Ecclesiastes 5:8-12 If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. 9 But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.
10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. 11 When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? 12 Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.
INTRODUCTION
In this next section of Ecclesiastes, which actually runs all the way through 6:9, the Preacher picks back up on two familiar themes: oppression and wealth. He began addressing the grievousness of oppression at the beginning of chapter 4. There he noted the prevalence of the oppressed and lamented their tears and lack of advocates. And of wealth, he spoke of his own vast wealth and its vanity in chapter 2(:8-10).
This morning we’ll see the Preacher move from talking primarily about individuals being oppressed to the systems that oppress them as well as one of the primary reasons for the systemic oppression of the poor (the insatiable appetite for money of those who love money).
The big idea of this passage is that the love of money leads to all kinds of evils, including taking part in systems designed to oppress the poor. The main takeaways are to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and your neighbor as yourself.
SYSTEMIC OPPRESSION (8-9)
As I mentioned back in a sermon from chapter four, talking about oppression in a healthy way seems almost impossible today. Those who talk about it the most and loudest are usually the most confused about it. What’s more, because of that, in an attempt to avoid getting sucked into a vortex of emotion and irrationality, most everyone else tries to avoid the subject altogether. Reasonable voices are often drowned out. And in that way, if the desire to avoid talking about it is strong for the oppression of individuals, it is doubly (or triply) so for systemic oppression—the subject of the first two verses of our passage.
While the desire to avoid the topic in public is understandable in today’s climate, Christians must not do so. We must not because God’s Word’s is so clear on the matter. The Bible’s chief message is that God hates oppression, is continually working against it, and calls His people to join Him in those things. (You can read more on that in my Ecclesiastes 4:1-3 sermon from April 6th). Oppression is everywhere, it is wicked, and ignoring it is not an option for God’s people. We must work against it.
Grace, as we’ve seen over and over already, most of the things the Preacher addressed in Ecclesiastes are every bit as relevant today as they were then. That is certainly true of the systemic oppression of the most vulnerable.
Look with me at v.8.
8 If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them.
It’s good to pause here to consider a few things: Who the Preacher suggests will be oppressed, how he thinks about oppression, why his readers should not be surprised to find it, and what the alternative is.
Who Are the Oppressed?
Who are the most likely to be oppressed? In the opening clause of this passage we find the answer, “If you see in a province the oppression of the poor…”. The poor are most likely to be oppressed because, virtually by definition, they have the least ability to fight against it and are the least likely to have people in their lives to do so for them. It is a lot easier to hold someone down when they are genuinely forced to choose between principles and starvation.
It is absolutely critical for the Church, the people of God, to stand up against oppression and for the oppressed because doing so is a picture of the gospel. When we fight against oppression and for the oppressed, according to God’s example and command, we become living pictures of God’s saving grace. We were entirely oppressed by sin, unable to get out from under its yolk, and needed someone greater to plead our clause. Jesus did that for all who will receive Him, not because we deserved it, but because He chose to set His love upon us.
What Is Oppression?
What exactly is oppression, though? The definition I offered in my previous sermon was this: “Oppression is sinfully holding someone down economically, morally, legally, or in the way of their innate dignity as a divine image bearer; it is exploitation; it is imposing unbiblical and unbearable burdens on another.”
That is very much in line with what the Preacher wrote here.
8 If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness…
Oppression is a particular kind of violation of justice and righteousness among a particular kind of people.
This too, therefore, is particularly grievous because it is particularly tied to God’s very nature. God does not merely act justly and righteously; He is just and righteous. Oppression is, therefore, at its core a grave evil because it is a rejection of the goodness of God. To oppress someone is to mock God.
Why Is Oppression Not Surprising?
We’ve seen most of that already in Ecclesiastes. The primary new contribution this passage adds to what the Preacher has already said on oppression is found at the end of v.8. There he explains why we shouldn’t be surprised to find oppression among the poor.
8 If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them.
The oppression of individuals is not surprising, the Preacher taught, because there are systems in place to all but guarantee it. There are a number of interpretations of the final clause of v.8. The gist of all of them is basically the same though.
