The Vanity of Death(From Dust to Dust), Ecclesiastes 3:16-22- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

As I said we take time now to go to his word

and we will be in Ecclesiastes chapter 3 16 through

Ecclesiastes 3 · chapter mention

22 Ecclesiastes 3 16 through 22 We're picking

up where we left off in this Old Testament wisdom

book And we've probably noted several times about

how Kohelet, the Hebrew name for teacher or preacher,

quite literally the convener for the purposes

of teaching, how he is very real within this

letter. He's very honest and that continues here

even as he covers some difficult material. And

so let us hear this now. from God's word, Ecclesiastes

3, 16 through 22, and it reads in this way. Moreover,

I saw under the sun that in the place of justice,

even there was wickedness. And in the place of

unrighteousness, even there was wickedness. 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. 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. For what happens to the children

of man and what happens to the beast is the same.

As one dies, so dies the other. They all have

the same breath and man has no advantage over

the beast for all is vanity. All go to one place.

All are from the dust, and to dust all return.

Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward,

and the spirit of the beast goes down into the

earth? So I saw 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? The grass withers and the flower

fades, but God's word stands forever. Let us

pray. Father, we give you praise and thanks for

your word, even when your word covers difficult

ground. And so certainly we recognize our dependence

upon you and our need. And so would you open

up our ears, our hearts and our minds to hear

from you? Would you grant us understanding? We

pray these things for Christ's sake. Amen. My

children, and I didn't say I was going to talk

about them today, but my children are in this

age and stage of life where it seems like at

just about every turn, at every holiday, at every

birthday, every random Tuesday, they're saying,

Dad, when can we get a dog? Every time we drive

to school and we see someone walking their dog

in the neighborhood, every time we drive home

from school in the same neighborhood, every time

we see one on TV, in a book, or on a greeting

card, Dad, when can we get a dog? I usually remark

that I love dogs. I just love other people's

dogs. There was a time, though, when I didn't

love having a dog. Growing up, we had a lot of

them. And there was a time when I said, I will

never have my own dog. And the reason was because

I got tired of burying them. How many times did

it happen that I was in the backyard with a shovel,

crying, putting the family pet into the ground,

and it just seemed too hard? And I thought surely

that Alfred Lord Tennyson was wrong when he says,

better to have loved and lost than never to have

loved at all. I thought he didn't know what he

was talking about. He didn't have man's best

friend. What we're talking about today is death.

And that is a heavy and a hard topic. And yet

it's one that the preacher, the teacher, Solomon

likely in Ecclesiastes He covers many times.

You might even say that death is one of his favorite

topics, not because he loves to talk about it,

because it is something that is so hard for him.

And certainly God, in his word, he gives us this

because we need to understand the reality of

death. There is surely, as he says, a time for

every season under heaven, including death, and

Solomon confronts it head on. But what leads

to it? What leads to such a heavy section here?

No, it's not the death of a dog. Actually, what

precipitates this is the injustice that he sees

in this world. Many believe, and I think that

I do too as well, that Solomon, as he writes

Ecclesiastes, he is at the end of his life, that

he's facing his own mortality. And he has seen

injustice and corruption over and over and over

again, and he is tired of it. And so, yes, what

precipitates this discussion on death is injustice.

And yet, as that is, and as we ponder and wonder,

why, Lord, is there such injustice in this life?

And why do we have to go through death? My hope

is that we will be driven to see the one who

is perfectly just and the one who died to satisfy

divine justice. And so we'll look first at injustice

primarily from verses 16 and 17. You see in verse

16 that Solomon here names the problem right

from the start and I actually think that what

Solomon is doing in verse 16 and 17 is he's bolstering

his argument for you remember earlier in chapter

3 he's gone over all of these times and all of

these seasons he said there's a time to be born

at a time to die and yet sometimes people look

around and they look at injustice and they say

well I thought that there would be a time for

judgment. And yet why haven't we had judgment?

