As we open God's word together, let us ask for his blessing.
Heavenly Father, would you be so kind and gracious to us this morning to give us the supernatural ability to hear and understand your word.
!
Amen.
If you do not have a Bible, we have a stack of them at the back welcome table.
You can grab one.
It would help me out a ton if you followed along.
If you have a scripture journal, you can turn to page 28.
28.
I'll open with a story.
There was an archbishop in Uganda in the 70s named Janani Luwam.
And he was the archbishop of Uganda, but also Rwanda in some of the neighboring countries and regions during the time of Idiomin.
Idiomin, if you know some history, was called the Hitler of Africa.
He was a horrendous, horrendous tyrant who took over Uganda in a coup and began a systematic campaign of murder.
It was a horrendous time in Uganda.
And the archbishop spoke early against Idiomin.
Idiomin, he eventually was faced with a moment where either he shrunk back from speaking against Idiomin,
or in speaking against him would surely die.
It kind of reached a level where one more word from this really difficult archbishop, and that would be the end of him.
So what did he do?
He spoke against Idiomin.
He spoke against the murders and the whole regime of disappearing people.
And he was arrested along with two legislators, and then he died.
The story was that he died in the transport to his trial.
It was a car accident.
And when the family received his body, it was riddled with bullets.
Riddled with bullets.
He was 55 years old.
Idiomin, if you know your history, was able to flee.
And he lived out his days in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia,
and died in 2003 in a plush hospital in his mid-70s.
opened up with a question based on the story that's going to really help drive the rest of our time in Ecclesiastes chapter 7.
Why do kind and good people suffer and even die, while wicked and evil people live long and prosper?
Why?
Do you know the answer to this question?
It's a confusing and disorienting and deeply unjust reality that we see all the time.
We feel the injustice of it.
But we can even extend it to smaller scales, where it's not a tyrant versus an archbishop.
But we could even ask the question, why is it that a good, promising, young woman in her 20s can get cancer?
Terminal cancer.
And yet, a greedy, money-hungry man who is on his maybe fifth or sixth marriage,
who has been a terrible father, a terrible co-worker, can live into his 80s.
Why?
You feel the injustice in this?
The struggle in this?
Are you frustrated with it?
This would have been a very confusing reality, not just for us, but for the Israelites as well,
that the sage was talking to.
Early in their history, God promised the Israelites that if they would keep his commandments,
they would live long and prosper.
Yet, time and again, the history of Israel is that the, not every situation,
but oftentimes the wicked would live long,
and the innocent, or the righteous, or the upright,
those that kept God's commandments, they would die young.
So it's a bit of a conundrum, because, number one, we don't have the answer to that,
and number two, because if God promised that righteousness would result in long life,
is God a liar?
Is he unjust?
Is God a part of the problem?
Is he making promises that he just can't keep?
And then if that's the case, what's the point of acting righteous or wise at all?
Especially if the rewards aren't just meager, but they're actually detrimental to our lives,
to our health, to our being.
See, the sage will try to make sense of this reality,
and he's going to do it grappling with human nature,
motivations for behavior, and the pursuit of knowledge.
And he's going to try to come to the, hopefully, the answer to this conundrum.
Why do the good die young?
Why do the wicked die old?
And he's going to really lean into a bit of an investigation on wisdom and righteousness.
But he will say, and we will find out that there is certainly a place for wise living and right living,
but with a caution.
The sage will teach us that righteousness and wisdom are worthy of embrace.
And these will be our three points that will guide us through our time in Ecclesiastes 7.
The sage will teach us that righteousness and wisdom are worthy of our embrace,
but not a guarantee for our success.
That righteousness and wisdom are a source of strength, but not the means of salvation.
And then finally, righteousness and wisdom can make one wise, but not upright.
So as we consider this section, we will hopefully seek to answer the conundrum of verse 15.
I'm going to be returning to verse 15 often in our time together this morning.
But first, just a bit of a, I don't know, an editorial note, so to speak.
The sage and much of wisdom literature in the Bible see righteousness and wisdom as two sides of the same coin.
Those who are wise will act and think and speak rightly.
And those who are righteous will live wise lives.
