The Case of Self-Sufficiency

INTRODUCTION

The propensity of man’s heart is bent towards making for himself an existence apart from God. Now this existence is built upon the knowledge or perception of the things around him or her. The visible world that we see, or we can call this the cause and effect of our existence. We see evil, destruction, and difficulty in this life. So, we perceive in our own understanding that the wicked many times get away with their wickedness and the good seem to pay the price.

Now, we try to create a self-sufficient world or existence that desires to have a place where evil does not exist and we only have government leaders and law makers who make decisions based on what we think is right or wrong. However, the frustration of King Solomon is that such a world does not exist. When reality meets our perceived reality it causes us great frustration.

Now at the beginning of Ecclesiastes 8 the writer asks two important questions for understanding our text today.

Ecclesiastes 8:1 ESV

1 Who is like the wise? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.

“Who is like the wise man? Who knows the explanation of a situation? (alternate translation)

The beginning of chapter 8 picks up where chapter 7 leaves off. Chapter 7 compares wisdom with (foolishness) or Folly. Where wisdom seems to impossible to come by in this world.

Notice the second question asks who can know the interpretation of a thing. This brings to mind Joseph and Daniel who were able to give the interpretation of dreams to the rulers of the kingdoms to which they were serving. The great rulers who had all of these supposed wise men around them had any true wisdom escaping them.

Remember last week we came to the conclusion that sin leads to brokenness and meaningless. Such brokenness and meaningless leads to a failure to recognize or understand true wisdom when it comes our way. This is due to the case of our own self-sufficiency apart from God.

Ecclesiastes 8:2–7 ESV

2 I say: Keep the king’s command, because of God’s oath to him. 3 Be not hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand in an evil cause, for he does whatever he pleases. 4 For the word of the king is supreme, and who may say to him, “What are you doing?” 5 Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way. 6 For there is a time and a way for everything, although man’s trouble lies heavy on him. 7 For he does not know what is to be, for who can tell him how it will be?

vs. 2-6

“Keep the kings command.... do not be hasty to go from his presence .... do not take a stand in an evil cause, for he does whatever he pleases… the word of the king is supreme....

Government and Authority

There was a prominent saying in the 1970’s that said, “Don’t bother to vote - the government always gets in!” This sums up the cynicism and apathy of many voters towards the governments they have previously elected.

In a totalitarian society, these sentiments may be replaced by fear and dread, but the truth is that no government is popular with the majority of its subjects!

All governments - whether just or unjust, democratic or not, comes under the providential authority and care of God for the good of man. Our obedience to God is verified by our obedience to the secular authority that he refers as his ‘minister to you for good’ (Rom. 13:1-7). Anarchy is always worse than bad government. Jesus said, ‘Render to Caesar to the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s’ (Mark 12:17). Paul commends us to ‘submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake (1 Peter 2:13-17).

Social Media Influencer from Venezuela

He came to America supposedly to escape any laws, rules, or regulations. He put out a video telling people how to become squaters in peoples houses and get away with it.

He was eventually arrested and is now sitting in jail. The media has been told that he is in jail under another charge not for the video that he made but for another unknown charge. In a video interview with this man he was complaining about leaving a country where he basically could not do or say whatever he wanted to without consequence.

The reality is that we are all subject to the governing authorities which God has placed over us whether good or bad, whether we agree with the laws and law givers or not.

The bigger picture is that being subject to the governing authorities comes full circle when we understand that we are ultimately subject to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Show me someone who struggles with authority in the secular world and I will show you someone who struggles with God’s authority over our lives.

THE BIG PICTURE: We are all subject to the decay of death, but those who fear God have their Hope in Him.

Romans 1:21–22 ESV

21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,

Paul clearly points out the cultural problem

People became futile in their way of thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. They claimed to be wise, but in reality they became fools.

It is easier to disbelieve God out of existence because then we perceive that we can have complete Freedom in this world; sexual freedom, social freedom, authority freedom.....

I could have titled this message ....

