“Joy in The Midst of Suffering”
Ecclesiastes 8:16-9:9
Introduction: Today I want to continue our study in Ecclesiastes – only a couple more weeks to go. This final section of Ecclesiastes does not address new material, but supplements what has already been presented. Much of what we have discovered in Ecclesiastes is that many of the mysteries of life only begin to make sense when we view them from a divine perspective. Man in his natural state cannot begin to make sense out of what goes on in this world. Injustice, evil, and crooked deals make no sense to the unaided human mind. Even when we see things from God’s perspective, there remain some unanswered questions. After all, we are called on to live by faith and not by sight. If we truly trust God, then we can be content with “some insoluble mysteries in divine providence.” Verse 8:17 affirms that no one can know every thing that goes on under the sun. Deuteronomy 29:29 offers wise counsel in this dilemma. ESV Deuteronomy 29:29 "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
Our search for an explanation for the mysteries of life, like injustice, evil, and inequality, must end where Solomon’s did. Remember he was the wisest man who ever lived. Yet in 9:1 he affirms that we must rest in the fact that our lives are “in the hand of God.”
I. We can experience joy in the midst of our suffering. (9:1-6)
It is impossible to know by how God treats an individual whether he/she is an object of God’s love or hatred. (9:1) Earlier in Ecclesiastes (6:1-6) God warned that prosperity is not always a good thing, or that adversity or affliction is not necessarily an evil thing (7:1-5). Remember that things are not always how they appear to be. (Ill.) Look at how wrong Job’s three friends were when they accused Job of some sin that was the result of his suffering. In the same vein we must not be cruel to accuse another of some great sin just because they may be going through some loss or tragedy.
Not all suffering is the result of personal sin. One scholar in his commentary of Ecclesiastes (Kaiser, p.95) has identified at least five (5) reasons for suffering. One reason for suffering is educational as when Elihu speaks to Job (Job 34:32; 35:11; 36:10, 15,22). A second reason for suffering is doxological, for the glory of God as seen in the incident of the man born blind (John 9:1-3). A third reason for suffering can be probationary as illustrated in Habakkuk when he observed the terrible conditions before him and needed to wait for God’s patience to come to an end. A fourth reason for suffering is revelational as observed by Hosea as he experienced some of the isolation felt by God because of Israel’s spiritual adultery when his wife became a harlot. And fifth, some suffering can be sacrificial as the suffering Servant (Isaiah 42:49-50; 53) experienced as he suffered great pain because of the sin of others.