WEBVTT 00:00:00.719 --> 00:00:05.519 Today's scripture reading is Ecclesiastes eight one to seventeen. 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:10.080 Who is like the wise, and who knows the interpretation of a thing? 00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:15.679 A man's wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed. 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:22.960 I say, Keep the king's command, because of God's oath to him, be not hasty to go from his presence. 00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:32.719 Do not take your stand in an evil cause, for he does whatever he pleases, for the word of the king is supreme, and who may say to him, What are you doing? 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:39.439 Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way. 00:00:39.759 --> 00:00:49.439 For there is a time and a way for everything, although man's trouble lies heavy on him, for he does not know what is to be, for who can tell him how it will be? 00:00:49.759 --> 00:00:54.320 No man has power to retain the spirit or power over the day of death. 00:00:54.479 --> 00:00:59.840 There is no discharge from war, nor will wickedness deliver those who are given to it. 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:08.799 All this I observed while applying my heart to all that is done under the sun, when man had power over him man to his hurt. 00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:11.040 Then I saw the wicked buried. 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:16.959 They used to go in and out of the holy place, and were praised in the city where they had done such things. 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:26.959 This also is vanity, because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:36.640 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. 00:01:37.040 --> 00:01:44.400 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. 00:01:44.640 --> 00:01:55.599 There is 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. 00:01:55.920 --> 00:02:11.840 I said that this also is vanity, and I command I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go well with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun. 00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:27.919 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, then I saw all the work of God that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:32.639 However much man may toil in his seeking, he will not find it out. 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:36.560 Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out. 00:02:36.719 --> 00:02:38.719 This is the word of the Lord, you may be seated. 00:02:41.919 --> 00:02:43.039 Good morning. 00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:46.000 Thanks for joining us this morning. 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:48.560 I got a bit of a cold yesterday. 00:02:48.719 --> 00:02:53.759 Uh it is typical for colds to hit our house on Saturdays. 00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:58.800 And uh so I've got a uh so that's what that's why my voice sounds like this. 00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:01.120 It sounds crazy coming out of my own head. 00:03:01.199 --> 00:03:03.120 It might sound normal out there, I don't know. 00:03:03.280 --> 00:03:05.039 Uh, but thanks for joining us this morning. 00:03:05.120 --> 00:03:10.000 Uh my name is James Rathman, I'm the pastor here at Redemption Church Denver. 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:15.439 And uh we are continuing in our Ecclesiastes series. 00:03:15.520 --> 00:03:19.360 And so before we move into our text for the day, would you pray with me? 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:40.560 Father, you have written written the story so that we cannot know the end from the beginning, and yet you have placed eternity in our hearts so that we long for that knowledge, so that we long to see a unity in the chaos. 00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:47.520 Lord, we do not know why the particular afflictions that hit us hit us. 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:51.520 But Father, we entrust ourselves to you. 00:03:52.240 --> 00:04:13.520 Lord, I ask that you would strengthen our hearts, the hearts of the people in our church, that we might face the difficulties that you have given to us with a confidence that they are not destroying us, but that they are building into us a character and an endurance that will lead to hope. 00:04:13.919 --> 00:04:17.120 And Lord, that our hope in you will never be put to shame. 00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:25.199 Lord, I pray that you would make us the type of people who can see the world clearly, and while we see the world clearly, we hope in you. 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:29.839 Lord, you are trustworthy and gracious. 00:04:30.079 --> 00:04:35.279 You're merciful, you're slow to anger, you're abounding in steadfast love. 00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:40.079 Lord, you are there when we seek you. 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:49.519 We thank you for hearing our prayers, we thank you for attending our praises, and we pray that you would equip us by your spirit to hear your word this morning. 