Another Look At The World
Ecclesiastes 4:1-16
June 27, 2021
Often times when we go on mission and spend time in a different culture
We speak of “culture shock”.
• It occurs when we get outside of the comforts of America and see villages of people living in utter poverty.
• We see them sleeping on dirt floors, drinking filthy water, wearing rags for clothes, and facing death due to lack of medical options.
• It can be eye-opening when you see it, especially for the first time.
Sometimes it is easy to sit in an air-conditioned house
Watching an HD television while drinking an ice-cold drink
And eating our third meal of the day
To forget just how much suffering there is in the world.
And yet, if you are willing to open your eyes
The suffering of humanity is everywhere.
If you stop and listen to a person’s story for just a few moments
You find that people everywhere are hurting.
We might even come to the conclusion that LIFE IS HARD,
Or even better yet that this WORLD IS CURSED.
And the simple fact is that you might insulate yourself from it for a while
But sooner or later HARDSHIP and SUFFERING and GRIEF will find you.
NOW THAT IS NOT A PLEASANT THOUGHT.
When a young man or woman graduates from High School
We very rarely send them a card about the cruelty of life.
• We talk to them about their bright future…
• We talk to them about all their opportunities…
• We talk to them about the potential for success…
Perhaps that is why you very rarely see a quote
From the book of Ecclesiastes on a greeting card.
The preacher here is just not “Hallmark” material.
• He does not sugar coat life.
• He does not hand out rose colored glasses.
• He tells the cold hard truth about life,
• And if you fail to listen to him the first time, then he will grab you and tell you again.
And with that we come to chapter 4 of this book.
Twice you see the statement (1, 7) “Then I looked again…”
Here the preacher takes another look at the world.
• It’s his honest critique.
• It’s his honest review.
He is out to tell you the truth, and as we have seen,
HE TELLS YOU THE TRUTH FOR A REASON.
• He has been saying repeatedly that the only true source of satisfaction is
found in the God who created you.
• He has repeatedly said that enjoyment comes only from Him and in Him.
• But if you look at this world apart from Him, you find a cold mean place to dwell.
What we are going to do this morning
Is actually cover this entire chapter in 1 sermon.
Indeed, I’m not sure our psyche could handle
Focusing on what he has to say much longer that that.
Here in the chapter we find 4 evils or vanities
That the preacher sees in life here on earth
And he wants to make sure that the young man is well aware of them.
Well let’s examine these evils or vanities that the preacher wants us to see.
#1 ABOUNDING EVIL
Ecclesiastes 4:1-3
That’s a pretty difficult passage to read.
It is dark and depressing to say the least.
The preacher quit turning a blind eye.
Instead of turning away from the gutter, he purposely examined it.
He saw “all the acts of oppression which were being done under the sun.”
• He simply forced himself to look at what goes on in the world.
• He made himself watch life.
• And he looked “oppression”
And his conclusion was a difficult one to swallow.
“And behold I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had no one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressor was power, but they had no one to comfort them.”
What he saw is a definite injustice of this world.
• Sometimes those in power are evil.
• Sometimes those in power oppress the weak.
And I know that in Hallmark movies or in Hollywood blockbusters
In the end everything is supposed to be made right.
The preacher told the young man to turn off the Hallmark channel.
This life doesn’t wrap up happy endings in a nice and neat little bow.
• He saw the oppressed crying
• He saw them continually oppressed
• And he saw that no one cared to comfort them
HE SAW DEJECTED PEOPLE.
AND THE SIGHT WAS SO DISCOURAGING
THAT IT LED HIM TO MAKE A STARTLING ANNOUNCEMENT.
(2-3) “So I congratulated the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. But better off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.”
Wow!
• “I congratulated the dead”
• “better off…is the one who never existed”
Those are certainly harsh statements.
But look at the oppression of this world
And see if you can’t come to the same conclusion.
Look at starving children in third world countries.
• See if you do not pity what they are born in to and have to survive.
• See if your heart is not granted relief when they die and escape the horror they were forced to live in.
It’s not a pleasant thought,
But we know there is truth here from the preacher.
There is evil and oppression in this world
And it is here to such an extent
That death can be seen as a welcomed relief.
How many times have we said around the grave of a loved one,
“At least they aren’t suffering anymore”?
You understand then the observation of the preacher.
• This life brings with it abounding evil.
• This life presents oppression and tears and a lack of comfort to so many.
• For so many it is a terribly hard life.
And the preacher is simply forcing us to look at it for a moment.
Abounding Evil
#2 EXHAUSTING LABOR
Ecclesiastes 4:4-6
Now he looks at the working man.
He moves from skid row to main street.
And here he sees humanity breaking their back in rigorous labor.