So you cannot have one without the other.
So I bring that up just to say I will almost certainly use righteousness and wisdom somewhat interchangeably.
Although they are different, but they have a ton of overlap.
But for our time this morning, we're going to be looking at righteousness and wisdom as kind of like a package deal.
Okay, first point.
Righteousness and wisdom are worthy of our embrace, but not a guarantee for our success.
Let's open to verse 15.
I'll read it together.
We'll read it together.
Verse 15.
In my vain life, I have seen everything.
There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evil doing.
The disturbing reality is presented here as a fact.
And I think it's easy to say that it's a fact.
That we know what is happening.
We feel this in a very acute way.
The sage has investigated the matter thoroughly and has reached the troubling conclusion that life simply isn't just.
Those who should be declared innocent are jailed.
Okay, those who should be brought to justice have the legal clout, the money to get off scot-free.
Young teenagers, like I mentioned already, are diagnosed with cancer.
While men like Idi Amin enjoy wealth well into their senior years.
I feel very deeply that this is a very uncomfortable reality.
However, I want us to consider that such a statement starts with the assumption that many, perhaps all of us here, hold.
And here's the assumption.
That good things should happen to good people.
And again, more often than not, we see ourselves as part of the good people category.
And therefore, we are deserving of good things.
Seldom do we believe our faults and sins are so severe as to warrant divine justice against us.
Okay?
We want divine justice against other people.
Ultimate justice.
But when we slip up and when we aren't so good, we want to be treated with a bit more understanding, a bit more nuance.
Why do we presume this should be the case?
I think it's an important question to ponder.
The sage will continue on.
Verse 16.
Be not overly righteous and do not make yourself too wise.
Why should you destroy yourself?
Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool.
Why should you die before your time?
Verse 18.
It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand.
For the one who fears God shall come out from both of them.
The sage here is not approving of lax morals or implying that wisdom is pointless.
Instead, he warns against acting and thinking as if we can influence God to grant us long life.
This form of righteousness is motivated not by the fear of the Lord about doing right for his sake,
but rather it's a self-justifying righteousness, which really isn't a righteousness at all.
This is a heart that believes that we deserve all goodness and no consequence.
One that believes that we deserve a long life and goodness.
And friends, this type of self-righteousness, it blinds us to our own sinfulness.
Conversely, the sage tells us not to intentionally engage in wickedness.
To not say, well there's no point in being good or exercising wisdom,
so I'm just going to live the way I want to live.
And if it's wicked, so be it.
He is saying if someone knows something is wrong, they should not do it.
Willful sinning is completely not okay.
The idea that we can let our desires control us
because there will be no punishment for our actions
as if the wicked can escape the wrongdoings.
It's flawed thinking.
We'll get to why it's flawed a bit later on,
but it is flawed thinking.
So we see neither our self-righteousness on one hand
nor our self-gratifying indulgence
will guarantee us even one more hour
or ensure that our days are both comfortable and bountiful.
The sage is saying, listen, both ends here,
both extremes, self-righteousness,
self-indulgence,
they are not the way to go.
Instead, what does he say?
Verse 18,
It is good that you should not take hold of this,
that is self-righteousness,
and from that, which is self-gratification,
and from that withhold not your hand,
for the one who, and here it is,
fears God shall come out from both of them.
Instead, he says this,
entrust yourself to the Lord
and obey him.
Don't engage in evil.
Try your best to be a wise, righteous person
for God's glory.
And that's great.
It's a really important bit,
but see, what it does is
it doesn't answer the conundrum of verse 15.
Why do the good die young?
Why do the evil have prolonged life?
So although the conundrum persists,
we begin to see that the answer lies somewhere
with the Lord
and entrusting ourselves to him.
So, earthly wisdom has a place
and a prominent one at that.
And we'll see this especially in our second point.
But again, we will see that righteousness and wisdom
cannot be seen as a way to answer or transcend
this conundrum of verse 15.
So, the second point,
that righteousness and wisdom
are a source of strength,
but not a means of salvation.
Look with me at verses 19 and following.
We'll just read verse 19 for now.
Wisdom gives strength.
So it has great benefit.
Wisdom gives strength to the wise man.
