Ecclesiastes 8:10-17

Last week, we talked about the countenance of a wise man. Ecc 8:1 “1 Who is like a wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, And the sternness of his face is changed.” When you finally understand, it changes everything about you. Then we spoke about the fact that God has people in positions of authority for a reason. We spoke a lot last week about Daniel and Joshua, and the fact that Nebuchadnezzar, Potiphar and Pharaoh were not the best bosses to work for, but Daniel didn’t compromise his duties, nor did Joshua. In fact, they were so good at their jobs, that they were given privileged positions so the Lord could use them mightily to change hearts, and save lives.

What should we do then? We need to check our faces and measure our responses. There are times to protest publically, AND there are times to protest privately. Try to understand, make your feelings and issues known and realize that it’s not up to us to change their hearts. It’s our job to open our mouths. Romans 10:14 “14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” What does the word Preach mean? It means to advocate for someone, to proclaim. Can you do that? It’s not like eternity is at stake, right?

I’ll admit, that was a pot-shot. But if that gives you pause, that it’s JUST eternity that’s at stake. Just the rest of eternity. Maybe it will give you the courage to say something when you see something. Say it in a way that would make people watching you think “This person has an understanding far beyond what I can comprehend.” Once we’re equipped, once we have understanding, it changes everything. Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. What does Jesus say? You are the LIGHT of the WORLD. We are HIS WORD lived out in the flesh, the best way we can live it.

Today, we’re talking about what’s coming and why we should use that understanding to turn people around, to tell them that the cliff is coming, don’t continue, danger. Solomon struggled with the end, it frustrated him, because there seemed no justice in it. I’ll tell you what though, God takes justice seriously. What we struggle most with is timing. His timing is PERFECT. Let’s pray and enter this week’s passage:

Ecclesiastes 8:10 NKJV

10 Then I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of holiness, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done. This also is vanity.

The wicked buried, a few weeks ago we talked about the fact that, in Jewish culture, you’re not truly at rest until you’re buried. This is why it’s so important to not dishonor the Sabbath leaving dead people out in the open, they had to be buried. But Solomon is saying that these people were wicked are being buried with honor and their deeds forgotten, no lesson learned.

What is the problem here? They’re going about their day to day, going to church, which at that time was synagogue, week in, week out, just like some of us do…but they were dishonorable people. Are we to uphold and lift up the wicked? HECK NO! We’re supposed to stand against those people, like Jesus did: Matthew 23:28-31 “28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ 31 “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.”

Prov 10:7 “7 The memory of the righteous is blessed, But the name of the wicked will rot.” Who wrote this passage? He needs to take his own advice right? What happens to rotting things? They disintegrate and disappear. What do we remember? We want to hold onto the good memories. We want to lift people up. Even when we see evil people, we want to believe there was some shred of human goodness in them. We want that.

Why? Because, as Christians especially, we’re supposed live the fruits of the Spirit Galatians 5:22-23 “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” AAND focus on what? Phil 4:8 “8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”

Solomon saw the fact that those who were wicked being forgotten was vanity…leave it as vanity. Let it become smoke. Egyptian culture used to remove the name of vile rulers, because they wanted even the memory of them to die. Don’t let people have your headspace. Forgiveness isn’t for your enemy, it’s not for your friend, it’s for you. Let the wicked die, don’t keep them alive by giving them your time, don’t worry about them, don’t be looking for their demise, there is a Judgement coming for all of us. Let God handle that.

Ecclesiastes 8:11–13 NKJV

11 Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. 12 Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. 13 But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God.

Do we serve a just and powerful God? Do we? It’s hard sometimes to agree with that, when we see people get away with their crimes. Solomon struggled with that in his time as well. Just a few chapters ago he said we shouldn’t worry when we see corruption in our government, if it happened then, it’ll happen now. What happens when WE seek justice? What do we call a person who seeks to mette out justice on their own? We call them a vigilante, a self-appointed doer of justice is Webster’s 2nd definition. Isn’t it sweet when we see someone get their comeuppance? Watching the “Darwin Award Winners” on YouTube…it’s so hard to look away. Look at our political system right now. Vigilanties are everywhere. The One-upping, finger pointing…what a distraction, am I right? Do your job! Do it well. Be like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshac, and Abednego. Even when they were “caught” doing what was “wrong,” I say that because they weren’t caught, evil men made up rules they knew would get them in trouble. But be like them! The rulers over them were in despair that these faithful men, who did no wrong, did their jobs for a wicked king, and didn’t compromose. Remember:

2 Peter 3:9 “9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

God has this. A friend of mine earlier this week said that there came a time when he was struggling with Job, he knows the story, and the meaning…but struggling with the why? Why would God allow that, and would he do it to me? I struggled with Abraham and Isaac the weeks after Moses was born. I remember standing over his crib, watching him sleep, and crumbling to my knees next to him, as the thought came to me…could I do it? If it was asked of me, would I have the faith to say “Not my will, but Your will be done?” I begged the Lord to never ask that of me, but I’m thankful He had me consider it.

He allows people to struggle for a reason. He wants us to change. We know, as Christians, how powerful the message is when a HUGE sinner turns to Christ and starts living life right. Lessons will be learned if we let God handle the consequences, but we MUST speak up. Look at these no-bail communities, what’s happening? They’re learning their lessons right? They’re turning on each other, right? Just this week, the Mayor of New York City called out the governor and said something needs to be done to protect the people. A whole police department in Minnesota quit. Is evil winning? OR is it the house of the devil dividing itself? Interesting question to ask and to watch. God is not slow, he’s allowing us to return to Him and repent of our sin. You may think you’re getting away with your sin too, or that they are…but the Lord will allow us to complete our sin, and then make an example out of us. We’re seeing it. Be upright, be faithful, be honest. Bad things will happen, be looking for the lesson, not caught up in the circumstance.

