Latest / Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons / The Vanity of Death(From Dust to Dust), Ecclesiastes 3:16-22- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

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The Vanity of Death(From Dust to Dust), Ecclesiastes 3:16-22- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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As I said we take time now to go to his word
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and we will be in Ecclesiastes chapter 3 16 through
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22 Ecclesiastes 3 16 through 22 We're picking
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up where we left off in this Old Testament wisdom
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book And we've probably noted several times about
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how Kohelet, the Hebrew name for teacher or preacher,
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quite literally the convener for the purposes
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of teaching, how he is very real within this
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letter. He's very honest and that continues here
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even as he covers some difficult material. And
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so let us hear this now. from God's word, Ecclesiastes
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3, 16 through 22, and it reads in this way. Moreover,
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I saw under the sun that in the place of justice,
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even there was wickedness. And in the place of
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unrighteousness, even there was wickedness. I
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said in my heart, God will judge the righteous
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and the wicked, for there is a time for every
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matter. and for every work. I said in my heart
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with regard to the children of man that God is
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testing them, that they may see that they themselves
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are but beasts. For what happens to the children
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of man and what happens to the beast is the same.
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As one dies, so dies the other. They all have
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the same breath and man has no advantage over
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the beast for all is vanity. All go to one place.
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All are from the dust, and to dust all return.
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Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward,
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and the spirit of the beast goes down into the
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earth? So I saw there is nothing better than
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that a man should rejoice in his work, for that
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is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will
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be after him? The grass withers and the flower
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fades, but God's word stands forever. Let us
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pray. Father, we give you praise and thanks for
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your word, even when your word covers difficult
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ground. And so certainly we recognize our dependence
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upon you and our need. And so would you open
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up our ears, our hearts and our minds to hear
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from you? Would you grant us understanding? We
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pray these things for Christ's sake. Amen. My
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children, and I didn't say I was going to talk
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about them today, but my children are in this
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age and stage of life where it seems like at
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just about every turn, at every holiday, at every
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birthday, every random Tuesday, they're saying,
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Dad, when can we get a dog? Every time we drive
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to school and we see someone walking their dog
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in the neighborhood, every time we drive home
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from school in the same neighborhood, every time
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we see one on TV, in a book, or on a greeting
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card, Dad, when can we get a dog? I usually remark
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that I love dogs. I just love other people's
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dogs. There was a time, though, when I didn't
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love having a dog. Growing up, we had a lot of
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them. And there was a time when I said, I will
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never have my own dog. And the reason was because
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I got tired of burying them. How many times did
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it happen that I was in the backyard with a shovel,
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crying, putting the family pet into the ground,
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and it just seemed too hard? And I thought surely
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that Alfred Lord Tennyson was wrong when he says,
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better to have loved and lost than never to have
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loved at all. I thought he didn't know what he
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was talking about. He didn't have man's best
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friend. What we're talking about today is death.
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And that is a heavy and a hard topic. And yet
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it's one that the preacher, the teacher, Solomon
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likely in Ecclesiastes He covers many times.
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You might even say that death is one of his favorite
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topics, not because he loves to talk about it,
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because it is something that is so hard for him.
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And certainly God, in his word, he gives us this
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because we need to understand the reality of
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death. There is surely, as he says, a time for
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every season under heaven, including death, and
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Solomon confronts it head on. But what leads
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to it? What leads to such a heavy section here?
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No, it's not the death of a dog. Actually, what
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precipitates this is the injustice that he sees
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in this world. Many believe, and I think that
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I do too as well, that Solomon, as he writes
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Ecclesiastes, he is at the end of his life, that
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he's facing his own mortality. And he has seen
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injustice and corruption over and over and over
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again, and he is tired of it. And so, yes, what
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precipitates this discussion on death is injustice.
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And yet, as that is, and as we ponder and wonder,
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why, Lord, is there such injustice in this life?
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And why do we have to go through death? My hope
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is that we will be driven to see the one who
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is perfectly just and the one who died to satisfy
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divine justice. And so we'll look first at injustice
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primarily from verses 16 and 17. You see in verse
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16 that Solomon here names the problem right
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from the start and I actually think that what
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Solomon is doing in verse 16 and 17 is he's bolstering
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his argument for you remember earlier in chapter
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3 he's gone over all of these times and all of
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these seasons he said there's a time to be born
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at a time to die and yet sometimes people look
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around and they look at injustice and they say
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well I thought that there would be a time for
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judgment. And yet why haven't we had judgment?