00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:51.360 We lift this up in Jesus' name. 00:04:51.600 --> 00:04:52.240 Amen. 00:04:54.399 --> 00:05:05.920 So, one of my favorite living theologians is a guy named John Frame, and he says that the most difficult part of theology is getting your proportions right. 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:10.959 It means putting the right weight on to the right things at the right time. 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:17.360 Proportion is necessary to live a wise life. 00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:19.600 You have to do things in their right proportion. 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:21.920 We've looked at this in Ecclesiastes before. 00:05:22.160 --> 00:05:28.000 That the world is not just things to do and things to not do, and those lists never mingle. 00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:31.279 The world is full of things which you ought to do. 00:05:31.439 --> 00:05:33.920 The question is, is it the right time? 00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:36.480 Or are you doing it in the right way? 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:41.759 It's like the notes on a keyboard or on a piano, they're all to be played. 00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:43.519 All the notes are to be played. 00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:45.040 The question is when? 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:47.519 And that's what makes it beautiful or not. 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:52.560 And that sense of proportion is it's the essence of wisdom. 00:05:52.720 --> 00:06:00.319 It's you can't be rational without having a sense of proportion, without doing things in the right time or in the right way. 00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:02.160 You can hear it right in the word rational. 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:03.920 It begins with the word ratio. 00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:09.360 And ratios are what makes coffee delicious or terrible. 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:16.800 It's what makes cake really good and moist or dry and sad. 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:23.279 Every voiceover of the great British baking show, do you guys watch that show? 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:26.560 Not watch, but have on while you do other things. 00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:38.639 Every voiceover in that show says, with this bake, if they mix it too much, then it will come out flaky, and if they don't mix it enough, then it will come out too hard. 00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:49.279 And it the and then when they're going into the oven, if they overbake it, then it will be too crumbly, and if they underbake it, it will be mushy. 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:51.839 And so and so the way everything is the same. 00:06:51.920 --> 00:06:56.639 They just the risk is they do it too little or they do it too much. 00:06:56.800 --> 00:07:02.959 But if they if they get their proportions right, then they might get a handshake from that guy. 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:16.720 So what Solomon is teaching us today is the power of wisdom in getting your proportions just right. 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:27.279 And he shows us the necessity of this and of considering our wisdom as something which because what he shows us is wisdom is a type of power in the world. 00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:33.199 Wisdom is the power to be effective and to get done what you would actually like to see done in the world. 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:35.519 That requires wisdom to do. 00:07:35.839 --> 00:07:39.279 But wisdom is not the only power in the world. 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:42.879 Wisdom must contend with other powers. 00:07:43.439 --> 00:07:46.959 And he shows us how wisdom contends with these other powers in the world. 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:53.439 He'll show us how wisdom must confront the authority of the king that it is under. 00:07:54.399 --> 00:07:57.439 So your life is under particular authorities. 00:07:57.680 --> 00:08:05.040 You have a boss or spouse, you have authorities that you must contend with. 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:06.720 You're under a government. 00:08:07.519 --> 00:08:12.560 And wisdom is not a reason where you can just cast off these authorities. 00:08:12.959 --> 00:08:15.199 It must contend with those other powers. 00:08:15.439 --> 00:08:24.399 Other authorities in the world are the voice of the crowds and how they read appearances. 00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:28.079 This is a particular type of power that exists in the world. 00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:35.120 The way that the crowd reads you, what your reputation is and how you appear or how you come across to others. 00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:42.960 That's a power that can render a judgment against you that could likewise destroy your life in the way that a king could destroy your life. 00:08:43.360 --> 00:08:46.159 That is a power that wisdom must contend with. 00:08:46.559 --> 00:08:52.000 And then finally, Solomon will show us just the limits of wisdom itself. 