when life is unfair (ecclesiastes 3:16-22)
TRANSCRIPT
Dr. Rick Griffith, Crossroads International Church
www.biblestudydownloads.com
Ecclesiastes 3:16-22
When Life is
Unfair
Everybody loves a story.
Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty
sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty
had a great fall.
All the king's horses
and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty
together again.
Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses
and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
Cinderella
"Sad endings we can
handle, but not unjust
ones. Suffering makes
us sad, but injustice
makes us mad."
(Charles R. Swindoll,
Living on the Ragged Edge, 98)
What
injustices irk
you most?
• No credit?
• Politicking?
• Birth defects?
• Cutting in line?
• Family background?
Cover
"Yet God has
made
everything
beautiful*
for its own
time"
(3:11a NLT)
* "appropriate" (NAU), "fitting" (5:18)
Does God condone injustice?
What should you do when
life is unfair?
Issues & Responses
I. Realize that you will
account to God (3:16-17).
Injustice You
Injustice exists in the courts
where it shouldn't (3:16).
McDonalds Coffee
Lawn Mower
Young Earth Lawsuit
Dr. Mark Armitage
The
Injustice
System
How should we respond to
injustice?
Realize that you will
account to God (3:17).
Injustice You
"Then I saw a great white throne…"
(Rev. 20:11)
438
The Books
(Rev. 20:12)
Used with permission
Is there one general
judgment as depicted by
Michelangelo?
The Final Judgment
Sistine Chapel, 1541
Yet Scripture prophesies
seven more future
judgments…
Church Age Tribulation Millennium
Rapture 2nd Advent
Battle ofArmageddon
Battle of Gog and Magog
GreatWhite
Throne
Resurrections & Judgments
R = 4 Resurrected Groups
J = 7 Judged Groups
J 4J 2JR 2R R
The Judgment Seat of Christ
• Believers Rewarded
by Christ (2 Cor. 5:10)
• At the Rapture
(1 Thess. 4:17)
• Reward or loss of
rewards (not
salvation)
We all will appear before God—not
just the perpetrators of injustice!
I. Realize that you will
account to God (3:16-17).
Injustice You
Issues & Responses
Death Enjoy
Injustice You
II. Enjoy life now (3:18-22)!
Death Enjoy
It may seem
unjust that we
are mortal like
animals (3:18-
21).
"Man's fate is like
that of the animals;
the same fate
awaits them both:
As one dies, so
dies the other. All
have the same
breath; man has no
advantage over the
animal. Everything
is meaningless"
(3:19 NIV)
"Everything"
should be
translated "both"
(as in 2:14; 7:18;
cf. BKC)
Both man and
animals are
transitory (not
meaningless)
Hebel literally means
"a breath, wind, or vapor"
(Prov. 21:6; Isa. 57:13).
Key Word of Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes
"vanity" (KJV, ESV, NAU),
"meaningless" (NIV, NLT), "futile"
(NET, TLB, BKC)
"fleeting"
Meaning of Hebel
lbh
A Very Literal Translation
Metaphor:
what doesn't last
("what is without real
substance, value,
permanence,
significance, or
meaning" BKC, 1:976)
Many people don't want to even
think about death.
"Four" in
Chinese
四"Death" in
Chinese
诛
Where's
level 4?
Getting a Phone Number…
All return to dust
Our advantage over animals can't be
shown or observed as they die (3:21).
Realizing that we all will die
should cause us to enjoy life now
(3:22).
"So I saw that
there is nothing
better for people
than to be happy in
their work. That is
why we are here!
No one will bring
us back from death
to enjoy life after
we die" (3:22 NLT).
"So I saw that
there is nothing
better for people
than to be happy in
their work. That is
why we are here!
No one will bring
us back from death
to enjoy life after
we die" (3:22 NLT).
"I have seen that
nothing is better
than that man
should be happy in
his activities, for
that is his lot. For
who will bring him
to see what will
occur after him?"
(3:22 NAU).
"This is man's lot (a word that means lit., 'portion,
share, or allotment'…)… people are ignorant of
God's plan and cannot know what the future,
including life after death, holds for them. He
summarized this point in the rhetorical question,
Who can bring him to see what will happen after
him?" (Donald Glenn, in BKC, 1:986).
We don't know many details of the
afterlife (3:22b).
What should you do when
life is unfair?
Account to God and
enjoy life!
Main Idea
What should
you do when
life is unfair?
you fight
injustice?
Responses to Injustice
Observer Initiator Victim
How do you observe injustice?
Observer
How do you initiate injustice?
Initiator
How are you the victim of injustice?
Victim
Black
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