Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Big questions require big answers, but we humans aren’t big enough.

What can we do about injustice and wickedness in the world?

Who knows what will happen to us after we die?

Who can see what will happen to those we leave behind?

These are big questions that only a big God can answer.

[ILLUS] The Christian singer/song writer, Chris Rice, had a song years ago called, “Big Enough.”

In that song he had a lyric, which I think is appropriate to this section of Ecclesiastes.

He wrote, “Three-and-a-half pounds of brain trying to figure out, what this world is all about, and is there an eternity?

Is there an eternity?”

And then the reassuring chorus, “And God I hope you don’t mind me asking these questions, but I figure you’re big enough, I figure you’re big enough.”

Indeed, God is big enough.

He’s the only One who is big enough to answer the big questions we have in life, the big questions that Solomon has in this section of Ecclesiastes.

[CONTEXT] So far we’ve seen Solomon’s first catalogue of vanities, the first catalogue of things under the sun that he finds ultimately unfulfilling.

He has lamented the “vanity” of creation (1:4-11).

He’s lamented the “vanity” of wisdom and knowledge (1:12-18).

He’s lamented the “vanity” of pleasure, possessions, and accomplishments (2:1-11).

Then because he was so wise, he lamented the “vanity” of wisdom again (2:12-17).

And then he lamented the vanity of laboring just to leave it all to someone else (2:18-26).

The theme that he began with has been his theme all along.

He wrote in ...

That too is a big question, and [CIT] now in our passage this evening, Solomon tackles another: his three-and-a-half pounds of brain are trying to figure out what this world is all about in relation to injustice and eternity.

Why is there wickedness where we should find righteousness?

And now in our passage this evening, Solomon’s three-and-a-half pounds of brain is trying to figure out what this world is all about in relation to injustice and eternity.

Why is there injustice where there should be justice?

Given the way we so poorly treat one another, are we humans any better than beasts?

And who knows what will happen to us from here?

Would it have been better if we had never been born?

[PROP] God is under no obligation to answer our questions, but he graciously does so in his word.

Our part is to receive his answers and trust his goodness.

[TS] This passage breaks down into three PARTS...

Major Ideas

vv.

16-17 - justice/injustice, righteousness/wickedness, and God’s judgment

The theme of justice/injustice, righteousness/wickedness is one that Solomon will return to.

Ecclesiastes

Eccleas

There is a time for everything.

That’s what Solomon said in 3:1-8.

The exclamation point at the end of that theme is— there is a time for God’s judgement.

This is what Jesus said in ...

vv.

18-22 - Beasts (like the land animals of ) / Is it injustice where there should be justice, wickedness where there should be righteousness that makes Solomon conclude that we are the same as beasts?

same death

same breath

same place (dust)

Genesis 3:1

same ignorance (Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth?

21 / Not about heaven or hell, but the limitation of human knowledge)

same joy (So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot.

22)

vv.

21-22 - Two big questions: (A) Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth?

(B) Who can bring him to see what will be after him?

The answer to both big questions is GOD!

See He knows all and sees all, we should trust Him!

That’s doesn’t mean, however, that we don’t work and pray to end injustice.

It doesn’t mean that we don’t identify injustice that remains in our hearts and ask the Lord to help us repent and act justly toward our neighbors.

However, our ultimate hope for justice is not in our efforts or even in our repentance but in the Lord who will judge the righteous and the wicked and not be confused about which is which (16).

AND our ultimate act of justice is declaring the Gospel so that people can be ready for that day.

Jesus was perfectly just and yet suffered unjustly on the cross as the payment for all our acts of injustice toward God, which we normally refer to as sin.

He was raised on the third day, and any who trust him as Savior and Lord receive his perfect justness before God.

That’s the justice we should all be hoping in and telling others about!

4:1-3 - Solomon sees oppressions and even more personally, the tears of the oppressed.

He laments that they had no one to comfort them.

Although the oppressors had power, the oppressed had no one to comfort them.

In Solomon’s estimation it would be better to be dead rather than oppressed.

But better yet, it would be better to have not been born yet—to go back to the womb—back to the innocence before we saw the evil deeds done under the sun.

Conclusion

Jesus said that we would always have the poor with us.

In the same way, there will always be injustice this side of eternity.

That’s because in order for injustice to be eradicated, not only would every human heart have to be transformed by the Gospel, every human heart would have to be completely perfected by the Gospel!

That won’t happen until Jesus returns, so injustice will always be present until then.

That’s doesn’t mean, however, that we don’t work and pray to end injustice.

It doesn’t mean that we don’t identify injustice that remains in our hearts and ask the Lord to help us repent and act justly toward our neighbors.

However, our ultimate hope for justice is not in our efforts or even in our repentance but in the Lord who will judge the righteous and the wicked and not be confused about which is which (16).

AND our ultimate act of justice is declaring the Gospel so that people can be ready for that day.

Jesus was perfectly just and yet suffered unjustly on the cross as the payment for all our acts of injustice toward God, which we normally refer to as sin.

He was raised on the third day, and any who trust him as Savior and Lord receive his perfect justness before God.

That’s the justice we should all be hoping in and telling others about!

Matthew 25:41-