Part 11 - The Quest for Justice (Ecclesiastes 8:10-9:9)
Notes
Transcript
Pre-Introduction
Introduction
Introduction
(FCF: A world that’s unjust)
Example from the world
Example from the church
Scripture passage: Ecc 8:10-11
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.
Post-Introduction
Big Idea: In a world that’s unjust, I need to trust.
[How can I trust in God when I see injustice in the world?]
How to Trust God in a World That’s Unjust
How to Trust God in a World That’s Unjust
(1) Recognize that I don’t have all the information (8:14, 16-17)
(1) Recognize that I don’t have all the information (8:14, 16-17)
Context -
Ecclesiastes 8:14 (ESV)
14 There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.
Ecclesiastes 8:16–17 (ESV)
16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on earth, how neither day nor night do one’s eyes see sleep,
17 then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out.
Explanation
Illustration
Application
(2) Remember that death is certain (9:1-6)
(2) Remember that death is certain (9:1-6)
Context -
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.
Explanation
Illustration
Application
(3) Rest in God’s ultimate judgment (8:12-13)
(3) Rest in God’s ultimate judgment (8:12-13)
Context
Ecclesiastes 8:12–13 (ESV)
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.
Explanation
Illustration
Application
(4) Rejoice in the life He’s given me (8:15; 9:7-9)
(4) Rejoice in the life He’s given me (8:15; 9:7-9)
Context
Ecclesiastes 8:15 (ESV)
15 And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 9:7–9 (ESV)
7 Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.
8 Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head.
9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun.
Explanation
Illustration
Application
Conclusion
Conclusion