The Power of God and the Powerlessness of Man
Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

  1. The Power of God (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)
    1. The Structure of the passage
      1. The chiasm of verse 1

2. The structure of vv. 2-8 involves the contrast between (F)avorable and (U)nfavorable events.

  1. Each verse from 2-8 the repetition of the same thought in different words
    v. 2. Being born and planting vs. dying and plucking up what is planted
    v. 3 Killing and breaking down vs. healing and building up
    v. 4 Weeping and mourning vs. laughing and dancing
    v. 5 Casting stones and embracing vs. gathering stones and not embracing
    v. 6 Gaining and keeping vs. losing and throwing away
    v. 7 Tearing and keeping silence vs. sewing and speaking
    v. 8 Love and peace vs. hate and war
  1. The Meaning of 3:1-8
    1. "Time" and "season" are roughly the same in meaning
      1. (Both, by the way, are Aramaic loan words. This is one of the many evidences that Ecclesiastes was not written by Solomon but some time in the Second Temple period.)
      2. They do not mean length of time, but specific points in time.
      3. Very similar in thought to Acts 1:7, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set by his own authority."
      4. That is, these times refer to the moments of life which are set by a sovereign God without man knowing or being consulted
    2. This passage is not prescriptive as some suggest (e.g. The Birds?) but descriptive.
      1. The Preacher is not telling you there is a time when you should set about doing all these things and that a man's happiness depends on knowing when to do what.
      2. Rather he's saying that God has appointed times when all these things will happen. To you. Whether you like it or not.
    3. So this passage is a majestic unfolding of God's sovereignty in all things, both small and great.
      1. Everything from tearing and sewing (7a) to life and death (2a)
      2. God has appointed times for all these things and we must simply wait to see what they are.
      3. These things represent the purposes of God, not of men.
      4. It is a deterministic, fatalistic view of life that The Preacher advances here and he is sobered by it.
    4. What is not appropriate here is to read this and sigh and say, "Isn't that beautiful, God does everything at the right time."
      1. There is no right time for war.
      2. There is no right time for death.
      3. These things are futility and a chasing after the wind.
      4. The Preacher, to borrow Dylan Thomas's phrase urges you not to "go gentle into that good night," but to "rage, rage against the dying of the light."
  1. The Powerlessness of Man (3:9-22)
    1. What is the point of work if only God has power?
      1. The Sovereignty of God affords no great comfort to The Preacher
      2. Rather it moves him to say, "What profit has the worker from that in which he labors?"
        1. To have "profit," one must have causality. That is, one must be able to affect the outcome of events.
        2. But if only God can do that, how can one change things for the better?
        3. God, who knows the end from the beginning, has mapped it all out.
      3. He is not yet ready to say with the Psalmist, "But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, 'You are my God.' 15 My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors" (Psalm 31:14,15)
      4. He's seen the business that God has given man to be busy with (v. 10)
        1. Namely, to learn from the past and apply that learning to affect the future
        2. But God has appointed a suitable time for everything (v. 10)
          1. Again, don't be fooled by the translation "He has made everything beautiful in its time." That's greeting card sentiment, and as far as The Preacher is concerned it's a load of horse manure.
          2. The word translated "beautiful" can also mean "suitable."
          3. And in Hebrew, the emphasis falls on the word "everything."
          4. Hence my translation above with italics for emphasis, "He's appointed a suitable time for everything."
        3. Yet he has "put eternity in their hearts"
          1. Not, as some say, a desire to live forever. That is true, and clearly The Preacher yearns for eternal life. But his emphasis is different here.
          2. He has set a sense of time, of past and future in men's hearts.
            1. That is, they can try to learn from the past
            2. And they can try to prepare for the future
        4. But God has already determined the end from the beginning and no one can find it out.
        5. So this eternity in our hearts simply serves to make us miserable
          1. Like the animals, we are in God's hands and can't do anything about that.
          2. Unlike the animals, we're able to worry about it
      5. So The Preacher recommends eating and drinking and enjoying the fruit of one's labor if one can (vv. 12,13)
        1. Reminiscent of Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:32 - If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."
        2. The Preacher is yearning for the resurrection, when labor is not in vain in the Lord. Barring that, the best he can see is eating and drinking.
      6. Because whatever God does has already been done and God will do it again (vv. 14,15)
        1. Reminiscent of God's words in the Law where he instructs Israel neither to add to nor take away any of his commands (Deuteronomy 4:2).
        2. And of course of Revelation 22:18,19
        3. Here though it is spoken not of God's words but of his deeds. We're being told, you don't control the universe, God does. And he's already decreed everything that needs to be decreed.
        4. So how can we seek profit? We'll enjoy it if God has appointed it to us; that's all we can say.
      7. But one cannot guarantee one will have favor from God simply by pointing to one's righteousness
        1. God's sovereignty might be a comfort if he just knew that God has decreed to reward righteousness and punish the wicked.
        2. Instead he sees iniquity and wickedness in the place of justice and righteousness (v. 16)
        3. So the world is topsy-turvy and you don't know what to expect under the sun.
      8. Yet at the end, he confesses, God will judge
        1. This is the first indication that The Preacher has an eschatology
        2. The editor will repeat this thought as the final verse.
        3. Even the grave, of which he is about to speak, cannot reverse this fact.
        4. Because - he finally says, wringing some comfort from this doctrine - there is a time for every purpose and work. And therefore there must be a time for judgment.
    2. And all men go down to the dust (3:18-22)
      1. God sovereignly shows man that he is like the animals (concerning whom it is irrelevant to speak of justice). They live; they die. So what?
      2. Man dies just like the animals (v. 19)
        1. They all have one breath (or spirit)
        2. Man has no advantage
        3. This too is futility
      3. They're all from the dust and to the dust they return
      4. Who knows whether the spirit of one goes up to God and the other down?
      5. So, to repeat, the best we can do is rejoice in our works in the present if God allows it.
      6. Forget this sense of eternity; who will bring you to see the future?

Go on to Week 6a (4:1-16)

Go back to Week 4 (2:1-26)

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