Well, we're in Ecclesiastes chapter 8 this morning, and a variety of topics, looking at life from under the sun, and some of this can be about as confusing as our own lives. But the Lord will help us to have found some wisdom, and it starts out with a section talking about authority and being under authority and that sort of thing, dealing with honoring the king, and I was thinking about how that if you had a group of men studying this chapter here versus another group, let's say, in China or Iran or Iraq or Russia, we'd be looking at some different ways to deal with it or to, I mean, God's truth is going to remain the same, but sometimes our circumstance will determine how the strategy is played out, how we apply. We're not going to try to dig into what was life like in the time of Solomon so far as if you were in that country, how you would culturally be expected to deal with authority or how you would just look at it. But there are some principles in the Bible that help us regardless of where you are. So, let's read the first four verses and we'll get started at it, looking at, again, some advice from under the sun. 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. I say, keep the king's commandment for the sake of your oath to God. Do not be hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand for an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him. Where the word of the Lord is, there is power, and who may say to him, what are you doing? So, a shining face would typically relate to favor. Here's a wise man and he's typically going to be at peace. He's going to have a gracious demeanor, probably a gentleness, because you're not trying to force your way. Whenever you get in, whether it's in a home or church or where you work or whatever, when you move toward trying to force your way and trying to force everybody to get your point of view, even though you may be right, you don't have a shining face. You don't have a peaceful demeanor. But there's something, regardless of the culture we live in, there's something here that is not just under the sun, it's biblical truth, wherever, keep the king's commandments for the sake of your oath to God. So we're not just, and this is where we fumble many times, where there's the person at work who's our supervisor, or our teacher at school, or whatever. We tend to relate to these things as atheists, as if God didn't exist. A practical atheist. We're not theoretical atheists. We're practical atheists. We just act as if God has nothing to say about this and that we'll have no accountability for it. So there are a number of examples in the Scripture that help us, and a number of Scriptures that are not just examples. So let's look up some of these verses, or think of... We'll name some very famous people. Joseph. He manifested a shining face. That phrase is not used about him, but he was a man who demonstrated peace, regardless of how he was treated. I sat in the Sunday school class one time down in Florida. A friend of mine was pastoring there. He had just gotten there, and there were things that were going on that he didn't like, but he was biding his time. And so we're sitting in the Sunday school class of men and women, and it's taught by a woman. And so, okay, I'm trying to just glean and listen and not there to cause a ruckus. When I got him off to the side, I punched him in the side a little bit, just for the fun of it. And it was something that he was, looking to the Lord for wisdom about how to bring about change from a godly perspective. But anyway, the topic was Joseph. And she spent most of the lesson talking about what a bad man he was. Of course he had trouble. He was proud. He was arrogant. He was bragging about his coat of many colors. If you'd have been one of his brothers, you'd have treated him that way too. Well, I kept my mouth shut. I'm just a guest, just there for one Sunday. But I was horrified that that was being taught. The Bible never indicates that. Did Joseph have carnal flesh? Could he have had some pride? But there's nothing, there's no Scripture that exposes or that called Joseph to repent, you're this way because, look, you're reaping what you've sown. No. But so we have a positive example here of a man who walked humbly with God and respected authority and was greatly used of God while being under pagan authority. And of course, Daniel is another great example of this. And so let's bring it forward. Let's say, could I, could a Christian, could a Christian work in the Biden administration and be useful in God's kingdom's work? Well, and the big picture here is that so often, whether it's government or whatever, if they would change, we could get something done. And so often God is saying, I'm sovereign, I placed you here at this time and place, now find out how you can be useful. 1 Timothy 2. I exhort, therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings, and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. Some of you have heard me say that, and this happened when President Clinton was a laughingstock of the world, going on television, I did not have sex with that girl, and so forth and so on, and living a very ungodly life and denying it all. And so he became the butt of jokes on late night television and in many pulpits across the nation. And people would walk in the church building and be telling jokes about Clinton. And so I stood in the pulpit and read this verse and said, stop it. No more. This is not the will of God. We are to pray for these people. We are to give thanks for them. Sure, pray against ungodliness and all this and whatever, but we have a work to do. And then what about in Acts chapter 4? Again, it comes down to there's a lot of things that we don't know, but there's certainly an emphasis here where that the Christians are preaching the gospel and they are told to stop it. And I think it was Peter in Acts chapter 4 verse, is it 19? Peter and John answered and said, whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God judge you. