In this thought-provoking episode, we delve into the timeless question: Why do the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer? Drawing from Ecclesiastes chapter 3, David Hawking explores Solomon’s profound observations about justice and the apparent lack of it in the world. The discussion highlights the believer’s struggle with understanding God’s plan amid human injustice and wickedness.
Hey, I don’t find judgment, Solomon says. I don’t find justice. I don’t find people doing right. I find exactly the opposite. All the way through the Bible, believers ask the question, well, how come the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer? And how come if God’s in control, he doesn’t do something about the mess we’re in? And why doesn’t he stop wicked rulers and kings and nations? Why doesn’t he straighten everything out? And God’s answer to that is, just be patient. He’s going to. The day is coming in which all matters will be rectified and revenge from the standpoint of God on the world will be given.
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This is hope for today. Look around and it doesn’t feel like justice. is winning. Wrong seems to flourish, and right, right seems to pay a price. And God’s people, we’ve been asking the same question for centuries. Why do the wicked prosper, and why do the righteous suffer? And if God is truly in control, why does he allow the mess to continue? In Ecclesiastes chapter 3, Solomon doesn’t pretend otherwise. He admits what he sees. Justice is missing, and righteousness is often replaced by its opposite. Today, Bible teacher David Hawking begins a message called A Time for Judgment. It’s from Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verses 16 through 22, and we’ll get into the passage in just a moment. Stay tuned. Before we begin, let me point you to the Hope for Today Media Center at davidhawking.org. Go to DavidHawking.org and click on the Media tab. You’ll be right there and find a collection of solid Bible-based teaching that goes deeper than a daily broadcast can. You’ll find archived Hope for Today programs, full Bible studies from David Hawking, and both audio and video teaching you can watch or listen to on your own time. You’ll also find written devotions, meditations, and the Psalms. There’s also study materials and free downloadable books. Again, that’s on the homepage, designed to help you read Scripture carefully and think biblically. This isn’t about what’s trending. It’s about what holds up, and that’s the Word of God. Amen. And it’s all there right for you. Study helps in abundance at davidhawking.org. davidhawking.org. And as promised, here’s David at Ecclesiastes chapter 3.
SPEAKER 02 :
Speaking of time, there’s always a time for everything, says Solomon. And in this particular case, our subject is a time for judgment. A time for judgment. In chapter 3, verses 1 to 15, we had the following points, just to kind of review in your mind a little bit. A great section dealing with everything. There’s a season and a time for every purpose under heaven. And we made these statements. One, that we must acknowledge that God has a reason for everything that happens. Two, that we must accept the fact of his control and purpose in our lives. Three, that we must appreciate the time God has given to us. Tells us how to respond with joy and rejoicing. And four, that we must apply these facts that we know, that God is in control, that He has a time for everything, that He’s given us time to use and to enjoy for His glory, but we have to apply those facts to our attitude toward God. That was in verse 14, the last phrase, that men should fear before Him. That there would be a worship and a praise of God, an understanding that He’s in control, and I’m going to honor Him and worship Him in my life. And then the final point we gave you was that we must answer to God for how we have used our time. Okay, enjoy it, but recognize that God’s going to ask you to give account for how you’ve used your time. Now that’s verse 15. That which is has already been. And what is to be has already been. There’s nothing new under the sun. God requires, however, an account of what is past. Now that leads us right into our section today under the title of Time for Judgment, beginning at verse 16. So follow along as we read down to verse 22. Moreover, I saw under the sun, in the place of judgment, wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness, iniquity was there. I said in my heart, I said in my heart, One thing befalls them. As one dies, so dies the other. Surely they all have one breath. Man has no advantage over beasts, for all is vanity. All go to one place. All are from the dust. All return to dust. Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the beast, which goes down to the earth?” So I perceived that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him? Let’s look to the Lord in a moment of prayer. God, we ask you in these few moments together that you will show us again how that all of our time must be used for your honor and your glory. We don’t know what the future holds. We don’t even know what we’re going to do tomorrow. We think in our minds that we do, but we don’t. Today is all the time we have. You tell us even to not boast about tomorrow, to not even think that we would live it. Were it not for your grace, we would live not another moment on this earth. You tell us to take no thought for tomorrow. You say that our lives are like vapors that appear for a little while and then vanish away. You tell us all such boasting, saying we’re going to do this or that, or speaking so confidently as though it will really happen. You tell us all such boasting is