# Ecclesiastes 4:1-3 & 5:8-9: Being Merciful Psalm 49:12-13 Proverbs 18:1 *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. And I thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive. But better than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.* Ecclesiastes 4:1-3 *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. But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.* Ecclesiastes 5:8-9 ## Oppression exists & it's common I have given this sermon the title “Being Merciful”. Mercy is a characteristic of God and he wants it to be characteristic of his people too. The passages from Ecclesiastes we are looking at here are about the opposite of mercy, they are about oppression. In our passage it is taken as a given that oppression goes on. It has always gone on and as long as people keep on sinning people will continue to oppress others. ## God hates oppression Oppression is talked about time and time again throughout the Bible and it is clear that it makes God angry. Isaiah 30:12-14 says *Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, “Because you despise this word and trust in oppression and perverseness and rely on them, therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach in a high wall, bulging out, and about to collapse, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant; and its breaking is like that of a potter's vessel that is smashed so ruthlessly that among its fragments not a shard is found with which to take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern.”* In Luke 11:46 Jesus says *“Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.* ## We hate oppression I think we also have an inbuilt repulsion against the injustice of oppression. I believe that this repulsion is part of the way we can see we are made in God’s image. Oppression is harder than misfortune. When an accident happens and someone is harmed or killed, it is a hard thing. But oppression is harder. If it is an accident there may have been nothing that could have been done to avoid it. The thing that is hard about oppression is that it could always have been avoided, but someone chose cruelty over kindness. It didn’t have to be that way, it should have been different and it was someone’s fault. Solomon finds the consideration of oppression so heart rending that he says: *“I thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive. But better than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.”* Have you ever heard something that has made you react in that way? I know I have. Just as an example my brother Dave served a tour with the army in Afghanistan. When I found out he was going I wanted to understand more about the history and the circumstances in that country. What I read made me so sad for the people of that nation. The oppression that the Afghans have suffered at the hands of the Communists from inside their country, the Soviet invasion, the civil war that ensued, genocides, extreme Islamists, organised criminals turning Afghanistan into the heroin factory of the world, the Taliban, and then the war led by the US. So much oppression and suffering, it is hard to comprehend. ## What is oppression? So what is oppression? Is it something distant from us? Whilst thinking about this passage I have come to think that oppression is something that is common. In greater or lesser measure you might say all of us have experienced oppression and all of us are guilty of oppressing others. It could take any number of forms: * Removing or limiting someone’s freedom, * Imprisonment * Taking things from people * Separating people from people they care about * Insulting, mocking or belittling * Excluding, isolating * Injuring * Killing * Threatening * Starving * Deception * Coercion, manipulation ## Power is needed to oppress In the passage we are looking at it says *“on the side of their oppressors there was power”.* Power is a necessary ingredient for oppression to occur. The greater the power, the greater the harm that is possible from its abuse. Yet even with small amounts of power we can cause harm and oppress. Power in and of itself is not the problem. When doing DIY I love having power tools which speed up the work but I’m careful that the power of the tool is not misdirected. When travelling I love having the power of the engine in my car in addition to the strength in my legs, but it’s important that that power is controlled. Peter says (1 Peter 4:8) *Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.* If the person with power loves those in their charge then power is an advantage. When it is absent, and other things are present the powerful person can be an oppressor. ## Reasons why people oppress What causes people to oppress others? I think there are many reasons. ### Fear Fear can lead to oppression. In Exodus chapter 1 we read that the Pharaoh was afraid of the Israelites growing strong enough to challenge him. His reaction was to subdue the whole population, turn them to slaves and set them to back breaking labour. Not satisfied with that he ordered a whole generation of newborn baby boys to be killed. We can see this played out in modern dictatorships where the police state has everyone under surveillance. People are right to warn about the consequences of fear mongering in the press. We must uphold justice when people do things wrong, but we must not make innocent people pay for the crimes of others by scapegoating. Fear can lead us to be oppressive to the people nearest to us. In a marriage fear of being controlled could lead us into being controlling. Fear of losing someone could lead us into trying to confine them. We must fight against fearing the wrong thing. 