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. There is a time when living in a fallen world that we do have to take a godly stand. But this is not an arrogant stand. This is not an in-your-face, you pagans. But maybe I'm reading too much, but I think that there's a spirit of respect that is going along here. But there's a clear understanding that we have to obey God. And so then when they're let go and they go into a prayer meeting, they lift up before God, Psalm 2, and there they're very blunt. This is not in the presence of the authorities, but this is in the presence of God and with believers, and not within a sign of arrogance, but why do the heathen raise the kings of the earth and the rulers have gathered themselves against the Lord? raised up against holy child Jesus. Oh. Does it stop there? For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be God. I mean, to be done. So a recognition of the sovereignty of God. Boy, that covers a lot of ground that will keep us out of a lot of trouble, that will keep us out of a lot of bad attitudes when we're living under the umbrella and the recognition of the sovereignty of God. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings. Grant unto thy servants. He didn't say, strike them dead, Lord. Lord, we're sure you don't like what they're doing. Do something about it. Lord, here it is. They're doing your sovereign will, but we have a calling. We're to preach the gospel. We're to give us boldness. So in a fallen world, we all have places where we are under authority. And these are some scriptures that we can put alongside Ecclesiastes chapter 8, and we must put alongside so that we can get the right application for us. In verse 4 he says, where the word of the king is, there is power, and who may say to him, what are you doing? This is another reason this Pretty good idea to honor the king, unless you want your head chopped off. That's not the most important reason. Pretty strong reason, but it's foolish not to have this kind of respect. Again, in these verses, he's tied this in with our obedience to God. We can't have God over here in our relationship with him, and then how we treat those in authority over here. they're intertwined, because we have responsibility from God. Here's a quote from Spurgeon. If he be a king, then it is a solemn hazard to your soul if you come short of the least of his commandments. Remember that one treason makes a traitor one leak sinks a ship, one fly spoils the whole box of ointment. He that bought us with his blood deserves to be obeyed in all things with all of our heart and mind and soul and strength." See, it's not obeying based on what they're doing. Now, this is a problem we have in all issues. You go home and we have trouble relating to our wife because of what they're doing, or what they won't do. And we go to our best friend and say, I'm having a hard time. She's not doing this, and she won't do this, and she won't do this, and dumping to others about her. confessing her sins. And let's say that I'm a thousand percent right. I've told nothing but the truth, I didn't exaggerate it. I'm living in absolute rebellion against God. I'm not told to confess her sins, I'm told to confess my sins. So, I'm not sure at all where Solomon came down on some of this, but there's great wisdom for us in these verses. As we interact, dealing with fallen humans, placing at the foundation of everything, the issue here is my relationship with God, and am I obeying God? Verse five through nine. He who keeps his command will experience nothing harmful, and a wise man's heart discerns both time and judgment, because for every matter there is a time and judgment, so the misery of a man increases greatly. For he does not know what will happen, so who can tell him when it will occur? No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit. 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. 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. So there's a promise here in the early verses of this section that God, that good things will come to those who honor the king. But ultimately, history is filled with people who were thrown in the fiery furnace and God did not deliver them. People thrown in a pit and they were not taken out. People were thrown in jail and they were not remembered. So forth and so on. And so we have to humble ourselves and say, a lot of that I don't understand. That's God's agenda, God's purposes, but I have my responsibility. He is worthy of worship, worthy of praise. And again, we have tons of people in the great cloud of witnesses who've gone before us, who even to their death sang praises to God and prayed for God's redeeming work on the tormentors, chief among them being Stephen, who's preaching boldly and is stoned and walks in the steps of his master. Father, don't lay this to their charge. He who keeps his command will experience nothing harmful, asterisk meaning let's play this out all the way to eternity. And one of the things that is such a blessing to me when I read the book of Revelation is that all of the martyrs The Holy Spirit doesn't record them complaining. Well, we got to heaven, but we sure had a hard time getting here. No remembrance of all that. They're in the presence of the king of kings and they're worshiping and praising him and rejoicing for all eternity. You say, but I'm not there now, I'm here now. Yeah, and right here and now we struggle with this. But God has given us the whole revelation of Scripture that we might take right now in right perspective. In verse 8, though the misery of man increases greatly, for he does not know what will happen. There's a time for all these things, there's a lot of things we don't know. G. Campbell Morgan said, the highest wisdom is submission to things as they are, yet in doing all of this there will abide in the heart the recognition of abounding injustice. You're not blind, you're not unfeeling if you're the recipient of injustice. Right now it's hard. And so this is not a pretend game. This is not some Pollyanna statement. This is reality of life in a fallen world. It's hard. And we right here, we've had our own hardness, but there's nothing compared to what many Christians in other parts of the world are facing this very day. One of our privileges is to pray for them. So then he says in the scripture, no one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit and no one has power in the day of death. Now again, I understand what he's saying here, but let's take this beyond life