Wisdom #1 for the Self-Sufficient

1. Life is not Fair but God is Good.

In the End we are powerless to change our fate.

Ecclesiastes 8:8–9 ESV

8 No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death. There is no discharge from war, nor will wickedness deliver those who are given to it. 9 All this I observed while applying my heart to all that is done under the sun, when man had power over man to his hurt.

Even the king who has the ultimate power over his subjects is like his subjects in being blind to future events.

As one commentator puts it, ‘A wise person is someone who is able to make competent decisions that fit a particular situation. An important component of this ability is an intuition concerning the future results of a decision.

But here such a possibility is denied.’ Christ wept over Jerusalem because he foresaw its future and was grieved by the unwillingness of his generation to listen to God’s messengers and heed their words (Matt. 23:37)—they had even refused to listen to him: ‘If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes’ (Luke 19:42)

1). We are powerless over the Spirit.

The word for Spirit in the OT is “ruach,” when you say the word it engages your breath and your lungs. The word means wind or breath. So in the beginning the wind or breath of God was hovering over the deep. It is God alone who is in control of His generation and regeneration of His people. In the upper room after the resurrection Jesus breathed on his disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:22).

Remember the picture that Jesus gave to Nicodemus that the wind blows wherever it pleases - ‘So,’ Jesus said is everyone who ‘is everyone who is born of the spirit of God.’

Even though at times people have tried to fabricate the moving of the Holy Spirit or harness and control it this is impossible for man. There is an abusive use of the Holy Spirit in many of the charismatic movements today. “I heard a worship song recently that in its chorus was basically placing demands on the Holy Spirit that they were not going to leave the room until the Spirit would move in the way that they dictate him to move.”

Remember 1 John 4:1-2 tells us to “test the Spirit to see whether they are from God or not.”

A man can exercise not control over the fate of his spirit. His body will return to the dust and his ‘spirit will return to God who gave it.”

Ecclesiastes 12:7 ESV

7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

2). We are powerless over Death

No one has control over the day of his death - even those who commit suicide are victims of their circumstances, ‘and it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgement’ (Heb. 9:27). In the end we all die and there is nothing you or I can do about it. Man’s helplessness in our current state is alleviated by God’s grace, the writer of Hebrews goes on to say that ‘Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for him we will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation’ (Heb. 9:28).

3). We are powerless over War

There has never been a time in human history when wars have not been apart of our earthly existence. However, it could possibly mean the discharge over the continual battle between life and death. Death appears constant throughout our lives, as the great enemy of humanity - taking our loved ones, shattering our dreams, keeping is in bondage and hovering over all of creation like a dark cloud over our lives.

There is no escape from this battle and none are immune to its sting. No one is dismissed from it’s front line battle. No one can escape military service when the battle over death and life is at stake.

4). We are powerless over Wickedness

You cannot escape the wickedness of this world no matter how hard you might try. Wickedness will not deliver its owner. The deliverance alluded to in this passage is death. This is where the kingly authority has met his match.

The Bible teaches that man’s wickedness is the root of their unbelief. Those who reject God’s grace and mercy will share the same fate has already been sealed.

John 3:18–21 ESV

18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

The good in the end is that the division that is clearly seen between the works of an evil person and the works of the wicked will be seen by God. The works of the wicked will be clearly exposed but, the works of the ones who bear the light of Christ will be clearly seen and carried out to God. The question is will you be carried out from this life to Sheol/Hell or to the rest that is waiting in the presence of God.

Wisdom #2 for the Self-Sufficient

2. In the End we will all Get what we Deserve

Ecclesiastes 8:10–13 ESV

10 Then I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place and were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity. 11 Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. 12 Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him. 13 But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God.

In ancient times being afforded the opportunity to be buried was something that was a basic human right and to be denied a proper burial was unheard off. Even the bodies of criminals, suicides, and enemy nations were generally buried. The preacher seems to be troubled that the wicked would be given the opportunity to be buried.