And he makes some startling observations about that too.
(4) “I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a man and his neighbor. This too is vanity and striving after wind.”
He noticed men working hard
And he noticed that the reason for their hard work
Is because they were in a heated competition with their neighbor.
The word “rivalry” there can actually be translated “jealousy” or “envy”
In short, he saw the “cut throat” nature of business.
He saw men locked in a brutal competition.
• And he saw them in a race with one another.
• That in order for this man’s business to grow stronger, that man’s business has
to grow weaker.
• It was a harsh battle for victory.
He sees men working themselves to death,
Not to simply earn a living, but to beat a competitor.
BUT HERE IS WHERE IT GETS EVEN SADDER.
(6) “One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.”
• It would certainly be nice if those competitors could just sit back and rest and stop the battle for supremacy.
But there is a problem with that.
It is the problem the preacher mentioned in verse 5.
(5) “The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh.”
• If you “fold your hands”
• That is to say if you slack off or you take a break,
• You will ruin yourself.
Man is out there killing himself in competition to grow his business
And it would be nice to just stop, be content, and say he has enough,
But if he does that it will ruin his business.
IF HE TAKES A BREAK, HIS COMPETITOR WILL SWOOP IN
AND STEAL HIS CUSTOMERS AND CRUSH HIS BUSINESS.
So the man can’t stop.
• He has to work and work and work and work.
• He has to drive his employees hard.
• He has to push through.
There is no rest, there is only labor.
LOOK AT OUR WORLD.
There used to be blue laws where at least businesses closed on Sunday,
• But you can’t now because your locked in a competition with that other business that decided to work on Sunday.
• Businesses now open on Thanksgiving and some even Christmas because they have to get ahead of the competition.
We could probably ask, “What do you have planned this afternoon?”
• We live in a day now were the majority of people squeeze in Sunday morning worship, but no sooner is it over than do they have work to do.
• It is no longer a day of rest and the culture has made you feel guilty if you take it.
• It certainly is no longer “The Lord’s Day”
Do you see how the world has stolen rest, even from the people of God?
Look at coaches and athletes.
• Summer breaks hardly exist any more.
• From the second kids get out of school it’s right back to workouts and summer leagues.
• Sure, you could take a break, but that school down the road is doing it and since they won’t take a break, neither can you.
DO YOU SEE THAT IN LIFE?
Men push each other to work longer and harder
And it robs the whole world of rest.
Now men can’t quit because their opponent will overtake them if they do.
This world is filled with exhausting labor.
Abounding Evil, Exhausting Labor
#3 REGRETTABLE SOLITUDE
Ecclesiastes 4:7-12
Here we see a man who is so consumed with his work and his profit
THAT HE HAS LITERALLY FOUND HIMSELF ALONE.
(7-8) “Then I looked again at vanity under the sun. There was a certain man without a dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, “And for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure?” This too is vanity and it is a grievous task.”
The preacher says this man has no “dependent”.
The word there is literally “second”.
It may be that more than an heir the preacher is talking about
It could be a business partner or even an employee.
He works and he works alone.
• There is no one to share his life with.
• There is no one to share his profit with.
• There is no one to share victory or defeat with.
His job has literally taken him away from every human relationship.
Ever see people like that?
• They were “married” to their job…
• They sacrifice family and friends because there is always work to do…
This guy works and works and works
Even at the expense of all earthly relationships
And never even stops to ask himself why.
At the end of the day he no longer has family or friends,
All he has is the job
And he doesn’t even have anyone to leave all his earnings to.
HOW SAD.
And in this case the preacher just can’t help it.
He takes a moment to explain the importance of relationships in this life.
(9) “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.”
• That is to say you get a BETTER PROFIT if you work with someone instead of
working alone.
• You can get more done and often work harder with someone with you.
(10) “For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.”
• Which speaks of BETTER HELP.
• Jobs are just easier when there is someone to work with.
(11) “Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?”
• A companion produces BETTER COMFORT than if you are alone.
(12) “And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.”
• A companion is BETTER PROTECTION.
In short the preacher is just lamenting that guy
Who worked so hard all of his life and ended up alone
AND LOOK AT WHAT IT COST HIM.
Life would have been so much better
If he had had someone to share life with, instead all he had was the job.
It’s the old “Cats in the Cradle” Song
• About the man who was so busy working he never had time for his family
• And then in the end when the job is over his family has no time for him.
IT’S INCREDIBLY SAD. And yet we see it all our world.
We see those who because they were so busy working
They found themselves alone and missed out on the blessing of companionship.
Abounding Evil, Exhausting Labor, Regrettable Solitude
#4 FORGOTTEN ACCOMPLISHMENT
Ecclesiastes 4:13-16
THAT STORY CAN BE A LITTLE CONFUSING.
