Living Life Under the Sun (Ecclesiastes 4)

Ecclesiastes 4

Sunday, July 4, 2021

Living Life under the sun

Intro

Networking and the various connections of life

UTK

Athletic Equipment Manager

SBTS

Ministry

Louisville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis, Wheaton

Context

In our first three weeks in Ecclesiastes, we have begun to examine life, trying to find out how we are intended to live life in the midst of all toil being vanity. So far we have seen that the end is death and to dust we will return. However, where we left 2 weeks ago at the end of Ecclesiastes 3, we saw that we are to trust in the Sovereign Lord whose work endures forever. And we continue looking at what we are to do in the midst of God’s enduring work in light of our toil being vanity.

And as we continue to see all is vanity, just a reminder that we have defined this term vanity as a vapor, a breath.

Main Point: Christian, we are not intended to labor against the evil under the sun in isolation. God has given us the local church to press against this great evil together.

Points:

Evil under the sun

Living together under the sun

Evil under the sun

From Ecclesiastes 3:16-4:16 we see the phrase I saw a total of 5 times. We see it in Ecclesiastes 3:16, then again in chapter four in verses 1, 4, 7, and again in verse 15. The preacher is documenting all the things he has seen in this world as he tries to wrap his head around how to live in the midst of this world. And each of these is seen as an evil under the sun. And it is these four things we need to see that are truly evil under the sun. I will give each one as we go.

Oppression under the sun

First, as we looked at Ecclesiastes 3:16-22 two weeks ago, we saw that to dust we would return as mankind. But at the start of that section, the Preacher-King recognized how wickedness was in the place of justice and righteousness. And he comes back to this point in Ecclesiastes 4:1 where we read….

As Solomon, the Preacher-King observed life, he saw that power was on the side of the oppressors. And that they abused this power in putting down others, in oppressing them with injustice and wickedness. He saw that those who were oppressed had no one to comfort them at all as tears would have run down their cheeks.

One such example that we see even now in our time is the oppression of the Uyghur people in China. This group has been enduring mass genoicide at the hands of the Chinese government. Power is there with the oppressors and the oppressed find no comfort. It is this kind of oppression that exists under the sun as we live east of the garden of Eden in a world filled with sin. This was true for the Jews under the rule of Nazi Germany where they were taken to concentration camps under forced labor and killed in gas chambers. This was the evil that Solomon, the Preacher-King saw in his own day around him. And it is an evil we continue to hear about in many areas in our own day. No wonder Solomon goes into despair in the following verses if this is all that he sees around him. If this is all that there was, then we too should be like Solomon in what he says in verses 2 and 3 which read…

If oppression reigns, if there is none to comfort the oppressed this is a miserable and hopeless world to live in. The dead would certainly be more fortunate, as well as those who have not yet been born, than the living who remain in the midst of the oppression under the sun. And the reality is, this is how so many see the world around us. There are those who deny that there is a God in heaven and then fall into depression and misery as they think this world is all that there is. Others who have believed in the perversion of the prosperity gospel too will fall into despair in the midst of oppression and suffering. They lack an understanding of the depth of sin within this world and miss who God is and how he works. For they think if they just believe enough they will never suffer or face hard things. And this is far from the reality of Biblical Christianity. Those who follow Jesus sooner or later will face oppression of some kind or another. So it is not a matter of if it will come, but when.

And still others claim to believe in the God of the Bible, they may even attend churches and be long time members of those churches, but fail to see where comfort comes from in the midst of oppression, in the midst of suffering. They turn to laws of the land in hope of finding comfort instead of seeking after God. They look more like the world than they do that of Christ. This also is a great vanity under the sun. For this is not a resolve for the oppression, but only a shifting of where the power is. Oppression of any kind is an evil under the sun, this is the first evil that Solomon saw.

Discontentment

Second, there is evil seen under the sun in discontentment. In verses 4-6 we see a contrast between the one working out of envy of his neighbor and that of a fool who folds his own hands. This contrast is to show the vanity of both ends, neither one is to be seen as better than the other.