More than ten rulers who are in a city.
Whether or not wise living leads to a long life,
it does not diminish the effectiveness of wisdom.
Wisdom still has a purpose.
It is still good.
It provides great benefits.
In fact,
it gives significant strength to the righteous.
Wise living has the power to prevent calamity.
You're going to have ten strong rulers.
Fantastic.
But the wise person knows when to sheath the sword.
Okay?
The wise person also knows when to take the sword out
and engage in battle.
The wise person knows when to win an argument
and when to hold one's tongue.
Ultimately, the wise person is far more valuable
than ten mighty rulers.
Why?
Because the wise person has in mind
the flourishing of society.
That people ought to not be subject under tyranny.
That life is better than death.
And yet,
wisdom in this context
isn't this absolute savior.
Look with me at verse 20.
Surely there is not a righteous man on earth
who does good and never sins.
No one is perfectly wise.
So wisdom has a place,
but the wise man isn't ultimately wise.
There's no perfectly wise person
always making the right decisions,
saying the right things,
thinking the right thoughts.
There has never been anyone like that.
It's not just that there isn't a perfectly wise person,
but every person is unrighteous to some degree.
No one who has ever,
no one who has never told a lie.
There's never been somebody
who has not cheated on a test
or fudged the charitable givings line
on TurboTax.
You know, we chuckle,
I chuckle at that a little bit,
but these are things that
that are easily done,
but just prove our unrighteousness,
our lack of wisdom.
There has never not been somebody
who gossiped behind their brother's back
or lusted after an image or a video
or fantasized about a co-worker
or obsessed over money
or performed charity
with a self-serving motive.
There is not one who is perfectly wise
or perfectly righteous.
The list could go on.
But it is not that one is perfect,
but that such imperfection
is problematic on a cosmic scale.
It's not just that we make mistakes
like everybody else,
but that our mistakes,
our sin,
our unrighteousness,
our lack of wisdom
is a problem cosmically.
The Apostle Paul in Romans 3,
verse 23,
he says,
all have sinned,
okay, we've established that,
and connected to it,
all have sinned
and fallen short of the glory of God.
Our unrighteous acts,
our sin,
it says in Scripture
that they are an offense to God
for they contravene
his good and beautiful design
for us and the rest of creation.
So you see
that our problem
is never just limited to us.
It has ripple effects
all the way to a cosmic scale
whereby we are sinning
against the glory of God.
And this takes us back
to the assumption of verse 15,
the assumption that says
that good people deserve good things.
It seems that the question
should not be
why do bad things happen
to good people
or why do not,
why is it that good people
don't receive good things?
Rather,
the better question
to ask is
why do good things happen
to anyone at all
considering there is no one
who is truly good?
If we are sinning
that affects
kind of ripple,
it has this ripple effect
all the way up to God,
why are we deserving
of anything?
We might be
tempted to solve
this apparent problem
through our own ingenuity
and attempts
at behavior modification.
We're going to try harder.
Let's just avoid mistakes.
All good things,
by the way.
Or maybe we
take measures
to lessen
the impact
of our imperfection.
One of the things
that we like to do
in the West
is legislate
our problems away.
And there is
a fantastic,
important place
for good legislation.
But the best
we can do
as a society
is
create legislation
that prohibits
something
but can't
compel goodness.
So an example,
you can't make
a law
that forces
people
to pick up
every piece
of trash
they see
and put it
in the waste bin.
But you can make
a law
and it could be
kept reasonably
that you shouldn't
litter.
Whether or not
people listen to it
is besides the point.
But we can't
force people
to be better.
We can't.
The best we can do
is mitigate
problems.
And why is that?
Because the core
of the issue
is not primarily
with our actions
but with our hearts.
They are inclined
towards evil.
They are inclined
towards sin.
And the sage
he captures
this perfectly
in the next two verses.
Look with me
at verses 21
and 22.
Do not take
to heart
all the things
that people say
lest you hear
your servant
cursing you.
Verse 22.
Your heart knows
that many times
you yourself
have cursed others.
Again,
we are deeply
convinced that
the true wrongs
are out there
and done against us.
But we deceive
ourselves into believing
we are immune
to sin.