under the sun. There could be here a sort of a, let's say, recognition, just, okay, this is the way it is, nothing I can do about it, and so you just trot along in depression or discouragement. Why pray? Why labor? While walking the steps of Jesus, nothing's going to get better. Well, you have to take the long view. Then he goes on to say, all this I have seen, there is a time in which one man rules over another to his own hurt. And there are many angles I guess we could go from here. But you don't have to look far to realize that people in authority, it could be anybody in authority, they rule to their own hurt because they put themselves on a pedestal and rule down to other people as if they're lesser beings. and I'm lording over you, and I'm the one in charge here, and we'll do it my way. And there's so many areas in life where we are in places of authority or being under authority. And if we are thinking rightly, that person under authority may have great wisdom that is needed for the sake of the company. Or your wife might have great wisdom that's needed for the sake of the family. And so, There are those who rule to their own hurt. For example, pastors and others, instead of feeding the flock, they're fleecing the flock. You say, surely pastors wouldn't do that. Yes, they have flesh too, and there are many who have gotten rich, humanly rich, about fleecing the flock, those who are tyrants, those who are oppressors, those who mismanage, those who, and we see it all the time in every walk of life. When in verse 10 through 13, 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 done so. This also is vanity. Because a 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. 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 and who fear before him. 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 the Lord." So it seems in verse 10 that Solomon had seen, yes, the wicked die, but they're soon forgotten and I don't know where to put this except this is life under the sun. The Living Bible paraphrase put verse 10 this way, I've seen wicked men buried and as their friends returned from the cemetery having forgotten all the dead man's evil deeds, these men were praised in the very city where they had committed their crimes." Now, is that the correct essence of that verse? I'm not qualified to say, but there certainly is truth in what is being said there. This happens. I guess for me, verse 11 is a verse that I became aware of. It's one of those verses that's taken out and quoted. You may or may not have ever run across this, but in dealing with or hearing about laws of the land and people who commit crimes, don't have to pay, just get put off, put off, put off, put off, put off, put off. And so, 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. So here are people who commit crimes. They think they're getting away with it. And so then the people around them will say, well, I can commit crimes and get away with it. I don't see how we can debate. That's a truth. That's a reality. And so laws and legal procedures should be set up to where there is, if a crime is committed, there is a reasonable not so quick that you miss judgment and execute the wrong person or put the wrong person in prison when these things happen. But that is no excuse for letting people commit crimes and get away with it, because it's not only going to affect that person, but it's going to affect the whole society. And we live in that. Verse 12, I surely know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear before him, but it will not be well for the wicked. Again, under the sun, it might not seem that way, but this is truth. In verse 14, why do the bad have it good and the good have it bad? That's a statement about verse 14. That's the question that 14 is asking. And it reads, 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 is also vanity, emptiness. And so if you exclude eternity, yes, these things happen. And this is the question that people like to ask. Why do bad things happen to good people? It's a timeout. Where were these good people that you found? Now, why do bad things happen to people who, they've lived, by the grace of God, a righteous life, and they're being held accountable for and judged on things that are wrong. Yes, this happens in a fallen world. Now, verse 15 through 17. 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. 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, 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 attempt to know it, he will not be able to find it. So he's trying to deal with the problem of meaninglessness and trying to find purpose in life under the sun. And if you take this out of context, you can say, well, the Bible says the chief thing in life is just to enjoy life. Now, but taking all the scripture together, neither can we say life on earth is such a mess, there's no room for enjoyment. God has given every good and perfect gift. He's given a thousand things that can be righteously enjoyed in life under the sun. It's permissible to go fishing. And it's better when you catch some. Or whatever. Can these things become idols? Can they become gods? Yes. But we have to bring everything into eternal perspective. And one of the things here in the last... We'll have to be content... Think of all the effort that Solomon must have put into this. And at the end of the day, he had to conclude, the full scope of all this is beyond me. I'm not able to draw a full conclusion about life under the sun unless I bring in eternity. Life is not found in its full purpose by calling upon the other person to change, but God wants to change me. And that's really a freeing position to be in. Because I'm powerless to change the other person, but by the grace of God, I can yield to the work of the Holy Spirit who lives within me and walk in the steps of Jesus. That makes the day worth living. Nobody has to change in order for me to have a good day. I just have to walk in the steps of Jesus. Father, we thank you that you continue to work in the hearts and lives of people. You're working in the hearts and lives of people sitting here. Help us to go out into this day enlightened by the Word of God and walk in the steps of Jesus for your name's sake. In this we pray in Christ's name. Amen.