Temporary

Ecclesiastes 4:1-3

This world is full of temporary happiness and a lot of heartache. Though there is beauty in this world – a Florida sunset, a kitten playing with a ball of yarn, snowcapped mountains – sin has brought wickedness and devastation. Before sin, God called His creation good. There was no sickness, racism, adultery, human trafficking, or murder. Now, every time you turn on the news, you see sin all over it. In fact, I just logged on to the Fox News website and saw headlines which included foolish parents so engrossed by their phones that they never noticed their toddler crawl into a wolf cage at the zoo, a daughter who murdered her father for no apparent reason, and Canada making strides in passing a hate speech bill in regard to certain bible verses.

On top of that, it seems as though the wicked people of the world get away with it. Lying and defaming are almost mandatory for our politicians and leaders, especially in America. When they get to the top, their lust for power takes over and they do whatever they can to feel more and more in control. Celebrities aren’t very different. They do what they can to become famous and once they do they want more. They want more money, more control, and more power. What once may have been a genuine desire to be role models for the younger generation has turned into a selfish desire for more. This power may not sound so bad. If not, I encourage you to read the Epstein files and you may change your mind.

This was true in Solomon’s day too. In Ecclesiastes 4:1 we read, “Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun: And look! The tears of the oppressed, but they have no comforter – on the side of their oppressors there is power, but they have no comforter.” The oppressor had power and he used it. Those without power, those being taken advantage of and attacked, had no way of escape in Solomon’s eyes.

Solomon believed this was normal, and it was not about to change, so he penned the next two verses, “Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead, more than the living who are still alive. Yet better than both is he who has never existed, who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.” Solomon thinks the dead are the lucky ones. They escaped this life and now don’t have to deal with the oppression from those in control. There were no longer tears because they escaped.

Even better, writes Solomon, are those who have never been born. The ones who had never tasted and felt the darkness of the world. Those who never had to deal with the wicked and evil people who overpowered them. He believed that this world was so dark and evil that it would be better to never exist at all.

In some way I think we can all relate to this feeling. There is a lot of darkness around us. There are a lot of wicked people who seem to be getting away with their wicked deeds. And it appears it will get worse and continue in this downward trend.

However, Solomon was missing something. I don’t believe it was because he did not see it and understand it. After all, Solomon was the wisest man to ever live (1 Kings 3:12). We see at the end of Ecclesiastes that he did understand that we need to push on, and that the wicked would have their day of judgement (12:14). He understood that we need to keep pushing on by fearing Him and keeping His commandments (12:13). I believe he was penning these words emotionally, possibly even hearing about or witnessing the oppression he writes about, believing it when he wrote it perhaps, but not holding to it.

What Solomon was missing was what happens after death. This world is wicked, yes, but it is only temporary. This is nobody’s permanent home. Solomon is praising the dead for getting out of this world, but the greater triumph is getting to heaven, every believer’s permanent home. He believes never being born is better than a permanent home in heaven, because of the temporary oppression that we must deal with on the earth.

I want to be clear so that there is no confusion here. Being oppressed does not guarantee salvation, putting our faith in Christ does that. Recognizing that we are sinners, guilty and unable to save ourselves, and accepting the gift that Jesus offered us by dying on the cross for our sins, that is what saves us. In other words, we are completely incapable of saving ourselves, it all comes down to Jesus. He is our only hope. Our actions, or whether or not we had a tough life does not determine where we end up.

Our time on earth will move quickly. The difficulties and oppression are temporary. The joys in heaven that believers get to experience are eternal. That is why Paul writes to “set [our] minds on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). When we feel defeated, when we experience the evil this world has to offer, remember our future is bright. Our future will be filled with worshipping at the feet of our Savior. Our future will be filled with unspeakable joy. “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

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