However,
we know on a very
fundamental level
that we have wronged
just as we have
wronged others.
So,
the sage,
now we're halfway
through this section,
the sage
is beginning
to help us
see a more
full-orbed
understanding
of human nature.
And it's
not a great
outlook.
And hopefully,
we start
developing this
answer to the
conundrum
of verse 15.
And we start
to see a bit
of the answer
here.
No one is
truly righteous.
So to say,
again,
in verse 15,
there is a
righteous man
who perishes
in his righteousness,
we've actually
come to find out
that nobody's
truly righteous.
Nobody can claim
absolute righteousness.
Everyone harbors
some kind of
wickedness.
And as a result,
no one can
genuinely claim
God's blessing
as an expectation
or a right.
Very,
very important.
However,
we still lack
a clear answer
to the second
puzzling question
in verse 15.
Why do wicked,
why do the wicked
often prosper
while the good
endure suffering?
So why do the wicked
prosper?
Again,
it's very perplexing
to us.
And it's helpful,
at least for me,
to know that the sage,
who is this incredibly
wise,
divinely inspired
writer,
it is perplexing
to him as well.
Look with me
at verses 23 and 24.
All this,
and all this,
by the way,
is this kind of
grammatical,
biblical phrase
that points backwards
and forwards.
So everything that I just
said,
everything that I'm
going to say,
all this I have
tested by wisdom.
I said,
I will be wise,
but it was far
from me.
That which has been
is far off
and deep,
very deep.
Who can find
it out?
He dug deep,
deep.
His investigation
was thorough,
only to realize
that he couldn't
reach the bottom
of the matter.
And we are beginning
to see that this
might be
divinely classified
information.
We get what appears
to be a snippet
of an answer,
but never a complete
one.
And this is the
difficulty with
seeking wisdom.
And here's the
difficulty with it.
As you get
more wise,
you realize
that you can
understand deep
things in a
very shallow
way.
And this can be
a frustrating
thing because
you understand
it in part,
but there's
so much more
that you realize
that you don't
know.
A 4th century
bishop,
Gregory of
Nazianzus,
he was the
bishop of
Constantinople,
he said this
of this section
here,
and this
pursuit of
wisdom.
Quote,
For the joy
of what we
have discovered
is no greater
than the pain
of what escapes
us.
A pain I
imagine like
that felt by
those who are
dragged while yet
thirsty from the
water,
or are unable
to retain what
they think they
hold,
and I like this
one,
or are suddenly
left in the
dark by a
flash of
lightning.
Therefore,
there is a
significant irony
in using
earthly wisdom.
Again,
if you've been
tracking with us
with Ecclesiastes,
earthly wisdom,
you could say
wisdom under
the sun,
this idea that
this earthly
life is finite
and it's under
the sun,
there is a
significant irony
in using
earthly wisdom
under the sun
to understand
the divine
and transcending
God who is
above it.
What results
is the
realization of
just how
much you
and I
don't know.
And still,
funny enough,
this is a
form of
wisdom
because true
wisdom
will ultimately
help us to
be humble
people
and help us
to recognize
how finite
we are.
True wisdom
understands
limits
and helps
us to look
upward,
not inward.
It helps us
to understand
the truth of
Isaiah 55
verse 9.
Isaiah says
this,
speaking,
actually the
Lord says this
through Isaiah.
For as the
heavens are
higher than
the earth,
so are my
ways higher
than your
ways,
my thoughts
higher than
your thoughts.
And what a
fantastic revelation
for the sage
and for us
this morning.
He is coming
to understand,
we are coming
to understand
that God
is worthy
of fear
and praise
because he
is entirely
infinite
and we
cannot hope
to comprehend
him fully.
But what
about the
question of
evil people
prospering?
Okay?
So there's
certain things
we can't
understand
and we
have kind
of answered
one part
of the
conundrum
of verse 15
but if we
haven't answered
both parts
then we haven't
answered it
at all.
So what
is the sage
to do?
He doesn't
give up his
search,
he continues
on and this
leads us
to our
third point
where righteousness
and wisdom
it can make
one wise
but not
upright.
Look with me
at verse 25.