• In fact even translators will admit having a difficult time knowing exactly who all of the pronouns are talking about.
But I think the flow of the book helps us greatly understand his point.
Here we have 2 men.
• One is “a poor yet wise lad” who we also find out was “in prison”
• The other is “an old and foolish king”
Incidentally he is called “foolish”
Because he “no longer knows how to receive instruction.”
SO THE IMPLICATION IS THAT
We have a nation that is languishing under a stubborn king.
And because this king has made mistakes due to his pride
• The nation is ready for change
• And they turn to this “poor yet wise lad” who (14) “has come out of prison to become king”
• So the nation turns to this former poor prisoner because they have had it with the stubborn king.
And the preacher says, (15) “I have seen all the living under the sun throng to the side of the second lad who replaces him.”
I saw this young man get massive support from the nation
And everyone loved him and supported him
And wanted him to be the king.
However, his fame was short-lived.
(16) “There is no end to all the people, to al who were before them, and even the ones who will come later will not be happy with him, for this too is vanity and striving after wind.”
And the simple point is that
• Even though you may rise from poverty to greatness,
• And even though men may love you today,
• Your fame can be very short lived.
Ever watch pro athletes?
It’s actually a sad story.
• Fans can fall in love with an athlete; a quarterback.
• They’ll buy his jersey and chant his name.
• But it won’t be many years until the organization will draft a new young rookie
full of potential and before you know it those same fans will “boo” when the old quarterback takes the field and they’ll chant for his replacement.
AND SUCH IS LIFE.
• Accomplishment is often forgotten.
• Glory fades.
• It just doesn’t last.
• And after the world uses you, it will quickly discard you.
NOW THOSE ARE THE 4 OBSERATIONS ABOUT LIFE
THAT THE PREACHER MAKES.
Abounding Evil – this life produces no comfort for the oppressed.
Exhausting Labor – this life produces no rest for the weary.
Regrettable Solitude – this world will leave you empty and alone.
Forgotten Accomplishment – your glory will quickly be forgotten and discarded.
• Our world oppresses people
• Our world jealously attacks people
• Our world sucks people in and then isolates them and leaves them alone
• Our world uses people and then discards them
That is our world and you can see those things happening everywhere.
HAVE YOU EVER FELT THAT STING?
We call it THE CURSE
Genesis 3:14-15 “The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
• The curse brought enmity.
• The curse brought rivalry.
• The curse brought envy and jealousy and cruelty and oppression.
Genesis 3:16 “To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.”
• The curse brought pain and hardship and suffering.
Genesis 3:17-18 “Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field;”
• The curse brought labor and robbed man of rest.
Genesis 3:19 “By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”
• The curse brought death and the sting of being forgotten.
THIS WORLD IS CURSED.
And now, if you open your eyes you see things like:
ACTS OF OPPRESSION – Have you read about Cain killing Abel or Joseph’s brothers selling him into slavery?
EXHAUSTING LABOR – Do you see man toiling to scratch out food from cursed ground and men crying out for rest?
REGRETTABLE SOLITUDE – Look at how this life leaves people alone. Look at how people are taught to work and make money and climb the ladder but sacrifice the people in their life to do it.
FORGOTTEN ACCOMPLISHMENT – Look at how this world uses people and then tosses them aside. This is what Israel did to Jesus even.
This world is cursed.
This world should never be the objective of your life.
GAINING THIS WORLD SHOULD NEVER BE THE GOAL.
Certainly that is a message to the young man.
If your ambition is to obtain this world you are in a sad state of affairs.
Open your eyes, this world is evil and exhausting and cruel and empty.
Just look at the WORDS THAT FLOOD chapter 4 of Ecclesiastes.
“oppression” – “tears” – “no one to comfort” – “evil activity” – “rivalry” – “vanity” – “striving after wind” – “not satisfied” – “laboring” – “depriving” – “grievous task” – “replaces” – “not be happy”
Do you see this world?
• It is broken and harsh and cruel.
• It leaves men oppressed without comfort
• It leaves men tired without relief
• It leaves men alone in solitude
• It leaves men forgotten and discarded
THAT IS THIS WORLD
And the preacher has sort of rubbed it in our face this morning.
BUT WHAT ARE WE TO LEARN FROM SUCH A REALITY?
• Are we just supposed to walk away depressed and defeated that we are consigned to live in such a cruel world?
No, we are supposed to see the cruelty of this sin cursed world
And be drawn to Christ.
This world will OPPRESS you, but Christ comforts the oppressed.
