#8 Build a Commune in Your Paddock (Ecclesiastes 3:16-22)

Notes

Solomon confronts the pervasive wickedness that infects even places of justice and righteousness, reminding us that people—including ourselves—are the core problem in a fallen world. He observes that God will ultimately judge the righteous and the wicked, yet in the meantime he tests us to reveal our beastly nature through sin and the shared reality of death. Rather than naïve optimism, desensitisation, or cynicism, we are called to reject idleness and instead rejoice in our daily work as our God-given lot, labouring to bless others while we can. The message drives us to Christ—the truly righteous One whose perfect work at the cross brings justice, righteousness, and hope—leading naturally into joyful participation in the Lord’s Supper.

"Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? 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" "Ec 3:16–22)?