We know that the vindication of the righteous is only a matter of time.

Check out the scene in the throne room of God in Revelation 6:9-10

Revelation 6:9–10 ESV

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

The Wicked and the Holy Place

When the preacher is referring to the comings and goings from the Holy place he could be referring to the burial service itself - with the body being carried from the place of worship to the graveside.

We could possibly read this as an expression of satisfaction that the wicked have now been taken away from the presence of God to await the fate that they deserve. This is unlikely because in the same verse he refers to what he sees as ‘vanity.’

He is most likely speaking of the city of Jerusalem itself - where much of the injustices against God and His son were committed. We could even take this a step further in suggesting that he has also observed the trappings of the religion in their coming and going from the Temple.

Jesus even spoke to this perspective of the pharisees in Matthew 23:27 when He called them “white washed tombs who appear to be religious on the outside but are in fact full of dead peoples bones.

*The answer to Faith is the Fear of God.

Ecclesiastes 8:12-13 In the end it is a matter of faith that the vindication of the righteous will only be a matter of time.

Look what Peter writes in 2 Peter 3:8-10

2 Peter 3:8–10 ESV

8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

The Fear of God is: The awe and holy caution that arises from the realization of the greatness of God.

His Splendor … His terrible majesty … His justice … His righteousness … In Job 15:4 Job throws caution to the wind and does away with the fear of God.

This is part of the whole requirement of wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 ESV

13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

KEEPING THE ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE

The writer is certain that even the perceived delay of God, calamity will befall the sinner. the judgment falling on him is that he will not lengthen his days!

Throughout the whole book of Ecclesiastes you see the wicked men who get what the righteous deserve and the righteous supposedly getting what the wicked person deserves. It appears that the equity of God is somehow out of balance with reality. The other misconception in our religious culture is that acts of benevolence, mercy, and justice will spare us from eternal punishment even if we reject the gift of Salvation through Jesus Christ alone.

However, such acts can never make us righteous before God and atone for our sins here on this earth. They cannot change the inherent unrighteousness of our heart, “there is no one righteous, no not one (Rom. 3:10); “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all of our righteous deeds are as a polluted garment before a Holy God (Isa. 16:6).

Do not give in to cynicism and Despair (v. 15)

Many times our tendency is to wallow in the despair of the world and miss the greater blessings and gifts that God has so richly give us in this life. It is tempting for us to give into this cynicism and despair when we observe the injustices of life under the sun. However, the writer uses the much used phrase in Ecclesiastes to ‘eat, drink, and be merry.’

The preacher does not leave us in the state of despair. He reminds us that all these things are as God has intended for them to be. He reminds us that all of these things are the word of God.

The answer to our struggle is in the divine revelation of God. God has revealed that his ways are far beyond our ways, (Isa. 55:8-9), and He urges us to forsake pointless speculation and to turn and trust Him.

Note: The mistake I see many Christians make in their apologetics is that they think they have to have all the answers for all the questions people have when it comes to God. There must be a point where we turn to the answer of Faith as the Fear of God.

Wisdom #3 For the Self-Sufficient

3. The Grave is the Great Equalizer of our Lives.

The first part of this chapter is perhaps seen as the most pessimistic part of the entire book. But it ends on a more optimistic note, preparing us for the positive elements that will follow in the final three chapters.

Ecclesiastes 9:1–6 ESV

1 But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. 2 It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. 3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. 4 But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun.

The Fact of Death / James Baldwin.

‘Perhaps the whole root of our trouble, the human trouble, is that we will sacrifice all the beauty of our lives, will imprison ourselves in totems, taboos, crosses, blood sacrifices, steeples, mosques, races, armies, flags, nations, in order to deny the fact of death, which is the only fact we have.’ So wrote the American author James Baldwin.

The preacher reflects on all that he has learned and observed in life revealing great truth and error about the nature of Salvation. It is in this passage that the ‘under the sun’ perspective meets true biblical faith head on.

