Politics, Justice, and Frustration

Sermon Text

Ecclesiastes 8

Obey Authorities for God’s Sake

8 Who is like a wise man?
And who knows the interpretation of a thing?
A man’s wisdom makes his face shine,
And the sternness of his face is changed.

Obey Authorities for God’s Sake

2 I say, “Keep the king’s commandment for the sake of your oath to God. 3 Do not be hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand for an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him.”

4 Where the word of a king is, there is power;
And who may say to him, “What are you doing?”
5 He who keeps his command will experience nothing harmful;
And a wise man’s heart discerns both time and judgment,
6 Because for every matter there is a time and judgment,
Though the misery of man increases greatly.
7 For he does not know what will happen;
So who can tell him when it will occur?
8 No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit,
And no one has power in the day of death.
There is no release from that war,
And wickedness will not deliver those who are given to it.

9 All this I have seen, and applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun: There is a time in which one man rules over another to his own hurt.

Death Comes to All

10 Then I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of holiness, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done. This also is vanity. 11 Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. 12 Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. 13 But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God.

14 There is a vanity which occurs on earth, that there are just men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.

15 So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.

16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done on earth, even though one sees no sleep day or night, 17 then I saw all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. For though a man labors to discover it, yet he will not find it; moreover, though a wise man attempts to know it, he will not be able to find it.

New King James Version (NKJV) Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.

• Biblical wisdom brings an inward peace that changes a person's outward manner because it rests in God's love and sovereignty while addressing the duties immediately at hand.
• Ecclesiastes 8 calls God's people to honor authority, keep lawful commands and serious vows, and use wisdom about when and how to speak.
• Human authority has limits: believers must obey God rather than men when commanded to sin, while recognizing that principled disobedience may still carry earthly consequences.
• Delayed justice can embolden wickedness, and righteous people may suffer while the wicked prosper, yet those who fear God know that his final judgment will set matters right.
• Neither rulers nor ordinary people can control death or master the future, but Jesus Christ is the perfectly righteous King in whom believers can rest.
• Because we cannot trace all of God's work, we should surrender anxious speculation, pray with thanksgiving, receive his ordinary gifts with joy, and trust his secret providence.

• What burden outside your control is hardening your face or consuming the peace that comes from trusting God's sovereignty?
• Are there lawful commands or serious vows you resist because you treat authority or your own promises lightly?
• How can you discern not only whether something should be said, but also the wisest time and manner in which to say it?
• Where must you draw the boundary between honoring a human authority and obeying God rather than men?
• How does delayed justice tempt people toward greater evil or tempt you to doubt God's righteousness?
• Why should the certainty of death and final judgment sober both powerful rulers and those who feel powerless?
• Which ordinary gifts from God are you failing to enjoy because your attention is fixed on politics, injustice, or an unknowable future?
• What would it look like this week to replace anxious attempts to explain providence with prayer, thanksgiving, and trust in Christ the King?

Biblical wisdom

Skill in applying God's truth to the right situation, at the right time, and in the right manner out of reverence for him.

Authority

Real power and responsibility entrusted to rulers and other superiors, which must be honored but remains accountable to God.

Vow

A solemn promise made before God, whose presence makes our oaths and commitments weighty rather than casual.

Civil disobedience

Refusal to obey a human command because obedience would require sin against God, undertaken with willingness to face possible earthly consequences.

Final judgment

The appointed day when Christ will judge every person with perfect righteousness and give each one his due.

Providence

God's holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing of his creatures and all their actions, including events we cannot explain.

Grateful enjoyment

Receiving ordinary gifts such as food, family, shelter, and work with thanks to God rather than making pleasure an idol or letting anxiety consume us.