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There's so much wickedness in the world. Why
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doesn't God do something about this? But what
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Solomon helps us to see is that it's all in his
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time. It is all in his perfect timing. But he
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also observes what we observe. And so in verse
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16, he says, I saw under the sun that in the
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place of justice, even there was wickedness."
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What he's doing here is he's dropping us into
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a legal setting, into a courtroom type of setting.
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Because if you can't find justice in the courtroom,
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where can you find it? But yet look what he says
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here. In the place of justice, there was wickedness.
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So he's observing places that should be, there
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should be justice and there's not, right? And
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so no doubt he's probably seen the innocent convicted
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and he's seen the guilty go scot -free. And remember,
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this is all coming from a king. And so if the
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king, even with his power, could not find perfect
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justice, what are we to do? If this is how a
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king feels how much more the person who has been
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through and experienced terrible injustice And
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yet that's not all Again from verse 16 in the
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place of righteousness even there was wickedness
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and so same kind of thing. Just like you would
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expect to see justice in the courtroom, now he's
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taking us to the place of righteousness and saying,
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there is none. Why is that? He's talking about
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religious leaders here. And for a religious leader
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to be about something other than righteousness
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is a heinous crime. If you can't find a commitment
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to righteousness in the house of the Lord, what
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hope is there? Jeff Wint. Who was a pastor is
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a pastor and he was up at second prez He said
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when he preached on this text that this is a
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sobering statement For any who would find themselves
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in positions of power in the civic or religious
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sphere This is a this is a flashing billboard
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to all of those in positions of authority to
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uphold righteousness and to uphold justice I
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think Solomon would greatly appreciate being
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able to read the prophets, prophets like Amos
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who said in chapter 524 of that book, but let
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justice roll down like waters and righteousness
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like an ever flowing stream. He would have appreciated
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that, but instead all he can look around and
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see is injustice and in righteousness. And it
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seems like he's crying out, it's not fair. It's
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not fair. The same thing that we say when we
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see terrible injustice out there, it's just not
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fair. And it's especially difficult in nations
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that supposedly do uphold justice, right? Even
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within our own country, we know the Pledge of
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Allegiance, liberty and justice for all, which
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is a wonderful statement. And yet we can't keep
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it perfectly in this life, can we? We just can't.
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Because there is really only one place to find
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perfect justice and perfect righteousness. And
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no, it's not in the courtroom. And no, it's not
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in the sanctuary even. It's not in a particular
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city. It's not in a particular country. The only
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place to find real and true and perfect justice
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and righteousness is in God alone. Philip Riken
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says here, our confidence does not lie in a justice
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system, but in the chief justice himself, Jesus
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Christ. And so what Solomon really does here
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is he helps us to look to God who is perfect
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in these ways. Verse 17, he says it, I said in
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my heart, and there he is talking to himself
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again. God will judge the righteous and the wicked
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for there is a time for every matter and For
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every work what he is doing as he's pointing
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us to God who is at work behind the scenes Consider
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Deuteronomy chapter 10 verse 17 for the Lord
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your God is God of gods and Lord of Lords, the
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great, the mighty, and the awesome God who is
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not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice
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for the fatherless and the widow. This is what
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we need to remind ourselves of when we see injustice
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in the world. To remind ourselves that God is
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the God of Gods and Lord of Lords and He will
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execute perfect justice. But sometimes in this
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life, Who God is gets crowded out by all the
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other noise of this world and Here's where I
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want to give you some practical application Friends,
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I'm gonna say this because I think it's true
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of many of us Sometimes we need to turn off the
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news Sometimes we need to turn off the news some
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of us are Utilizing this constant cycle of news
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that comes our way And there's nothing wrong
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with being informed. You should be. But if we
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are so consumed by the news, it can have a tendency
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to crowd out truth. And the truth is this, that
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justice, perfect justice is only found in God.
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There is a time for every matter, including turning
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off the news. Take it from a former journalist.
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You can get so consumed by these things and so
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fearful of life. Make sure to pick up the good
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news, friends, and to be in the scriptures, especially
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if you've been a victim of injustice. I wonder
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if you've been a victim of some form of injustice,
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how it feels to read verse 17 and to hear that
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God will indeed judge the righteous and the wicked.
