Ecclesiastes 3:16-22 (Finding Joy in Our Portion)

Introduction

Last week, the United States Justice Department released a report revealing that the Biden administration intentionally and systematically promoted a two-tiered application of federal law. A few things specifically: the DOJ collaborated with pro-abortion groups (1) to track pro-life activists and compile evidence against them, (2) to withhold evidence and stack the jury pool in the courtroom, and (3) to pursue significantly harsher sentences for those who oppose abortion.

This is a prime example, not only of sinful and unjust partiality, but also of wickedness in one of the very places where righteousness and justice ought to be upheld – a department of justice fomenting and creating injustice.

Sinners sin, so it should be no surprise to discover that sin can be found among every level of society. And yet, in America’s civil institutions, there have historically been some obstacles to the sinful and corrupt ambitions of those who sit in the seats of power and authority.

We can explore America’s history, her civil institutions, and the principles and ethics that defined American society on another day… but my purpose in citing this recent report here is to provide a real life and public example of what the “Preacher” is talking about in our passage this morning.

These last several verses of Ecclesiastes 3 are focused on the arrogance of man, the injustice and wickedness of men who do not know their place, and how we might endure life in a world that is often run or ruled by wicked men.

Wickedness and injustice are not just problems way out there somewhere, but they are present in local courtrooms, politics, workplaces, schools, churches, and in our own families.

Some Upshur and Gregg County laws and policies are not impartial.

Some of you work for institutions (or in fields) that do not prioritize merit or qualification over some demographic list of checkboxes.

Some of us have experienced an unjust exercise of authority from our own mom or dad – closer to tyranny or to negligence.

And some churches perpetuate sin and hypocrisy by keeping things superficial and busy… or by codling and enabling sinners.

Friends, wickedness and injustice are all around us, and even in places where righteousness should prevail. The question we are asking this morning is, “How should we respond to wickedness and injustice in the world?”

Now, the Bible gives us a lot of instruction about how to answer this question, and it would be good for us to consider a more comprehensive answer from the whole Bible’s teaching on this subject.

We ought to confront sin when we find it – in ourselves and in others.

We ought to limit the temptation and opportunity to sin – taking seriously our own weaknesses and those of others.

And we ought to admonish the wicked – in our homes, in our churches, and in our society – and we ought to deal correctively and punitively with those who are unrepentant.

But our passage today is not giving us a comprehensive answer to this question – “How should we respond to wickedness and injustice in the world?” – our passage is offering us a particular instruction about (A) why we should avoid practicing wickedness and injustice ourselves and (B) how we can endure injustice and wickedness when such hardships are thrust upon us by others.

Friends, wickedness seems to thrive in our world, but God has appointed a time for final judgment and death as a common reminder of it; therefore, we ought to rejoice in the lot God has given us… however difficult or pleasant it might be at the moment.

May God help us to be both warned and encouraged by our consideration of this passage today.

Scripture Reading

Ecclesiastes 3:16-22 (ESV)

16 Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness.

17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work.

18 I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts.

19 For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.

20 All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return.

21 Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth?

22 So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?

Main Idea:

Wickedness seems to thrive in our world, but God has appointed a time for final judgment and death as a common reminder of it; therefore, we ought to rejoice in the lot God has given us.

Sermon

1. Justice Inverted (v16-17)

Wickedness seems to thrive in our world, but God has appointed a time for righteous judgment.

One major refrain (or repeated instruction) of Ecclesiastes.

Four times, the “Preacher” says, “there is nothing better…”

And in each of these cases, that which is “better” is “joy” or “enjoyment” or “rejoicing” in the “toil” or “work” or “trouble” of life (Ecc. 2:24, 3:12, 3:22, 8:15).

And this refrain is where we will conclude again today (in v22).

Last Sunday, our passage (Ecc. 3:1-15) came to the same conclusion, only the “trouble” of life in focus among those verses was that of hard or bad or grievous “seasons.”

The “joy” last week was/is God’s “gift” through the midst of whatever circumstances we might face (Ecc. 3:12-13).

And we can have this gift of “joy” if we will trust and “fear” the God who stands as sovereign over both the good and the bad (Ecc. 3:14).