Luke 4:18-19 “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”
This world will EXHAUST you, but Christ offers rest to the weary.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
This world will LEAVE YOU alone, but Christ will come to you in your solitude.
John 5:4-5“for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted. A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.”
This world will USE you and DISCARD you, but Christ sees you.
Matthew 9:36 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”
Christ came into this sin-cursed world and offered salvation.
He came to offer light in the midst of darkness.
John 1:4 “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.”
• This world was never supposed to satisfy you.
• This world is cursed.
• Only Jesus offers satisfaction and life.
TURN TO: MATTHEW 11:28
We just read this passage a moment ago,
But I want us to go a bit further in Matthew’s gospel.
There are many stories we could examine this morning in order to make the point of how Jesus treats the oppressed.
• The hemorrhaging woman who had been suffering for 12 years.
• How He healed the leper who approached and said, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” And Jesus said, “I am willing.”
• How He forgave and healed the paralytic who was lowered through the roof.
• How He visited the city of Nain and saw a widow in a funeral possession burying her only son and how Jesus raised the boy from the dead and gave him back to her.
• How He saw 10 leprous men and healed them all.
• How He restored sight to Bartimaeus outside of Jericho
• Or all the other compassionate things Jesus did which are not written.
There are any number of stories that perhaps we could turn to,
But this morning we’re looking at Matthew 11 and 12.
We see again that famous passage where Jesus offered rest to the weary.
And then we come to chapter 12 and we read “At that time…”
IT STARTS WITH a confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees because Jesus’ disciples were picking heads of grain on the Sabbath.
• Jesus rebukes the Pharisees and says:
• (7) “But if you had known what this means, “I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.”
• Jesus was pointing out the major problem, not only of the world, but even of the Jewish religion. There was no compassion.
BUT KEEP FOLLOWING THE STORY.
(9) “Departing from there, He went into their synagogue…”
Jesus isn’t finished.
• And here we get the story about the man with the withered hand and yet another rebuke of the religious elite.
• Jesus is full of compassion for the hurting isn’t He?
And it’s still not over, Matthew is making a point.
(READ 15-21)
There Matthew makes THE POINT he wants you to see about Jesus.
He quotes from Isaiah 42 and says it is all about Jesus.
“HE WILL NOT QUARREL”
• The word for quarrel there is ERIZO and it means “wrangling or harassing or even brawling”
• Jesus is no bully, He is filled with compassion not meanness.
“NOR CRY OUT”
• “CRY OUT” is an onomatopoetic word KRAUGAZO which means “to squawk like a bird or to scream and yell repeatedly”
• That’s not Jesus.
• He didn’t attack people, He didn’t bully people, He didn’t use or intimidate people. He had compassion on people.
“A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF”
• That is a broken person barely hanging on, but Jesus doesn’t discard them.
“A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OFF”
• A person whose light is just about to go out, but Jesus doesn’t push them aside.
“AND IN HIS NAME THE GENTILES WILL HOPE.”
• He gives hope to the helpless
• He gives life to the dying
• He is moved with compassion.
And Matthew loved that about Jesus.
It was Matthew who first pointed out back in chapter 4
Matthew 4:12-16 “Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI, BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, BEYOND THE JORDAN, GALILEE OF THE GENTILES— “THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED.”
Do you see this Jesus?
• The world is harsh and cruel.
• The world will work you to death with no relief
• The world will isolate you and take everything from you
• The world will then use you up and throw you aside
BUT NOT JESUS.
• He offers life to those who live in this world.
• He gives comfort to the oppressed
• He provides rest to those who labor
• He comes to those who are alone
• He sees those who are discarded
And it is important that you see Jesus
Because without Jesus all you get from this world
Is oppression and labor and loneliness and rejection.
SO YOUNG MAN, WHY WOULD YOU GO OUT AND SEEK THIS WORLD?
Seek, trust, fear, and enjoy the God who created you
For there is no satisfaction without Him.
Are you oppressed?
• Has this world beaten you down?
• Then run to Jesus He came “to set free those who are oppressed”
Are you tired?
• Have you gotten sucked into the rat race of this world, or even worse the rat race of religion where you are working like crazy to earn God’s approval?
• Then run to Jesus He came “to give you rest”
Are you lonely?
• Perhaps your loneliness is because you pursued the world at the expense of your family or perhaps your loneliness is from another source. But whatever the reason and regardless of who is to blame this world has seen fit to leave you alone.
• Then run to Jesus He said, “surely I will be with you always.”
Have you been discarded?
• Has the world used you up and spit you out. Did you give your life to a career or job only to find out how easily replaceable you were?
• HAPPENS TO HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS
Then run to Jesus He shepherds lost and discarded sheep.
His invitation was given to people just like you.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
