Injustice and Oppression

Let's turn to Ecclesiastes chapter 3. And I'll begin reading in verse 16, and we'll read through verse 3 of chapter 4.

! Ecclesiastes 3. And I saw something else under the sun. In the place of judgment, wickedness was there.

In the place of justice, wickedness was there. I thought in my heart, God will bring to judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time for every deed.

I also thought, as for men, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. Man's fate is like that of the animals.

The same fate awaits them both. As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath. Man has no advantage over the animal.

Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place. All come from dust, and to dust all return. Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward, and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth.

So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they have no comforter.

Power was on the side of their oppressors, and they have no comforter. And I declared that the dead who had already died are happier than the living who are still alive.

But better than both is he who has not yet been born, who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.

I think before I start preaching, I want to say that tonight is not one of the happiest of sermons.

And in a lot of ways it's going to be hard to hear, and it's going to be hard for me to even say. Because tonight we go to places that we really don't want to go to.

And we are going to see things that we don't really want to see. And so it's appropriate that before we preached, we sang Christ is coming.

And we need to remember that throughout this whole sermon. That this sermon is the bad part of the story. And there is coming a point when Christ will come, and all of this will be put away.

So keep that in mind. And let's hear the word of God. Never shall I forget that night.

The first night in camp that turned my life into one long night, seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke.

Never shall I forget the small faces of the children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke under a silent sky. Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever.

Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes.

Never shall I forget those things, even were I condemned to live as long as God himself. Never. Never. So wrote Elie Wiesel in his book Night.

Auschwitz murdered his God and his soul. And unless we have some arrogant thought of the strength of our own faith and of our own theology, we must remember that it was not us who were swept away by injustice, but it was him.

A few months into his time at Auschwitz, he saw a child hanged. And the boy struggled for a half an hour in the noose and everyone was forced to watch.

And he writes, Behind me, I heard a man asking, Where is God? And from within me, I heard a voice answer. Where he is?

This is where. Hanging here from this gallows. If you thought Ecclesiastes was, as someone said, a bit depressing, but strangely encouraging and refreshing, then you need to hold on to your hat.

You haven't walked all the way with Koaleth. And if we're going to learn what Ecclesiastes has to teach us, then we need to take his hand and walk all the way.

So tonight he's going to take us to the abortion clinic. He's going to take us to the slums of Brazil. He's going to take us through the gates of Auschwitz.

And as I said, he's going to take us places where we do not want to go. And he makes us stare at injustice. And oppression. And he's going to give us one of God's purposes behind it.

And he'll give us a response and a warning. That's sort of where we're going. The hard facts of injustice and oppression.

One of God's purposes for it. A response and a warning. Well, last week we said that God is the sovereign of time. He's the master weaver.

And he is weaving together everyone's lives. And there's a time for everything under the sun. And it's God's time. It's not ours. And men build. And then they tear down the same building.

And they plant. And then they uproot. And they are born. And then they die. There's a time for everything under the sun. For every activity. Under heaven.

And we saw how that was a burden to us. Because as when a weaver is weaving something in the loom. On the underside. There's nothing but knots and tangles.

And it's not a very pretty picture. And that is where humanity is. God is weaving together something beautiful. And yet we can't see it. We have a hard time understanding what he's doing.

In this making of this tapestry. And that is a burden to us. It's a havel. We can't see the finished product.

And so what did he say to do? He said, enjoy life. Keep doing good. And fear God. Those three things.

Enjoy life. Do good. Fear God. But that's not the end of the story. We haven't walked all the way yet.

He ended up by saying, God is going to judge this whole thing. And he is going to look at all this. And he is going to examine everything.

And it's this thought. This thought of judgment. That jolts Coleth into thinking of another havel. Another part of the curse. And it's the havel of injustice.

Look at what the word of God says. In chapter 3, verse 16. And I saw something else. Under the sun. In the place of judgment.

Wickedness was there. In the place of justice. Wickedness was there. You've seen those children's. Those children's pictures.

Or books. Or activity books. Where they show this picture. And everything is out of place. You know. And so there's a shoe up in a tree. And then there's this baby pushing a mom.