Look there in verse 4, the focus is on the one toiling in vanity as their eye envies what their neighbor has. As we think about how hard we work and how long we work, what is the purpose of it? How many of us do it simply to have what others have? Do we toil and work harder and harder so that we can have a car like Adam over there? Or do we toil and work harder and harder so that we can have a house like Betty Sue across town? Yet, do we toil and work harder and harder so that we can retire on a lake in comfort like the generation before us? Often this is the case for so many in our culture. We toil and we strive because we want what others have. We want their possessions, their property, their lives. Toiling in envy is vanity and striving after the wind.

One is not intended to work and toil out of being envious of what others have. There is no joy, no fulfillment, no satisfaction to be had in this. The American Dream tells us to pursue as much as we can to find satisfaction. The American Dream teaches us to strive for the nice suburb house with 2.5 kids. The American Dream teaches us to strive after more and more and then we can find enjoyment and satisfaction. However, this breeds discontentment in our hearts. Because even if we achieve the American Dream, it only grows as others gain more. It leaves us chasing still towards what others have. And the end result is us toiling after the wind, for we never are able to grab a hold of it and be content.

On the opposite end though, is the one who folds his hands in slothfulness and laziness in not working hard. As one refuses to work, they find that they ruin themselves without provision, without food. And it is to this reason the Preacher-King uses hyperbole in saying that the fool here eats his own flesh off. While the idea of being driven in our working and toiling out of envy is being warned against, so is the idea of folding our hands in laziness.

Neither one of these is the prescribed means for how we are to live our lives. Both the toil and all skill in work out of envy and a folding of one’s hands will breed discontentment. And this is vanity and striving after the wind. This is an evil too under the sun. For both of these ways will never satisfy and prevent joy. Discontentment going to either extreme is the second evil under the sun that Solomon saw.

The isolated person

Third, there is an evil seen under the sun seen as one person having no other there in verses 7 and 8. For it says…

Toiling and striving after the wind for self is no value and no pleasure. This is the very question Solomon is trying to draw out here in the laborer never stopping to ask who will all his toil and labor go to after him? The one who works and toils in isolation is a person who labors and toils in vanity. And yet, this is a real danger in our time. There are those who delay marriage and families as they pursue advancement in their careers in order to first achieve “success”. Others in pursuing advancement fail to build meaningful relationships with others. They are so busy building a self-brand for themselves, that they fail to connect with people.

It is vanity for the isolated person who puts forward all this toil with no one to share it with or pass it on too. This is an evil that is under the sun.

Old and foolish King

Fourth, there is an evil under the sun in which even the young who receive advice will not be rejoiced in for long. As we see in verse 13…. (READ).

This is certainly better to have one who rose from poverty, who took counsel and advice rather than an old foolish king who no longer took advice. However, as we see down in verse 16, even this will not last for long. What comes later will result in others not rejoicing in him. And this too will prove vanity and striving after wind. No matter of humility will result in lasting rejoicing in. And this therefore too results in vanity.

Tying it all together

We have already seen that each of these four things are evil under the sun. This evil under the sun is part of the ongoing curse of living east of Eden in a fallen world in which death comes for us all. At various times we have all struggled with parts of this. Seeing and experiencing this evil isn’t something only some of us see or experience. We need to fully grasp just how broken the world around us is. There truly is evil under the sun and we need to see it for what it is.

Living together under the sun

Then, as we recognize that there is evil under the sun, we need to fight against the evil and press back the darkness of this world. But how? This is where we turn in our second point, battling the evil together.

Turn your attention with me to verses 9-12 and follow along as I re-read these. (READ).

Our lives were never intended to be lived in isolation where we were the focus of all of life. In Genesis 2:18 we read: Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” From the start, God intended for us to live in community together. God did this for Adam in providing Eve for him. He has done this through the family unit, the people of Israel, and more importantly now through the local church. Community matters, it is important, it is crucial for our survival in walking through the Christian life. Community is crucial for battling the evils we face under the sun.