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He will. I hope that this gives you incredible
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hope. Yes, it's true. Thieves and crooks do deals
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in the dark, but God knows all and God sees all.
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It's actually a huge point in this book. It's
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actually the final point in this book, if you
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will. Ecclesiastes chapter 12, verse 14. Kohelet's
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closing thoughts. Ecclesiastes 12 -14, for God
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will bring every deed into judgment with every
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secret thing, whether good or evil. Perhaps you
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remember the parable of the unjust judge, a parable
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that Jesus tells, that there is this woman, who
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is seeking justice for what we don't know. And
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she continues to go to the judge crying out to
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him for help. And eventually she wears him down.
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She is persistent. And so if this judge will
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eventually administer justice, how much more
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will a completely just God give justice? He will.
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And you won't have to be like the persistent
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widow with God. Because justice flows from him.
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If God had DNA, justice would be in it. But you
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might say, well, all of that sounds good. But
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how do I know? How do I know that God is just
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in this way? Well, we see it in Jesus Christ.
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Jesus was the victim of incredible injustice.
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False testimony was issued against him. A real
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criminal was released in his place. 1 Peter chapter
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2, he committed no sin. Neither was deceit found
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in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not
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revile in return. When he suffered, he did not
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threaten, but continued entrusting himself to
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him who judges justly. Jesus was sinless in every
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single way and yet bore the fullness of the penalty
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for our sin. Because God is just. And sin had
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to be punished. Punishment had to be handed out.
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But for those who are in Christ Jesus, you are
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safe. You are safe. Because your sin is imputed
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to Jesus. meaning it's given to him, it is credited
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to his account, and what do you get in return?
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You get the righteousness of Christ. Consider
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Acts chapter 17. You may remember this passage,
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Acts 17, Paul is at the Areopagus and he's making
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a very good and reasonable appeal for the Lord
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Jesus Christ. Acts 17 30 and 31 reads in this
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way the times of ignorance God overlooked But
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now he commands all people everywhere to repent
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Because he has fixed a day on which he will judge
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the world in righteousness By a man whom he has
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appointed and of this he has given assurance
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to all by raising him from the dead Friends,
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it is true. All will be judged. And only those
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with the righteousness of Christ will be able
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to stand. Those who do not have the righteousness
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of Christ will be attempting to stand based upon
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their own works. But apart from Christ, your
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good works are nothing more than filthy rags.
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And so you need the righteousness of Jesus. But
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you might say, and I think that Kohela is anticipating
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this, why doesn't God judge right now? If there's
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so much rampant wickedness and unrighteousness
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in the world, why doesn't he just go ahead and
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do it? Why the delay? Look in verse 18 as we
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move into our second point today of death. It
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reads, I said in my heart with regard to the
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children of man, that God is testing them that
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they may see that they themselves are but beasts.
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The time of judgment is put off so that we will
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see how beastly we are towards one another. The
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teacher shows that we are responsible for our
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death. Yes, God establishes the times. But we
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in our own sin, we bring it on and we are compared
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to wild animals here. We are compared to wild
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animals who treat each other in a horrific way.
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To illustrate a few years ago, I was in Wyoming
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and I was camping and it was lovely and you should
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definitely go. And at one point we are driving
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down the highway. And I saw a group of people
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with cameras on the side of the road. And you
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know whenever you see a group of people with
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cameras, you got to get your camera out too.
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We got out of the car, walked to where the people
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were, and they were looking across a river. On
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the other side of a river was a bald eagle sitting
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on the carcass of a buffalo that apparently had
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been killed by a grizzly bear. That's what Solomon
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shows us. That's how we are sometimes. Benjamin
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Shaw says, the lion shows no sympathy to the
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zebra. The fox shows no sympathy to the hare.
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The cat shows no sympathy to the mouse. Thus
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men treat one another. And so you see this injustice
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argument is flowing directly to here. Kohelet
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observes that men are not living at peace with
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one another. and it greatly disturbs him. But
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we're also like beasts, not just in how we treat
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each other, but we're also like beasts and that
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we all die. Verses 19 and 20. For what happens
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to the children of man and what happens to the
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beast is the same. As one dies, so dies the other.
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We could flip it around though. And say it like
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this, the animals are like us because people
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were the ones who brought death onto creation.
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By Adam's disobedience, all of creation was plunged
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into sin and suddenly death became a reality.
