Ecclesiastes 3: Facing Injustice, God Will Have the Last Word

Introduction

That morning, a thick fog covered Clapham Common. The day before, the preacher could see all the way to the pub on the far side; that day, he could barely make out the walker right in front of him. It was a well-chosen picture for this Westminster Chapel series on Ecclesiastes, a book built around the idea of vapor and mist.

Some subjects are like that fog: you can't see clearly, and you have to settle for what is right in front of you. Injustice, inequality and corruption are among them. "Ecclesiastes says there is a time to laugh and a time to weep. Today is not going to be a time to laugh."

Starting from Ecclesiastes 3:14 through 4:3, the message asks a simple question: how do you react when injustice hits you in the face? Two reactions to avoid, two attitudes to adopt, and one solid hope: God's judgment is coming.

Outline of the Message

1. Look Injustice in the Face

Injustice reaches you through a newspaper article, a social media post, a WhatsApp message or an email from your boss.
The preacher lists very concrete situations: a friend whose husband left with a coworker, a charity you ran a half marathon for that is misusing its funds, a Christian organization you support every month that takes its biggest donors on stays in luxury hotels, a preacher you have listened to for years who turns out to be a predator.
The book's invitation is not to keep scrolling, close your eyes and pretend everything is fine. "Wisdom in this area is born out of a sense of discomfort." It is born from seeing reality as it is, because we have a hope for the future.
The text begins with something solid: everything God does will last forever (Ecclesiastes 3:14). Then the wise man observes that in the place appointed for judgment there is wickedness (Ecclesiastes 3:16), in other words corruption even in the highest courts of the land. The preacher recalls that a member of the church suffered a miscarriage of justice and spent many years in prison.
The wise man sees the tears of the oppressed, and "they had no comforter" (Ecclesiastes 4:1), so much so that he considers the one who has never existed to be better off.

2. The Wise Man Who Knows Pain

The preacher once made a documentary about the two world wars. While watching archive footage filmed at the discovery of the gas chambers, he felt what the wise man describes: there are days when you would rather know nothing, so heavy is the weight on the soul.
Reading Ecclesiastes is like inviting the wisest man in the world onto a podcast. He has tasted every pleasure, studied at the highest level, grown in wisdom. But he has also known the depths of pain, that moment when a piece of news makes your heart drop into your chest.
When we come to him, we are ultimately coming to Jesus, the wisest of all, the man of sorrows who knows suffering more than we could ever imagine.
The preacher rejects the stock phrases and black-and-white thinking that sometimes creep into the church. He wants an honest message, delivered with an open face.

3. First Reaction to Avoid: Being Surprised

"If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking away of justice and righteousness in a district, don’t marvel at the matter" (Ecclesiastes 5:8). One official protects another, and higher ones protect them in turn.
First there is public surprise: refusing to believe that someone you love could do wrong. It is always a penalty when it's the other team's striker, never when it's your defender. The same reflex has led television networks, churches, priests and pastors into cover-ups and cronyism.
This surprise rests on a naive view: people are basically good, with a few bad apples. The Bible is more honest: "God made man upright; but they search for many schemes" (Ecclesiastes 7:29), and the hearts of people are full of evil (Ecclesiastes 9:3).
"The line of sin does not run between the good people and the bad people. It runs through our own hearts." Often it is only by God's grace that we have not been placed in situations where we would have done even more harm.
Then there is personal surprise: "How can this be happening to me?" The Bible invites you to cry out to God: "Why do you stand far off, Yahweh?" (Psalm 10:1). Jesus tells of the widow who keeps knocking at the judge's door (Luke 18:1-8).
The preacher tells the story of a friend: degree in hand, a job in America, a beautiful new road bike, and in the very first week a truck hits him from behind and leaves him almost paralyzed. Crying out "why?" is right. But "why me?" often betrays the idea of a force field that would protect us.
Many sing of God's goodness as long as misfortune strikes others, then drift away from him when it strikes them. "That was never the deal." Do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come to test you (1 Peter 4:12).
"In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; yes, God has made the one side by side with the other" (Ecclesiastes 7:14). At the church café, a different barista opens up each morning. We would like to believe that on the terrible days, God handed the keys to Satan. The Bible says no: God opened up that morning. He is the one who opened up the morning his Son was crucified.

4. Second Reaction to Avoid: Being Seduced

One way out of discomfort is to join the movement. Imagine a young lawyer joining a firm and discovering that some evidence is ignored and that certain people get invited to lunch more than others. To climb the ladder, the easiest thing is to do as everyone else does, promising yourself you will change the culture later. "You are overestimating yourself if you think that."
A moment of confession: the preacher cycles across London, stops at red lights and sighs heavily at those who run them. Except when he is in a hurry. "Corruption is crouching at the door of every one of us."
"Neither shall wickedness deliver those who are given to it" (Ecclesiastes 8:8). If you gave in to a corrupt culture at the bottom of the ladder, you will not change it once you reach the top.
The other seduction is anger stirred up online. Anger at injustice is right: "Be angry, and don’t sin" (Ephesians 4:26). Jesus was furious at the corruption in the temple. But "Don’t be hasty in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools" (Ecclesiastes 7:9).
The scarlet kingsnake is harmless, the coral snake is highly venomous, and you could not tell them apart if they slid between your feet. In the same way, righteous anger and anger that thinks it is righteous look very much alike.
The Bible's answer is simple: slow down. Be "swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger" (James 1:19). You do not have to have an opinion on everything, right away. Discern, think it over, talk it through.