And the baby stroller. And you know. It's kind of funny. And it's. And they're supposed to figure out. What's wrong with the picture. And this is Coleth's. Kind of sickening. Terrible version of that.

Find what is out of place. In the courtroom. Where blind justice is supposed to be. Instead of justice. There's wickedness. Instead of equity.

There are bribes. Instead of the rule of law. There's politics. Instead of righteousness. There is evil. And things are not.

Where they should be. Things are not. What they should be. And since. And since the fall. Injustice. Has marked. Man. And the affairs of men.

So. Brutal Cain. Goes for a walk. With innocent Abel. And slaughters him. And Lamech. The seventh from Cain. Boasts to his wives.

Ada. And Zillah. I have killed a man. For wounding me. A young man. For injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times. Then Lamech. Seventy seven times. So young man. Injures Lamech.

And Lamech. Will avenge. Seventy. Seventy seven times. It's not a tooth for a tooth. It's not an eye for an eye. It's. A life. For a tooth.

And a life. For an eye. And we can go into the courtrooms. Of our land. And justices. Take it upon themselves. To be.

To write. And create. Law. Instead of judging. According to law. They make law. They are a law to themselves. And every man does what is right. In his own eyes. And justice has fallen in the streets.

Since 1973. The highest court in our land. Says it is right. To wage. Chemical warfare. On a fetus. In its mother's womb.

It's right. It's legitimate. To cut. And maim. A baby. In the protective. Place. Hiding place. Of his mother's own body. And the supreme court.

Calls it a right. And the mothers do it. So where there should be defense. There's attack. Where men should be standing up.

For the innocent. They are attacking. The innocent. And the weak. In the place of justice. There is wickedness. And in the place of protection. There's murder.

And the supreme court. Has havel. Written. All over it. Injustice. Is part. Of living. In a God. Cursed. World.

God gives men. Over to their. To their sin. And in their sinfulness. Men destroy. Justice. And so brothers and sisters.

Don't. Be. Surprised. When the courts. Go haywire. Don't be surprised. When you find men. Taking bribes. Don't be surprised. When men. Corrupt.

Impartiality. For political gain. This is a fallen. And it's a twisted world. And injustice. Is inevitable. It's not what it's supposed to be.

And it should make us yearn. For God's justice. For God's judgment. Men's justice. Has failed. And we need.

God. To judge. And his judgment. Is still waiting. Look at verse 17. I thought in my heart. God will bring to judgment.

Both the righteous. And the wicked. For there will be a time. For every activity. A time. For every deed. So. Koalath. Looks at this situation. That. That he was facing.

And that all of us face. He looks at injustice. And he responds. In faith. He says. I know. Justice. Is coming. There seems to be.

A time. And a place. For everything. Everything. Except for justice. And yet. He says. There is going to be. A time. And a place. For that too. In God's time. God will judge. The wicked.

And the righteous. Every wrong. Will be righted. God will take. Justice. Will give justice. To every aborted baby. God will give justice.

To every incinerated. Child. In Auschwitz. God will give justice. To that boy. Who was hanged. And justice. Is scarce. Now. It's a scarce commodity.

But it's coming. It's coming. And the question comes. Why the wait? Why the wait?

Why doesn't God send justice. Now? Where is God? God. In verses 18 through 20. Coleth tells us. One of the reasons.

That God. Let's injustice. Go on and on. Despite the prayers of his people. Despite the work of his people. Why is just injustice. Just keep going on.

Verse 18. I also thought. As for men. God tests them. So that they may see. That they are like. The animals. One reason.

That God. Allows injustice. Is so that men. Can see. What they are. What they are like. God. Is testing man. He's giving man.

A full. Opportunity. To show. What they're made of. What's the quality. Of a man. Well. God gives us. An opportunity. He puts the test. Before us. And how do we do?

How do we do. On the test. We fail. Miserably. We're like animals. He says. We're like animals. In our culture. In our societies. We show ourselves.

To be no better. Than beasts. You can say. Well. How so? How so? Well. When we give up justice. Then.

We're giving something up. Of our humanity. When we give up justice. We act like animals. And it doesn't see. It doesn't take much long.

To see. How true. This is. If you look around. Many people treat. Their pets. Better than their children.

