes

we think

what is the

point

so that's

on the

macro

even on

the micro

we feel

the oppression

and we are

weary

and we think

what is the

point

it would be

better if I

didn't live

see when the

oppressed

continue

to oppress

and the

power of

the oppressors

is

it's never

curtailed

hope

begins to

fade

and when

hope is

lost

we feel

the weight

of this

oppression

and we

again

we begin

to test

the limits

of verses

two and

three

we embrace

verses

two and

three

life is

no longer

a blessing

but a

liability

death

or non-existence

seems like

a better

option than

life itself

and again

if there is

all

if all

there is

in this

life is

under the

sun

then

hopelessness

it truly

is our

lot

however

we have

already

seen

that the

sage

he is

alluding

to God

allowing

such

suffering

to draw

people

to himself

if you

were here

last week

we looked

at chapter

three

verse

14

where

the

purpose

of all

of the

suffering

that the

sage

was

recounting

was so

that people

would fear

God

and likewise

here

we see

him

alluding

to the

hope

of divine

justice

in verse

17

of chapter

three

and it

is with

this next

section

verses

21 and

22

of chapter

three

where we

will find

the

antidote

and the

hope

for the

injustice

and the

oppression

in this

life

so

our

final

section

turn

with

me

to

verses

21

and

22

again

page

16

in our

scripture

journals

who

knows

whether

the

spirit

of

man

goes

upward

and

the

spirit

of

the

beast

goes

down

into

the

ground

so

I

saw

that

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

although

it is

obvious

enough

that

humans

share

mortality

with

animals

and

therefore

are not

gods

there is

something

unique

about

us

again

chapter 3

verse 11

God has

written eternity

onto our

hearts

but

the

sage

again

with

the

lens

of

somebody

that's

entirely

living

life

and

viewing

life

under

the

sun

he

cannot

be

sure

that

there

will

be

anything

that

comes

after

him

this

line

of

question

very

much

is

a

materialist

view

that

is

all

we

see

is

all

there

is

but

again

we

remember

that

the

sage

he

is

helping

us

figure

out

the

meaning

of

life

and

yet

he

is

not

yet

arriving

there

and

the

irony

here

in

verses

21

and

22

of

chapter

3

is

that

the

sage

is

exploring

the

far

limit

of

rational

exploration

only

to

discover

that

we

are

no

greater

than

irrational

animals

when

left

to

our

own

devices

it's

incredible

that

this

is

what

he

is

finding

because

he

is

right

if

all

there

is

is

to

live

and

die

and

to