Do You Recognize What Time It Is? (Ecclesiastes 3:1-15)

1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven— 2 A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. 3 A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear 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 throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. 6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away. 7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak. 8 A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace. 9 What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils? 10 I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves. God Set Eternity in the Heart of Man 11 He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; 13 moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—it is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him. 15 That which is has been already and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by.

The message of the book of Ecclesiasties, written by Solomon is: You can't live life of any meaning without God.

Ecclesiastes is a book written from human reasoning. Solomon, playing the role of one who does not consider God, is assembling information through human reasoning only, and then comes to a conclusion based on only human reasoning. The wisest ever is investigating life, tries ot make sense of it from human reasining, and recording his observations. His conclusion is that life is absurd; there is no meaning in human existence! Solomon finds out that every single adventure: money, sex, wine, pleasure-seeking...they are all empty. The only meaning for one without God is despair.

In Chapter 3, we come to a fameous poem. He is really telling us that life is measured according to its events.

Have you ever considered time? Time is a measured period in which things happen. It leads us to the understanding that the wise person knows that human beings are not in control of their time. There are 86,400 seconds every day. What do you do with that time? And even though you're given that time, you cannot repeat, relive, give back, or do over time.

And someday, time will end. So we ought to invest it wisely while we have it, and find ways to enjoy it while we can.

So this poem in Chapter 3 is really stating that every activity on the earth has its time. Solomon is observing repeatable events; whereever you live in human history, you will experience these cyclical events. Doesn't happen at the same time in the same order for everybody, but it happens.

In Verses 2-8, he gives 7 contrasts of live under heaven.

1. Time for birth, time for death (Ecclesiastes 3:2). No person, even plant life, controls the start or end of its existence. Likewise, a harvester must time his harvesting and planting activities to the natural and proper time of the harvest, or he won't get anything. Are you getting ready to do things in their appointed time?
2. Time of destruction and times for constructing (Ecclesiastes 3:3). There are times of war, times of rebuilding.
3. Time for pleasantness and unpleasantness (Ecclesiastes 3:4). Laughter doesn't accomplish much, we don't learn much from it, but it is necessary, and God wants us to have times of laughter and enjoy life (Ecclesiastes 2:2).
4. Time to affirm, a time to confront (Ecclesiastes 3:5). Time to stop progress, a time to start progress.
5. Time to keep something, a time to throw it away (Ecclesiastes 3:6).
6. Time to mourn and a time to stop mourning.(Ecclesiastes 3:7). This might be talking about the Biblical act of mourning, where he would tear his clothes while mourning, and when the mourning was done, they would sew them back together.
7. Time for love, time for hate (Ecclesiastes 3:8).

In these verses there are opposite situations; but there is really no pattern. These are things that happen in time, they go on and on no matter where you live. The conclusion is that you cannot stop them; you can only respond th them when it is their proper time.

The conclusion of these obsservations is in Ecclesiastes 3:9. The worker gains no profit despite all his toil! Things in the list seems to cancel out each other, and in the end there is no profit.

So, in Ecclesiastes 3:10, he is forced to bring God into the equation. He realizes that without God, he cannot make sense of this. But the right way to look at it is that God appoints these tasks and times for men. All the events of life are futile and empty without God (Ecclesiastes 2:25-26). A worldview without God is a completely hopeless worldview.

In the verses following, Solomon now considers God, and lists 3 main things that God does. Each of these things have a proper human response.

1. What God makes (Ecclesiastes 3:11). 1. He makes everything, 2. He makes us inquisitive about the future. But, he cannot discern it. Response: Trust God! Recognize that God has designed things on earth to keep to a specific purpose, that is, to keep men and women in their place, and to remind them that He is in charge.
2. What God gives (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13). He gives 1. ability to enjoy life, 2. the ability to do good, 3. the ability to eat or drink, 4. the ability to enjoy your labor.Response: Rejoice! Recognize that all these things are gifts of God. Enjoy the gift of food! Do good, and enjoy a sense of purpose. Do your work heartily, because it fulfills you, gives you purpose, gives you an understanding of accomplishment. We can get purpose and meaning from our work! However, if God is not part of your equation, there will be no ultimate purpose or meaning of your life.
3. What God does (Ecclesiastes 3:14-15). God does things 1. Permanently, 2. Completely. 3. Glorifies himself (see also Ecclesiastes 7:18, Ecclesiastes 12:13). Response: Fear God. Recognize that God is God, and people are but human. Recognize that God does things to bring himself respect and honor, to focus the attetion of human beings upon Himself. And his purposes cannot be thwarted. Fear God in both these sense: 1. be frightened into submission, and 2. give Him great respect. God is a sovereign and unscrutable Deity.

Application: See what God has made, what God has gives, and what God does. We are to look, we are to learn, we are to respond properly to what he's doing, so that God receives the honor, glory, praise, and He always receives from us proper worship.

God patiently repeats things over and over and over again until these lessons are learned, or until the end comes (Ecclesiastes 3:15)!

Application: In light of the fact that God is sovereign and in control, when things happen in our lives, is our instinct to immediately go to the Lord to ask him to teach us what we need to learn, to glorify Himself in our situation, and to proclaim your trust in Him?

Application: Learn to do things in balance, learn to do thing for the glory of God, and learn to enjoy life.

Application: recognize your privilige and blessings. You should have nothing to complain about!

Application: We need to get this message out to those who don't know God!