In every society, for various reasons, there is always someone at the top of a pyramid of power. Often, the person at the pinnacle will use his power to extract a bit more than justice dictates from those just below him; that is, to oppress them. In order to recoup their losses and act in kind, those on the next level down do the same to those just below them; they oppress as they’ve been oppressed. Down and down it goes until it reaches the bottom—the poor. And since there is no one below the poor, they are forced to endure oppression without being able to pass it on. Those already struggling are forced to struggle doubly—to be oppressed without opportunity to gain back what they lost through oppression by oppressing others.
That is the definition of systemic oppression. It is a system built on oppression in which those at the top are inherently able and incentivized to keep this system in place as it ensures their advantage. The Preacher observed the universal presence of that kind of system among mankind and for that reason saw how unsurprising it is to find the poor being oppressed.
To be clear, even though systemic oppression is common and unsurprising, it is evil. It is wicked. God hates it and so should we. God is working against it and so should we. The question is how. The world has one answer. We’ll see God’s in a bit.
What Is the Alternative to Systemic Oppression?
Like the end of v.8, the specifics of v.9 are hard to interpret. It is one of the least clear clauses in a book filled with unclear clauses. Within this context, however, the big-picture meaning is probably clear: There is an alternative to the systemic oppression of the poor and it often begins at the top of the power structure.
9 But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.
Again, the exact meaning of this idea is not agreed upon, but the big picture is that those at the top have significant influence on what happens below them. When a king oppresses, his subjects will often follow suit. But when a king refuses to oppress those below him, that tends to trickle down too. When a king has the best interest of his subjects in mind, when he refuses to oppress them, then everyone is better off.
To the passage, when a king takes more than is right of his country’s land or its produce, there is inevitably systemic loss. But when a king is committed to justice, there is gain in every way—men are incentivized to work hard to plant, tend, harvest, and to generously share when they don’t have to fear those above them stealing from them. There is dignity in that. There is reward in that. There is gain in every way in that.
Better still is the king who not only refuses to oppress those below him, but by God’s design, punishes severely those who do. And greatest of all is the king who does all of that to honor God and bless the whole society.
We catch a glimpse of this in the story of Joseph’s rule over Egypt.
Again, the best under the sun chance for a society to minimize systemic oppression is when its highest leader avoids and punishes it. At the same time, Grace, it need not start at the top. Anyone, at any level, who refuses to pass down the oppression that comes upon them can serve as a powerful disruptor of systemic oppression.
We catch a glimpse of this in the story of Boaz and Ruth.
Grace, oppression—especially of the poor—has been a part of the way mankind has treated one another since the Fall. It is not surprising when we find it; it is surprising when we don’t. It isn’t surprising because oppression tends to start at the top and whenever it does, everyone below is incentivized to pass down the oppression. This is called systemic oppression (oppression built into the very fabric of how a society functions).
The alternative to this is a society in which there are sacrificial, systemic-oppression disruptors. Before we get to the heart of an oppression-disruptor, let’s take a look at the next few verses to see the heart of a systemic-oppression creator. What is it that drives people to oppress systematically?
HOLLOW WEALTH (10-12)
In order to answer that question, as we reread the next few verses (10-12), we must see the connection between them and the ones we just considered (8-9).
10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. 11 When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? 12 Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.
What’s the connection between the two passages? The love of money and the lengths that some are willing to go to feed it is often at the heart the desire to oppress others.
It is the longing for more and more money that leads to greater and greater willingness to do whatever it takes to get it. When money is your highest love, it’s not hard to justify getting it at the expense of others.
In other words, wherever there is love of money, there will almost certainly be significant amounts of systemic oppression. Since the love of money was everywhere the Preacher looked, so too was systemic oppression, and especially of those without it.
All of that begs the question…What is it that those who love money are really after? What is it that they hope money will provide for them? It must be significant since it makes them willing to take part in the systemic oppression of the most vulnerable among them to get it.
Implied in vs.10-12 are the Preacher’s answers: Satisfaction, friends, and peace. That’s not so bad, right? Those are good, desirable things. Who doesn’t want those things? Clearly, oppression is not a God-ordained or God-honoring means of acquiring those things, but the things themselves aren’t the issue.
