The Crooked Timber of Mankind: Text: Ecclesiastes 5:8-9
Introduction: Don't Be Surprised
The Preacher in Ecclesiastes is a master realist. He is not a cynic, for cynicism is the bitter fruit of a disappointed idealism. The cynic is a man who once believed men were angels and is now perpetually soured because they are not. The Preacher, on the other hand, is a man who fears God, and therefore sees the world as it actually is, under the sun. He sees the vanity, the repetition, the striving after wind, but he also sees that this world is God's world, and that our duty is to fear Him and keep His commandments. This is the only path to sanity.
In our text today, the Preacher turns his gaze to the realm of politics and civil government. For many, this is the great stumbling block. We see corruption, injustice, and the oppression of the poor, and our modern sensibilities are scandalized. We demand that someone, somewhere, fix it all, right now. We are astonished, we are outraged, we are ready to burn it all down and start over with a new committee. But the Preacher's counsel is steadying and deeply wise. He tells us, in essence, "Don't be surprised."
This is not a call to apathy or resignation. It is a call to realism, grounded in a robust doctrine of creation and fall. God has instituted civil government for the good of man. Hierarchy and authority are woven into the fabric of creation; they are not, as the egalitarians would have it, a result of the fall. But because man is fallen, every institution he touches is marred by sin. To expect a sinless government from sinful men is like expecting to reap figs from thistles. It is a fool's errand. The surprise is not that governments are corrupt; the surprise is that they ever function at all, which is a testimony to God's common grace.
So, the Preacher gives us two things here. First, a dose of smelling salts to wake us from our utopian dreams about politics. He shows us the problem of fallen hierarchy. But second, he shows us the solution. It is not a ten-point plan or a new political party. It is a certain kind of king, a certain kind of ruler. And in this, as with all of Solomon's wisdom, we find our gaze being directed ultimately to the one true King.
The Text
If you see oppression of the poor and robbery of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished over the matter; for a lofty one keeps watch over another lofty one, and there are loftier ones over them. But the advantage of the land in everything is this, a king committed to a cultivated field.
(Ecclesiastes 5:8-9)
Fallen Ladders (v. 8)
We begin with the diagnosis of the problem.
"If you see oppression of the poor and robbery of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished over the matter; for a lofty one keeps watch over another lofty one, and there are loftier ones over them." (Ecclesiastes 5:8)
The Preacher starts with a common sight in a fallen world: corruption in the fly-over states, out in the provinces. The poor are getting squeezed, and justice is not just delayed, it is mugged in a dark alley. The scales are rigged. Righteousness is for sale to the highest bidder. This is not some shocking exposé from a muckraking journalist; this is Tuesday. And the first command is "do not be astonished."
Why shouldn't we be surprised? Because of the nature of fallen bureaucracy. "For a lofty one keeps watch over another lofty one, and there are loftier ones over them." This is a picture of a governmental food chain. You have a local official, and he answers to a regional one, who answers to a national one, and so on up the ladder. In a perfect world, this hierarchy would be a channel for justice and accountability. The higher-ups would correct the abuses of the lower-downs. But in a fallen world, this structure often becomes a mechanism for protecting corruption, not punishing it.
The Hebrew describes a system of surveillance, but not for the sake of justice. It is the kind of "watching" that accomplices do. The regional manager knows the local guy is skimming, but he gets a cut. The national director knows the regional manager is crooked, but he needs his support for the next promotion. It is a pyramid of complicity. Each lofty one provides cover for the one below him, and they all scratch each other's backs. To appeal for justice in such a system is like asking the wolves to investigate the disappearance of the sheep. They will form a committee, express their deep concern, and then go back to their mutton.
This is what happens when men forget God. Authority, which was designed by God to reflect His own righteous rule, becomes a tool for personal enrichment and oppression. The system becomes a closed loop, accountable only to itself. The complaint forms are filed in triplicate, and then used to light cigars. This is the vanity of man building his towers of Babel. They are intricate, impressive, and utterly corrupt. To be astonished by this is to be naive about the doctrine of sin. Sin is not just a personal failing; it is a structural reality. It builds empires of injustice. The Preacher is telling us to be realists, not revolutionaries in the godless sense. The solution is not to tear down all hierarchy, which would be to trade organized sin for chaotic sin. The solution is found in the next verse.