I turn
my heart
to know
and to
search out
and to
seek wisdom
in the
scheme of
things
and to
know the
wickedness
of folly
and the
foolishness
that is
madness.
The sage
dedicates
himself fully
to understanding
and these
are key
words here
that help
us to
tie in
this last
section
and also
the section
above it.
He gives
himself to
understanding
exploring
and seeking
wisdom
and the
reasons
behind why
life is
the way
it is.
He has
examined
wisdom,
he has
sought it
out
in some
great detail
but not
fully.
Now he
turns his
attention
to the
wickedness
and foolish.
Maybe
there's some
answers there.
And now
we turn
to verse
26
to the
end of
this section.
And I
find something
more bitter
than death.
The woman
whose heart
is snares
and nets
and whose
hands are
fetters.
He who
pleases
God escapes
her but the
sinner is
taken by
her.
Behold
this is
what I
found says
the preacher
while adding
one thing
to another
to find
the scheme
of things
which my
soul has
sought
repeatedly
but I
have not
found.
One man
among a
thousand
I found
but a
woman among
all these
I have
not
found.
See
this alone
I found
that God
made man
upright but
they have
sought out
many schemes.
I've
throughout
this time
in Ecclesiastes
I mean I
use commentaries
to help me
because there's
like way
smarter people
that I need
help from
and I've
used three
commentaries
some weeks
I've used
four.
This week
I looked
at I think
five.
And in
every commentary
there's
almost
unanimity
in saying
that this
section
verses
15 to
29
and especially
this section
we're in now
26 to 29
is quite
possibly the
hardest section
to understand
in Ecclesiastes.
therefore there's
a great temptation
for Bible
commentators
and preachers
to skip
this or
allegorize it
excessively
or even
defend God
from accusations
of being
a misogynist
by condemning
the sage.
But let's
take a few
minutes to walk
towards this
uncomfortable
passage.
Throughout this
section we have
seen the destructive
effects of
self-righteousness
and self-indulgence
or wickedness
on relationships.
The super-righteous
the self-righteous
person
ostracizes
others.
Again if you
go to
verse 16
and 17
especially
verse 16
be not overly
righteous and do
not make yourself
too wise.
Why should you
destroy yourself?
Again in the
context of
Ecclesiastes
and in here
how does one
destroy themselves?
Well I think
a big part of it
of course is to
be separated
from the Lord
but it's to
see these
wonderful
God-given
blessings of
relationships
start to
break down.
And it
doesn't take
a Bible
scholar to
understand that
a self-righteous
friend quickly
becomes not a
great friend.
A self-righteous
brother or
sister is not
really the
greatest brother
or sister.
brother.
Likewise
we see
that
slander
and cursing
are common
among both
the poor
and the rich
and the
heart
is very
hypocritical
condemning
others but
giving ourself
the get-out-of-jail
free card.
All of this
is relational
breakdown
and this
section is
in that vein.
There is no
greater relational
breakdown caused
by sin than
between a man
and a woman
in relationship.
When marriages
break apart.
When couples
grow distant.
The woman
described here
is one
who has no
regard for the
consequences of
her actions.
She might be
a wife.
She might be
somebody else.
But her
actions
they are
self-seeking.
She desires
only one
thing and
has no
respect for
the fear
of the
Lord.
Who cares
if it
destroys a
family?
She lacks
integrity
and honor.
The relationship
with her
is so
damaging
that the
sage suggests
death may
be a
less bitter
fate.
And we
do ourselves
no favors
by glossing
over a
text like
this.
There are
women
that exist
like this.
However,
there is
also a
man who
does not
fear God,
who engages
in wickedness
and pursues
this kind
of woman.
He is
just as
responsible
for going
to places
he should
not go
as she
is.
He is
neither
wise nor
is he
loyal.
He does
not want
the burdens
of manhood,
the responsibilities
of being a
man.
He's still
a boy.
He is
neither
hard-working
nor self-controlled.
His aim
is not to
heal or
to protect
or to
bless,
but to
exploit a
woman to
satisfy his
desire,
his lust.
He lacks
integrity and
honor.
Such an
attitude is
more bitter
than death.
It takes
two to
tango,
okay?
