The Vanity of Oppression, Envy, Loneliness, and Life Lessons from the Teacher (Ecclesiastes 4:1-16)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

And in God's word, we turn to Ecclesiastes chapter

four. We're gonna look at the whole chapter today,

one through 16, simply picking up where we left

off. So I would ask you to give close attention

for this is God's word, Ecclesiastes four. 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. 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.

Then I saw all the toil and skill and work that

come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This

also is vanity and a striving after wind. The

fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh.

Better is a handful of quietness than two hands

full of toil and a striving after wind. Again,

I saw vanity under the sun. One person who has

no other, either son or brother, yet there is

no end to all his toil. And his eyes are never

satisfied with riches so that he never asks,

for whom am I toiling and depriving myself of

pleasure? This also is vanity and an unhappy

business. Two are better than one because they

have good reward for their toil. For if they

fall, one will lift up his fellow, but woe to

him who is alone when he falls and has not another

to lift him up. Again, if two lie together, they

keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? And

though a man might prevail against one who is

alone, two will withstand him. A threefold cord

is not quickly broken. Better was a poor and

wise youth than an old and foolish king who no

longer knew how to take advice. For he went from

prison to the throne, though in his own kingdom

he had been born poor. I saw all the living who

move about under the sun, along with that youth

who was to stand in the king's place. There was

no end of all the people, all of whom he led,

yet those who come later will not rejoice in

him. Surely this also is vanity and is striving

after wind. And this is God's word. Let us pray.

Lord Christ, you are the word and the Bible reveals

who you are. For we remember that you, Jesus,

were on the Emmaus road and you were talking

with those disciples and you revealed to them

how the scriptures were speaking of you. Help

us to see you in this. Would you apply this passage

to our hearts? And by your spirit, would you

use what I say in my weakness to strengthen our

faith? Would you impart your strength and your

power to encourage our hearts, to exhort our

hearts, to challenge our hearts that we might

grow in the grace and the knowledge of you? This

we ask in your name. Amen Ecclesiastes chapter

Ecclesiastes 4 · chapter mention

4 I wonder what you think of it There are some

tough sayings in here There are some perplexing

sayings in here and really what I think the writer

of Ecclesiastes is doing who I believe to be

Solomon as He's responding to objections regarding

chapter three. For you remember, especially in

the beginning of chapter three, it talks about

there being a time for every matter under heaven,

a season. And yet you could understand how someone

would read that and say, is there really a season,

a time for oppression, which is mentioned in

chapter four? Is there really a time for envy?

mentioned in chapter four. Is there really a

time for loneliness again in chapter four? And

what is underneath all of these questions is

this big question. God, are you really sovereign?

Do you really know what you're doing? Are you

really in control? Perhaps this is a question

that you have. Well, I'm here to tell you. God

is in complete control of every single moment

of your lives and specifically chapter four talks

about how God is in control of our relationships

and it really mentions even though there's a

plethora of things mentioned here it really is

talking about two different types of relationships

the way that we relate to the authorities the

people in positions of power and the way that

we relate to one another in community And so

that's what we're looking at, people in power

and people in the community. And what we should

see from this is that we were made for community.

You were made to be together with one another.

And that is why when we are sinned against, it

hurts so badly that it bothers us so much because

sin interrupts our harmony. Sin is the answer

to why there is oppression, to why there is envy,

to why there is laziness, and to why there is

loneliness, again, all topics addressed in chapter

four. But the answer to these questions about

community is Christ, who comes to make all things

new, Christ who establishes the church, and Christ

who he promises eternal life without the problem

of sin. And yet we do live under the sun in a

very fallen world. And it's a world at times

that seeks to oppress. And so let's look at the

reality of oppression from verses one through

three and verses 13 through 16. This section

of chapter four. is really a continuation of

the end of chapter three. You remember looking

at chapter three and we noted injustice and unrighteousness

that was there. It kind of carries over here

into chapter four, this discussion of oppression.