00:08:52.480 --> 00:09:03.360 That wisdom, although very powerful, and even when executed perfectly well and you get your proportions just right, you might see that the bake doesn't turn out. 00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:05.440 And you're not quite sure why. 00:09:05.759 --> 00:09:10.080 You didn't let it prove enough in the proving drawer. 00:09:10.799 --> 00:09:12.720 Do you guys have those in your kitchens? 00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:14.960 Same. 00:09:16.799 --> 00:09:18.320 No, I don't have one of those. 00:09:19.039 --> 00:09:23.840 So we're going to look at proportions, and we're going to look at the limits of wisdom. 00:09:24.559 --> 00:09:31.440 In Ecclesiastes 8, verse 1, it says, Who is like the wise, and who knows the interpretation of a thing? 00:09:31.679 --> 00:09:37.120 A man's wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed. 00:09:37.840 --> 00:09:48.000 So we begin with what is uh one of those frequent, just seems like just a positive phrase in Ecclesiastes. 00:09:48.159 --> 00:09:51.679 But since we know Ecclesiastes, we know that something's coming just around the corner. 00:09:51.840 --> 00:09:54.080 This isn't like Proverbs, where it gets better and better. 00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:57.919 In Ecclesiastes, there's this hymn, there's this song to praise. 00:09:58.080 --> 00:09:59.360 Who is like the wise? 00:09:59.600 --> 00:10:01.759 Who knows the interpretation of a thing? 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:07.039 A man's wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed. 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:09.120 There's a goodness in wisdom. 00:10:09.279 --> 00:10:15.120 Where once wisdom is achieved, you can see a softness comes to the man's face. 00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:28.639 And he's able to smile at things that would have previously terrified him, or filled him with a hardness because of his inability to interpret them, or that that furrowed brow that comes with a riddle that just can't be solved, you can't find your way out of it. 00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:30.480 Well, wisdom softens those things. 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:38.960 And it even makes the man's face shine, such that the man who has wisdom is attractive. 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:42.960 Shiny things, they capture your attention. 00:10:44.159 --> 00:10:45.919 We like shiny things. 00:10:46.159 --> 00:10:48.960 We all carry them around in our pockets, you know? 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:51.840 And we just look at this shiny thing all day. 00:10:52.080 --> 00:10:59.360 A friend of mine said, he's like, it's been like 18 years since I've had this phone, and I still just love looking at it. 00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:01.759 It's funny, you know? 00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:04.159 We aren't bored of this shiny thing. 00:11:04.240 --> 00:11:05.679 It captures our attention. 00:11:05.759 --> 00:11:08.639 And that's what the wise man's face is like. 00:11:08.720 --> 00:11:10.559 It captures attention. 00:11:11.759 --> 00:11:19.039 But the wise man also knows that the capturing of attention is a double-edged sword. 00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:21.679 This is not just a good thing. 00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:27.279 It's not just positive that the wise man captures the attention. 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:49.200 As we move through the Gospel of Mark, something that we saw, especially in the early parts of that book, was Jesus' frequent retreat from the crowds to private places, and him swearing to secrecy those who he healed, and telling people not to disclose the truth of his identity. 00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:58.000 It's a strange thing, and it's very counterintuitive to our minds because we want to be sharing Jesus, and yet Jesus himself seems to be hiding himself. 00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:04.480 We called that the divine secret, is this theme that worked its way through the Gospel of Mark. 00:12:04.960 --> 00:12:08.960 But what we see there is that Jesus understands the nature of his wisdom. 00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:12.480 He is wisdom itself, wisdom incarnate. 00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:18.320 But because of his wisdom, he knew how to hold his wisdom well. 00:12:19.679 --> 00:12:37.600 And when he finally begins to move in a way that makes his identity plain, that exposes to the rulers and authorities that are around him the truth of his identity, and he lets the wisdom of his face shine, that's the same as him marching to his death. 00:12:38.399 --> 00:12:43.440 Because what the world does to the wise is finally kill them. 00:12:44.159 --> 00:12:47.039 And Jesus knows this, he understands it. 00:12:47.279 --> 00:13:05.360 And so that's why, after talking about the shining face of wisdom, Solomon, he causes wisdom to fold its wings a little bit, to, in a sense, hide what it knows and what it's able to interpret, depending on the context that it's in. 00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:09.360 And so the first is he brings us into the context of the king. 00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:10.639 So this is what he says. 