Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun: And look! The tears of the oppressed, But they have no comforter — On the side of their oppressors there is power, But they have no comforter. 2 Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead, More than the living who are still alive.  3 Yet, better than both is he who has never existed, Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.  Ecclesiastes 4:1-3 NKJV

Under the Old Covenant, the Holy Spirit came upon only the prophet, the priest, and the king; Mary, the mother of Jesus, was an exception (Luke 1:35).  Others didn’t have the Holy Spirit to walk alone side to help: to comfort, guide, and teach them all things.  As a result, the oppressor (Satan) had power over those who lived under the Law.  They were oppressed and had no power because they didn’t have a Comforter.

Oppression is to persecute or subjugate by force; to weigh heavily upon (Webster).  Oppression requires an oppressor and the oppressed.  Oppression occurs in the world, our nation, the home, and in the church.  Ironically, the oppressed and the oppressor share something in common: light and sight (Prov. 29:13).  The oppressor can see his abuse inflicted upon the oppressed, and the oppressed sees the denial of his power.  The answer to oppression is to exercise power and authority to resist the oppressor.

What did it mean to live under the Law?—curses and unfettered oppression because the oppressed had no power to resist the Devil. But thank God for Jesus, under the new covenant this is not so. Believers have been redeemed from the curse and oppression of the Law (Gal. 3:13-14). Complete “power” is now available to those living under the new covenant (John 1:12; Acts 1:8; Eph. 6:10). Living under the new covenant is a more excellent ministry and a better covenant established on better promises (Heb. 8:6). We have been promised a Comforter (John 14:16-18, 26; 16:13) and an eternal Intercessor (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25). Where there is no Comforter, the people suffer!