And. Orphans. Are denied their rights. Widows are sold. For a loaf of bread. The elderly are conned. And their money. Is taken from them.

The poor. Who can't afford. Legal representation. Or just given over. To governments. And to corporations. And the only law. Fallen humanity. Knows. Is the law.

Of the jungle. Only. The strong survive. And everyone else. Is going to be devoured. And see. Total depravity. It's at work. It's not only at work.

In our hearts. As individuals. But it reaches. Into everything. That we do. It warps. Everything. About humanity. And God. Withholds justice.

So that we can see. How. Bad. We are. See. We aren't basically good. That is one of the most resilient. Ideas. In humanity's mind.

That no matter what they see. They say. Oh. We're basically good. But we're not basically good. We're basically beastly. And it doesn't take much. For our animal like hearts.

To come out. So what do you think. Would happen. If for some reason. Our government. And. Our police. And our civil authorities.

Weren't around to keep order. Let's say for some reason. Our government. And all that. Fell apart tonight. How long do you think. It would take. Before men started looting.

And pillaging. And murdering. And mayhem. And rape. It probably wouldn't be. Longer than a few hours. And we would be at each other's throats. And it's only God's.

Restraining. Hand. That keeps injustice. At bay. It keeps us from destroying ourselves. In a day. And that's what we are.

And God wants us to know that. As fallen humanity. That is what we are. Maybe you saw the story. This week. Of the Guatemalan immigrant.

Who was left for dead. In New York City. He saw a man and a woman fighting. And he intervened to help. And the man stabbed him.

Several times. And then the man and the woman. Ran off. And so there he lay. For an hour. And people walked by. And did nothing to help.

And. One nearby resident. When asked about it. Asked. You know. Commented. She said this. Is anybody.

Human. Anymore. What's. Wrong. With humanity. And those. Are exactly. The questions. That. Injustice.

Should make us ask. Those are the questions. That God wants us to ask. Of ourselves. What. Is wrong. With us. We live like animals.

And so. Ecclesiastes. Goes on. And says. We die like animals. Man's fate. Is like that of the animals. The same fate. Awaits them both. As one dies. So dies the other. All have the same breath.

Man has no advantage. Over the animal. Everything. Is. Havel. All go to the same place. All come from dust. And the dust. All. Return.

Man and beast. We act the same. And we die the same. Man. And animal. Both have the same breath.

The same. Life principle. The same spirit. Of. Life. In us. And. We're both. Destined. For the grave.

Everything. As he says. Is Havel. Everything. Everything. Is bound. To fall apart. Everything. Is coming apart. Everything. Is quickly here. And gone.

Animal. And man. And how frail. We are. Breath. And dust. Are not a stable combination.

Are they? We live here. Our 70 years. And 80. If God gives us strength. And. Then we fall back. Into dust. And Coleth.

Puts it into such. Stark. Terms. Because he wants us. To take. Death. Seriously. Our cat.

Not too long ago. Brought. Us a present. Maybe your cats. Do that sometimes. And. He killed a bird. And he left it on our stoop. And. So there it was. It's little.

Still. Corpse. Was sitting there. And. Without much thought. My wife. Kicked it off the stoop. And into. Our.

Landscaping. To disintegrate. And one day. We will be as dead. As that bird. And men. Will take us away. And put us into the ground.

To disintegrate. And ashes. Ashes. We all. Fall down. And we have no advantage. You have no advantage. Over the bird. You will die.

Unless God. Returns. Unless Christ returns. And he wants us. To take that to heart. He wants us. To see. How fleeting. Our life is.

And how sure. Death is. He's going to come back. To this. Again. And again. Until. He's nailed that fact. Into our head. That we are going. To die. Well.

We need to be careful. With all this statement. With the statement. And not take it. For more than what. He's. He means by it. The similarity. Between man and beast. Is only physical.

And some. Some scholars think. That he's denying. The resurrection. That he's saying. That men are animals. That you know. They act like it. They are that. And that's all. Humanity is.

And once we die. That's it. That's the end of the story. Right. Their physical fate. Is totally similar. But that isn't. The end of the story. For man. You know.

We act like animals. And we die like animals. But the end of the story. Is different. And. I have three reasons. That I can say that. One. Coleth has already told us.