Our brothers and sisters around the world and throughout history have endured persecution for the Christian faith. They have faced challenges as they have attempted to gather. Our Christian brothers and sisters in China gather in secret, in hidden locations to avoid being caught by the police. Yet, even with the risks, they gather. For they know the beauty of the local church, they understand the need to not forsake the assembling of themselves with others. But what about us? Do we understand the importance and value of community in the Christian life? The laboring for one another? Look with me at Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 as I re-read these.

There is beauty here in walking through life with others. Now, let me start off by saying, as beautiful as marriage is, this other and the threefold cord is not talking about marriage alone. We often see or hear the threefold cord illustration at weddings. And while this certainly can apply to our marriages, it should apply in general to all of us about working and living closely with others.

The two are better, the two lie together for warmth, the two withstand, and the threefold cord is all about living life in close proximity to others. We have a need for one another. We live life outside of Eden, and as we do we can’t endure the journey on our own. There in verse 10 it says for if they fall. The reality here is not calling into question whether or not we will fall. Brothers and sisters, we are all going to fall at various moments of life. We are not perfect, we have sinful tendencies within us. Therefore, it is not a matter of if we will fall, but when we will fall. But, as the case is made at the end of verse 10, the one who is alone in the moment of a fall will not have another there to lift them up..

It is within the local church that we find this community. Membership in a local church is not merely about having your name on the roll and voting at business meetings. To be a member of a local church means belonging to the local church where we are part of a collective body. And in this collective body we are better together than as individuals. In fact, when it comes to Biblical Christianity, there is no category for a solo Christian. This is why we saw from our Scripture reading this morning from Hebrews 10 to not neglect the assembling of ourselves together. This is also why on our bulletins on the front cover we read gathered on. The presumption for all Christians is that they belong to a local church in order to be united together to withstand the evil of this world.

The church and its assembling together is not man’s invention, but that of King Jesus. It is the local church that Christians are to unite together to help lift one another up when one of her members falls. For the local church is made up of those who have made a profession of faith in Jesus and who have committed themselves to one another. Belonging to the local church is not about only being present when it is convenient and one feels like it, but committing to gather together as the norm of the Christian life. For it is in our gathering together as a whole in which we stir one another, encourage one another, and even rebuke one another as the case should require. This is what it means to belong to the local church. Church membership is more than having our names on a role and voting at the next business meeting. Church membership is about us being a threefold cord united together as one body.

Even looking back at the four evils we see under the sun, it is in belonging to the local church where we combat these evils, along with every other evil there is. For it is through us stirring one another that we remember in the midst of oppression God’s sovereign work that will have final victory. It is in us reminding one another in the midst of mourning that comfort has come in Christ our King.

In Isaiah 61:1-4 we read:

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devatations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.

As Jesus has come, he has brought comfort to those who found no comfort in a sin torn world. He has brought gladness instead of mourning. He has brought praise instead of a faint spirit. God has brought comfort to a people dwelling in darkness through Jesus and his finished work on the cross and in his resurrection. Because Jesus died and then rose again, death’s days are numbered. Sin and her effects are being overturned even now. For in Jesus that which was broken in this world is now being undone as the gospel continues to spread throughout the earth. And when King Jesus returns with the trumpet sound, all will be made new in him as the new heavens and the new earth are created.

And friend, if you entered here this morning as one who was mourning and finding no comfort, there is good news for you. This same comfort that we as Christians have in Jesus is being extended even now to you. Comfort can be had, joy can be found if you will turn from your sin and come to Jesus. Believe that he died for your sins and rose again from the grave. Make today the day of salvation, the day in which you found comfort in the arms of Jesus. Come to him even now. I’d also love to talk with you more following this morning’s service, come find me here upfront.

Praise be to God we know there is relief, that we have comfort in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Hope has come, brothers and sisters! May we cling to our hope in Jesus and press on until the day we are with our glorious King forever and ever! And when we are weak, may we stir and sharpen one another so that we may help one another continue pressing onward in the fight for faith.

Likewise, when we are tempted to be held by the powers of discontentment, we as fellow brothers and sisters in the local church help one another remember that our contentment doesn’t come from gaining more and more possessions that will perish. We remind one another that earthly treasure will rust and fade away. We remind one another that our true treasure is to be laid up in the things above, in heaven. And this treasure never will fade away. This treasure will last for all eternity.