The Agrarian King (v. 9)
After this grimly realistic picture of bureaucratic sclerosis, the Preacher offers the remedy. And it is a surprising one.
"But the advantage of the land in everything is this, a king committed to a cultivated field." (Ecclesiastes 5:9)
The answer to top-heavy, corrupt, and parasitic government is not another layer of bureaucracy. It is not a new oversight committee. The advantage, the profit, the thing that makes a nation truly flourish, is a king who is tethered to the real world. A king for a field. A ruler who understands that wealth does not come from printing money, or from shuffling papers, or from levying taxes on taxes. Wealth comes from the ground. It comes from productive work.
This is a profoundly earthy and practical piece of political wisdom. The "cultivated field" represents the real economy. It is agriculture, yes, but by extension it is all forms of genuine productivity, making things that people actually need. A wise king, a godly king, is one who serves this productive capacity. He doesn't see the fields as something to be plundered for his pet projects, but as something to be served, cultivated, and protected. His policies are geared toward ensuring that the farmer, the craftsman, the merchant can do their work and enjoy its fruits. He is a king for the field, not a king against the field.
Notice the contrast. The corrupt officials in verse 8 are all looking up, watching the next person on the ladder, concerned with their position in the hierarchy. They are parasites on the system. The good king in verse 9 is looking down, at the soil, at the foundation of his kingdom's prosperity. He is a cultivator. He understands that his own prosperity is tied to the prosperity of his people. As the field is served, so the king himself is served by the field. It is a symbiotic relationship, not a parasitic one.
This demolishes all forms of statist and socialist thinking. The state is not the source of wealth. The state is a minister, a servant, ordained by God to punish evil and praise good, so that the fields might be cultivated in peace. When the state forgets this and tries to become the field itself, when it seeks to control all production and distribution, it becomes the very engine of oppression and robbery that verse 8 describes. A king who loves the cultivated field will love property rights, stable currency, and the rule of law. A king who loves his bureaucracy will love high taxes, endless regulations, and arbitrary power.
Ultimately, this points us to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the great King who did not come to be served, but to serve. He is the one who came to cultivate His field, the world. He is the Sower who sows the good seed of the Word. He is the one who will one day root out all the weeds of injustice and burn them with unquenchable fire. He is the King who brings true and lasting prosperity, not just of the soil, but of the soul. The advantage for the whole earth, in everything, is this one King, committed to His cultivated field.
Conclusion: From Astonishment to Action
So what are we to do? The Preacher has told us not to be astonished at the corruption of the world. He has shown us that bureaucratic hierarchies in a fallen world are prone to becoming self-serving rackets. He has also shown us that the health of a nation depends on having rulers who serve the real, productive economy, not the other way around.
First, this means we should check our political expectations at the door. We are not going to build a perfect society this side of the resurrection. To place your ultimate hope in any political leader, party, or system is to set yourself up for a soul-crushing disappointment. It is idolatry, and all idols will eventually break the hearts of their worshippers.
Second, this should drive us to prayer for our leaders. We are to pray that God would grant us kings who love the cultivated field. We should pray that they would have the wisdom to understand that their job is to create a stable environment where families, churches, and businesses can flourish. We should pray for them to fear God, because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom, including political wisdom.
Third, this calls us to be faithful in our own cultivated fields. You may not be a king, but you have a sphere of dominion. You have a family, a job, a garden, a craft. Our duty is to be productive and faithful in that small plot of ground God has given us. A nation of people diligently cultivating their own fields is the greatest bulwark against a tyrannical state. A productive people are a free people. A people who look to the government for their bread are a people who will soon be in chains.
And last, we must fix our eyes on the true King of the cultivated field, the Lord Jesus. The injustices of this world should not make us cynical, but should rather make us long for His return. He is the one who will ultimately judge the lofty ones. He is the one who will wipe away every tear from the eyes of the oppressed. He is the one who will bring in the final harvest, and in His kingdom, there will be no robbery of justice, for He Himself is our righteousness. Do not be astonished by the world; be astonished by the gospel.