Part 2 of 3
In our previous article, we were looking at the first eight verses of Ecclesiastes chapter three, where Solomon gives us a description of everything in time. We learned that there is a season or an appointed time for every event, and that everything that takes place, takes place at their appropriate times and seasons. Everything is part of a grand scheme.
In this article, we will consider verses 9-11, where Solomon writes about two different ways of responding to this truth. But before we do that, I’ll like to briefly point out how the sovereignty of God over all the events in time is wonderfully seen in the life of Christ.
The apostle Paul tells us in Galatians 4 that when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law.
Then during His lifetime, the Lord Jesus was very much aware of the times set by God. At the beginning of His earthly ministry, He said in Mark 1:15, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
When the authorities tried to arrest Him, John tells us in John 7:30 that no one laid hands on him, because His hour had not yet come. But as that time approached, the Lord became increasingly conscious and aware of it. Luke 9:51 says, “And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.”
Then at the time of the final Passover, John said, “Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father…” (John 13:1)
Jesus then told his disciples to go into the city and say to a certain man, “The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.” (Matt 26:18)
Then writing about His death, the apostle Paul says, “For when we were yet without strength, in due time (or at the right time) Christ died for the ungodly.” (Rom 5:6)
Likewise, the coming of Christ at the end of history will take place at the right time. Jesus said, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” (Matt 24:36)
Indeed, God has sovereignly appointed the times for everything in time and history – the most important being the birth, life, death, resurrection and coming again of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
This brings us to the next part of our text on two different responses to this description of everything in time.
Two Different Responses to the Description (vv. 9-15)
First, we see the response of an unbelieving skeptic in verse 9. “What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?” Or “what profit or gain or benefit do people gain from all their toil and labour?”
This is basically a repeat of the very first question which the preacher asked back in chapter 1 verse 3.
If everything takes place at their appropriate times and seasons based on a predetermined plan and is not left to man to determine, then what is the purpose of doing anything at all in this world? How can there be anything to gain that is of lasting significance in such a world?
For example, a person works very hard for many years to build a big and beautiful house but the very next day after it is completed an earthquake or hurricane comes along and utterly destroys it.
Or how about the parable of the rich fool in Luke chapter 12. That man worked hard and accumulated much and said to himself, “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” But God said to him that very night, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?”
Indeed, a person who does not have God in his life and who does not see life from God’s point of view will not enjoy anything of lasting worth and value.
But in contrast, we see the response of the believer. In verse 10, he says, “I have seen the travail (or the task), which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.” In other words, he acknowledges that fallen men labour under a heavy burden, which has been placed upon them by God.
Now here is the dilemma or the problem: man has to toil and labour hard as a result of the fall, but yet, we saw, in verse 9, that man can have no true profit or gain from all his labour and toil.
How does he solve this problem? How can his toil and indeed his whole life be of profit in a world that is beyond his personal control?
Well, in verse 11, we learn three things that help to address this problem. The first is that God has made everything beautiful in its time. The word beautiful can also be translated appropriate. God has made everything appropriate in its time. God is the key to rightly understanding all of time.
Yes, it’s true that so much of life is outside our power to control. Yet, nothing is outside God’s control. He makes all things and He orders all things aright.
After God created this world in six days, He saw everything that He had made and declared that it was very good. But sin entered into the world, and the fall marred all of creation. And yet, in His infinite wisdom and power, God overruled evil to bring good to His people and to restore beauty to all things once more.
Believers can have true joy and profit and satisfaction in this world, despite all its troubles, because they know that God is in absolute control and that He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. What a blessed thought that is!
The second thing we learn from verse 11 is that God has placed eternity in our hearts. In our translation, it says, “he hath set the world in their heart…” The word “world” can also be translated ‘eternity’ or ‘everlasting.’
God has deeply rooted the concept of eternity in all men. This is part of the wider image of God that was not lost in the fall. And this is why men look beyond the everyday occurrences of life and ask the meaning of all things. Men seek answers to ultimate questions.
They know deep in their heart that there is more to life than just what can be seen and experienced with the physical senses; that there are spiritually realities which transcend this material realm.
They know that there is an existence that goes beyond this physical life. And they know that the eternal God, who created all things, exists.
The problem is that sinful men suppress this innate knowledge of God and of eternity. But as we see in this book of Ecclesiastes, when men deny God and leave Him out of the picture, then life becomes ultimately and horribly meaningless and hopeless. Nothing that one can do can bring true satisfaction.
In contrast, the believer lives life with eternity in view and that changes his attitudes and actions in the present. Everything that God does and everything that God calls us to do only makes sense when viewed from the perspective of eternity. God has made everything beautiful in its time and He has set eternity in our hearts.
The third thing we learn from verse 11 is that life is unfathomable, that is, it is too deep and profound for men to fully understand or figure out. There is nothing from beginning to end that man can truly fathom. Yes, man has an awareness of eternity in his heart, and yet he cannot fully grasp its meaning.
It is not God’s will for man to be able to fully understand or figure out everything in life. It is, however, enough that man is conscious and aware of his limitations, and thus learns to trust God and not himself….