Pray

Read: Ecc 3:16-4:3

Meditation

Verse 21 is one of those awkward Ecclesiastes sayings. It’s one of those verses that makes Christians want to avoid the book altogether – and plenty, it would seem, do just that. I want to take a moment to explain it. Let’s just start by reading it together: “Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth?”

Straight away you are probably thinking, hang on, the New Testament talks about an afterlife. Is Solomon saying there is no afterlife here? What does he mean?

Well, he means exactly what he says.

Let me put it this way. If someone from your church, let’s say, was to die in the next few seconds, would you be able to tell me where their spirit is? No, you would not, would you? In verse 16 Solomon makes the point that he is observing life under the sun. And from life under the sun, we literally cannot see the spiritual realm. What happens to animals when they die? We do not know. That is Solomon’s point in verse 21. We have no idea. What about the spirit of a man? You do not know for sure. It may have gone up to heaven, it may have gone down to hell.

That is not to say we cannot have assurance or confidence that a faithful believer has gone to heaven. In God’s grace, we can have confidence. But only God knows categorically where a person goes. That is Solomon’s point. From where we are standing, we do not categorically know a person’s eternal destiny. There is a level of mystery in the afterlife for us, and we need to acknowledge that and leave it with God.

Some commentators say that Solomon is denying the afterlife altogether in this verse, as though he were some kind of cynical agnostic. Perhaps you have thought that yourself. There are three reasons why that reading is deeply flawed. First, it clearly contradicts other very clear passages of Scripture. If you say Solomon does not believe in the afterlife, you deny the infallibility of scripture. That interpretation is therefore heretical. Second, Solomon has already spoken about the afterlife in this passage. In verse 17 he refers to God’s coming judgment. He would not speak of judgment if everything ended with death. Third, Solomon plainly admits the afterlife later in the same book. Ecclesiastes 12:7 says, “the spirit returns to God who gave it.” To read verse 21 as a denial of the afterlife is irresponsible exegesis and a pathway to heresy.

So Solomon has taken us on a journey. He has shown us that injustice and suffering exist. He has shown us that judgment is coming. He has shown us that none of us are innocent, and he has pointed us towards righteousness.

As we wrap this up, there are two pieces of application. Really, we have been on the gospel journey together. The problem of suffering should lead us to repentance and restoration with God. But Solomon also gives us insight for living with injustice in the world as Christians, because even after we are saved, injustice remains.

The first application comes in verse 22: “So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?” At first glance, this feels almost random. Solomon has been talking about oppression, injustice, death, and judgment, and suddenly he says, go and rejoice in your work. But it is not random at all. It is profoundly helpful. It shows us how to live by faith in a world full of oppression.

There is great injustice in the world today. But what can you do about it? Of all the oppression and evil that exists, how much can you actually change? The truth is, very little. We cannot even stop ourselves from committing injustice half the time, let alone fix society. Even people in positions of power are largely impotent in the face of it all. That is not to say they cannot do good. William Wilberforce shows us that they can, and as far as we are responsible, we should do what is right. But the world is broken. As Solomon has already told us, What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted.”

So Solomon is saying this. Do not break your mind trying to fix everything. Just do the work God has given you to do, and enjoy it. You are not the Messiah, and God is not asking you to be. He is asking you to be faithful with what he has placed in your life. Rejoice in it. Leave justice to God. Judgment day is coming. He will sort it out.

The second application comes in chapter 4:1–3. “Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them. On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. And I thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive. But better than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.”

This is troubling language, but Solomon is not making a doctrinal statement. He says, “I thought.” He is recounting his own thoughts in despair. With all his wisdom, the oppression he sees overwhelms him. The pain is so great that he feels it would be better never to have been born.

Ecclesiastes needs to be read more like a psalm than an epistle. We are being given a window into Solomon’s inner struggle. And the application for us is this. Be wary of despair. The injustice of the world can weigh so heavily on us that it pulls us down into hopelessness. If that happens, do not deny the reality of suffering, but do not be swamped by it. Flee to Christ for refuge.

As we consider the pain of this world, we remind ourselves that God will judge and make all things right. And this should even move us to pity our oppressors. They will answer to God. Do you want them to get what they deserve? No. We are called to pity them and bring Christ to them.

There is only one true oppressor in this world, and his name is Satan. Everyone else is enslaved to him. Spiritual slavery is the worst oppression of all, and the source of every other injustice. And so when you are tempted to despair, let it drive you to Christ, and let it move you to bring the good news to others.

Do not try to save the world. Live faithfully. Take the joy of Christ into every room you enter. Trust God. Leave justice with him.“Vengeance is mine,” says the Lord, “I will repay.” Live faithfully, rejoice in Christ, and bring the good news to the captives. The light that has shone in Christ is greater than all the world’s evils. He has called us out of darkness into his marvellous light. And for now, that is enough. SDG.

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