Again, verse one, I saw all the oppressions that

are done under the sun. And so what Solomon is

showing us here is that oppression is prevalent

and it's pervasive. It's everywhere. And the

real heartbreaking part of oppression is also

mentioned there in verse one. Behold the tears

of the oppressed. They had no one to comfort

them. That's the real heartbreaking part of oppression,

that people who are oppressed oftentimes feel

terribly alone. They feel that no one's got their

back. And as Solomon sees this, verses two and

three kind of come alive, I thought the dead

who were already dead more fortunate than the

living. He's not saying that he wishes he was

dead or that he wishes he was never born. He's

saying, I have seen oppression and I cannot unsee

it. Perhaps you have seen oppression. You have

seen the wicked way that people treat one another,

especially when governments now rule people in

such an oppressive manner. Solomon, though, is

the king, and yet he feels powerless against

the oppression that he sees. Friends, there is

a lot of oppression that happens in the world

today. If you read the stories of the persecuted

church, you realize how oppressive people can

be towards one another and especially towards

Christians. It's happening all over the world

in places like Nigeria, in Eritrea, in China,

in North Korea, in Afghanistan. It's happening

all over the place. And yet the one thing that

Christians say that they need the most when they

are oppressed is prayer. For in prayer, they

are not forgotten. In prayer, we appeal to somebody

who can actually do something about it, and so

we should remember our brothers and sisters in

Christ in oppressed areas. It really is happening

all over the world. In the last several years,

in Rwanda, it's become especially prevalent.

I learned this not too long ago when I was in

Uganda and stopped over in Rwanda for a brief

second. Do you realize that in Rwanda, this kind

of Eastern African nation, and it's not very

big, over 14 ,000 churches and houses of prayer

have been closed since 2018. 14 ,000 churches

and houses of prayer have been closed since 2018.

What are the reasons for this? According to Rwanda's

own government, according to their own website,

the reasons for closing these churches, some

of them are they're not up to par with building

codes, they don't have adequate parking, they

don't have sufficient soundproofing in their

sanctuaries, and their bathrooms are not sufficient.

These are the reasons that churches are being

closed. And as it speaks to adequate parking,

Rwanda has one of the lowest rates of car ownership

in the world. Why do they need parking? Talk

about feeling alone. The government there is

making this a reality with these restrictions

of closing churches in the name of progress.

Friends, We should recognize this, and I think

this is where Solomon is going, that God has

placed authorities in power not to oppress, but

to provide relief from oppression. The Westminster

Confession of Faith says here, God, the Supreme

Lord and King of all the world, has ordained

civil magistrates to be under him. over the people

for his own glory and the public good. It also

says that it's lawful for Christians to accept

and execute the office of a magistrate to maintain

piety, justice, and peace according to the laws

of each land. In other words, we have elected

officials who are supposed to work for the good

of the people, not to oppress them. There was

a time when I saw what I viewed to be terrible

oppression, and especially corruption. Living

in Bulgaria from the end of 2012 through 2014,

it was a time of oppression, many said. It was

a time of corruption, as there was a new government

in power every year, as cost of living was skyrocketing,

and the people of Bulgaria began to be very upset

and agitated. And so they began to assemble to

protest. And in those years of 2013 and 2014,

they set the all -time record for the most consecutive

days of protesting. They protested for 404 straight

days. People were brought in by the busloads

to the capital city of Sofia in order to protest,

tens of thousands of people protesting. because

what they saw was oppression and corruption and

it got to be so bad that the people began to

be a little bit violent and at one point the

government was meeting in the Parliament and

the people decided to barricade them inside the

Parliament building and they wouldn't let them

out until the authorities intervened but then

the people were still angry at this and so they

began to barricade the bus that was being used

to get the government out of the city and they

dragged all sorts of things into the streets.

At one point I saw a baby grand piano in the

street in front of a bus carrying parliament.

Oppression and corruption drive people to survival

mode, drives them to desperate measures. But

friends, when we as Christians see oppression,

and we see corruption and we see injustice. This

should drive us not to those things. This should

drive us to the King of Kings and the Lord of

Lords. This should drive us to the one who can

do something about it. This should drive us to

Christ because his kingdom is everlasting. His

kingdom's not made by human hands. His kingdom

has no boundaries and Jesus has no successor

waiting in the balance to replace him. He rules

with perfect justice and righteousness and grace.

There is no oppression in Jesus' kingdom because

actually Jesus was the one who was oppressed.

Jesus is the one who was oppressed for our sake.

Jesus is the one smitten, stricken, pierced,

crushed, chastised, and afflicted. Isaiah 53,

by oppression and judgment, he was taken away.

The same one who was oppressed is also the one

who frees us from oppression. Revelation 1 says

he loves us and has freed us from our sins by

his blood, and he is the ruler over all the kings

of the earth. And so if you should ever see oppression,

if you should see injustice, if you should see

corruption, friends, seek Jesus. He is the permanent

and eternal King. And so what he shows us and

what Solomon shows us here is the limits of human

leadership. Look in verses 13 through 16. There's

this story that is told here, and I don't know

if it's a real story or something like a parable,

but the way that it goes is that there was an

older king who no longer knew how to take advice.

