SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON PLAN - 8-1-2021 - ECCL. 3:1-15 - WHAT'S TIME IS IT?
LAST WEEK: In Eccl. 2:12-26, in our introduction to the Book, Solomon gave us a rather gloomy perspective of our short-from an eternal viewpoint-lives on this chaotic little planet. While he admitted that living this life wisely was infinitely better than living it foolishly, he concluded that since all of our work-related success and all of the material wealth we accumulate ends at death, it's ultimately all "vanity"-meaningless. Added to that, all of our material wealth will end up going to people who did nothing to earn it and they might even use it foolishly. Finally, after a few generations have passed, nobody will even remember us! And Solomon is totally correct-yes? So where does that leave us? Well, while we're still here, we should be content with and enjoy the simple pleasures of life that God provides-eating, drinking, breathing fresh air, and watching another sunrise. And more important, we need to fully grasp that true happiness in this brief, earthly life is found only in living it in a way that honors and pleases God. I really like the apostle Paul's take on these hard questions, where he said: "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me" (Phil. 1:21-22).
THIS WEEK: In Eccl. 3:1-15, Solomon will share a poem that should be familiar to most of us. The general theme of it is that there is a "time" for everything. All of life is part of a grand cycle determined by God. The Preacher tells us that we are subject to appointed times and changes in life over which we have little or no control, and this is all in contrast to God's eternity and sovereign control of all things. Although we humans long for something more, we must learn to trust God and live with the reality that there is a purpose and time for everything that happens in life.
Read Eccl. 3:1-8 - FOR EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON
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.
v. 1: "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:" - This verse establishes the theme for vv. 2-8. Each verse contains two contrasting phrases, which is a Hebrew literary technique known as chiastic pairs. As the verses unfold, we see that there is an order to the events of life which God has established. However, aside from the placement of the first pair-birth-death, there is no apparent rationale to the overall order in which the opposites appear. They simply represent the various events of human life that happen between the poles of birth and death. The flow of these verses also tells us that time matters. God gives us time to do what he wants us to do and He orchestrates all kinds of experiences, both good and bad.
v. 2: "a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted" - The word "time" as used throughout the entire poem means a divinely appointed time. The opposites portrayed in this verse-"born/die" and "plant/pluck up"-contrast constructive or positive actions (birth/ plant) with destructive or negative (die/pluck up) or negative actions, but both are normal and expected occurrences that are part of life.
v. 3: "a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up" - For many people in this day and age, taking human life is repugnant (except those who support legal abortion of unborn babies). In OT times, however, Mosaic Law prescribed a death penalty for various infractions of the Law, and even further, God mandated the wholesale killing-i.e., a "ban"-of certain idol-worshiping inhabitants of the Promised Land. In the second couplet, breaking down (destructive) is often a necessary preliminary to building up (constructive), so one compliments the other.
v. 4: "a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance" - Here again, we see opposites but Instead of constructive/destructive, these pairs contrast positive (laugh/dance) and negative (weep/mourn) feelings. We can all testify that life is filled with events that variously give us joy or sadness. In Hebrew some of these words would also rhyme.
v. 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" - In rabbinic tradition, the term "casting of stones" carried a sexual connotation, thus there are times to exercise self-control (negative) and time when not (positive).
v. 6: "a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away" - This verse contrasts good and bad timing, for example, every good investor know that there's a time to buy and a time to sell and every good poker player knows there's a time to hold and a time to fold.
v. 7: "a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak" - In OT times, tearing your clothes was a sign of mourning, which would be repaired (to sew) once mourning had passed. We endure the loss of dear friends and loved ones, then we pick ourselves up and move on with life. We see the idea of exercising self-control manifest itself again in relation to the times to keep silent and times to speak. James said. "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry" James 1:19b. However, we shouldn't take the restrictions on speaking too rigidly. A popular motto we often hear today is that you should "never bring up the topics of politics or religion in polite conversation." But as Christian believers, we should never hide the fact that we are Christians and be willing-tactfully-to share our witness for Jesus Christ in any social setting.
v. 8: "a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace" - Love and hate are personal feelings, while war and peace are extensions of those feelings on a national level. Hate is contrary to love, and God created the capacity in us for both of them. The greatest example of God's sacrificial love of humanity is exemplified in John 3:16, yet, at the same time, the Bible commands us to hate the things that God hates (Prov. 6:16-19). Note that "peace" comes after "war" for emphasis, and there will be no enduring peace in the world until Christ comes again (Rev. 19:11-21).
APPLICATION 1: We should do our best to put our "time" to good use. Time is like friend that goes along with us on a journey, day by day. Time is also like a limited commodity, because once it's used- up, it can't be replaced. Because time matters to God, it should be equally important to us. God not only expects us to use our time wisely, but also expects us to use it for His greater glory.
Read Eccl. 3:9-13 - WHAT DOES THE WORKER GAIN FROM HIS TOIL?
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.