There's so much wickedness in the world. Why

doesn't God do something about this? But what

Solomon helps us to see is that it's all in his

time. It is all in his perfect timing. But he

also observes what we observe. And so in verse

16, he says, I saw under the sun that in the

place of justice, even there was wickedness."

What he's doing here is he's dropping us into

a legal setting, into a courtroom type of setting.

Because if you can't find justice in the courtroom,

where can you find it? But yet look what he says

here. In the place of justice, there was wickedness.

So he's observing places that should be, there

should be justice and there's not, right? And

so no doubt he's probably seen the innocent convicted

and he's seen the guilty go scot -free. And remember,

this is all coming from a king. And so if the

king, even with his power, could not find perfect

justice, what are we to do? If this is how a

king feels how much more the person who has been

through and experienced terrible injustice And

yet that's not all Again from verse 16 in the

place of righteousness even there was wickedness

and so same kind of thing. Just like you would

expect to see justice in the courtroom, now he's

taking us to the place of righteousness and saying,

there is none. Why is that? He's talking about

religious leaders here. And for a religious leader

to be about something other than righteousness

is a heinous crime. If you can't find a commitment

to righteousness in the house of the Lord, what

hope is there? Jeff Wint. Who was a pastor is

a pastor and he was up at second prez He said

when he preached on this text that this is a

sobering statement For any who would find themselves

in positions of power in the civic or religious

sphere This is a this is a flashing billboard

to all of those in positions of authority to

uphold righteousness and to uphold justice I

think Solomon would greatly appreciate being

able to read the prophets, prophets like Amos

who said in chapter 524 of that book, but let

justice roll down like waters and righteousness

like an ever flowing stream. He would have appreciated

that, but instead all he can look around and

see is injustice and in righteousness. And it

seems like he's crying out, it's not fair. It's

not fair. The same thing that we say when we

see terrible injustice out there, it's just not

fair. And it's especially difficult in nations

that supposedly do uphold justice, right? Even

within our own country, we know the Pledge of

Allegiance, liberty and justice for all, which

is a wonderful statement. And yet we can't keep

it perfectly in this life, can we? We just can't.

Because there is really only one place to find

perfect justice and perfect righteousness. And

no, it's not in the courtroom. And no, it's not

in the sanctuary even. It's not in a particular

city. It's not in a particular country. The only

place to find real and true and perfect justice

and righteousness is in God alone. Philip Riken

says here, our confidence does not lie in a justice

system, but in the chief justice himself, Jesus

Christ. And so what Solomon really does here

is he helps us to look to God who is perfect

in these ways. Verse 17, he says it, I said in

my heart, and there he is talking to himself

again. God will judge the righteous and the wicked

for there is a time for every matter and For

every work what he is doing as he's pointing

us to God who is at work behind the scenes Consider

Deuteronomy chapter 10 verse 17 for the Lord

Deuteronomy 10:17

your God is God of gods and Lord of Lords, the

great, the mighty, and the awesome God who is

not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice

for the fatherless and the widow. This is what

we need to remind ourselves of when we see injustice

in the world. To remind ourselves that God is

the God of Gods and Lord of Lords and He will

execute perfect justice. But sometimes in this

life, Who God is gets crowded out by all the

other noise of this world and Here's where I

want to give you some practical application Friends,

I'm gonna say this because I think it's true

of many of us Sometimes we need to turn off the

news Sometimes we need to turn off the news some

of us are Utilizing this constant cycle of news

that comes our way And there's nothing wrong

with being informed. You should be. But if we

are so consumed by the news, it can have a tendency

to crowd out truth. And the truth is this, that

justice, perfect justice is only found in God.

There is a time for every matter, including turning

off the news. Take it from a former journalist.

You can get so consumed by these things and so

fearful of life. Make sure to pick up the good

news, friends, and to be in the scriptures, especially

if you've been a victim of injustice. I wonder

if you've been a victim of some form of injustice,

how it feels to read verse 17 and to hear that

God will indeed judge the righteous and the wicked.

He will. I hope that this gives you incredible

hope. Yes, it's true. Thieves and crooks do deals

in the dark, but God knows all and God sees all.