He no longer knew how to take counsel and he

is replaced by a young man who came from prison.

And this is unexpected because typically in the

scriptures and just in our own culture we view

those who are older to have more wisdom. But

here comes this young man from prison, maybe

think Joseph here, to replace the king. But there's

another twist to it, that apparently there's

another youth who will eventually replace that

king. Why? The text is telling us nothing stays

the same. Kings come and kings go, no matter

how wise, Vanity cannot be slowed simply by wisdom.

The wise king will eventually be replaced and

eventually forgotten. And friends, what this

tells us then is that if you place all of your

hope and all of your trust in a person fulfilling

a role, you will be let down. Oppression can

return just as quickly as it left. Think of the

kings of Israel. Think of the kings of Judah.

Think of the cycle of the judges. Think, I mentioned

Joseph. Think about how Joseph was imprisoned.

Joseph was incarcerated and yet Joseph rose to

power in God's providence, brought incredible

blessing to Israel, but then he died. Exodus

Exodus 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2 tells us then came a king in Egypt

a Pharaoh who did not know Joseph and oppression

followed. Oppression can come and go just like

that. Kings come and go just like that. But Jesus

is the same yesterday today and forever. He is

our eternal King and as our eternal King he tells

us how to live. And so let's look at verses four

through 12, as we focus on people in community

with one another. You see in verse four, what

Solomon is getting at, then I saw that all the

toil and all skill and work come from a man's

envy of his neighbor. What drives people to work,

he observed, is envy. It's a desire to be better

than our neighbor. It's a desire to have more

than our neighbor. We are living in a constant

game of comparison, trying to one -up one another.

We are self -centered, and we want to see our

own success. And certainly, this should bring

to mind the 10th commandment. We are to be content,

not envious of one another. and not envious of

one another's possessions. Kohelet says, Solomon

says, that this is vanity. It's hevel. Why is

it hevel? Because there's always going to be

someone who is more successful, who is younger

maybe, more diligent, faster, smarter. I realized

this recently. I had a birthday. About a week

and a half ago, it's crazy how those things come

around once a year. Two days after my birthday,

I went to play some basketball with a friend.

Not even competitive basketball. We were playing

horse. And afterwards, my knee swelled up to

the size of a grapefruit, right? There's always

gonna be someone younger, faster, smarter, more

athletic, and I was never very good at basketball

in the first place. But when we're in this constant

game of envy and comparison, we are going to

be sadly mistaken, sadly disappointed when it

comes crashing down and we're lying there on

the floor of the basketball court. Remember,

Solomon is likely near the end of his life as

he writes this, and he knows he can no longer

keep up. And this is a lesson that we must all

learn. And so this is the danger with our work

is that we work and we toil and we slave away.

And for what? Just to show that we're better

than someone else. And so that's a danger. But

in verse five, we get the other danger. The danger

of laziness. For we might push back on that.

We might say, well, I don't want to be like that

guy. I don't want to be envious and in competition

all the time. So instead, I'm just going to do

nothing. Again, the danger of laziness, of dropping

out of the race entirely, of forfeiting, of not

doing our work. And certainly this is written

in a way that makes us cringe. The fool folds

his hands and eats his own flesh. What is that

talking about? It's talking about how we, if

we just choose not to do anything, we no longer

want to work, we just give up. This is destructive.

This is self -destruction. The man who does this,

who refuses to work, will actually waste away.

And so where should we be? Not on this side,

not on this side. We need to be right in the

middle. We need to learn contentment. Look at

verses seven and eight. Or actually, let's stay

in verse six. Better is a handful of quietness

than two hands full of toil. and a striving after

wind. Yes, it's better to keep working and striving

and providing for our families and for those

who are in need. We need to ask ourselves, for

whom do we work? Colossians three says it best,

whatever you do, do your work heartily as for

the Lord rather than for men. And so this is

the answer to envy. When we work for the Lord

and for His glory, we are freed from needing

the approval of our neighbor or trying to keep

up with the Joneses, right? Whatever you do,

are you working for the Lord or are you motivated

by envy? We all should understand that we need

to be working for the good of one another. Look

at verses seven and eight. This is communicating

someone who has nobody. The solitary worker who

works tirelessly but has no one, no son, no brother,

no friends, no family, and yet he never stops

to think, for whom am I doing this? It's just

herself, right? I saw a poll recently that I

think illustrates this very well, and the poll

just asked two questions. It said, how much do

you make? And how much would you need to make

in order to be happy? It's very telling that

the results of that poll showed that people overwhelmingly

said, if I just had 25 % more, then I would be

happy. Now indeed, there are some who definitely

could use 25 % more. But to have that many people

saying, I just need a little bit more, shows

us something important. about ourselves. It'll

never be enough, will it? For you could get that

25 % more and you would still want 25 % more.

