For everything, a Season.
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-22
1 To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:
2 A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted;
3 A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away;
7 A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;
8 A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.
9 What profit has the worker from that in which he labours?
10 I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
12 I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives,
13 and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.
14 I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.
15 That which is has already been, And what is to be has already been; And God requires an account of what is past.
16 Moreover I saw under the sun: In the place of judgment, Wickedness was there; And in the place of righteousness, Iniquity was there.
17 I said in my heart, “God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.”
18 I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.”
19 For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity.
20 All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust.
21 Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?
22 So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?
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The Preacher, Koeleth, begins this chapter making a fundamental truth. Times and seasons have been foreordained by God. He even knows the number of hairs on our heads and the Lord our God has scheduled each day of our lives.
1 To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:
There is a time for everything. There is a right time and a wrong time.
The first one given here is an illuminating one. V2. A time to be born and a time to die.
This puts everything into perspective from the off.
What this tells us, is that God is in complete control and that everything is timed by His clock.
By making this statement, King Solomon made the observation that God has established specific times and predetermined seasons, which influence the affairs of our own individual lives and affects everything that takes place, down through the annals of history.
I remember when I got my first bible and I came across a verse from a poem, I wrote it in my bible.
It said:
Things don't just happen to us who love God;
They're planned by His own dear hand.
Then molded and shaped, and timed by His clock.
Things don't just happen; they're planned.
Esther L. Fields
These times, spoken about here, are not just random event’s, they are all included in the plan of God.
There is no time with God. Time was created by God and includes these times spoken of by the Preacher. The times for man, “under the sun”. (This side of eternity).
God is not bound by time.
A thousand years is just like a day to God.
2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
God’s plans were before the world began. In eternity past.
Psalm 139:16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.
Before we were even conceived, God knew us.
God has chosen the day of our birth and our days are numbered.
No one is born before their time, neither do they die before their time.
2 A time to be born, And a time to die;
Ephesians 1:11 says God “works all things according to the counsel of his will.”
Some may find this fact disconcerting and others find great comfort in knowing that their lives are in His hands.
God has created order, not chaos. It may appear at times that everything is chaotic but nothing is out of God’s control.
God set the universe in its place and ordered it. All things have their place and all things have their time.
There may appear to be things chaotic but God is in complete control of all things.
Genesis 8:22 "While the earth remains, Seed time and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease."
The old adage says, “Time and tide wait for no man”. And this is certainly a true statement.
This cyclical pattern was set in motion by God Himself, when He spoke the world into being. It was then, that in His wisdom He put in motion a series of unchangeable, natural laws, which were determined by Him and which have an impact on every area of our own lives, as well as the wider world and universe.
A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted;
The season dictates the fruitfulness and the outcome.
3 A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up;
There is never a right time to murder but there is a right time to defend and maybe kill in order to preserve life and freedom.
4 A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance;
There is a time for joy and laughter but it is not at a funeral.
There is a time for sorrow and weeping but it is not at a wedding.
There is a time to speak and a time to be quiet.
Proverbs 15:23 A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, And a word spoken in due season, how good it is!
An appropriate word at the right time can bring joy and comfort but a word out of season can destroy.
How many times have we heard the words, “I think I have put my foot in it”.
Both our actions and the timing of our actions are important to God.
These seasons in which certain pursuits are proper, are appointed by God. His plan for life involves a variety of experiences and activities.
Weeping may be part of life, but life is not all weeping; laughter has a place, too (Ecclesiastes 3:4). Construction is good in its time, but sometimes deconstruction is necessary (verse 3).
Ecc 1:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time.
God is working His purposes out and everything has its place and time and it is good to know that God’s timing is perfect.
We know that in life if our timing is out, it could mean failure.
Invest at the wrong time, it could mean great loss.
Even a comedian needs good timing to get the best effect. There is nothing worse than a laugh in the wrong place.
How good for believers to know that there is a God, who is in control and involves Himself, providentially in the affairs of man and that His timing is never wrong.
There are numerous scriptures that show us the perfect beauty of God’s timing:
Gal 4:4 But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law.
When the time was right, Jesus began His ministry.
Mar 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
When the time is right, God will send Jesus Christ back for His church.
Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
1Th 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
Ecc 3:9 What profit has the worker from that in which he labours?
We see this same question being asked again but this time the Preacher answers.
10 I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
Eternity (Olam)
The typical interpretation, is that olam refers to God’s placing an eternal longing or sense of eternity in the human heart. This affirms the idea that humans, as body, soul and spirit are different than other forms of life. We have a sense of eternity in our lives; we possess an innate knowledge that there is something more to life than what we can see and experience in the here and now.
However, it is only through the revelation of God that we can ever come to an understanding of who He really is.
The truth is, that we can trust God, He knows what He is about. We are told on many occasions in scripture to “wait on the Lord”.
If we are patient and wait on the Lord, we will eventually see the beauty of God’s handiwork—all in His perfect timing.
This is what Solomon knew, in spite of how futile and depressing, life sometimes appears.
Here we see Solomon escaping for a moment from the “Under the sun”, rising above the here and now and thinking and remembering that God is eternal and that it really matters to consider this.
Ecc 3:12 I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives,
13 and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labour—it is the gift of God.
14 I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him.
15 That which is has already been, And what is to be has already been; And God requires an account of what is past.
What is it Solomon knows?
Four things stand out.
1. I know that there is nothing better than to rejoice in the gifts of God.
2. I know that whatever God does it is forever,
3. I know that nothing can be added to it.
4. I know that nothing can be taken away.
Believer or not, if one is dealt a good hand, it is better to rejoice in it. It is also better if man can recognise the hand of God in his circumstances and respond to it, for another thing that Solomon knows, is that God requires an account of what is past.
Each will answer for what he has done “under the sun”.
The righteous at the “Bema Seat” and the wicked at the “Great White throne”.
For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.”
15 That which is has already been, And what is to be has already been; And God requires an account of what is past.
16 Moreover I saw under the sun: In the place of judgement, Wickedness was there; And in the place of righteousness, Iniquity was there.
17 I said in my heart, “God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.”
Everything that is done “under the sun” whether wicked or good, will one day be revealed. In eternity.
Solomon goes on to look at the “life under the sun” and for both human and beast, there is no difference.
Ecc 3:18 I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.”
19 For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity.
20 All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust.
“In their context these verses say that God makes all sensible people realise that they are as much subject to death as is the animal world.” (Wright)
Without God, the only conclusion at the end of the test, that men can draw, is that man and beast are no different. They live, they produce offspring. They eat and drink and they die.
21 Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?
22 So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?
May God deliver each of us from our “under the sun” thinking. May we, because of the revelation of Jesus Christ rise above it and embrace those things that are eternal.
May this lesson inspire us to embrace our life “under the sun”, to appreciate all of God’s gifts and store up treasures above.