1 John 4:18 says *There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.* ## Greed Another powerful motive that leads people to oppress others is greed. Valuing money in our pockets over other’s wellbeing. The minor prophets are full of rage at the powerful within Israel who oppress their brothers simply to grow rich. In Micah 2:1-3 it says *Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds! When the morning dawns, they perform it, because it is in the power of their hand. They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them away; they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance. Therefore thus says the Lord: behold, against this family I am devising disaster, from which you cannot remove your necks, and you shall not walk haughtily, for it will be a time of disaster.* Often these evil motives join forces. Pharaoh partly oppressed the Israelites out of fear but I think greed played a part too. Greed has always been and still is a powerful motive to make people oppress others. Organised crime, protection rackets, prostitution rings, drug dealing is all achieved by oppression. Our financial systems are geared up to extract greater profit out of people by charging them interest. Many people are trapped in debt and sharp lending practices are condoned, even encouraged by our laws. The rich are protected and the poor are exposed. In our own dealings we should not always look to squeeze the most we can out of every deal, pay a person the least we can, take advantage of another’s misfortune. ## Detachment/indifference Ecc 5:8-9 says *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.* I think this tells us about how much easier it is to oppress if you are at a distance from the person being oppressed. For anyone in a position of influence I think it is good for them to make the time and the effort to get to know at least some of the people affected by their actions. For myself this means making myself get out to the building sites where my designs are being built, talking to some of the guys building it, coming to an understanding of what they are being asked to do and doing what I can to keep them safe. Perhaps it also means looking at where my savings are being kept and potentially moving them if I’m worried about the interest is being generated or how the money is invested. ## Malice Sometimes people oppress simply because they want to be cruel, they want to feel powerful by seeing someone suffer. Where we encounter Satan in the scriptures there seems to be little else to motivate Satan’s attacks on people other than a perverse desire to seek people’s harm. There doesn’t appear to be anything in it for him. Sadly people can also be like that. I went through a lot of bullying and I saw others being bullied in school. That same perverse enjoyment from feeling power over another is common. You often see children taunting one another but bullying can continue into adulthood. It can take many forms from violence, to insults, to excluding/isolating people. ## Jealousy King Saul was jealous when David won the admiration of Israel by defeating Goliath and by his military success against the oppressive occupying Philistines. In Saul’s jealousy he took David’s wife, tried to kill him numerous times ultimately driving him from the country into the land of his enemies. There was also Cain who in his jealousy that God looked favourably on Abel’s offering and not on his and killed him. There was also Joseph’s brothers who sold Joseph into slavery because they were jealous of the way their father loved Joseph the best. In our own lives we could be jealous of the admiration a hard working colleague gets at work, or perhaps we could be jealous of the attention another guy is getting from a girl we like so the temptation is to undermine their prospects, stain their reputation. We must avoid being jealous of others. If someone does well we should be pleased for them and not begrudge what they have and the admiration they may receive from others. ## Revenge There is also revenge. Joseph’s brothers carried out a slaughter in revenge for the rape of their sister Dinah. Absalom murdered Amnon in revenge because Amnon raped Absalom’s sister Tamar. Joab murdered Abner in revenge for Abner killing Joab’s brother Asahel in battle. In Romans 12:19 *Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”* ## Superiority Another thing that can lead to oppression is when someone feels they are superior to another. In the Old Testament the Assyrians sent their General Rabshakeh to taunt King Hezekiah and the Israelites, telling them to surrender because they were weak and would be defeated by the weakest parts of the Assyrian army. Superiority has led to all kinds of oppression throughout the ages. In the Colonial era there was a firmly held belief in the superiority of white