It really
does.
The sage's
commentary does
not come
across,
therefore,
more as
a woman
hater.
Instead,
it reflects
that of
a man
who has
probably
learned the
hard way
if he
has learned
at all.
I'll just
take a
pause here.
I have
resisted
and I've
fielded
some
questions from
people as
to why I
have not
referred to
the preacher
or the
sage as
Solomon
throughout
our time
in
Ecclesiastes.
And I
think one
of the
reasons I've
chosen to
do this is
because there's
a bit of a
temptation,
at least for
myself,
to interpret
too much of
Solomon's
biography
throughout the
text rather
than letting
the text speak
the way it
is.
Fantastic,
brilliant scholars
have chosen to
just assume
that Solomon
had written
every word of
it and that's
totally fine.
I bring this
up not to
debate the
authorship of
Ecclesiastes.
I will just
say I want
to concede
that if
Solomon did
in fact
author Ecclesiastes
or part of
Ecclesiastes
then I think
we have his
words here.
You see
Solomon,
the wisest
man on
earth who
enjoyed all
that life
had to
offer,
turned out
to be quite
wicked in
the end.
He exploited
hundreds,
he exploited
hundreds of
women to
satisfy his
lust and
to be a
show of
his power,
neglecting his
own kingdom
and becoming
a polytheist.
He was a
wicked man
who thrived
and lived
a relatively
long life.
Perhaps
there is
something in
thinking about
Solomon that
helps us to
understand the
second part of
the conundrum
in verse 15.
The wicked
man who
lives long
is not
necessarily the
one who is
the fortunate
one.
for long
life is only
a blessing
if it is
a righteous
life,
not a wicked
one.
You know,
Idiomin
dies
pancreatic
cancer.
Uganda
refused,
the government
at the time
refused to
repatriate
him
and kind
of wipe
his slate
clean.
They said,
if you're
going to
come back,
we're going
to try
you and
hang you.
and he
died,
not
exactly in
the best
spot.
I think
the sage
is saying
that Idiomin,
he might
have lived
long as
a wicked
man,
but he
didn't
live a
fortunate
life.
A long
wicked life
is still
a wicked
one.
Returning
to verse
26,
while we
shouldn't
immediately
seek to
allegorize
the challenging
passage,
which we
didn't
just now,
we should
remember
that we
can
allegorize
it.
And that
would be
an important
thing for
us to
do.
And the
reason is
common in
wisdom literature
is this
depiction of
wickedness as
an evil and
deceitful woman.
By the way,
it also
allegorizes
wisdom as
a woman as
well.
So,
going back to
Proverbs,
we see,
especially in
chapter 7 of
Proverbs,
lady folly
or dame
folly,
as the
one who
resembles
this woman
in Ecclesiastes.
Therefore,
it's fitting to
say that the
sage, or in
this case,
if it is
Solomon,
is also
describing
wickedness in
a general
sense.
Flee from
wickedness.
The wise
person
would flee
from her.
The one
that seeks
to serve the
Lord would
flee from
her,
would flee
from wickedness.
In fact,
this kind of
wickedness is
so widespread
that he
finds that
no one,
again,
remember,
verse 20,
no one is
righteous and
concludes the
most definitive
answer to
the conundrum
of verse 15.
We see it
in verse 29.
If you turn
with me to
verse 29.
See,
this alone
I found,
that God
made upright,
but they
have sought
out many
schemes.
in the end,
God's not
responsible for
the injustice
of the world.
We are.
He made
everything
wonderful and
beautiful and
good.
The first
word that
came out of
his mouth in
creation after
he made
everything in
Genesis 1 and
2 was good,
was good,
was good.
He gets to
mankind.
What does he
say?
It was very
good.
That was the
first words he
spoke over us.
It was very
good.
And yet,
the sage
helps us to
see that
that's not
the case
anymore.
God made
man upright,
but we
schemed against
him.
It turns out
the fall in
Genesis chapter
3 was in
fact quite
real,
and its
effects are
incredibly
widespread,
and it
touches every
man,
woman,
and child.
The fall
is indeed
our fault,
but friends,
it is not
our fate.
