For Such A Time As This
One of my favorite words is season. A season makes me think of weather patterns, daylight hours, and salt. God seasons (with salt) the seasons of life, doesn't He? In Colossians 4:6, Paul reminds believers how our speech should add value to the conversation and be ready to answer non-believers when they ask questions.
“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person."
There are seasons when it is a dark night of the soul, and others when you are resting in the green grass beside the still waters. And, in both those seasons, we are called to be salty.
Solomon recognized the seasons of life in chapter 3. This chapter is one of the most familiar sections from Ecclesiastes and is also a poem. In chapters 1 and 2, we learned how skeptical Solomon presented four arguments proving that life was meaningless. To Solomon, life was like blowing bubbles on a sunny day. As soon as they form and are chased around the yard, they pop, and one is left disappointed.
Solomon's four arguments were: the monotony of life, the vanity of wisdom, the futility of wealth, and the certainty of death (Wiersbe). However, Solomon doesn't allow his own arguments to go unchallenged (something we could all learn from).
In Ecclesiastes 3-10, he reexamines each of the four arguments carefully, and he discovered four factors that must be considered before you can say that life is monotonous and meaningless.
We'll talk about three of the four this week as we study out the chapter.
1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up 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 together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast 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 for war, and a time for peace.
When I read these verses, I think of Esther 4:14, "For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” So often, these verses from the book of Esther are taken out of context. I like what Tony Evans says about it:
"...few people truly connect the context of the verse with how they are using it. Esther was being scolded for her self-indulgent, self-preserving mindset. Esther was being reproofed for living large and embracing royalty over service. Through those telling words, Mordecai reminds Esther that she had been chosen to set her own interests aside, let go of her own ambitions and face an enemy full-on."
We're going to talk later on about taking verses out of context, but first, let's examine Solomon's four factors to consider before thinking life is meaningless (the fourth factor will be in chapter 4 and 5):
God orders time. This was Solomon's first factor of realization because he saw something above man. God is in control, friends. He is still a God of peace (not confusion), despite what you're seeing unfold today (1 Corinthians 14:33).
Solomon's reiteration of words, "a time to," was meant to highlight the monotony, not necessarily be beautifully poetic. But, he also recognizes that more is at work. We don't control life and death (although we try), planting and plucking, killing and healing, casting away stones and gathering stones, embracing and refraining from embracing, getting and losing, tearing and mending, loving and hating. Those are each in God's hands.
I will call attention to verse 6: "a time to keep, and a time to cast away." I'm (almost) certain that's our Biblical reference to purge our houses a few times a year, clean out our closets, and have a garage sale!
As we think about the seasons of life, let's not forget Romans 8:28 that I show in the Amplified Version:
"And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose."
Time and Reflection
Remember friends: if it's not good, it's not the end. What's not "good" in your life, and how can you trust God to be the perfecter and the finisher of that work (Hebrews 12:1-2)?
The God-Given Task
9 What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.
14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 15 That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.
The Preacher, Solomon, asks a hard question in verse 9. Remember how we talked about in the introduction that it's okay to pose questions about the Christian faith? Having faith does not mean we don't have doubts or questions. However, underpinning all the doubts and questions, we must believe that life is a gift from God (verse 13), and accept it. That can be difficult. I keep a good ol' fashioned accounting ledger next to my study chair and often list out things I'm thankful for in the "credit" account. When life "debits" me, I review my gratitude ledger. And, when I can't reconcile all the transactions of life, I remember that Jesus reconciled it all, and maybe it isn't for me to balance out in this lifetime.
Eternity is in your heart. This is Solomon's second factor of realization because he saw something within man. In verse 11, you begin seeing Solomon adjusting his perspective. His thoughts migrate from "under the sun," and traverse toward "under the hand of God" (1 Peter 5:6). When we think of life's seasons as purposeless, it is depressing. That's why our seasons must be salty with God's Word so we can bring hope to those around us.
Time and Reflection
In verse 11 it reads, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end." The phase find out in this verse has the sense of "figure out, comprehend by study." Solomon realizes his desire to understand life is a blessing of God. In the same way, we have desires and limitations for grasping all life has. Are there areas in your heart that are difficult for you to comprehend? We don't want to ignore or dismiss pain, but we need to be free from it. How can you choose to live in the present and resist an unfruitful amount of sifting through your past?
From Dust to Dust
16 Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. 17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. 18 I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. 19 For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. 20 All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. 21 Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? 22 So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?
Verses 15-22 remind us that God is in control of the cycle of life. These verses also contain Solomon's third factor challenging life's monotony: death is coming to all. Solomon saw something beyond man. This is where those other hard questions are asked, like, "How can God be in control when there are so much death and famine and hatred?" I do not have all these answers, but I like how Wiersbe puts it:
"God has a time for everything, including judgment, and God is working out His eternal purposes in and through the deeds of men, even the deeds of the wicked."
The linchpin in that quote is, "God is working out His eternal purposes." Someone at my work shared a saying in our Monday morning Bible study, and it stuck with me:
If I have a God that is only here to do my bidding, then I have no God at all.
Verses 19 and 20 can confuse people because if not understood, it sounds like there's no difference between men and animals. When a verse, or section of verses, is unclear, ask yourself this: Within the context of Scripture, what is the theme (and audience) of this text? The theme of this section is death. So, as Solomon is grappling with death, he points out how man and beast are alike in that they both live and die. We also must put this Scripture in the context of the entire Bible. Some people proof text. Proof texting is when there's an isolated passage of the Bible that is "plucked out" to support an argument or position in theology. This is not how we are to study the Bible. We must look at Scripture within the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). For example, Genesis 1:27 talks of how we're made in the image of God. We also know from 1 Corinthians 15:35-58 how we’re given a new, resurrected body! As we examine Solomon's words within the context of the entire Word, we see rightly.
Many topics like slavery, homosexuality, oppression, gender equality, and more are taken out of Biblical context. Let's talk “hard talk” about slavery. Does the Bible condone slavery? The brief answer is no. There are two kinds of slavery described in the Bible: a paid servant or bondservant, and harsh enslavement without pay. The Bible unequivocally condemns cruel slavery. Slave traders are listed among the worst of sinners in 1 Timothy 1:1. And, Exodus 21:16 says, "Anyone who kidnaps someone is to be put to death, whether the victim has been sold or is still in the kidnapper’s possession." Of course, this doesn't mean there aren't issues with harsh slavery (i.e., human trafficking), social injustice, or oppression in our modern culture and systems. What I am providing today is context and understanding within the guardrails of Scripture to help us gain knowledge should someone ask us about slavery in the Bible. Remember, we’re to be seasoned with salt and answer gently. We will get into justice and righteousness in another study—which is also a responsibility as believers—and the Church needs to rise up.
There's a great book called Quick Answers to Social Issues by Bryan Osborn that doesn't shy away from any of the tough questions. There are pervasive lies within our culture, and we must be equipped to address them confidently from the Word of God.
Time and Reflection
In verse 22, Solomon says, "So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?" How can you choose to rejoice in your work more? Whether that's chores around the house, work outside the home, or volunteering within the community?