“Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them.” Ecclesiastes 4:1
August 11, 2022
James Boice tells the story of an amateur mountain climber who fell over the side of a steep precipice which dropped off to a cavern thousands of feet below. One lone scraggly bush clung to the face of the cliff and the climber desperately grasped it to keep from plunging into the abyss. But the bush was not strong enough to bear his weight and began slowly to work lose from its roots. In sheer terror the climber screamed to heaven, ‘Is there anyone up there who can help me?’ Suddenly a sonorous bass voice was heard from the clouds. ‘Yes, I can help you. But you must trust me. Let go of the bush.’ The climber stole a glance downward and then looked again toward heaven. He exclaimed. ‘Is there anyone else up there who can help?!’
This story illustrates a dominating world and life view in our culture today. One manifestation of it travels under the banner “deconstructing traditional systems and structures deemed to be oppressive, and redistributing power and resources from oppressors to their victims in the pursuit of equality of outcome.”**
The writer of Ecclesiastes, among other problems, sketches the problem of oppression (4:1-3). Those in power get richer at the expense of this whom they are oppressing. Without God the unfairness of life can drive one to depression and despair. But don’t hang up on Ecclesiastes. The point of the book is that the hopelessness of life without God should smoke us out of our cave of despair to the fear of God and the worship of Him. That’s where the joy is (8:15, “So I commended enjoyment”). Run to the Gospel. H
**Why Social Justice Is Not Biblical Justice, Scott David Allen