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:23.679 After this praise of wisdom, in Ecclesiastes 8, 2 through 4, he says, I say, Keep the king's command, because of God's oath to him. 00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:32.159 Be not hasty to go from his presence, do not take your stand in an evil cause, for he does whatever he pleases. 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:37.919 For the word of the king is supreme, and who may say to him, What are you doing? 00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:47.840 So wisdom here, in the presence of the king, is not supposed to act just according to what it interprets for itself. 00:13:48.159 --> 00:13:54.960 Wisdom has to understand that the king has a power that is given to him from God. 00:13:56.080 --> 00:14:02.960 And this power that is given to the king from God is not something that wisdom can just overcome. 00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:06.000 It has to be contended with. 00:14:41.200 --> 00:14:42.879 And it doesn't matter. 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:49.279 You have to know how to contend with those authorities. 00:14:49.600 --> 00:15:03.840 You might have a boss who thinks very silly things about Christians, and the right response to that might be to keep your mouth shut because you've got kids to feed. 00:15:04.240 --> 00:15:07.200 And who can tell your boss whether or not to fire you? 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:08.159 Can you? 00:15:08.960 --> 00:15:10.240 They have the authority. 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:13.200 I think Colorado is a no-fault state. 00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:14.080 Is it? 00:15:14.240 --> 00:15:14.960 Or at at will. 00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:16.720 No faults divorce. 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:18.799 Fire at will. 00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:20.399 Yeah, fire at will. 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:22.000 That's a cool way to say it. 00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:25.519 All you bosses, don't let that go to your head. 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:33.519 There's uh and so that m you you have to understand, hey, I've got to weigh this. 00:15:34.960 --> 00:15:37.360 And so he continues on in verses 5 through 7. 00:15:37.440 --> 00:15:41.360 He says, Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing. 00:15:42.399 --> 00:15:46.639 So if you keep the command of the king, it will just go well with you. 00:15:47.279 --> 00:15:49.759 You won't know the evil of the king. 00:15:50.159 --> 00:15:56.639 If you keep his command, that that the badness that he can send into your life, you won't receive. 00:15:57.200 --> 00:16:04.080 And he goes on and says, And the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way. 00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:17.919 For there is a time and a way for everything, although man's trouble lies heavy on him, for he does not know what is to be, for who can tell him how it will be? 00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:22.000 There's a time and a way for everything. 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:32.559 You know, in Acts, when Peter and John first start proclaiming the name of Jesus, they are commanded by their governing authorities to stop preaching the name of Jesus. 00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:40.879 And what they say to those rulers and authorities, to those kings over them, is it better that we obey God or that we obey man? 00:16:41.600 --> 00:16:44.240 And they, the question answers itself. 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:46.799 It is better that you obey God. 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:51.519 And so they determine we will not stop preaching the name of Jesus. 00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:53.600 They go back and pray for boldness. 00:16:53.759 --> 00:17:03.679 They pray from Psalm 2, and they pray that the scheming of the kings and rulers will be brought to an end as God laughs at them in their scheming. 00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:08.640 And they pray for boldness and the place that they're praying in shakes. 00:17:09.039 --> 00:17:10.640 Lots of cool stuff in Acts. 00:17:10.880 --> 00:17:12.799 Lots of shaking things. 00:17:13.200 --> 00:17:14.720 It's pretty cool. 00:17:16.880 --> 00:17:29.359 And yet, here in Ecclesiastes, Solomon, you're about to walk into the king and share with them this great wisdom that they don't know, and it's why they're such a fool, and it's why things are going so poorly for them. 00:17:29.519 --> 00:17:32.319 And Solomon's saying, whoa, whoa, pump your brakes there. 00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:34.799 Do you understand who you're talking to? 00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:36.559 That's the king. 00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:39.440 And he can do whatever he wants with you. 00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:42.640 There's an authority that he has that is from God. 00:17:43.680 --> 00:17:48.960 And so when we read both of these instances in the Bible, we should think, okay, well, which is it? 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:50.240 What do I do? 00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:52.799 Which one do I do? 00:17:52.880 --> 00:17:55.680 And the answer is, well, the wise man knows. 00:17:55.839 --> 00:17:57.920 He knows there's a time and a place. 