“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1
Verses 2-8 list these “times,” not a full list, but enough to get the idea. It is also a list of opposites: “A time to be born, and a time to die” (v. 2a). This poem seems a little out of place at first, so for now we’ll take it at face value. There is a time for everything.
“What profit has the worker from that in which he labors?”
Ecclesiastes 3:9
This hearkens back to the question posed in chapter 1 and referenced in chapter 2. We know that the labor is a gift from God, and it is empty without Him.
“I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that on one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all of his labor- it is the gift of God.”
Ecclesiastes 3:10-13
Our God-given task: labor, laughter, and the pursuit of wisdom. All mankind is given these things to do and pursue. They are not always pleasant, and we don’t always see the point of it all, even as Christians, but there will come a time in this life or he next where we will see the beauty of what God is doing. We know that there is an ultimate purpose to what happens to us, even the godless often believe that because God has “put eternity in [our] hearts.” We never see the full picture, though God does occasionally give us glimpses into our circumstances.
“I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor- it is the gift of God.”
Ecclesiastes 3:12-13
This is not the “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die” attitude condemned in other parts of Scripture. This is the logical, wise conclusion to the thought that God appoints and allows all things at their appointed times. The good, the bad, the easy, and the painful are all gifts from God. If we worry ourselves trying to see the whole picture like God can, we fret over what cannot be. If we ignore or forget that God is the One who appoints, we either worry or end up with that flippant attitude (Is. 22:13). Truly, there is no better response than to enjoy the fruits of where God has placed us. We rest in His sovereignty and pursue good in Him.
“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. That which is has already been, and what is to be has already been; and God requires an account of what is past.”
Ecclesiastes 3:14-15
Nothing happens without God’s knowledge and permission, and nothing we do changes that. How indescribable! How awe-inspiring! God is at every moment entirely in control. His hands are at all times on the reins and even the lightest breeze has no choice but to obey. That is the God we serve. Do you fear before Him?
My Bible offers an alternate wording for verse 15: “God requires an account of what is pursued.”
God is in control but still somehow allows us a measure of freedom. This study isn’t about freewill; I would have very little to contribute to that conversation and would come to no conclusions as to how God has control and we still have freewill. All I know is that the Bible teaches that it is the case, so while not understanding I accept this and move on knowing that God knows better than I do. This verse states that we are accountable to God for what we choose to pursue with our time. I may do a separate this worldview concept at some point, but Voddie Baucham does an excellent job in his sermon, Modern Spirituality and the Mind.
“Moreover I saw under the sun: In the place of judgement, wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, Iniquity was there. 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.’”
Ecclesiastes 3:16-17
This is referring to eternity. While for now, wickedness may appear to go unpunished by God, the appointed time for judgement is coming where the righteous will be rewarded to eternal life, and the wicked to eternal death and punishment.
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.” 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. All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust. Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?
Ecclesiastes 3:18-21
Without an eternal, biblical perspective, there is no difference between humans and animals, which can lead to a number of sins. We were made in God’s image, with a soul, unlike animals.
“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?”
Ecclesiastes 3:22
We can’t see the future; that is something only God can do. He has shown us in Scripture what will happen at the end of time, but for now we are to work and enjoy the lot God has given us.
Abrigail Julian: 