It's actually a huge point in this book. It's

actually the final point in this book, if you

will. Ecclesiastes chapter 12, verse 14. Kohelet's

Ecclesiastes 12:14

closing thoughts. Ecclesiastes 12 -14, for God

will bring every deed into judgment with every

secret thing, whether good or evil. Perhaps you

remember the parable of the unjust judge, a parable

that Jesus tells, that there is this woman, who

is seeking justice for what we don't know. And

she continues to go to the judge crying out to

him for help. And eventually she wears him down.

She is persistent. And so if this judge will

eventually administer justice, how much more

will a completely just God give justice? He will.

And you won't have to be like the persistent

widow with God. Because justice flows from him.

If God had DNA, justice would be in it. But you

might say, well, all of that sounds good. But

how do I know? How do I know that God is just

in this way? Well, we see it in Jesus Christ.

Jesus was the victim of incredible injustice.

False testimony was issued against him. A real

criminal was released in his place. 1 Peter chapter

1 Peter 2 · chapter mention

2, he committed no sin. Neither was deceit found

in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not

revile in return. When he suffered, he did not

threaten, but continued entrusting himself to

him who judges justly. Jesus was sinless in every

single way and yet bore the fullness of the penalty

for our sin. Because God is just. And sin had

to be punished. Punishment had to be handed out.

But for those who are in Christ Jesus, you are

safe. You are safe. Because your sin is imputed

to Jesus. meaning it's given to him, it is credited

to his account, and what do you get in return?

You get the righteousness of Christ. Consider

Acts chapter 17. You may remember this passage,

Acts 17 · chapter mention

Acts 17, Paul is at the Areopagus and he's making

a very good and reasonable appeal for the Lord

Jesus Christ. Acts 17 30 and 31 reads in this

way the times of ignorance God overlooked But

now he commands all people everywhere to repent

Because he has fixed a day on which he will judge

the world in righteousness By a man whom he has

appointed and of this he has given assurance

to all by raising him from the dead Friends,

it is true. All will be judged. And only those

with the righteousness of Christ will be able

to stand. Those who do not have the righteousness

of Christ will be attempting to stand based upon

their own works. But apart from Christ, your

good works are nothing more than filthy rags.

And so you need the righteousness of Jesus. But

you might say, and I think that Kohela is anticipating

this, why doesn't God judge right now? If there's

so much rampant wickedness and unrighteousness

in the world, why doesn't he just go ahead and

do it? Why the delay? Look in verse 18 as we

move into our second point today of death. It

reads, 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.

The time of judgment is put off so that we will

see how beastly we are towards one another. The

teacher shows that we are responsible for our

death. Yes, God establishes the times. But we

in our own sin, we bring it on and we are compared

to wild animals here. We are compared to wild

animals who treat each other in a horrific way.

To illustrate a few years ago, I was in Wyoming

and I was camping and it was lovely and you should

definitely go. And at one point we are driving

down the highway. And I saw a group of people

with cameras on the side of the road. And you

know whenever you see a group of people with

cameras, you got to get your camera out too.

We got out of the car, walked to where the people

were, and they were looking across a river. On

the other side of a river was a bald eagle sitting

on the carcass of a buffalo that apparently had

been killed by a grizzly bear. That's what Solomon

shows us. That's how we are sometimes. Benjamin

Shaw says, the lion shows no sympathy to the

zebra. The fox shows no sympathy to the hare.

The cat shows no sympathy to the mouse. Thus

men treat one another. And so you see this injustice

argument is flowing directly to here. Kohelet

observes that men are not living at peace with

one another. and it greatly disturbs him. But

we're also like beasts, not just in how we treat

each other, but we're also like beasts and that

we all die. Verses 19 and 20. For what happens

to the children of man and what happens to the

beast is the same. As one dies, so dies the other.

We could flip it around though. And say it like

this, the animals are like us because people

were the ones who brought death onto creation.

By Adam's disobedience, all of creation was plunged

into sin and suddenly death became a reality.