00:17:58.240 --> 00:18:02.799 There's a way that things ought to be expressed, and there's a way that things ought not to be expressed. 00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:09.279 That it takes wisdom in order to use your wisdom. 00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:12.799 And so you may think, okay, well, that's great. 00:18:12.880 --> 00:18:28.480 I'll just figure out the time and the place, and I'll figure out precisely the way to say everything, and then I'll learn that if if anything goes wrong in my saying it, then that's probably just a I didn't say it in just the right way. 00:18:29.039 --> 00:18:33.200 But Solomon's not that much of a fool either. 00:18:33.519 --> 00:18:43.200 Solomon does not think, see, there's a magic sentence that you can say at the right time in the right place, and it will unlock any problem for you. 00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:45.680 Your job is just to figure that out. 00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:54.319 There's a way in which you can share this with your insecure boss that will have no repercussions. 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:55.680 Maybe. 00:18:56.160 --> 00:18:58.000 Maybe there's a way to say that. 00:18:58.960 --> 00:19:00.079 Maybe not. 00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:07.200 Maybe the only maybe it needs to be said, and the repercussions will fall upon you. 00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:17.039 Because it says here, for there is a time and a way for everything, although man's trouble lies heavy on him. 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:18.400 Why? 00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:19.519 Verse 7. 00:19:19.839 --> 00:19:22.240 For he does not know what is to be. 00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:25.920 For who can tell him how it will be? 00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:35.759 You don't know what the effect of you seeking to live wisely will be. 00:19:36.319 --> 00:19:38.000 It's hidden from you. 00:19:38.480 --> 00:19:45.599 And you cannot act with certainty with regards to what will come from you seeking to live wisely. 00:19:46.640 --> 00:20:13.039 And if you find yourself trying to find that perfect sentence, that perfect way, this magical way to unlock the complicated situation that you're in that factors in the authority that's over you, the responsibilities that you have beneath you, the responsibility that you have to God and his call to act wisely in the world, and you think, okay, well, now I've got it, I've boiled it all down, I've got my ratios, my proportions, and everything just right, it's just perfect. 00:20:13.920 --> 00:20:17.519 But it lies heavy on you because the truth is you don't know. 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:20.559 It could just go badly. 00:20:21.680 --> 00:20:23.759 There is no certainty. 00:20:24.319 --> 00:20:28.319 And Solomon is quick to remind us of this. 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:30.480 He's always doing this in this book. 00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:41.200 And I think it's it ought to make you wise, and there's a part of it where I hope knowing that, in a sense, starts to free you up. 00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:46.559 There's a lightness to this that he'll draw us into as he leads us down this road. 00:20:46.640 --> 00:20:49.599 But there's a lightness to this that I want you to see. 00:20:50.079 --> 00:21:06.000 Because I know how easy it is to become trapped in thinking, okay, I've got to find just the right way, I've got to find just I've got to weigh these proportions perfectly, and then finally I'll be able to act, and I will certainly know the way that things will go. 00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:08.400 But you won't. 00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:09.519 You won't. 00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:10.640 You won't know. 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:12.240 There's no certainty. 00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:14.960 There's no certainty with any of the actions that you take. 00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:16.720 The wise man knows that. 00:21:17.039 --> 00:21:18.799 So he seeks to find the time. 00:21:19.519 --> 00:21:22.240 And then he entrusts himself. 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:26.720 So should you speak or should you not? 00:21:29.680 --> 00:21:31.680 There's no certainty. 00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:34.559 You should use your wisdom to be wise. 00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:38.240 You should understand the ratios of coffee and cake. 00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:39.519 Try and make them well. 00:21:39.839 --> 00:21:43.519 Know that those ratios matter in the making of them and the consuming of them. 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:51.279 And know that there's no certainty. 00:21:53.200 --> 00:21:54.799 There's no certainty. 00:21:57.039 --> 00:21:58.319 Except for one. 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:02.000 Ecclesiastes eight, eight through nine. 00:22:03.039 --> 00:22:09.920 No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death. 00:22:11.440 --> 00:22:17.519 There is no discharge from war, nor will wickedness deliver those who are given to it. 00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:26.000 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. 