Friends, when we work only for ourselves, when

we're seeking to satisfy only self, we are going

to be, as I said, very disappointed and very

lonely, which is our last point here. Verses

nine through 12. it speaks to companionship.

Companionship is better than aloneness. And Solomon

illustrates this with four examples, verse 9.

Two are better than one because they have a good

reward for their toil. Working together you can

accomplish more good and therefore there will

be a greater reward for this. We should be working

together on things that really matter, right?

like reaching our community for Christ. This

is done better when we all engage in it together.

Second example is verse 10. If one falls, the

other can help him up. To fall and be alone is

a dangerous and scary thing. Yes, physically

falling, but emotionally, spiritually and having

no one to pick us up, we need community. Verse

11 for example 3 2 can keep each other warm.

We should remember in Solomon's time. They didn't

have heat right and so what this is speaking

of is probably Travelers who are on the way to

a destination to have nowhere to stay and this

isn't talking about anything sinful here This

is just talking about travelers who would sleep

near one another to keep each other warm When

they're perhaps in the elements And then finally,

verse 12, for example, number four. One who is

alone may be overpowered, but two can stand against

an attacker. Sometimes it just really helps to

have somebody have your back, right? And so for

all of these reasons, this proverb here in verse

12 is true. This threefold cord that is not easily

or quickly broken. He's saying what is often

communicated in wisdom literature, that if one

thing, if two things is good, then more than

that is better. If two is good, three is better,

right? That there is strength in numbers. And

so friends, to go through life without companionship

is not just sad. It's downright foolish. We need

one another. Before the fall, God said it was

not good for man to be alone. And while that

first referred to marriage, Solomon is making

a broader point about the human need for companionship,

to have friends and family and people who are

with you. But where can we find this community?

Where does it come from? How can I have it? Well,

here I could tell you to join a bowling league.

Or if you're single, I could tell you to try

online dating. But no. I'm telling you, a great

place to find companionship is right here, right

now. We need one another in the church, right?

We need a community that worships together and

prays together and serves together and walks

through all of the miseries of this life together.

And I think that Solomon would absolutely agree

because he's the one who built the temple. And

his very name in this book literally. The title

that is used here is Kohelet and that means literally

convener or assembler for the purposes of teaching.

His name means getting together. And so we ought

to be together. And if Solomon would agree with

this, how much more would Jesus agree with this?

That Jesus, the one who is followed by all the

crowds, Jesus who assembled his own small team

of men, right? And Jesus who commanded us to

love one another, and you cannot keep that commandment

if you're not with one another. And Jesus who

is ultimately abandoned at the cross, My God,

my God, why have you forsaken me? Jesus knew

more than any of us what it was like to be completely

alone. And he went through it all for you. And

ultimately, when he did that, he kicked off the

greatest organization in the world, the church,

the early church, the model for us. comes from

Acts chapter 2 and I'll begin to wrap up with

Acts 2 · chapter mention

just two passages of scripture. Acts 2 42 through

47 and they devoted themselves to the apostles

teaching and the fellowship to the breaking of

bread and the prayers and awe came upon every

soul and many wonders and signs were being done

through the apostles and all who believe were

together. and they had all things in common,

and they were selling their possessions and belongings

and distributing the proceeds to all as any had

need. And day by day, attending the temple together

and breaking bread in their homes, they received

their food with glad and generous hearts, praising

God and having favor with all the people. And

the Lord added to their number, day by day, those

who are being saved. Perhaps you feel alone.

Perhaps those who are listening online maybe

feel alone. Friends, you are made for Christian

community. In community, you grow in faith. In

community, you bear one another's burdens. In

community, you worship the living God. In community,

you give help to each other in saying no to sin.

In community, you look after the needs of those

who are desperately in need. And in community,

you prepare for the perfect fellowship that awaits

you in glory. And so friends, let us have this

closing statement, not from me. but from God's

Word. Hebrews 10, 24, and 25. And let us consider

how to stir up one another to love and good works,

not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit

of some, but encouraging one another in all the

more as you see the day drawing near. Let us

pray.