*The Grave reminds us of God’s Sovereignty

The fate of man is ultimately in the hands of God: His judgement, His saving power, and his protective power.

Christ and the Power in His Hands

In the New Testament we get a picture of Christ coming to sift the wheat from the chaff (Matt. 3:4); reaching out his hand in cleansing and healing. The Christian’s hope is in the hand of God: ‘Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he might exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you’ (1 Peter 5:6-7).

Look what Isaiah tells us about what it is like to upheld by the righteous right hand of God.

Isaiah 41:10 ESV

10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Just before this verse Isaiah is reminding the nation of Israel how God has chosen them not rejected them from the earth. In the next two verses we get a better idea of how God truly feels about his children: “All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing.”

*The Grave reminds us that our works will not determine our Destiny.

(vv. 2-6)

So, there is only one division between men - the dead and the living. The dead will be forgotten, and nevermore will have a share in anything under the sun. Death is the final chapter on this life - it’s record is complete and final. When Jesus said, “It is Finished” from the cross, he was in essence closing the chapter on death.

But, while there is life left in your veins, there is still hope according to verse 4.

The lion, the mightest of beasts, has no power for he is dead. But the dog, the despised scavenger, has hope-for he is still alive. It all comes down to how do you face the grave. In these final verses the preacher is highlighting the significance of the life you are called to live in the here and now.

The humanist would agree with this perspective arguing that religion, with its promises of heaven and hell, has devalued human life.

In John Lennon’s words:

Imagine there’s no heaven

It’s easy if you try

No hell below us

Above us only sky

Imagine all the people

Living for today.

So, we must be like Paul in Philippians who said: “To live is Christ and to die is gain, if I am to live it is more beneficial on you on your account, but, if I am to die then that is more beneficial for me. If I live that means more beneficial work for the kingdom of God, but my desire is to go and be with the father. Paul ends stating that he is torn between the two. Thankfully it is not his job to decide.

CONCLUSION

*The Grave reminds us of our Deliverance

The preacher shares a story in Ecclesiastes 9:13-17.

“There was this little city with few men in it, and a great king came against it an waged war against it day and night, building wave upon wave and siege upon seige at the walls of the little city.

Now there was found in the city a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom was able to deliver the city. However, in the end no one remembered that poor man. But I would tell you that wisdom is better than might even though the poor man’s wisdom is despised and his words are not heard.

There have been many who have attempted to pin this as an allegory : Archimedes saving Syracuse from the Romans by sinking their ships, the besieging of Dor by Antiochus the Great, the besieging of Beth-Sura by Antiochus V, the rescue of Athens Themistocles and more.

Whatever the case a great impression has been made on the writer of Ecclesiastes.

A JEWISH ALLEGORY

“The targum of this passage - a targum is an oral paraphrase used in the interpretation of the Hebrew Old Testament in Aramaic - interprets the city as a person whose body is invaded by an evil spirit. The poor wise man stands for the good but humble spirit that wages war against the evil spirit. This targum would have been used in the synagogues during the time of Jesus, to demonstrate the spiritual struggle that takes place within a person.

Even though it is highly unlikely that the preacher intended this story to be seen as allegorical, we do see parallels in the gospel message of the New Testament. Man’s soul is under siege by the forces of darkness. Christ is the wise man who became poor for our sake and taking on the atoning death on the cross for you and me. This was God’s wise way of delivering man from the city of destruction, yet, it is greeted with ingratitude and disdain.

WISDOM IS BETTER THAN STRENGTH

God’s wisdom is still a stumbling block to some and foolishness to others. (1 Corinthians 1:23). Man may despise the gospel and even try to drown out its proclamation, but it should and will be heard.

God’s wise words as Paul experienced at Mars Hill will always be met with a mixed reception of indifference, mocking, intrigue “we will hear you again on this matter” … and of course their will be those who believe and are saved.

There are two great facts wrapped up in our text today - God’s sovereignty and man’s inability to determine his own destiny.

Are you joined with the Living? or Digging a Hole with the Dead?