evil, that we should say if the Lord wills, then we will do it. For God, you are truly in control. And so often we lose our focus of your plan and your control and your purpose. We don’t rest in you. We don’t fear you. We don’t love you. We don’t enjoy what you are doing today because we’re so worried about what will happen tomorrow. God, I ask you to speak to our hearts and help us to understand that we are accountable for how we’ve used the moments we have and that now is the only time we have that we are to enjoy it and use it for your honor and glory. We thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen. Now there’s a lot of questions about Ecclesiastes 3, and they probably were in your mind when we read it. The evolutionist, of course, loves to quote Ecclesiastes 3 to argue the point that man is simply an animal. That’s what it says. But that’s not what it says, as we shall see in just a moment. If you look at this particular passage, I think you already see Solomon’s outline. Look at verse 16 carefully again. He said, I saw under the sun. Now look at verse 17. I said in my heart. Verse 18, I said in my heart. And then verse 22, so I perceived. I saw, I said in my heart twice. and I perceived. That’s really the outline he has. So let’s start with verse 16. When he said, I saw under the sun, let’s look at the problem that he observed. Now he just finished saying in verse 15 that God requires an account in our lives of what has passed. Whatever we’ve done, God is requiring account. Now his next statement is, But when I looked under the sun, here’s the problem I observed. I observed that the judgment and the righteousness that I know is God’s character is not evident down here. Under the sun, life with humanism, with secular society in control, life ignoring God. Hey, I don’t find judgment, Solomon says. I don’t find justice. I don’t find people doing right. I find exactly the opposite. And it’s frustrating. It’s frustrating sometimes to the believer. All the way through the Bible, believers ask the question, well, how come the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer? Good questions. And how come if God’s in control, he doesn’t do something about the mess we’re in? And why doesn’t he stop wicked rulers and kings and nations? Why doesn’t he straighten everything out? And God’s answer to that is, just be patient. He’s going to. The day is coming in which all matters will be rectified and revenge from the standpoint of God on the world will be given. So he asked us to be patient and to understand what is happening. But Solomon looks at everything under the sun. He said, where’s fairness? Where’s justice? Where are the people doing right? That’s what he saw. That was the problem. Turn back to Psalm chapter 37. Just kind of looking at this, this is a common thought among the believers of the Old Testament. They’re always concerned with this particular problem. Why, Lord? We look and all we see is wickedness and sin. Where is the judgment of God? Where’s the justice of God? Hey, God says you can’t get away with it. But I go out in life and everything under the sun and what do I see? I see people getting away with it. That’s what I see. And sometimes that has an effect on believers, I’ve noticed. We begin to think that, hey, I did it and I didn’t get warped, so what’s the big deal? You know what I mean? So people start doing things they wish they wouldn’t have done, but they’re now doing it because they think that there’s no time for judgment. I believe the secular mind is programmed that way. That we think somehow we can get away with it because we see people getting away with it. Now, sometimes the moral consciousness hits you when you begin to look at what people face when they get in trouble with the law. But even then, our laws have so radically changed that they’re hardly preventative against crime anymore. You can continue whatever you were doing, even in prison, with fine accommodations and a lot of nice facilities there. And besides, nobody’s going to take your life anyway, so you can do just about anything you want. Where’s the judgment? Where’s the justice of this world? No wonder he asked the question. We ask the same question today. And I look at lots of people who seem to go on their own merry way. They care nothing for God. They do their own thing. And I don’t see them being zapped by God. So I say, where’s the judgment in this world? And you tell me that every one of us must give an account. But I don’t see it. And that’s the problem. In Psalm 37, this is much of what David said. And he’s exhorting all of us, too, and all of God’s people to rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. It’s not easy to be patient when you don’t see anything being rectified. He said, do not fret. Don’t worry. Don’t be concerned because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. And many, many times I find this could happen to you at work this week. There could be somebody who really does you in or knifes you in the back or does something that’s obviously a wicked device he’s bringing to pass. And you say, God, how could you allow this to happen? Now let’s back up for a moment. First of all, if you’re asking, God, why me? I almost think that God could probably shout out of heaven, why not? You know what I mean? See, the assumption is that we don’t deserve this, and that, of course, is wrong. If we got what we deserve, we’d get hell. So the great thing is that God doesn’t zap us even for asking the question. See, God is long-suffering and God is patient. But it is a natural human logical thinking. I mean, why am I getting this wicked device of this guy towards me? Why is it happening? And David’s advice, sometimes