That God has put. Eternity. Into our hearts. Okay. And whatever that means. It means. That there is something. In us. That was made.

For eternity. Two. He's already said. That he will bring. Everything. Into judgment. There is a future. Judgment. That no one. Escapes. There is injustice.

Here. But there is not. Always going to be. That injustice. There is a time. For everyone. The righteous. And the wicked. To face God. He's already said that. The righteous. Will be rewarded.

And the wicked. Will be punished. And justice. Will. Be done. And. Obviously. It is not. Being done here.

And so. That means. There must. Be a time. And a place. For man. To face judgment. So. It's not clear.

It's not the end of the story. That. We die. We go to the grave. And that's it. And then three. We know the similarity. Between animal and beast. Is not absolute.

Because of what. Coalesce says next. In verse 21. 21. So look at verse 21. Now. The NIV. Translates it. As a question.

Of uncertainty. And you can. You can see it there. Who knows. If. The spirit of man. Goes upward. And if. The spirit of animal. Goes down.

Into the earth. Who knows what happens. You know. Some say. There's a difference. Between man and beast. But. Who really knows. So. Do you hear the question.

Of uncertainty. We don't. You know. We don't know. What happens. That's how the NIV. Sort of. Portrays it. And I don't think. That's the best way. To understand. This verse.

To take it as a question. Of uncertainty. The word. Excuse me. The word. If. Isn't there. In the Hebrew. The translators. Have put it there. In order to make sense. Of the question.

The new. American standard. And other. Translations. Have it as. Who knows. That. The spirit. Of man. Goes upward. And that. The spirit.

Of an animal. Goes down to the earth. So. It's not a question. Of uncertainty. It's a rhetorical question. And the NIV. Gives a similar. Alternative.

In the footnote. And you could read that. In your own. Coleth. Is not doubting. The difference. Between man and beast. He's not saying. That they're totally. The same. He's saying. Who knows this.

Who's thinking about this. This is a rhetorical question. Who's thinking. That I'm going to face God. And I'm not like an animal. Because if I was really thinking.

That I was going to face God. Then I wouldn't act. With such. Injustice. But it doesn't. Enter into anyone's mind. So people go through their life.

Living however they want. They're in a. They're autonomous. They're a law to themselves. I will do what I want. They don't care about justice. And so it's nothing for them. To defraud.

To rob. To oppress. And it's nothing for them. To see it happen to other people. And to do nothing. Because. As. We heard this morning. The fool says in his heart.

There's no God. And no one's thinking. That I'm going to face judgment. So I can do whatever I want. But. Coleth says. They don't realize. That no one gets a free pass.

They think their death is the end. They think their death is the escape. From justice. But God. Is waiting. At the end. And he will have justice.

And so. While they might live. And they might die. Like an animal. Their final fate. Is different. Their soul. Will go up. To God. There is.

A time. And a place. For judgment. And each. And every. One of us. Is going. To be there. So no one. Be fooled. Death.

Is not. Your escape. From justice. Death. Is the guarantee. That you will see justice. And so. If any of you.

Think you can make it out of this life. And commit any kind of injustice. That you want. And you'll never have to face human justice. And that's good enough for you.

There is one courtroom. That you will not escape. That you cannot skip. And it's the courtroom of God. There is very little justice here. But one day.

You will see justice. And God. Is working. On his own timetable. There's a time for it. And it's God's time. Well then the question is.

How do I respond. To this. How do I respond. To injustice. We're kind of down in the dumps.

And saying. Well what can I do. Against such evil. When men. Are totally. They're beastly. And they treat each other horribly.

What can we do. Against such evil. And here. Coalesce. Surprises us. And he hits us. With his divinely given wisdom again. Verse 22.

So I saw. That there is nothing better. For a man. To do. Than to enjoy his work. Because that. Is his lot. There's nothing better.

For a man. Than to enjoy his work. Because that. Is his lot. Isn't that a surprising. Suggestion. He tells you. In the face of injustice.

To enjoy. Your life. And. You would think. That he would say something like. Go to battle. Fight for justice. Let nothing stop you. Live.

And die. And sacrifice. In order to have justice. But he doesn't say that. He says. Enjoy your work. And. Here. That work. It. It.