And that begs another question…Does the love of money, leading to systemic oppression, deliver on its promise to provide satisfaction, friends, and peace? Does it even work? Let’s look at the last few verses of our passage a bit closer to find out.
Money Can’t Satisfy (10)
Can money deliver on its promise to satisfy (and therein bring any measure of justification to gaining it through the oppression of others)? V.10.
10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.
The heart of this line of thinking is simple. Those who love money don’t really love money. Who cares about a hunk of gold or a piece of paper or a bunch of computer code (or whatever form currency takes)? Those who love money actually love something they believe money can provide for them—power, stuff, admiration. But deeper still, they don’t really love those things either. They really love the thing they believe those things can provide for them—genuine satisfaction.
Once again, the simple question is whether or not money can actually provide genuine satisfaction. The Preacher found—both in himself and in everyone he observed—that neither money nor anything it can buy are able to provide it.
Have you ever had poison ivy…I mean really had poison ivy? If so, you know how maddening it can be. The entire time you have it you are faced with the decision of whether or not to scratch it. The itch is always there, you know you shouldn’t scratch it since that will only make it worse, but when you do it really does provide a moment of amazing relief.
The Preacher saw clearly that that is exactly what money and stuff is to the God-given, sin-distorted desire to be satisfied. The desire to be satisfied is ever-present in us all. We must find a way to satisfy it. Money promises to do so, and it often does for a brief moment. In the end, however, loving it only makes things worse no matter how much we have.
And that makes the willingness to create systems that ensure our ability to get more of it by means of oppression both sinful and absurd.
Wealth Brings Hangers-on (11)
But what about friends? Can money provide genuine friendships and the satisfaction that comes from them? If so, maybe loving it and oppressing others to get it makes some sense?
The second realization the Preacher came to regarding money is that not only can it not satisfy by accumulating large sums of it, but it actually brings with it various forms of dissatisfaction. Not only does it not work, but it also works against the very thing we’re after. He named two specific examples of this, one in v.11 and another in v.12.
11 When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes?
I had a friend in high school whose dad owned a grocery store. My friend worked there and made more money than he should have by doing so (since his dad owned it). Knowing that, I often went to a local restaurant with him for lunch in the hope/expectation that he’d buy me an ice-cream cone if I did. Often he did, often because I made him feel guilty for not. I didn’t think much of it then, but looking back, that was pretty pathetic.
This is that. The Preacher observed that money and stuff will certainly make people want to be around you—the more, the more—but they are there for your stuff, not your friendship. More often than not, they’re only there to play with your toys, eat your food, and gain from your gain. Once those things are gone or you get tired of offering it to them, they’ll move onto the next host.
At best, much money and stuff make it harder to tell who in your life is a true friend and who is a parasite.
And that makes the willingness to create systems that ensure our ability to get more money and more “friends” by means of oppression both sinful and absurd.
Wealth Disrupts Sleep (12)
Money can’t buy satisfaction or genuine friendships, but what about peace? Can it buy peace? Of course, right? More money means we can buy security systems, guards, safer houses, in safer places, right? Maybe even more importantly, enough money means never having to worry about having food, clothes, a home, and medical attention, doesn’t it? And when we have all that—the absence of which is most often the source of anxiety and worry—peace necessarily follows, yes?
12 Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.
Another of sin’s tactics is to deceive people into believing that anything other than God can protect. The fact that world history is filled with story after story after story of men and women losing everything they have overnight (to fire, famine, war, prosecution, theft, gross mismanagement, etc.), and yet people still trust in money to protect, proves how deceptive sin really is.
The simple fact of the matter is that working hard with a clean conscience has always been the best recipe for good rest. The more the love of money drives someone—whether for satisfaction, friendship, safety, or something else entirely—the less peaceful they tend to be. The Preacher saw this 3000 years ago and we see it all around us still today.
And that makes the willingness to create systems that ensure our ability to get more money by means of oppression in the hope that it will provide more peace is both sinful and absurd.