we don’t want to hear it because we want to have revenge, man. But David says, rest in the Lord and wait patiently and don’t fret because of him who brings wicked devices to pass. And David himself, running away from Saul out there in the wilderness, you know, for his life, really. And David himself wanted and had the opportunity at times to take revenge. But he kept reminding himself that God is a God of vengeance. Even when he was in that cave and Saul came in with his men, they didn’t know that David and his men were in the cave. And David’s men saw the opportunity. They said, David, man, now’s your time, man. Get him. I mean, God wanted you to be king. Now take him. David went over instead, he cut off the corner of his robe. And after Saul got down the hill, David stood at the top and he’s waving and he’s trying to show him that he could have killed him. As though Saul now should think well of him for that. But you know the Bible says that David’s heart was convicted about that. He should never even have done that. Are you trusting God or are you not trusting God? Very interesting as you look at the whole problem. The problem that Solomon simply says in verse 16 is, I don’t see much of justice in this world. I don’t see righteousness. Instead, I see a lot of sin and I see a lot of wickedness, people getting away with it. Look at verse 12 of chapter 37. David says, the wicked plots against the just. gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, for he sees that his day is coming. There’s the issue. The day of judgment and accountability is coming. The wicked have drawn the sword, have bent their bow to cast down the poor and needy, to slay those who are of upright conduct. Their sword shall enter their own heart and their bow shall be broken. Well, when? When’s it going to happen? The day is coming. Verse 21, the wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteous shows mercy and gives. How do you explain these things? In verse 32, the wicked watches the righteous and seeks to slay him. I look for judgment. I look for justice. But all I saw was wickedness. Turn to chapter 73 of Psalms. Chapter 73. And in the opening verses of this, David just lays out the problem of wickedness when there should be judgment. In chapter 73 of Psalms, beginning at verse 1. It says, truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled. My steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the boastful when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Are you also? I love that. That’s graphic. I don’t know what translation you have, but I like that. New King James there. Their eyes bulge with abundance. They have more than heart could wish. They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression. They speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens and their tongue walks through the earth.
SPEAKER 01 :
Where’s the justice of God? God’s letting them get away with it.
SPEAKER 02 :
One more. Turn to chapter 82 here of Psalms. And David frequently spoke about this. Where is the justice of God? And here, David has a plea for justice. In chapter 82, it says, God stands in the congregation of the mighty. He judges among the gods. Now, you notice gods has small g in its plural. The word Elohim in Hebrew, which is translated God, singular, capital G, or gods, plural, small g. Elohim can also be applied to men. In this particular context, so you know what we’re reading about, he’s calling the judges men. down here on earth, who make judgments between people. He’s calling them God’s Elohim. By the way, in the New Testament, Jesus takes this psalm and quotes it and says, well, if you called men God’s Elohim, and they did, then why is it such a strange thing that I call myself the Son of God? Do you ever wonder how that passage connected? You see, he’s referring to Psalm 82. Well, you call men gods. I mean, gods in a sense have got authority over us. They’re judges and we have to come before them. They have to make a decision. We still have the same thing today. So now let’s watch this. God judges among the gods. How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? I just read a big article in one of our newspapers locally here about what seems to be the injustice that’s flowing out of our courts. How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? It appears that the victims are getting hit over the head. It appears that justice is not being done. Defend the poor and fatherless. Do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy. Free them from the hand of the wicked. They do not know nor do they understand. They walk about in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are what? Unstable. Did you think society was so stable? Are you kidding? All the foundations of the earth are unstable. I said, you are gods, referring to the judges who rule. And all of you are children of the Most High, but you shall die like men and fall like one of the princes. Arise, O God, here’s a plea, judge the earth, for you shall inherit all nations. I think that same plea, whether you have actively said that much in your life or not, we subconsciously think about it a lot. God, when are you going to straighten things out? I mean, it just isn’t fair. It’s not right. Have you seen the way I’ve been treated? Do you understand, Lord, what’s happening down here? And of course he does. So the call goes out, arise God, judge the earth, settle these matters. That’s what we have in Ecclesiastes. Solomon said there’s a time for everything. Well, if there is, what about judgment? You say that God is going to ask every one of us to give an account. But Solomon says what I observe under the sun is the exact opposite.