Encompasses. Everything. That humanity does. Everything. That we do. Enjoy your job. Yeah. You're going to be treated. Unfairly. At your job place.

That is a fact. That is reality. But he says. Enjoy your job. Enjoy it anyways. This is your lot. God has given it. To you. So enjoy your family. Enjoy.

Eating. And drinking. Enjoy. Planning. And purchasing. Enjoy. What God has given you. To do. Enjoy it all. And maybe we're saying.

How can he say that? I mean. That doesn't make any sense. And. It shows that we're not. We're not. Catching on yet. Right.

We're not getting it. He gives us the reason. In the next sentence. For who. Can bring him. To see. What will happen. After him. So here's why you enjoy it.

Because you are going to die. And after that. Everything that happens. In the world. Will mean nothing. To you. Everything that happens.

Under the sun. You will be beyond. Your concern. The loose ends. Of your life. And. The wrongs. The injustices.

That you face. All of those things. A lot of them. Are not going to be tied up. Before you die. And you're never going to see. How God. Works out. Some of those things.

Because you'll be gone. Injustice. And injustice. Will go on in this world. Until the end. But you won't. You will die.

And you only have one life. And it's limited. In scope. You only have so much time. So much energy. And your interest. In earthly things. And earthly injustice.

And justice. Will come to an end. At one point. And so don't. Forfeit. God's gift. To you. Don't forfeit life. Because it will soon.

Be gone. And all your cares here. All your cares. Under the sun. Will be over. So brothers and sisters. We.

Can enjoy life. And we can enjoy life. In the face. Of injustice. Because God. Is guaranteeing. Justice. That's why. We can do this.

Because we don't have to be. On some mission. To make sure that. All justice is righted. Because in the final. Scheme of things. Justice. Is in God's hands. It's God's problem.

And so we. Can relax. We can be. His children. And we can enjoy. The life. That he is giving. To us. So we've seen.

The havel. Of injustice. We've seen. God's purpose. For it. He wants us. To show. Man. How. Bad. We are. And. We've seen. Our response. That. You enjoy.

Life. Now finally. A warning. And the warning. Is found. In chapters. Four. Verses. One. Through. Three. And the connection.

Between. All these sections. Are kind of tentative. But. The connection. Between. Chapter. Four. And. Chapter. Three. I think. Will be clear. Let me just read.

Verse one. There. Again. I looked. And I saw. All the oppression. That was taking place. Under the sun. So the connection. Between. These verses. And the verses. That went before it.

It. Follows. Because. Oppression. Is the flip side. Of injustice. The victims. Of injustice. Are. The oppressed. And so.

While. While we should think. About God's future judgment. And our privilege. And responsibility. To enjoy life. When we think about injustice. We need to take the next verses.

To heart. This is a warning to us. And the way that we. Look at the oppressed. The way that we. Look at them. And try to help them. And this is going to provide.

Balance. Provide balance. To our response. To injustice. We can't just say. Enjoy life. And don't care about. Anyone else. But yourself. So let's look at.

Verses 1 through 3. I saw. The tears. Of the oppressed. And they have. No comforter. Well. Why don't they have. A comforter. Because.

Power. Was on the side. Of their oppressors. And. And they have. No. Comforter. The people. In authority. The people. Who were.

Supposed to be. In the place. Of justice. Are the people. Who have power. And they are the people. Who are oppressing them. The very ones. That should be. Protecting them.

Against injustice. Are the ones. Who are perpetrating it. Upon them. And so I declared. That the dead. Who are already dead. Are happier than they. Who are living. Who are still alive. But better than both.

Is he. Who has not yet been. Who has not seen. The evil. That is done. Under the sun. The evil. Who has not seen. The evil. Who has not seen. The evil.

It's better to be dead. Sometimes. Than to face. The evil. That is done. Under the sun. And if you're saying to yourself. How can that be. How can Kola say that.

How can it be better. Never to be born. Than to be born. I mean. Is he arguing with God. God calls. And the baby is born. And what about.

Future judgment. What about God's sovereignty. That he makes everything beautiful. In its time. And if you're asking. Those kinds of questions. Like I think we have a tendency.

To do when we come to. Something like this. Then you aren't seeing. What Kola saw. With his eyes. You're not getting it.