00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:33.599 We're desperate for Solomon to land on a certainty, and he does. 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:34.640 Death. 00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:41.680 You can't retain your spirit. 00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:46.319 You can't cling to it. 00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:50.079 He says there's no discharge from war. 00:22:52.319 --> 00:22:55.839 It means you can't opt out of your life. 00:22:58.079 --> 00:23:04.319 There's no way that you can get out of the problems which have been laid at your doorstep. 00:23:04.720 --> 00:23:08.559 You can't you're in it. 00:23:12.160 --> 00:23:15.119 And so, in a sense, I guess there's two certainties there. 00:23:15.279 --> 00:23:21.359 One is the reality of your life that you are in, the circumstances that you find yourself in. 00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:25.759 And the other is that will end. 00:23:26.880 --> 00:23:29.440 And death will certainly make that end. 00:23:31.039 --> 00:23:33.839 Wisdom cannot overcome that. 00:23:34.160 --> 00:23:37.920 All of the wisdom in the world cannot overcome that. 00:23:42.079 --> 00:23:51.759 So he has shown us the that there's other powers in the world that wisdom must contend with. 00:23:53.839 --> 00:24:05.440 You must be wise in contending with those powers and know that wisdom is insufficient to conquer that most powerful thing, which is death. 00:24:05.680 --> 00:24:07.359 Everyone is under that. 00:24:12.960 --> 00:24:14.799 He says this is in a particular time. 00:24:14.880 --> 00:24:22.720 He says, 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. 00:24:26.160 --> 00:24:28.880 You know, I've said this so many times, and I'll keep saying it. 00:24:29.039 --> 00:24:36.720 Ecclesiastes should be called things that can happen, or uh uh some qualities of what it's like out here. 00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:39.519 That's another good name for Ecclesiastes. 00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:40.640 Here's what it's like out here. 00:24:40.720 --> 00:24:43.039 You should like give it to somebody who's just born. 00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:44.799 Hey, you just got here. 00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:46.799 You're wondering what it's like out here? 00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:48.720 Here's some things you should know. 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:53.440 Man has power over man to his hurt. 00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:55.680 That's real. 00:24:57.440 --> 00:25:04.559 There are people that have power over you, and it will result in you being hurt. 00:25:05.920 --> 00:25:08.000 There's no discharge from war. 00:25:10.160 --> 00:25:12.000 That is where this takes place. 00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:13.519 Here you are. 00:25:14.319 --> 00:25:17.359 This is the setting for your wisdom. 00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:20.400 Crowds and appearances. 00:25:20.480 --> 00:25:23.839 This is the next thing that he kind of brings wisdom up against. 00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:26.799 Wisdom, remember, it softens your face. 00:25:26.960 --> 00:25:30.960 It makes the it makes your face shine when you have wisdom. 00:25:31.119 --> 00:25:33.440 But there's other things that he sees when he's looking around. 00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:37.519 He says, in verse 10, then I saw the wicked buried. 00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:45.200 They used to go in and out of the holy place and were praised in the city where they had done such things. 00:25:45.519 --> 00:25:47.119 This also is vanity. 00:25:48.960 --> 00:25:51.119 Then I saw the wicked buried. 00:25:51.680 --> 00:25:52.960 That seems good. 00:25:55.440 --> 00:25:57.200 The wicked come to an end. 00:25:57.440 --> 00:25:58.799 Remember, where are we? 00:25:58.880 --> 00:26:02.799 We're in that place where man has power over man to his hurt. 00:26:04.319 --> 00:26:08.319 But Solomon looks and he sees the wicked are buried, but what were they like? 00:26:08.480 --> 00:26:10.400 What's the appraisal of them? 00:26:10.799 --> 00:26:19.039 He says they used to go in and out of the holy places and were praised in the city where they had done such things. 00:26:20.319 --> 00:26:24.960 The crowds can't even tell that they were wicked. 00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:42.079 Solomon can tell in his wisdom, but us, you know, the crowds, probably who you should think of yourself as, of ourselves as, were taken in. 00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:45.039 We saw them go in and out of the holy places. 00:26:45.119 --> 00:26:48.319 They were in, they were preachers. 00:26:51.039 --> 00:27:00.400 And it turns out that those uh religious affectations were just a disguise for their wickedness. 00:27:02.160 --> 00:27:13.839 That the approval of the crowds, which seemed like it testified to something good that was happening there, was actually just another layer of foolishness and deception. 00:27:14.160 --> 00:27:15.119 And what are they? 00:27:15.279 --> 00:27:17.200 They're finally just buried. 