Grace, the Preacher looked out and saw the poor being systemically oppressed as a means of gaining money as a means of gaining satisfaction, friendship, and peace. Bue he also saw as clear as day that money cannot deliver on what it promises. Which means that the systemic oppression, fabricated and propped up to get those things can’t deliver any of them. It’s all a house of cards. It’s all a gigantic, satanic Ponzi scheme.
Have you given yourself over to gaining money and stuff in the hope that it will provide satisfaction? Have you been willing to use others in order to get it to get it?
Have you tried to use your stuff to attract people to you out of a desire to gain friendships? Have you been willing to use others in order to get them?
Have you tried to get enough money and stuff to provide a sense of protection and peace? Have you been willing to use others in order to get them?
If you answered “yes” to any of those questions (which all of us have to some degree), learn from the Preacher. Money can only make hollow promises. It cannot deliver any of the things people seek from it for more than a brief moment. And that makes the willingness to create systems that ensure our ability to get more money by means of oppression both sinful and absurd.
THE TWO GREATEST COMMANDMENTS TO END OPPRESSION
What’s to be done about this? The above the sun answer, as I mentioned earlier, is that God’s people become oppression-disruptors. Wherever we are in the power pyramid of our society, we work to disrupt the system. But how do we do that? Jesus gave the two-part answer in no uncertain terms. The first part is found in Matt 22:34-37.
Matthew 22:34-38 …when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment.
If we want to fight against systemic oppression (and we must), we ignore the world’s suggestions (no matter how emotionally or loudly they offer them) and listen to the wisdom of the One who has all knowledge and authority. What does He say? He says, He commands (for the greatest good), that we do so by loving Him above everything, including money.
If the love of money is at the root of our willingness to participate in the systemic oppression of the poor, then the love of God is the root of rightly hating it and destroying it from the inside out. To love God with everything we have is to find our true satisfaction in Him. It is to love what He loves and hate what He hates. By its very nature, then, loving God is to reject the very thing that often drives people to oppress others. That leads to the second part of Jesus’ answer.
Matthew 22:39 And a second [greatest commandment] is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
To love God with everything is to be freed from the love of money and the willingness to take part in the oppressive systems that feed it. But it is also to love our neighbors, which is to long for them to love God with all they have and it is to be willing to sacrificially disrupt their oppression.
To love our neighbor as Jesus commands is to long for them to find their satisfaction in God and to demonstrate that by serving them and not allowing others to exploit them.
Grace, this is a trustworthy saying: Any time our love is misdirected or mis-apportioned, it always ends in some form of pathology. The Preacher helps us see that the love of money is always misdirected and mis-apportioned love. And for that reason, the love of money always leads to dissatisfaction, broken relationships, and restlessness.
Jesus helps us to see that the love of God and neighbor is always rightly-directed and properly-apportioned love. It alone is oppression-disrupting love. And it alone leads to true satisfaction, genuine friendships, and peace. And as it (love for God and neighbor) spreads, oppression (systemic or otherwise) will be disrupted and die.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I’d like to exhort us all in two ways. First, set your heart in love on God and neighbor (in that order), and then do something out of it. Work with TFG, pursue adoption, start a business in order to provide someone with gainful employment, volunteer to tutor at-risk kids, provide job training for someone, speak out against the injustices in our society. As Christians we cannot be indifferent to the earthly suffering of others.
Second, I exhort you all to refuse to (1) pit addressing the earthly oppression of others against addressing their spiritual oppression, or (2) to wrongly put them on the same plain. God’s people see the need to address both, but also that fighting against spiritual oppression is the greatest need of all.
If you love God and neighbor well enough to end every earthly oppression—individual and systemic—you’ve done a good thing. And yet the good thing by itself is to bring a glass of cold water to someone burning alive. It’s not nothing, but it’s certainly not much help for their greatest need.
As we turn now to the Lord’s Supper, we praise God that Jesus modeled and commanded that we love God and neighbor in such a way that in fighting against under the sun oppression we give glory to God and greater credibility to the gospel’s promise to meet their above the sun needs.