We're not getting it. If we're. Coming at it. From a theoretical point of view. He says. I saw. The tears.

Of the oppressed. And the oppression is vivid. And he speaks. Out of the overflow. Of his heart. And not out of.

A theological position. Because. He says. I saw the tears. And it tore me up. And it's hard for us.

To hear this. And understand. What he's saying. Can it be really that bad. That you would wish to die. Or never even to be born. It's hard for us. To hear that.

And understand it. Because our lives. Are so good. We're living in. What someone called. The Disney world. Of the universe. Everything is fun. Everything is easy.

And delicious. And we don't see. The tears. Of the oppressed. We don't see it. And so we can come to this passage.

And ask all sorts of questions. That were never meant to be asked of it. In the world right now. There are 5.7 million. Child slaves.

Hidden away. And exploited. And no one. Sees them. There are another 2 million. Sex slaves.

Children. Around the world. There's 100,000 girls. In the United States. Who are sex slaves.

And we don't see them. It's like they're not there. But they are. They are there. And their tears are real. And the oppression is real.

In Brazil. It's estimated that 400 street children. Every month. Are killed. By off-duty police officers. So.

Businesses. Hire the off-duty police officer. To take care of a problem. And every month. 400 children are taken care of. And no one looks into it.

And prosecution is nearly impossible. And no one sees the tears. Of the oppressed. And we can go to the Holocaust. Where we began.

Where people like. You and me. Just normal people. The normal people. Who would never think that. They would ever see. Or do anything. Like what happened. They watched Jews.

Herded into cattle cars. By the hundreds. And thousands. And taken away. And they didn't do anything. And. You can read sometime.

Read sometime night. By. Elie Wiesel. Or. Look at the pictures. From. Darfur. In the Sudan. Look at women. Whose bodies are destroyed.

And. Children. With hands. Hacked off. And vengeance. And. Watch. A documentary. Sometime. On the Rwandan genocide. And.

See the piles. Of bones. Of human. Bones. Just stacked up. And. Colette says. If you haven't seen it. Don't you dare tell me.

That it was better for them. To be alive. Than to not have ever seen it. Don't dare tell me. It's not better to be dead. Or never have been born. Than to see the oppression.

The evil. That men do to each other. Because the oppression. In this world. Is real. And it is awful. And future.

Judgment. Doesn't make it all better. It doesn't make it all better now. And the thought of God's sovereignty. And how he's. Making everything beautiful. In this time.

It doesn't. Make it all better. Now. Those are sweet realities. Aren't they? They're sweet. They're strong. They're good. And I love them.

And you love them. But we can't. Make them do things. That they can't do. Future judgment. And God's sovereignty. They don't mitigate. The oppression.

That is going on. In the world. Now. The suffering. Of the oppressed. And we can't act like. They do. We can't. Glibly say.

To a devastated person. Oh. God works all things together. For good. Now. We can say those things. But we can't glibly say it. And we can't say. Oh.

Don't worry. God's judgment. It is coming. And everything is going to be right. So don't worry about it. We can't put a band-aid. On a gaping. Wound.

Oppression. Should tear us up. But future judgment. And God's sovereignty. Are real. They're good. There's hope there.

And those things help us. Brothers and sisters. To enjoy this life. Don't they? I just said that. They help us to enjoy this life. But we have to realize. That.

There are some people. Who. Whose families have been torn apart. And. They. They. Can't. Enjoy. Life. And their children. And their husbands. And their wives. Because they've been taken from them.

And their jobs have been stolen from them. And so they don't have any way of supplying. The needs of their family. And future judgment. Doesn't make it better now. And we can't act.

And think. Like it does. They do need. To know about those things. But more than that. They need to know about.

A God. Who understands. Oppression. And. A God. Who acted. To end it. Because he came in the person.

Of Jesus Christ. And. Listen. Again. To some of Isaiah 53. And. Listen. To it. From the perspective. Of Ecclesiastes. He was oppressed.

And afflicted. Yet. He did not open his mouth. He was led like a lamb. To the slaughter. By oppression. By oppression. And judgment. He was taken away.

He was swept away. By injustice. And he was cut off. From the land of the living. And so. God. And the person of Jesus Christ.