Without sin, there would be no death. But we

know this to be true, that the wages of sin is

death. And as long as the Lord tarries, we will

all experience it. We will all experience, verse

20, all go to one place, all are from the dust,

and to dust all return." That's actually a bit

of a perplexing verse if we really think about

it, isn't it? What is he really doing? What is

Solomon really doing? He's taking us back as

he does so many times to the book of Genesis.

Genesis chapter 3, 17 through 19, the consequence

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

of the fall. And to Adam he said, because you

have listened to the voice of your wife and have

eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, you

shall not eat of it. Cursed is the ground because

of you. In pain you shall eat of it all the days

of your life. Thorns and thistles it shall bring

forth for you and you shall eat the plants of

the field. By the sweat of your face you shall

eat bread till you return to the ground. for

out of it you are taken, for you are dust, and

to dust you shall return." Solomon here is reminding

us of the consequence of the fall, that death

exists because of sin, and yet the way that he

approaches this can, as I said, be perplexing.

Look at verse 21. This befuddling question who

knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and

the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth

What does he mean here in some ways? This seems

like the most anti -christian thing you could

say It sounds like a verse without hope and he

just leaves this verse sitting there open -ended

And this is why I really like Ecclesiastes Because

he doesn't sugarcoat things, does he? Sometimes

he just says it as it is, and he doesn't seek

to make us immediately feel better. He leaves

this question hanging there like an awkward moment

in a dinner conversation. He can't resolve it.

Not yet. And yet, if we think about it in another

way, maybe it's not so open -ended. Because as

he says, who knows? The implied answer is God

does. God knows the answer to this. And so we

must remember what this book is intending to

do. This book is giving us this teacher's honest

observations of life under the sun. And friends,

sometimes life under the sun does not feel good.

Sometimes life under the sun, it hurts. And it

hurts even for this king. But friends if there's

something that you are learning from this I hope

it is this That you can be honest with God You

can be honest with him in your prayers But I

would also give a caveat here be honorably honest

giving honor to God at all times even as you

lift up to him the concerns of your heart the

injustices that you see You can cry out as the

prophet Habakkuk did, how long shall I cry for

help and you will not hear, or cry to you violence

and you will not save. You can cry out to God

the way the psalmist does. Psalm 42, my tears

have been my food day and night, while they say

to me, where is your God? After all, we have

an entire book called Lamentations. You can lament

to God the challenges of this life under the

sun. Because we're living in a fallen world we're

living in a broken world and yet even as broken

and fallen as it is Look at verse 22 So I saw

there's nothing better than that a man should

rejoice in his work for this for that is his

lot Even with all of the brokenness and the pain

and the heartache and the death he continues

to commend joy in living He seems to say, you

don't know what's coming next. And so enjoy your

labor, enjoy your work, even though it's toilsome.

And so you see in a fallen world, God has not

removed all of joy. It's still there to be had.

And so whether you are in a season of lamentation

or enjoying God's gifts, enjoy, but do so with

faith in Christ. And as I begin to wrap up here,

I just want to end on a high note, on a message

of hope. There's a way in which many people have

looked at this phrase under the sun and they

have made it into a message of hope here. There's

a fun English connection that's happening. That

yes, we're living in a fallen world under the

sun, S -U -N, but in Christ we are under the

S -O -N, the very Son of God. And it's only in

Christ that you can make sanity out of vanity.

It's only in Christ that you can make sense of

this fallen world. And as for that difficult

verse 21, well, Kohelet takes it up again in

chapter 12 when he says, the dust returns to

the earth as it was and the spirit returns to

God who gave it. And so there's your answer.

Verse 21 is not the end of the story. And death

is not the end of the story for the Christian.

We can say it like this, vanity of vanities.

All is vanity, even death, because yes, even

death for the Christian is fleeting. Even death

for the Christian is evil, because death for

the Christian does not last forever. Because

what Jesus promised, is not everlasting death.

What Jesus promised is not everlasting judgment.

What Jesus promised for all who would believe

in him is everlasting life. This is life under

the S -O -N. Let us pray.