Ecclesiastes 8:14–15 NKJV

14 There is a vanity which occurs on earth, that there are just men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. 15 So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.

Solomon is mad at the fact that just men are treated like the wicked, and wicked men gain and are looked at as just. Sometimes it seems like people get the opposite of what they deserve, right? It’s not fair, is it? Even Job’s friends spouted about that…You must have made God mad and be in a lot of sin for Him to treat you this way…So, what should we do…Eat, drink, and be merry? What does Jesus say though? What does Paul, or James, or John say? Do they say life is fair? That we’ll get justice, or even that we’ll see it?

John 15:19-20 “19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.”

Matthew 5:10-12 “10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

James 1:2-3 “2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”

Romans 5:3-5 “3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

2 Tim 3:11-12 “11 persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. 12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”

Rev 2:10-11 “10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” ’”

Paul also writes: Heb 9:27-28 “27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”

I posted on my facebook last night a quote from CS Lewis: Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny. Thruout the Bible, we read of so many men and women who were faced with setbacks, pitfalls, plagues, wars, betrayals…and thru faith, they ended with hope. They brought hope to the people around them. In some cases, to all of Israel.

Thru your persecution, have hope that, even if you’re treated as wicked, remember the world hated Jesus first. This life isn’t vanity to the people who put their hope and faith in Jesus. Just like Jesus some of Jesus’ last words to Peter: John 21:20-22 “20 Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” 21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”” Follow me, don’t worry about what will happen to anyone else, you follow me.

Solomon thought there was nothing new under the sun. Jesus knew that there would be nothing new, like us, under the Son. He’s got a plan for your life. Don’t give up, don’t give in to sin and temptation. Keep getting up.

Ecclesiastes 8:16–17 NKJV

16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done on earth, even though one sees no sleep day or night, 17 then I saw all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. For though a man labors to discover it, yet he will not find it; moreover, though a wise man attempts to know it, he will not be able to find it.

Who are we to understand the plans of the Lord?

Romans 11:34 “34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?””

Can you give God advice? I don’t know God, I think you made a mistake there, if she’s going to be having kids, you should have given her 4 arms. We would just screw it up, right? How about this:

1 Cor 2:16 “16 For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”

Again, who can instruct the Lord? NOBODY here on earth can. The wise man is always seeking to be made wiser, and he never sleeps on that task, seeing that the tasks of this world are completed in their time. Wise men keep learning in everything they do. We must be wary though of filling our minds with useless facts.

Sherlock Holmes said it best “A Study In Scarlet” when He was asked by Watson if he knew the earth revolved around the sun. Holmes’ response: “I will have to remember to forget that.” A shocked Watson asked him what he meant, this is common knowledge. Sherlock’s words were:

“I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things, so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skillful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones.”

Wise men and women seek after the right wisdom. They don’t fill their minds with useless things. To help us remember, what do we do? Like Solomon, we write them down! Then we forget where we put the notebooks…right?

What does 1 Cor 2:16 say we should have though? The MIND of CHRIST. What was the MIND of CHRIST? The gift of the Holy Spirit, that unites us. If you strive to have the mind of Christ, that Spirit will speak to you more and more, we just need to listen to it. It will give you discernment over right and wrong…but more importantly, between right, and almost right. You may not get the answer, or have the scripture…but if you know your Bible, and you’re filling your mind with the right things, as Holmes said, you’ll be organized and know where the answers are, and know enough to say “there’s something wrong here.”

Some people think they’ve got everything figured out. They think they have the plan and can see it. Those people get disappointed when life throws them a curveball. What is Solomon’s message thru this passage? Is it “Just stop trying to figure out the plan, focus on yourself and you’ll be fine. No, it’s Trust in the Lord. Seek first the Kingdom of God and HIS Righteousness! Keep seeking, keep knocking, keep asking.

He is the ONLY RIGHTEOUS JUDGE. He handles the rewards and the punishments. As in the parable of the workers, some got hired in the beginning of the day, some in the middle, some right before the day was over, and the master paid them all equally. Those who worked all day got mad, right? They thought they deserved more, and rightfully so because they worked longer. Do you remember the master’s words though? Matt 20:13-15 “13 But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’”

I believe it was my wife who told me this week, if God spent 7 days making all of this…imagine what 2000+ years of preparing for your house in Heaven means. We are appointed once to die. Use your days wisely. Don’t take yourself out, but know that the devil can’t do anything to shorten your life here on earth. Your days are already numbered. Make them count. Who cares if you can’t see down the road in God’s plan. Look back at the journey of your life, the people you’ve touched, the people who have touched you, He has prepared now for us, to leave our fingerprints on this world, and ONLY THE THINGS WE DO FOR CHRIST will stand the test of time. The super heros this world needs are men and women who stand for what is right, the right way. Those of understanding, that stay when the Spirit says stay, that move when the Spirit says move, that loves as the Spirit loves, and forgive like the Spirit forgives, and restores like the Spirit restores, that hopes like the Spirit hopes. Solomon was looking for that man. This world needs that Man.

King David said Ps 119:105 “105 Your WORD is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.” Jesus said Matt 5:14-16 “14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

I asked at the beginning of this message today, this world needs preachers. It needs proclaimers. It needs people like you. People who struggle, people who hurt, people with scars, people who are healing. Guard your minds, fill it with the right stuff. This world is running toward a breakdown, the wheels are coming off, and what the people of this world need is someone to break thru. Nobody can do what God has prepared for you to do. I can’t wait to get to heaven and meet the people I didn’t know I impacted, but they’re there because of the hard lessons I had to walk here on Earth. He loved you enough to die for you. Love Him enough to live only for Him.