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Without sin, there would be no death. But we
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know this to be true, that the wages of sin is
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death. And as long as the Lord tarries, we will
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all experience it. We will all experience, verse
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20, all go to one place, all are from the dust,
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and to dust all return." That's actually a bit
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of a perplexing verse if we really think about
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it, isn't it? What is he really doing? What is
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Solomon really doing? He's taking us back as
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he does so many times to the book of Genesis.
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Genesis chapter 3, 17 through 19, the consequence
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of the fall. And to Adam he said, because you
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have listened to the voice of your wife and have
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eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, you
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shall not eat of it. Cursed is the ground because
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of you. In pain you shall eat of it all the days
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of your life. Thorns and thistles it shall bring
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forth for you and you shall eat the plants of
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the field. By the sweat of your face you shall
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eat bread till you return to the ground. for
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out of it you are taken, for you are dust, and
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to dust you shall return." Solomon here is reminding
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us of the consequence of the fall, that death
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exists because of sin, and yet the way that he
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approaches this can, as I said, be perplexing.
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Look at verse 21. This befuddling question who
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knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and
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the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth
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What does he mean here in some ways? This seems
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like the most anti -christian thing you could
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say It sounds like a verse without hope and he
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just leaves this verse sitting there open -ended
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And this is why I really like Ecclesiastes Because
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he doesn't sugarcoat things, does he? Sometimes
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he just says it as it is, and he doesn't seek
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to make us immediately feel better. He leaves
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this question hanging there like an awkward moment
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in a dinner conversation. He can't resolve it.
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Not yet. And yet, if we think about it in another
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way, maybe it's not so open -ended. Because as
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he says, who knows? The implied answer is God
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does. God knows the answer to this. And so we
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must remember what this book is intending to
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do. This book is giving us this teacher's honest
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observations of life under the sun. And friends,
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sometimes life under the sun does not feel good.
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Sometimes life under the sun, it hurts. And it
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hurts even for this king. But friends if there's
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something that you are learning from this I hope
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it is this That you can be honest with God You
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can be honest with him in your prayers But I
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would also give a caveat here be honorably honest
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giving honor to God at all times even as you
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lift up to him the concerns of your heart the
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injustices that you see You can cry out as the
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prophet Habakkuk did, how long shall I cry for
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help and you will not hear, or cry to you violence
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and you will not save. You can cry out to God
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the way the psalmist does. Psalm 42, my tears
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have been my food day and night, while they say
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to me, where is your God? After all, we have
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an entire book called Lamentations. You can lament
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to God the challenges of this life under the
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sun. Because we're living in a fallen world we're
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living in a broken world and yet even as broken
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and fallen as it is Look at verse 22 So I saw
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there's nothing better than that a man should
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rejoice in his work for this for that is his
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lot Even with all of the brokenness and the pain
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and the heartache and the death he continues
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to commend joy in living He seems to say, you
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don't know what's coming next. And so enjoy your
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labor, enjoy your work, even though it's toilsome.
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And so you see in a fallen world, God has not
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removed all of joy. It's still there to be had.
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And so whether you are in a season of lamentation
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or enjoying God's gifts, enjoy, but do so with
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faith in Christ. And as I begin to wrap up here,
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I just want to end on a high note, on a message
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of hope. There's a way in which many people have
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looked at this phrase under the sun and they
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have made it into a message of hope here. There's
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a fun English connection that's happening. That
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yes, we're living in a fallen world under the
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sun, S -U -N, but in Christ we are under the
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S -O -N, the very Son of God. And it's only in
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Christ that you can make sanity out of vanity.
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It's only in Christ that you can make sense of
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this fallen world. And as for that difficult
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verse 21, well, Kohelet takes it up again in
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chapter 12 when he says, the dust returns to
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the earth as it was and the spirit returns to
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God who gave it. And so there's your answer.
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Verse 21 is not the end of the story. And death
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is not the end of the story for the Christian.
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We can say it like this, vanity of vanities.
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All is vanity, even death, because yes, even
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death for the Christian is fleeting. Even death
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for the Christian is evil, because death for
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the Christian does not last forever. Because
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what Jesus promised, is not everlasting death.
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What Jesus promised is not everlasting judgment.
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What Jesus promised for all who would believe
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in him is everlasting life. This is life under
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the S -O -N. Let us pray.