00:27:17.359 --> 00:27:18.799 And it goes away. 00:27:19.039 --> 00:27:22.240 And all the accolades that they received goes away too. 00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:27.359 This is a very disorienting verse. 00:27:27.599 --> 00:27:30.000 It's a very disorienting truth. 00:27:30.319 --> 00:27:36.400 Because one of the ways that we know what to trust is we see other people trusting it. 00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:41.359 It's one of the best heuristics that we have. 00:27:41.920 --> 00:27:47.680 The way that you know where to look is you see where other people are looking. 00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:53.839 Like you go in an arena, a stadium, and all the chairs face the same way. 00:27:54.240 --> 00:27:58.960 And it would be very strange to stand up and look up the other direction. 00:28:01.359 --> 00:28:05.279 And he's saying it, that assessment can be wrong. 00:28:06.319 --> 00:28:08.880 And those wicked will just be buried. 00:28:09.119 --> 00:28:10.880 It's very disorienting. 00:28:12.640 --> 00:28:22.640 But he gives to us a reason as why this well, then he says to close off that disorienting thought, he says, this also is vanity, this also is vapor. 00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:24.720 This also will just go away. 00:28:25.200 --> 00:28:30.720 And there again, we see the double-edged nature of vapor throughout the book of Ecclesiastes. 00:28:31.680 --> 00:28:43.279 There's this positive attribute to vapor, which is that the judgment of the crowds, which is rendered wrongly, will also go away. 00:28:45.279 --> 00:28:49.200 That judgment will not be the final judgment. 00:28:51.920 --> 00:29:02.400 Why is it that evil is able to triumph like this in the world and so deceptively, where we're not even able to become attuned to it? 00:29:02.640 --> 00:29:05.200 In verse 11, Solomon offers an answer. 00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:15.759 He says, Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. 00:29:17.039 --> 00:29:18.240 Because what happens? 00:29:18.480 --> 00:29:25.359 An evil deed happens, and then the person who commits that evil deed gets away with it. 00:29:27.200 --> 00:29:31.519 We don't see any repercussions in their life for this evil that they've committed. 00:29:32.160 --> 00:29:48.640 And Solomon says, well, because the sentence is not executed speedily against the person who has committed evil, then we consider that to be indifference on the part of God. 00:29:50.319 --> 00:29:55.359 And we think God must not care about the evil that takes place in the world. 00:29:57.680 --> 00:30:02.799 We hate that, and we love that. 00:30:05.759 --> 00:30:12.960 We hate that because we see the evil that takes place in the world, we experience the evil that takes place against us. 00:30:14.319 --> 00:30:20.799 We desire for there to be justice for it, but we love the idea of an indifferent God. 00:30:22.880 --> 00:30:25.599 Because we know the evil in ourselves. 00:30:28.079 --> 00:30:33.200 And so while we clamor for justice, we don't clamor for it too much. 00:30:36.319 --> 00:30:39.200 This also is vapor. 00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:45.119 So the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. 00:30:45.440 --> 00:30:58.480 Perhaps if we saw the justice of God fall immediately after the evil deed takes place, well then we wouldn't be set to do evil all the time. 00:31:00.559 --> 00:31:04.240 But what we're witnessing is not the indifference of God. 00:31:05.440 --> 00:31:08.079 What we're witnessing is his patience. 00:31:08.880 --> 00:31:10.799 He's patient towards us. 00:31:11.519 --> 00:31:17.119 If he were to enact his justice immediately, there would be no hope for any of us. 00:31:17.680 --> 00:31:24.000 But he is patient towards you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to him. 00:31:28.880 --> 00:31:47.920 So he goes on and he's looking for justice, and he sees that it's wisdom of the wisdom of the crowds and appearances falls flat, and it renders a wrong judgment, just like the king can render the wrong judgment. 00:31:48.799 --> 00:31:50.240 Where is the right judgment? 00:31:50.559 --> 00:31:52.559 Where does the right judgment come from? 00:31:53.759 --> 00:32:01.680 In verses 12 through 13, it's almost as though Solomon can't contain himself anymore, and he has to say what he truly knows. 00:32:01.920 --> 00:32:15.599 In verse 12 through 13 he says, 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. 00:32:17.519 --> 00:32:26.480 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. 00:32:28.880 --> 00:32:33.680 Solomon looks out and he sees the wicked is prolonging his days. 00:32:35.920 --> 00:32:39.440 A hundred times he does evil things, and nothing happens. 00:32:40.400 --> 00:32:42.720 There's no justice demonstrated. 00:32:44.160 --> 00:32:52.000 But Solomon says, Yet I know it will be well with those who fear God. 00:32:52.799 --> 00:32:56.480 It will be well with those who fear God. 00:32:56.720 --> 00:32:57.279 Why? 00:32:57.599 --> 00:33:00.720 Because they fear before Him. 00:33:02.880 --> 00:33:22.079 Now you've got to ask, especially in this under the sun frame, this temporal frame, this within this life context of the discussion of Ecclesiastes, well, when will it go well for the ones who fear God? 00:33:22.720 --> 00:33:23.759 When will that happen? 00:33:23.839 --> 00:33:38.319 If it could be a hundred times that the wicked man faces no repercussions and even prolongs his life, when will it go well with the one who fears God? 00:33:40.079 --> 00:33:42.720 And I think that there's like a hint here. 00:33:44.160 --> 00:33:55.039 There's this, he doesn't come right out and say it, but that but he pushes us into a place where he's saying, this life isn't the only scene of justice. 