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s Bible teacher and author David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. David will be back in just a bit to put the finishing touches on today’s study. First, though, if you’re enjoying Ecclesiastes as much as we are, well, Matt and I have a resource package that’s going to help you take things to a whole new level. Matt? Ecclesiastes is one of the most profound and needed messages for our culture today. It is written by the wisest man who ever lived, King Solomon. Solomon describes himself, Matt, as you know, as the preacher. And his divinely inspired writing in the biblical text is a reflection on all that life offers, which is vanity without a relationship to God. Yeah, Solomon had it all. He had fame. Wealth, wisdom, pleasures in abundance. But he grew to be utterly unsatisfied. Yeah, the accumulation of it all did not bring him happiness or peace. No, he learned the hard way what Jesus taught in Matthew 6.24. Matt, you’ve got that there. No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon, which is money, from Matthew 6.24. Again, yeah. Mm-hmm. In our Ecclesiastes radio series and in his book, Is Life Worth Living?, David Hawking will show you Solomon’s divinely inspired reflections on these matters. You see, Solomon discovered, and this book and radio series will help you discover all of life as God intends. And if your life is rightly related to him, it will be abundantly worth living. And right now we have an excellent value package for you that combines my dad’s book on Ecclesiastes titled, Is Life Worth Living? Plus the complete collections of David’s messages in our current Ecclesiastes radio series. Now we’re going to be in Ecclesiastes, Matt, for several weeks. And with this package, listeners will have the book, which is a powerful study guide. And the complete series saved and secured on audio for years to come. Order the Is Life Worth Living package. How much is it, Matt?
SPEAKER 1 :
$40.
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$40. You can order by phone or online today. To get your copy of the Is Life Worth Living Ecclesiastes package, including David’s book, Is Life Worth Living, and the audio messages from the Ecclesiastes series, the complete package, just $40. Call us at 800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. to order or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. You can also order the package online at DavidHawking.org. And remember, by the way, the sermon notes and message outlines for the Ecclesiastes series, they’re also available for you. These are the sermon notes and outlines that David used in teaching the series. And boy, these are a powerful, powerful tool to help you follow along and remember key points in the series that apply to your life and bring joy to your heart. And the Ecclesiastes series study notes outlines are just $10. Make the purchase and download them right now from our website, davidhawking.org, or you can get in touch with us by phone and have a hard copy sent to you by mail. The phone number again, 800-75-BIBLE in the U.S., 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And most importantly, we want you to know that we’re here to pray for you. If you have a need, a burden, or a situation you’re carrying, let us know. We will pray for you. And as the Lord directs, we ask you to prayerfully consider supporting this ministry through prayer and also through financial donations. It might be a one-time gift, or maybe this is a year that you’ll become a regular monthly supporter as God supplies and directs. Your support helps keep God’s Word going forth day after day. And you can visit us online to make a donation, davidhawking.org, or call us at 875-BIBLE in the U.S., 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. If you prefer to write and send a donation that way, maybe a prayer request, the address, Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO 7 Oaks, Abbotsford, BC, V2S 8P1. And let’s get back to David.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, folks, in our study of Ecclesiastes chapter 3, we’ve divided it into two parts. The first 15 verses is a separate part, but a new paragraph begins in the Hebrew text in Ecclesiastes 3, verse 16. And that’s where Solomon says, I saw under the sun the place of judgment, and wickedness was there. he made the conclusion God’s going to judge the righteous and the wicked, and there’s a time for every purpose and for every work. Look, I don’t know what’s happening in your life, but we not only receive both positive and negative things, and like Job say, the Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. But we also are accountable for what’s happening and in our attitudes and application of what God says, we are accountable. God is a righteous judge. He will never deal with us unfairly. And we need to understand that there is a time coming for judgment. We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. The New Testament tells us, And when he says, I saw under the sun, he’s referring to all of life. It isn’t always good. He says, sometimes I saw wickedness was there. He saw people getting away with things that they shouldn’t have. And he wondered where the judgment of God was. Well, payday someday. The day of judgment and accountability is coming, and we need to be ready. We also need to be careful about how we apply God’s Word in our life. It’s one thing to study and know what God says. It’s another thing to do it. We ought to obey God rather than man. I hope you’re enjoying this. Of course, all the messages are available. So give us a call if we can help. 1-800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or in Canada, 1-888-75-BIBLE. God bless you.
SPEAKER 03 :
Next time, David continues with his message called A Time for Judgment. Be sure to join us then, and remember to invite a friend who doesn’t know Jesus as Lord, or maybe a friend who just needs some good biblical spiritual encouragement to listen along with you, right here on Hope for Today.
