Interpreting with Wisdom
Sermon Recording
Sermon Outline
Speaker: Rev. Scott Strickman
Sermon Series: Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes 8 (ESV)
1 Who is like the wise?
And who knows the interpretation of a thing?
A man's wisdom makes his face shine,
and the hardness of his face is changed.
2 I say: Keep the king's command, because of God's oath to him. 3 Be not hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand in an evil cause, for he does whatever he pleases. 4 For the word of the king is supreme, and who may say to him, “What are you doing?” 5 Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way. 6 For there is a time and a way for everything, although man's trouble lies heavy on him. 7 For he does not know what is to be, for who can tell him how it will be? 8 No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death. There is no discharge from war, nor will wickedness deliver those who are given to it. 9 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.
10 Then I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place and were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity. 11 Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. 12 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. 13 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.
14 There is a 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. I said that this also is vanity. 15 And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.
16 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,17 then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out.
Sermon Outline
Wisdom is needed to interpret situations and act when we don’t understand what is happening or know with clarity what to do (v1, 5)
1. Inclination to do evil
v11 Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.
2. Inclination to give up
v17 “I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun.”
v14 “There is a 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.”
3. Inclination to joy
v12 “yet I know it will be well with those who fear God”
v15 “And I commend joy”
v1 “wisdom makes his face shine”
Prayer of Confession
Wise and mighty God, we don’t know what you know, we don’t see what you see, we can’t do what you can do. This should instill faith and dependence in us, but we confess we struggle with doubt and confusion. We believe things that are untrue. We act as if our wrong-doing is without consequences. We get angry with you when it is we ourselves and others who have done wrong. Forgive our folly. Grant us grace through the wisdom of Jesus Christ, who on the cross satisfied eternal justice. Bring clarity to our confused minds. Give us the power to live new life in him. Amen.
Questions for Reflection
Actions don’t always have immediate consequences. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? How are you typically impacted by that?
Other than fear of negative consequences, what other motivations are there for resisting impulses to do what is wrong or to act on impulses to do good?
What can you do when you discern that the thought “no one will find out” has taken you a step towards doing what you know you should not do?
How does remembering the goodness of God and trusting there is a reward for obeying him help form an interpretive lens as you try to make sense of what is going on? How can this remembrance inform how you think about some of the social problems in the news these days?
How does confidence in God’s future joy help you endure hard periods? How does it create the possibility that we can experience some of that joy in the present?
What does it look like to seek joy and be glad for good and also not ignore or stay away from hard situations (or situations where others are suffering)?How does Jesus help us live sacrificial lives that are also joy-filled lives?