Part 1 of 3
In this article and the next two, we will be looking at Ecclesiastes 3:16-4:3.
Ligonier Ministries has a series of 57 lectures entitled “Dust to Glory” in which Dr Sproul gives an overview of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.
He begins at creation when man was first created by God from the dust of the earth and he ends with the glory of the new heavens and the new earth, and hence the title of the series.
For the people of God, there is an upward progression from their first birth to their second birth and finally to glory. There is hope in the midst of much sadness and suffering in this world. There is final redemption and glorification to look forward to. This is the biblical view of life for the Christian.
However, if you take away the bible’s view of history and life, then what you are left with is hopelessness and despair. Instead of dust to glory, you have dust to dust.
And that is what we find in Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 20, where Solomon says, “all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.” In fact, as we shall see, he will go on to say that it is better not to have even begun on this journey.
Remember again that one of the keys to understanding Ecclesiastes is to see that throughout the book, the preacher speaks about life from two viewpoints. The first is that of an unbeliever, who, while he may be very thoughtful and reflective about life, cannot arrive at any real meaning or hope or satisfaction because God is not in the picture. The second viewpoint is that of a believer who sees things from God’s point of view.
We begin with the problem of injustice and uncertainty (3:16-22).
The Problem of Injustice and uncertainty (3:16-22)
We know that the preacher is taking up the first point of view because he says, “And moreover I saw under the sun…”
Well, what did he see with regard to the issue of injustice? The preacher went to the place of judgment or justice and he saw wickedness. He went to the place of righteousness and he saw iniquity. Now the place of judgment and righteousness clearly refers to the court of law. You would expect to find a proper administration of justice and judgment in the law courts. That is the place you turn to in order to address matters of civil injustice and unfairness.
Sadly though, when the preacher goes there, all he finds is wickedness and iniquity. In the place of supposed righteousness and justice, there is a rejection of moral values.
One commentator observes that the grammar of this verse in the original is abrupt and communicates the outrage that the preacher feels at the situation. It is as if his outrage outpaces his ability to articulate words.
“How can this be! How can the judge and indeed the entire law court pervert justice and refuse to rule according to the principles of equity? How can the innocent person be declared guilty and the guilty person innocent? Surely this cannot go on forever! Surely these wicked judges cannot get away with it!”
This leads him to momentarily lay aside the under the sun perspective, and look up to the One on high. He says in verse 17, “I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.”
If earthly judges will not do their job, there is one in heaven who will. God, the righteous judge of all, will not fail to do right. He will judge the righteous and the wicked. He has appointed a future judgment when He will right all the wrongs which have ever been committed. Surely wickedness will not go unpunished forever. There shall be a time when an account will have to be rendered for every action and word and thought.
Now what is said in verse 17 is all very good and true. Unfortunately, he doesn’t continue in that line of thought for long. He quickly allows despair and hopelessness to get the better of him.
He’s like a drowning man who is struggling and manages to get his head out of the water but only momentarily, and soon, he sinks beneath the water line again.
He says in verse 18, “I said in mind heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.”
Notice he uses the exact same phrase “I said in mine heart” at the beginning of both verse 17 and verse 18. It is as if he says one thing in verse 17 and then in verse 18, he says another thing quite different and even contradictory.
He goes on in verses 19-20, “For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.”
In other words, he observes, based on the under-the-sun point of view, that that which comes to men is the same as that which comes to the animals. They all die. Man has no preeminence or no advantage over a beast.
Everything is meaningless. The end of man is no different from the beast. All die and all return to the dust. They all go to the same place when they die. “All are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.”
And so, for a while, the man had hope when he thought about God as the righteous judge who has appointed a future judgment to right all wrongs.
But then in his despair, he allows a contradictory thought to come into his mind. He says to himself, “Perhaps ultimate justice will not happen after all. Perhaps reality is different from the ideal. After all, men and beasts all die and they all return to the dust.”
In the under-the-sun mode of thinking, the person’s mind is confused and contradictory. He states his belief in divine justice but then effectively cancels it out when he says that it won’t happen because all man will return to the dust.
Next, in verse 21, he goes on to express utter skepticism and uncertainty about what happens after the grave.
“Who knows for sure where the spirit of man and beast go after they die? Will it go up to God or will it go down to the earth? Who knows? No one knows for sure. There is no certainty or proof one way or the other.”
So in light of all this injustice and uncertainty and meaninglessness, the recommendation is given in verse 22, “Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?”
In other words, if you cannot be certain about the afterlife, then you cannot be sure that the righteous and the wicked will get what they actually deserve. And so what is left for you to do is to turn your attention to the present and enjoy what you have, take advantage of every opportunity presented to you right now and make the best of it in your present circumstance. In short, he advocates the simple pleasures of life. And such is the viewpoint of so many people in this world…