I'll wrap it
up with this.
verse 20
is completely
spot on.
So too is
verse 29.
There is no
one righteous,
no one can
save themselves,
no one is
upright,
not even
one in a
thousand,
which is to
say that
nobody is
upright.
But there
was one
who was
completely
upright.
There was
one who
was fully
wise.
There was
one who
was perfect
in his
devotion and
love to the
Lord, and
yet even
he died
young.
Whether
Jesus died
at 30 or
33, the
fact is he
did not die
at 60 or
70 or
80.
He died a
young man.
And although
his death was
completely unjust,
it was not
without purpose.
The Lord gave
his only begotten
son to take
upon himself
human flesh in
the person of
Jesus, to
live under
the sun, to
die under
the sun, so
that we
could be
freed from
the cycle
of injustice
and
unrighteousness
forever.
That our
fate is not
to live
this vain
life under
the sun and
then cease
to exist, to
die, whether
young or
old, but
then be
nothing, to
fade into
obscurity.
Instead, the
promise is
that he will
one day make
all upright.
He will
make us
righteous by
clothing us in
his righteousness.
So the good
news is, we
need to be
righteous, we
need to be
wise, we
need to be
perfect in
order to
somehow transcend
this life under
the sun.
Jesus comes, not
just to show us
some, to give us
some tips and
tricks on how to
make that happen,
but to live and
to die and to
rise again and
then if we put
our faith in
him, clothe us
in his
righteousness so
that we would
have a fighting
chance, and not
just a fighting
chance, but a
guarantee that we
can transcend this
vain life under
the sun.
I'll read a
few dynamite
passages from
the Bible that
speak to this.
Isaiah 61,
verse 10,
Galatians 3,
verse 27,
for as many as
you were baptized
into Christ, have
put on Christ.
And then
finally, Romans
chapter 13,
verse 14,
but put on the
Lord Jesus Christ
and make no
provision for the
flesh to gratify
its desires.
Really, the
biggest revelation
from all this,
hopefully we've
come to a
decent, solid
handle on the
conundrum of
verse 15, but
really the biggest
revelation that the
sage reveals in
this passage is
that an all
powerful, perfectly
good, and all
knowing God would
give a gift to
unworthy people.
And not just a
gift, but his
own son.
He doesn't just
give us a few
extra years, a
few extra decades,
a few nicer
things, you
know, excellent
relationships.
Whether those
things happen or
not, they're
gifts from God.
It's his
prerogative to
give or to not
give.
But the real
gift he gives
is his son.
And because we
are clothed with
Christ's righteousness
through faith, and
because he rose from
the dead, we can be
confident that this
vain life will not
be vain for much
longer.
And in fact, the
beauty and the
goodness of the
life to come begins
in this life.
So although we
experience the
difficulty of this
life, we start to
live out this
heavenly reality
now.
It's also a
promise that
ultimately, wickedness
will not prosper,
even if it does
here on earth.
Idiomin will
answer for his
evils.
And praise God
that he will.
And Bishop
Luom, because
of Christ, did
not die in
vain.
Praise God for
that.
Therefore, righteousness
and wisdom in the
fear of the Lord,
they are not foolish
endeavors.
Fleeing wickedness
and sin is not a
recipe for a
short life and a
drab life, but
rather this is the
greatest way that we
could live.
This is the promise
of Christ for all who
would trust in him.
Amen.
Let us pray.
Father in heaven, we
thank you for, well
first, Lord, we thank
you for the sage.
And if it is indeed
Solomon who wrote
this section or the
entire book, Lord, we
thank you for his
humble honesty at the
reality of human
nature.
Lord, we also
thank you for the
example of the
martyr Bishop
Luom.
Lord, help us if we
ever find ourselves in
a time of decision
making where we
choose to stand up
for you or to
crumble under the
temptation of
apostasy, Lord, that
we would choose the
former.
And Lord, we pray that
you would help us to
walk in the fear of
you, that we would
not try to self-justify
ourselves or give
ourselves over to
self-indulgence, but
entrust ourselves to
your son.
And Lord, help us by
faith, trust that he
has clothed us in his
righteousness.
To God alone be the
glory.
Amen.
Thank you.