Ecclesiastes 4

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Exodus 15:2
• Hymn — Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah (#598)
• Prayer of Invocation
• Psalm Reading — Psalm 20 (read responsively)
• Hymn — A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (#92)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Sermon
• Hymn — The Church's One Foundation (#347)
• Benediction — 2 Corinthians 13:14

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Sermon Title: Take Care How You Live with Other People

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4

I. Endless Striving Marks Life Lived for Self-Interest

A. The problem of oppressors and the oppressed (Ecclesiastes 4:1–3)

1. In a fallen world, power is routinely used to dominate and diminish others
2. The oppressed have no comforter — so terrible that the preacher says it would be better never to have been born
3. The preacher speaks as a believer who knows the world is not as it should be, echoing the honest cries of Job and Jeremiah
4. Psalm 103:6 — the Lord works righteousness and justice for the oppressed; even Christ groaned at the effects of the curse

B. The twin vices of envy and greed (Ecclesiastes 4:4–8)

1. Envy (Ecclesiastes 4:4) — the self compares and competes endlessly, viewing others only through the lens of rivalry; at its core a relational disease
2. Greed (Ecclesiastes 4:7–8) — the solitary man toils for riches without ever asking "for whom am I toiling?"; like Ebenezer Scrooge, others exist only to be used and left behind
3. Sloth (Ecclesiastes 4:5) — the sluggard "folds his hands and eats his own flesh"; no less self-interested, giving nothing of time, money, or skill to benefit others; like the Dead Sea, everything flows in and nothing flows out
4. Isaiah 9 uses the image of eating one's own flesh to depict insatiable, self-consuming hunger
5. Even acts of love can mask envy — loving another only to get something in return
6. Romans 7 — Paul as believer still struggling with the flesh; Galatians — biting and devouring one another

II. Enjoyed Contentment Marks Life Lived within Selfless Community

A. Two are better than one (Ecclesiastes 4:9–12)

1. These verses are the answer to the "not good" of Genesis 2:18 — it is not good for man to be alone
2. Mutual support: one lifts the other when he falls; shared warmth sustains life; together they withstand a common enemy
3. A threefold cord is not quickly broken — the character and selflessness of the community matters more than mere numbers

B. Better is a handful with quietness (Ecclesiastes 4:6)

1. Contentment born of right relationship — working beside another without envy or comparison
2. There is still toil, but done in right relationship it comes with quietness and peace

C. The caution of fickle multitudes (Ecclesiastes 4:13–16)

1. The praise of endless crowds is itself a vapor — mere numbers are not the point
2. What matters is whether the individuals within the community are truly for one another

D. How this selfless community is possible

1. By nature we are dependent creatures made for community — humility about our true estate is required
2. The Holy Spirit gives new life, new attitudes, and new dispositions; we cannot achieve this in our own strength
3. The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23) — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control — are fruit for selfless, horizontal community
4. The gospel alone makes forgiveness between people possible (cf. Philemon, preached at the men's retreat)
5. Christ himself is the model: he came not to be served but to serve, laying down his life for his people — the vampire grows strong by weakening others; Christ weakens himself to make his people strong
6. John 13:34–35 — "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another just as I have loved you … by this all people will know that you are my disciples"
7. This love is practiced first in the church and in our homes, following the way of Christ