people over the other races of the world. That white supremacy has led to the oppression of black, hispanic, native americans and asian people in the USA is well documented. In Nazi Germany the same kind of supremacy led to the genocide of the Jews. We must always be on guard against any kind of feeling of superiority for any reason * Intellectual * Ethnic * Religious * Class * Lifestyle In our own country the people most frequently talked about as if they were inferior are * chavs, which is a type of class prejudice. Should we even use this word in our vocabulary? Isn’t it inherently derogatory? Is there a group of people within our society which deserve our scorn, don’t merit our trust and aren’t worthy of our time because they fit in this label? * Gypsies, which is a type of racial and lifestyle prejudice. Is there anything fundamentally wrong with having no fixed abode? Weren’t the patriarchs and the whole nation of Israel during the Exodus, our Lord Jesus and his Apostles travellers too? * People in the service or retail industries. It’s so easy to treat people as second class citizens, to complain unfairly, to be rude. We must remember that we are all made in God’s image. We are all valuable. Galatians 3:28 *There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.* Philippians 2:3 *Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.* ## The good use of power Power, as I mentioned earlier is not inherently bad but it always brings with it the potential to oppress. None of us should consider ourselves to be totally powerless. None of us should think that we cannot be oppressors. We should not diminish in our minds any act of cruelty we might be tempted to do. Who knows how much harm we may cause another? Some people are resilient, others are weak, we aren’t to know. Power however can be put to use in good ways. It is God’s will that our ingenuity, organisation, intelligence be put to good use. There are wonderful laws in the Old Testament such as the owner of a field must not glean to the edge of their fields but must leave some for the poor and the traveller. In Micah 6:8 it says *He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.* Power should be used to * Uphold justice * Protect the weak * Relieve suffering * Ensure people’s freedom * Make people productive Boaz is a wonderful example in the Old Testament of a powerful man who used his power in exactly this kind of way. He was a wealthy man with a large farm with lots of workers. He allowed the poor to work on his fields. Not only that but he took notice of them. He noticed Ruth coming to work on the fields and took notice of her. He made sure she was protected, he gave her extra food because he knew she was supporting her mother in law and he invited her to eat with his workers. We can learn from his example how to be kind to people who are in our care whether they are our family, children, colleagues, employees, people serving us at a restaurant or tenants in our houses. The Bible challenges us to be generous. Matthew 19:21 *Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”* ## Solidarity with the oppressed We do not need to be powerful or influential to help the oppressed. Jesus praised the poor widow for putting her last penny into the offering for the poor. Jesus himself did not have much money, nor a place in government but he talked with the poor and the outcast. He taught them and he became their friends. The apostles followed Jesus’ example. They didn’t seek earthly power but became friends of the poor and the outcast. James 1:27 *Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.* ## This is a challenge to us It is good to obtain freedom from oppression for ourselves and other where we can In 1 Corinthians 7:20-24 Paul says *Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a slave when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) For he who was called in the Lord as a slave is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a slave of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.* In light of this verse I think it is good where we can to loose ourselves from oppression and bondage and to be free. The most common example of that within our society is to be free of the burden of debt. By extension I also think it is good to do what we can to secure the freedom of others. Two great champions of the faith in my eyes are William Wilberforce who struggled to secure the freedom of black slaves in the British Empire and Martin Luther King Jr who struggled to end the oppression of blacks in the USA. We may find ourselves in a position to do this if we see someone wrongly accused, we can stand up for them. We may see someone isolated and lonely, we can befriend them. ## The Lord is our comforter & hope when we are oppressed What about when we are oppressed? If we believe in Jesus then we have a greater reason to hope in our sufferings than can be found anywhere. Paul says to the Romans (8:31-39) *If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.* If we have faith in Jesus that he is true to his word and that he will forgive us our sins and give us eternal life where there will be no more pain, and no more tears then with Paul we can say that *“if God is for us, who can be against us?”*