Entered into this world. Of abortion. And entered into this world. Of genocide. And economic. Oppression. And slavery. And. Oppression. Swept him.

Away. And he stood. In the place of judgment. And there was no justice. There was wickedness. And he got injustice.

Does that amaze you? That when the son of God. Was. Came to earth. And he was put on trial. By sinful men. He. Instead of justice. Got injustice.

Doesn't it amaze you. That God didn't obliterate the world. Just like that. But God. So loved. The world. That he gave.

His one and only son. For the transgression of my people. God says. He was stricken. For he bore the sin of many. And made intercession.

For the transgressors. So we are the beasts. And Jesus Christ. Is our savior. And he was making intercession.

For us. He was facing injustice. For us. And so. Yes. God. Knows.

Oppression. The lamb. Who was slain. Is on the throne. And so. What do we do? What do we do.

In the face. Of injustice. Well. We look forward. To future judgment. Where all the wrongs. Will be righted. We look. And we hope. For that. That's real. And that's good.

And that's precious. And we enjoy life. When God gives us. Something to enjoy. We enjoy it. Because. We're going to die. Very soon. And all this. Injustice. Injustice. These concerns.

Are going to be over. For us. So we got to enjoy. Life. As God gives it to us. And we have to go. To the cross. To find comfort. To find an answer.

We don't minimize. The sorrow. Of the oppressed. We maximize. Jesus Christ. So we don't say. Oh. It's not a big deal.

We say. It was such a big deal. That Jesus Christ. The son of God. Had to die. To end. This oppression. So. We can't put some.

Pat. Easy answer. On. This world's problems. And the. In the injustices. That people face. We can't put a band-aid. On a gaping wound. God. Did not.

Give a pat answer. He didn't minimize. Sorrow. And oppression. He. Maximized. Jesus Christ. He held him forth. And so.

How should we respond. To Elie Wiesel. At the very beginning. When he said. There was nothing. There that night. But silence. There was nothing.

Under. The sky. Except silence. And ashes. And. Obviously. God. Was not there. Is what he is saying. Well. What do we say?

We say. God is not silent. God. Is not silent. God. Demonstrates. His own love. For us. In this.

That while we were still sinners. Christ died. For us. So. Jesus Christ. Came. And he died. And he faced. Oppression.

And injustice. So that one day. Oppression will cease. It will be over. And when he comes back. He is coming in power. In glory. We saw it in Daniel.

In Sunday school. His kingdom. Will smash. All other kingdoms. And every kingdom. And every power. Will be put. Under his feet. And one. In that day. Oppression.

Will be over. So brothers and sisters. We can stare. The hard. Hard. Unpleasant. Realities of life. In the face. We can look at them.

We don't have to. Pretend like they're not there. We can look at them. Because Jesus Christ. Stared them in the face. And he overcame them. And he is our only hope. He is our only hope.

He is our only trust. And so. Let's praise him. Our heavenly father. We. Don't know what to say.

To such grace. And such goodness. That you would send your son. To such a place as this. Where men do such horrible things.

To each other. And. That grace amazes us. That.

All that Jesus Christ did. It was for sinners gain. That he should love us. Ugly. And beastly. Though we were. Thank you that we are not that anymore.

By your grace. You're transforming us. You're sanctifying us. You're making us more like Jesus. We thank you for having mercy on us.

When we look from the rock. From which we were dug. We realize that. There is nothing in us. That was beautiful. Or charming. Or anything that you would. Love us.

There's no reason for you to. Choose us. There was no reason for you. To send your son to die for us. And so we thank you. For your grace. For your mercy. For your pity.

Thank you for your great patience. Your great patience with us. Who are so slow. To believe. So slow.

To grow. Thank you for your patience. With humanity. That you are holding back your judgment. That you're. That the gospel would go forth.

And that men might repent and believe. Will you help us. To be about the business of proclaiming. Peace. Through Jesus Christ.

Our Savior. Thank you that we can enjoy life. In the face of injustice. Because. You are the sovereign. And that you hold all things in your hand.

And that you will bring all things to a good. And proper end. And we love you. We ask that you would help us to love you more. And we pray in Jesus name.

Amen.