OBSERVATION: The first eight verses laid out a series of fourteen observable parallels, like a time to give birth and a time to die. We have seen those and can expect to see them again, however, those parallels are simply stated without any further explanation. There was no mention of a divine hand at work or any attempt to consider their deeper meaning or purpose. Verses 9-15 in the next section attempt to remedy those omissions, where we will hear the Preacher speak about what he's seen or heard, with observations that are both positive and negative.
v. 9: "What gain has the worker from his toil?" - When Solomon uses the word "gain" (also translates to profit) in a question, he's philosophically asking-from the perspective of the worker-whether there's any lasting value in his or her toil, and the implied answer is NONE. Consider: There are many people in the U.S. today (approx 19% of population) who elect to live off welfare rather than seek work. When they do this, they have allowed themselves to become wholly dependent on a secular human government. Keep this thought in mind. So, is Solomon suggesting that we shouldn't work because it's ultimately pointless? No, far from it! Let's hear what he says in the next verse.
v. 10: "I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with" - Said another way, Solomon is saying I've see all the types of work that God has given people to do, which is something that not only enables the worker to earn a living but also benefits society as a whole. The idea of this verse is that God gives us work (1) for His divine purposes and (2) to support and feed ourselves and (3 use the fruits of our labor to benefit the creation as a whole. The apparent value of work is seen in the here and now: what we earned to sustain our families today and what we added to the national GNP today, not the long view Solomon takes in v. 9. But Solomon rightly observes that the individual worker doesn't see the big picture as God sees it: that the divine purpose of all these varied tasks-the "gain' or "profit"-is to show humans their dependence on God (as opposed to dependence on the human social order) for their appointed work, whatever it may be.
APPLICATION 2: God has appointed every one of us to work for a living. God has appointed all kinds of work for us to do, both to support ourselves and contribute to the benefit the creation as a whole. God's divine purpose in giving us this work is designed to show us our dependence on Him rather than on the human social order, which can turn into a form of enslavement, e.g, ancient Egypt.
v. 11a: "He has made everything beautiful in its time." It's safe to say that everything that God makes/creates is perfect and beautiful. Our experience of nature and of the heavens above verify that God has made everything His creation beautiful-yes? The key phrase here is "in its time": God brings about the proper activity or event to achieve His purposes at exactly the right time.
v. 11b: 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 word "eternity" can also mean hidden or concealed. Thus, while we are bound by time in the present and unable to fathom all of God's timing, God has implanted in us something, a spark, that causes our souls to know that there's more to life than this earthbound existence-eternity. This affirms the idea that humans operate in a different way than other forms of life. It gives us the innate knowledge that there is more to life than what we
can see and experience in our earth-bound timeframes.
APPLICATION 3: God created humans with a desire to know the future. Humans are different than the rest of the created order. When God created us, he planted a seed of eternity that gives us the innate knowledge that there's more to life than what we see and experience in the here and now.
v. 12: "I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live;" - God want us to enjoy His gift of life today. To paraphrase Solomon's words, since the search for meaning in this life is ultimately pointless, we should simply lower our sights and aim for something easier to achieve like the simple enjoyment of doing good things.
v. 13: "also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil-this is God's gift to man" - This echoes Solomon's advice to us last week in chapter 2, vv. 24-26: enjoying the small pleasures of life like eating and drinking. We sometime fail to see God's providential hand in the small, seemingly ordinary activities.
APPLICATION 4: God gives us the gift of life to enjoy today. Since the search for some higher meaning in this life is ultimately pointless, we should focus our energies and spend our time on enjoying the simple pleasures of doing good things in life like eating and drinking in fellowship with our families and friends.
Read Eccl. 3:14-15 - WHATEVER GOD DOES ENDURES FOREVER
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.
v. 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" - This and the next verse form a summary for the whole chapter: Solomon "perceived" God's sovereignty over all events--past present, and future--all the way into eternity-no beginning or end-forms a complete contrast to the minute span of time that characterizes our brief, human lives on this planet. Since God's plan is beyond human ability to grasp, we must "fear" God in humble submission and trust Him for the "hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began" (Titus 1:2).
v. 15: "That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away" - Here, the Preacher tells us that there's a connection between all events in time-past, present and future-and that this connection exists in the mind of God who controls all of it. It means that all the billions of human lives-all who have lived and died since Adam and all who will be born before time ends-are already known to God. The phrase, "God seeks what has been driven away," can alternately mean that God will ultimately (1) recall those who have been left behind in the march of time, the redeemed in Christ, and (2) recall those who are condemned for judgment.
APPLICATION-5: Although death is certain, it is not the end. The mind of God knows every person born-past present, and future-and every single one will ultimately be recalled by God in one of two ways: (1) the redeemed in Christ who will spend eternity in heaven (Rev. 5:9-10) or (2) the condemned who will be judged and cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:11-15).
PRAYER: Lord God, we thank you once again for giving us the freedom to gather together and learn from the truth of Your Word. Solomon's words to us in today's lesson teach us a very powerful truth-that all of us should be doing our best to put our time to good use. And from Your perspective, God, we should be using our time in ways that serve You and add to your kingdom here on earth. And Lord, this can be very hard sometimes. It requires us to manage ourselves better. It requires us to plan in advance and be better organized. It requires us to turn off the TV and get out of our chairs. For some of us, it requires us to either turn-off or ignore our SmartPhones. So, Lord, for myself, and for everyone here this morning, I pray that you would give each of a burden to organize and use more of our time in ways that glorify You, and I ask all of these things in the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, AMEN.