Today (in v16-22), the “joy” or “rejoicing” is found in receiving our “lot” or “portion” from God as He gives it to us (v22).

But what is the obstacle to joy in our passage this morning?

What is the problem the “Preacher” is especially observing or seeing in his assessment of life “under the sun” in this section?

He sees the inversion of justice and the perversion of righteousness.

See it there in v16: “Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness” (Ecc. 3:16).

Ecclesiastes is an honest look at the “trouble” of life under the sun, but it also encourages the reader to find joy amid the trouble.

Each section of the book addresses some potential obstacle to joy in life under the sun… and/or some potential objection to the necessary reality that must be in order for people like us to truly enjoy any aspect of life under the sun – namely, that there is a sovereign and good and just and generous and wise God who stands over and rules every atom of His creation.

The potential obstacle here is that of scandalous injustice.

How are we to find joy amid such an inversion of “justice”?

How are we to be joyful in our “lot” or “portion” in life if the wicked often pervert righteousness and persecute the righteous?

The “Preacher’s” answer to this question is God’s final judgment.

See it there in v17: “I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work.”

This vocabulary taps into what we considered at length last Sunday – that God has appointed a “time” or “season” for “everything” – and the “thing” or “work” in focus here is that of final judgment.

Friends, the wicked may afflict the righteous in this life under the sun, and the righteous may suffer all manner of injustice from the arrogant hand of the wicked.

But there is coming a day when God Himself will judge both the “righteous” and the “wicked.”

Friends, do you live your life with this in mind?

Even if you’re not a Christian, do you exercise your authority in life knowing that one day you will have to give an account for it?

Brothers and sisters, when you suffer injustice (when you’re unjustly passed over for a promotion, when you’re wronged by someone who ought to be defending you, when you experience wickedness from those who should be righteous), do you take comfort in the fact that God will meticulously judge all things and all people on the last day?

From another angle, let’s note that it is right for us to notice injustice and wickedness when we see it… and it’s right for us to be scandalized by it.

God’s sovereignty over all of life does not excuse wickedness in those who should know and do better.

When a spouse is unfaithful, when a mom or dad is abusive, when a boss plays favorites, when a police officer is vindictive, or when a legislator creates laws that penalize (rather than promote) virtue, it is right for us to see these as God does – as wickedness and injustice that are grotesque now and will be condemned in the end.

As we try to answer the main question before us – “How should we respond to wickedness and injustice in the world?” – we ought to remember that there is no wickedness or injustice that will survive God’s impartial and detailed examination.

God has appointed a day for His righteous and final judgment. God will not let any sin go unpunished. God will not let any injustice stand.

This is a consolation to us as we consider all the times we’ve been wronged or all the ways in which we have experienced the inversion of justice against us.

But, friends, this is also one of the main reasons sinners like us should run to Christ. If God’s justice does not discriminate between those who have had it better or worse, those with greater wealth or lesser, those with more prestige or none at all… then we ought to look to Christ to rescue us from our due penalty.

2. Judgment Depicted (v18-21)

Now, in a world where wickedness and injustice seem to thrive, it can be easy for us to pretend that God’s justice will never come. But God has set within this post-Genesis-3-world a constant reminder that we are but created things and ultimately answerable to God for all we say and do.

Death is God’s persistent and indiscriminate teacher that humans are His created things (no better than beasts, at least in one sense).

What does the “Preacher” mean that “God is testing” us by/with death?

The Hebrew word translated “testing” carries the idea of purging or purifying or cleansing or removing.

And how does the “Preacher” say God is “testing” or “purging” “the children of man”?

Isn’t it with or through death?

“For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so does the other” (Ecc. 3:19).

Therefore, “man has no advantage over the beasts” with regard to death (v19).

“All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return” (v20).

And what does God want to “test” or “purge” or “remove” from “the children of man” by this common experience of death?

Isn’t it the illusion of transcendence (or grandeur) and the arrogance of autonomy (or self-rule)?

What enables unjust people to ascend the halls of power and pursue their wicked ends?

Don’t they presume that they are the transcendent ones… that their sinful deeds will not be returned upon their own heads by someone greater than themselves?