00:33:57.519 --> 00:34:00.000 There's one that will come after. 00:34:01.680 --> 00:34:13.360 And in this world in which all things are upside down, there's a life on the other side of this in which justice will be realized. 00:34:13.599 --> 00:34:17.280 It's just a hint, but it's starting to break through. 00:34:18.559 --> 00:34:21.360 And what is the watershed of the justice of God? 00:34:21.440 --> 00:34:29.920 It's that repeated phrase, because they fear before him, because they fear before him, it will go well with those who fear God. 00:34:30.159 --> 00:34:35.920 And the wicked will not prolong his days, which are like a shadow. 00:34:36.159 --> 00:34:36.719 Why? 00:34:37.039 --> 00:34:41.199 Because he does not fear before God. 00:34:42.079 --> 00:34:47.920 This is the watershed of the final and true judgment. 00:34:48.320 --> 00:34:49.280 Fear God. 00:34:51.119 --> 00:35:01.840 There is a true king, one who you are not wiser than, and who will deal in perfect wisdom with you. 00:35:03.119 --> 00:35:18.880 There is a true judge who is not deceived by appearances or by the wisdom of the crowds, but who sees things perfectly, and his judgment will be absolute and eternal. 00:35:19.920 --> 00:35:23.840 It will be, there is a perfect judgment. 00:35:24.159 --> 00:35:29.760 So the question is that Solomon is forcing us into do you fear God? 00:35:33.360 --> 00:35:46.559 I think one of one of the most you know, I talk to a lot of people in coffee shops, the laptop class. 00:35:48.719 --> 00:36:20.079 And one of the things that I that I've considered uh about one of the most one of the most dangerous aspects, I think, of our our little culture here is that it paints the illusion that you could move through the whole of your life without ever facing the question, is God there? 00:36:22.719 --> 00:36:25.280 What does he think about my life? 00:36:26.000 --> 00:36:43.920 It's like the world is designed to continue this illusion and to and to keep you drunk on tips and tricks and tactics, that if you finally organize appropriately, you will be perfectly safe from relational harm. 00:36:45.519 --> 00:36:49.840 That no physical ailment will touch you because you'll be able to outrun it. 00:36:50.719 --> 00:37:07.519 That you'll be able to have enough wisdom where you'll be able to understand yourself so compl so perfectly and so completely that you'll be able to tend and care for yourself in such a way that you'll be able to flourish so that you'll be surrounded by joy forever. 00:37:08.320 --> 00:37:16.639 And in all of that project, you'll never have to encounter the question: is God there? 00:37:20.400 --> 00:37:24.719 Does what he thinks about my life matter? 00:37:25.920 --> 00:37:31.199 This is a cruel, cruel deception. 00:37:35.039 --> 00:37:45.679 And as bad as this, you can move through your whole life here and I think never encounter the question: who is Jesus Christ? 00:37:47.519 --> 00:37:51.599 What does he mean for my life? 00:37:54.719 --> 00:37:56.239 Can I know him? 00:37:56.880 --> 00:37:58.719 Can he be known? 00:38:00.960 --> 00:38:04.960 You can frame all of your problems outside of this context. 00:38:07.360 --> 00:38:27.679 And what is happening is you're being trapped in a world which is even robbing you of the ability to grope and find your way out of the meaninglessness that you're surrounded by. 00:38:33.199 --> 00:38:56.320 Solomon pushes us into a corner here, and he brings us into what's what's a rare, what ha what has been in this book a rare occasion, but will become more frequent as we move towards the end of the book, where he's pushing you to a place where you must say, I can't make sense of any of this if God is not there. 00:39:02.000 --> 00:39:09.920 You have no hope of making sense of any of the longings of your heart if God is not there. 00:39:12.079 --> 00:39:21.599 Since we've been going through Ecclesiastes, I've been reading some existentialists, because seems seems right. 00:39:22.960 --> 00:39:31.280 And so I started with the myth of Sisyphus by Camus, which is the Sisyphus like we talked about at the beginning of this series. 00:39:31.440 --> 00:39:37.039 And then I was like, oh, I'll read another Camus book, and I read The Stranger, which is bizarre. 00:39:37.360 --> 00:39:38.639 So bizarre. 00:39:39.760 --> 00:39:46.000 It's a man who uh goes to his mother's funeral and is completely indifferent. 00:39:46.239 --> 00:39:48.159 He's completely indifferent to everything in life. 00:39:48.239 --> 00:39:49.280 He's an absurd character. 00:39:49.360 --> 00:39:49.920 That's the point. 00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:50.719 He's absurd. 00:39:50.880 --> 00:39:53.679 He's completely indifferent to everything that happens in his life. 00:39:55.119 --> 00:39:57.599 From the outside, he might look like a stoic. 00:39:58.079 --> 00:40:00.800 But from the inside, it's it's just indifference. 00:40:01.760 --> 00:40:03.840 And he's the hero of the story. 00:40:05.199 --> 00:40:07.360 And then he commits a murder. 00:40:07.760 --> 00:40:11.599 And there's no real reason that he commits the murder. 00:40:11.920 --> 00:40:19.360 And then he goes on trial, and he makes no real defense of himself while he's on trial. 00:40:19.920 --> 00:40:31.599 And the things that he's most reflective on throughout the time is uh that he uh often he feels tired, sometimes he feels hungry. 00:40:32.079 --> 00:40:35.920