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Download this outline here:

Ecclesiastes 3_16-22 Sermon 7.pdf

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While Solomon observes the brokenness of earthly justice and man's mortality, he points to a coming judgment - yet for us who live under grace, Christ has already satisfied the courtroom's demands, freeing us to work not to earn but because judgment is already settled.

Things Are Not as They Should Be — But God Will Judge (Ecclesiastes 3:16–17)

Injustice Is Real

• The place of judgment is filled with wickedness.
• The place of righteousness is occupied by iniquity.
• Even the court and temple are corrupted.

Judgment Is Assured

• Solomon tells himself: God shall judge the righteous and the wicked.
• Judgment is not denied—only delayed.
• Scripture agrees:
  • Deuteronomy 16:18–20 — Judges commanded to judge justly
  • Psalm 94:2 — The Judge is called to rise
  • Isaiah 59:14–15 — Justice stands far off, but the Lord sees
  • Matthew 23:28 — Hypocrisy exposed
  • Luke 18:7–8 — God will avenge His elect

Man and Beast Both Die — But Judgment Belongs to Man (Ecclesiastes 3:18–21)

Man’s Needed Realization (Ecclesiastes 3:18)

• Solomon wants man to see that he is, in physical terms, no different from the beast.
• This is not about behavior but about bodily origin and end.
• “Beast” is the standard term for animals in KJV-era language.
• Supporting Scriptures:
  • Genesis 1:24–25 — Beasts of the earth
  • Genesis 2:7, 2:19 — Both man and animal formed from the dust
  • Ecclesiastes 3:20 — All return to the dust

The Shared Fate of Mortality (Ecclesiastes 3:19–20)

• Man and beast share the same breath and the same death.