Why do wicked people think they can overstep God’s boundaries or ignore God’s commands?

Don’t they presume that they have autonomy… that they can write their own rules and be a law unto themselves?

Friends, it seems to me that the “Preacher” is pondering here the radical futility or absurdity or “vanity” of living in this mortal world as though we are immortal.

Don’t all people die?

Then why are people often so surprised by death?

Don’t all people die?

Then where does death come from?

Why do we die?

Either we are just cosmic accidents, products of evolution, grown up germs with no purpose or meaning, and there is no such thing as wickedness or injustice or righteousness…

Or we are God’s created things, stamped with His own image, and subject to God’s rule and judgment.

If there is no god, then why not be barbarians and take whatever we are strong enough to get?

But if there is a God, then let’s humbly learn the lesson that death is meant to teach us!

The curse of God on full display (or Judgment Depicted).

It is no coincidence that the “Preacher” uses the language he does in v20.

“All are from the dust, and to dust all return” (v20).

This is almost a direct citation of Genesis 3:19.

When Adam sinned in the garden, God pronounced His curse upon all humanity and all creation.

God said to Adam, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you… By the sweat of your face you shall eat… till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:17-19).

Friends, the “Preacher” of Ecclesiastes means for his reader to understand that death exists in the world as a constant reminder (an unrelenting teacher) that we are mortals (appointed to die)… that we are God’s created things (under God’s jurisdiction)… and that we shall stand before the God who made us on the last day to give an account for what we did with the life and time He’s given us.

The “Preacher” asks the rhetorical question in v22 – “Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth?” And the answer is, God does! And God has told us what will happen when we die. We will not simply go into the ground, but we will all be resurrected on the last day – the wicked unto judgment and the righteous unto reward (John 5:25-30).

If we are living as though judgment will never come, then we should stop immediately, turn from our wicked ways, and make our plea to God for His grace.

Friends, wickedness may seem to thrive in our world, but God has appointed a time for final judgment, and death is a common reminder of it. And we would all do well to learn the lesson of this teacher God appointed to us.

3. Joy in Our Portion (v22)

Finally, this morning, we ought to rejoice in the lot (or portion) God has given us, as we await God’s concluding rewards and punishments.

Back to the refrain…

I said that we would conclude at the “Preacher’s” refrain, “there is nothing better…” (v22)… and here we are.

You may remember that I also said the “Preacher” is interested in teaching his reader to find or have or receive “joy” or “enjoyment” or “rejoicing” in the “toil” or “work” or “trouble” of life (v22).

We’ve faced the main obstacle to joy in our passage this morning – that of inverted justice and perverted righteousness.

Now, let’s consider where the “Preacher” aims our focus in order to embrace the “joy” we can have in our “lot” or “portion.”

Let me point out three observations and applications.

First, there is a reiteration of our limited perspective.

“Who can bring him to see what will be after him?” (v22).

Like the “times” and “seasons” of life are appointed by God (Ecc. 3:1-15), so too is the experience of wickedness in this fallen world.

Friends, God is sovereign over the good and the bad in our world, and though God is never to blame for the wicked deeds of sinful men, God has appointed this age (between the fall of Genesis 3 and the final judgment of Revelation 19 and 20) to include both righteousness and wickedness.

We cannot see the whole picture now, but God is working out the story He has authored in real time… and on the last day, we will stand in awe of what He has done.

Weary and persecuted saints can rest assured that their afflictions will be avenged.

Proud and blasphemous sinners are warned that their corrupt words and deeds will not go unanswered.

Second, “working” in a world corrupted by wickedness is our “lot.”

“for that [i.e., “work” or “doing”] is his [i.e., “man’s”] lot” (v22).

The fact that God is the one who appoints our “lot” or “portion” can cause us some difficulty… since we do not understand and since we often cannot make the equation work in our heads… but this is a great comfort for those who fear and trust God.

Friends, the fallen world (sinful and corrupt as it is) is not outside of God’s sovereign rule.

God entered our sinful world and conquered death.

As we sang earlier today, “I know that my redeemer lives… What comfort this sweet sentence gives… Shout on, pray on, we’re gaining ground… Glory, hallelujah!”