Doing life with other Christians helps us battle the danger of slothfulness and ease in which we could be tempted to fall into. As we share life with one another, we stir one another to labor faithfully and to work hard as we remind each other that we are to do all to the glory of God above, making much of him.

Walking with other Christians helps us remember to continually take advice and counsel, that this is the way of the wise. Proverbs 15:22 says, Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisors they succeed. Likewise, we are reminded that true counsel is found in the plans of the LORD from Proverbs 21:30 which says, No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can prevail against the LORD. Godly counsel then is something that we are to continually be taking from those who seek the LORD and his ways. From those who are speaking the word into our lives and wisdom that is rooted and matches that of the pages of the Bible. Brothers and sisters, we need one another to help us in these areas, because we all have blind spots of sin within us.

And we need one another’s help as the danger of solo Christianity lurks into our hearts and minds. The danger of verses 7-8 of toiling on one’s own end is tempting for the Christian. It is tempting for us to think that we can turn on a podcast and listen to our favorite preacher and still be fed. It is tempting for us to think that we want nothing to do with the local church or that we can ignore the call to regularly assemble ourselves together. And it is here where we desperately need one another. There is no gathering that can happen apart from physically gathering ourselves together. Livestreams are great, but they miss the gathering of the saints in one place, sharing lives together.

Turn with me to Acts 2:42-47. Follow along with me, as I read these verses.

From the very start of the church, the aim was for the people to gather and share things, to have things in common. And it is this that is still the call for us today as the local church. We cannot have things in common if we fail to gather with the local church in which we belong. We cannot share our lives with those we do not regularly spend time with. We cannot know how to come alongside one another if we are distanced from one another.

We as Christians need each other, we cannot make it through on this faith journey on our own. But we must start helping ourselves here. For some, this means not entering at the last minute and leaving as soon as our service is over. To be connected to the body, you need to spend time with the body. Being connected to one another requires time spent with others.

Others, this means conversations have to move past the small talk about sports and the weather. Deeper conversations are needed in order to know how we can come alongside one another and lift each other up. How can others know how to lift you up if we are stoned walls that don’t let anyone in?

Our lives from the moment of creation have never been intended to be lived in isolation and alone. God has given us one another for the sake of community and relationship. For just as the Father had fellowship with the Son and the Spirit, too he has given us fellowship with one another. And it is this community of fellowship within the local church that is God’s gift to us and a light to those outside. The world and her connections are built upon mutual interests and hobbies. The church and her fellowship are built though on one thing, Christ Jesus. Our togetherness, our threefold cord is to be united around Jesus himself, binding us together in him. This means that our connections exceed that of interests, social class, age, gender, and anything else you want to throw in there.

A threefold cord is not quickly broken as the people of God are united around the Son of God. Christian unity and fellowship is to be built on the things of God and his word. And this unity, this community is to surpass all worldly connections, for what unites us surpasses all earthly connections. For when we are united to Christ, we all then have one head, King Jesus himself. And as we have one head, we have one body.

Therefore, Central City Baptist Church, we must, I repeat, we must be a threefold cord people who are united in Christ and laboring together for the good of one another. We need one another as the darkness of this world presses against us. Laws of the land are not what will help us persevere in the faith. What will help us continue to press onward is living together in community as we care for and strengthen one another. The local church is God’s gracious gift to us and the tool he uses in our lives. And there is no backup option for this.

Conclusion

There is evil under the sun. Oppression continues to take place for many around the world. There is a toiling and striving after the wind based on our envy of our neighbor and what they have. There is vanity and striving after wind when we work in isolation and in advancing to be king. And yet, God has given us the gracious gift of one another in community in the local church to labor together amidst this evil. For as the local church, we are the embassy of God that is advancing the rule of the King together to the ends of the earth. Let us then lean on one another, care for one another, strengthen one another, and love one another well as the body of Christ as we await together for our King to return in all his glory.

Let’s pray…

Benediction: Revelation 11:18 - The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”