5. Respond With Humility

The big message of Ecclesiastes: fear God and walk humbly before him. Faced with injustice, it is easy to make yourself the hero of the story: "Thank goodness I'm here to have the right opinion."
God the Father created the world for the glory and honor of his Son, not for you. Each of us has tried to snatch it out of his hands for our own desires. We all need to fall on our knees before God's mercy.
God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11), and heaven rejoices over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:7). The biggest obstacle remains self-righteousness: thinking we have been good enough. But even the worst sinner, if he repents, will be forgiven (Ezekiel 33:12-16).
Christians are not exempt from God's action. Paul writes to the Corinthians that contempt for the poor had serious consequences (1 Corinthians 11:20-30). Ananias and Sapphira were struck down for a lie (Acts 5:1-11). In Revelation, Jesus threatens to spit a church out of his mouth (Revelation 3:16). "Your actions still matter enormously in this world."
A concrete question for discernment: are you ready to talk about it? "If you are not ready to talk about it, I can almost guarantee it is not the right thing to do." The preacher says he brings his questions to wise people, whether about the use of AI, which companies to support or what he eats, and he is willing to change his mind.

6. Do Not Be Afraid: God's Judgment Is Solid

Ecclesiastes paints a dark world, full of bubbles. The bubbles of injustice are filled with toxic air. But the concrete that will eventually make them burst is God's judgment against all evil and all inequality. "It is coming, and that is good news."
Does God let people destroy themselves with their technologies? The Bible shows that yes, he has permitted it before. But a new creation is coming, and it is a solid reality.
Everything God does will last forever (Ecclesiastes 3:14). Christ died for sinners, he rose again, he inaugurated a new creation, he is seated at the Father's right hand and he steers the future around him.
Some days you wish life would never end; other days, faced with atrocities, you wonder why everything doesn't end right now. Live with the new creation in view.

7. Live Generously

In a corrupt world, you would think the answer is to hold on to everything and protect yourself. The wise man says the opposite: "Cast your bread on the waters, for you shall find it after many days" (Ecclesiastes 11:1). Some of it will be eaten by sharks, yet he still says: invest, give, be generous.
The preacher ties this to the church budget: isn't it wiser to give to causes you know and can examine? Many members give, many others give nothing. The food bank, the toddler ministry and local outreach change lives.
"Don't overcomplicate things." Be generous with what is right in front of you. There is nothing better than enjoying your work, what you eat and what you drink.
To anyone who is not yet a Christian, Jesus' invitation is: come to me. Believe that he died for your sin and for your injustice, and ask the Holy Spirit to change you from the inside.
The message ends with the close of Psalm 10: "Yahweh is King forever and ever!" He hears the desire of the afflicted, he strengthens their heart and he brings justice to the fatherless and the oppressed (Psalm 10:16-18).

Key Takeaways

Wisdom in the face of injustice is born from discomfort: look reality in the face instead of continuing to scroll.
Do not be surprised by evil, either in those you admire or in your own life. The line of sin runs through every heart.
Do not let yourself be seduced: neither by following a corrupt culture nor by giving in to anger that thinks it is righteous. Slow down.
Respond with humility. The world belongs to God, and self-righteousness is the biggest obstacle to coming to him.
God's judgment and the new creation are solid realities. In the meantime, live generously.

Personal Application

What recent injustice have you preferred to ignore by moving on to something else, and what would wisdom do if you looked it in the face?
Is there a person or a group you defend on principle, to the point of refusing to consider that they might do wrong?
In what area have you given in to a small corruption, telling yourself the rules don't quite apply to you?
Is there a choice you don't dare discuss with wise people? What does that reveal?
Where can you "cast your bread on the waters" this week, with what is right in front of you?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Ecclesiastes 3 say about injustice?

The wise man saw under the sun wickedness in the place of judgment and in the place of righteousness (Ecclesiastes 3:16). He does not look away, but he concludes: "God will judge the righteous and the wicked" (Ecclesiastes 3:17). The preacher invites you to look injustice in the face rather than keep scrolling through the news.

Why shouldn't we be surprised by evil, according to Ecclesiastes?

Because the Bible has an honest view of human beings: God made man upright, but people have searched for many schemes (Ecclesiastes 7:29). Anyone's heart can be corrupted, including the hearts of people you admire. Being surprised when evil touches those around you or your own life reveals a naive view of humanity.

How should we live in an unjust world, according to this message?

The preacher suggests responding with humility, talking over your choices with wise people and living generously, following Ecclesiastes 11:1: "Cast your bread on the waters." Hope comes from God's judgment and the new creation, solid realities that will one day burst every toxic bubble of injustice.