And God has appointed a day on which He will make all things right.

As we will sing, “Put no confidence in princes, nor for help on man depend; he shall die, to dust returning, and his purposes shall end… Well Jehovah [God] loves the righteous, and the stranger He befriends, helps the fatherless and widow, judgment on the wicked sends.”

Third, it is good for us to “rejoice” in the “lot” or “portion” God gives us.

“there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work [or “in his doing”], for that is his lot [or “his portion”]” (v22).

Friends, we can be tempted to think that “joy” or “rejoicing” is the absence of affliction or the absence of sorrow in it.

The Christian who is suffering under the affliction of wickedness or injustice can easily assume that joy is only accessible when the affliction is gone…

But here we are taught that joy can be ours even in the midst of affliction… if we will only trust God for it… if we will only receive it from God as a gift.

It makes all the difference in the world if we perceive our “lot” or “portion” or circumstances as the appointment of our good and kind and wise Heavenly Father, rather than mere arbitrary waves in a chaotic world or the wicked designs of some unjust sinner.

Friends, what is your “lot” this morning?

Have you found wickedness in the place of justice?

Have you found corruption in the place of righteousness?

This is our “lot” in a fallen world.

Why should we be so downcast or anxious or resentful in response to the common experience of man in this life?

Is your “portion” a lesser one than others around you?

Then trust that God is giving you what you need to grow in knowing Him and loving Him.

Is your “portion” a better one than others around you?

Then steward what God has given you with fear and humility, knowing that all will give an account on the last day for how they spent their time, treasure, and talent.

Conclusion

It is clear – both from our passage today and from our common experience in life – that wickedness does often seem to thrive in the world. Ecclesiastes does not sugar-coat what it feels and looks like to live under the sun.

And yet, despite all the hardships and afflictions we may endure, the author of Ecclesiastes is urging us to remember that God is ruling and reigning over it all. God has appointed a time for final judgment, and He has appointed our lot or portion until then to be suitable for His purposes for us.

What we have before us, then, is a choice to make. How will we receive the “lot” or “portion” God has given us? Or, as I stated it at the beginning of our time together today, “How will we respond to wickedness and injustice in the world when it intrudes upon us?”

Will we fight against it?

There is certainly a time for that. We are never commanded in the Bible to simply roll over and die when sinners assault us or those we love.

But this is not our only recourse… and there are times when fighting is either impossible or unsuccessful.

Will we aim to avoid wickedness and injustice?

Well, there is definitely good effort to be made here as well. We don’t want to willfully expose ourselves to affliction or persecution at the hands of those who would do us harm.

But, again, there are inevitably going to be times when we cannot get around facing some sort of affliction for faithfully trusting and obeying Christ in a world that is dead set against Him and against His people.

Will we consider our “lot” or “portion” as a gift from God’s good hand, and will we find joy amid our circumstances (good or bad)?

If we’re going to choose this one (as we should), then we ought to consider:

First, what is our “lot”?

What has God given us?

What are the goods and bads God has appointed for us?

What responsibilities do you have?

What relationships?

Who depends on you?

Who has authority over you?

There is a great deal of perspective to be gained by simply knowing where we are.

Second, make a priority of thanking God for His gifts.

What undeserved blessings has God put in your life?

What consequences for your sins and errors has God preserved you from bearing?

How has God used both good and bad experiences to grow and shape you for your own good and for His glory?

There is a lot we can’t understand about God’s providence in our lives, but there’s also a good bit that we can see and know in the way of positive results God has already produced in and through us.

Third, and finally, we can regularly remember the last day.

When we do encounter injustice, we can remember that God condemns it now and He will judge it finally and ultimately.

When we do suffer from the wicked words or deeds of others, we can remember that God sees every bit of it, and He will make all things right in the end.

When we are tempted to use our strength or position or opportunity to afflict others, we can be corrected and restrained by remembering that God is serious about sin wherever it is found.

Brothers and sisters, wickedness and injustice will not have the last word. Death itself will not have the last word. The righteous Judge who sees every hidden matter will deliver perfect justice in His good time.

But until that day, let’s rejoice in our portion. May God help us.