BIG IDEA:
THE INSCRUTABLE NATURE OF ETERNITY WILL FRUSTRATE MAN’S EFFORTS TO FIGURE THINGS OUT – JUST SUBMIT AND TAKE THINGS AS THEY COME
I. (:1-8) DIVINE CONTROL — DIVINE APPOINTMENT DETERMINES THE SEASONS OF LIFE AND THE EVENTS THAT TAKE PLACE
A. (:1) God’s Appointed Times
“There is an appointed time for everything.
And there is a time for every event under heaven–”
B. (:2-8) Seven Contrasting Seasons – Viewed as Extremes
Seven is number of completeness in Scripture; 14 comparisons
1. (:2) Life vs Death
“A time to give birth, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted.”
2. (:3) Hurting vs Healing (Edifying)
“A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to tear down, and a time to build up.”
3. (:4) Grief vs Joy
“A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance.”
4. (:5) Hugging vs Throwing Stones
“A time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace, and a time to shun embracing.”
5. (:6) Persistence vs Resignation
“A time to search, and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away.”
6. (:7) Confrontation vs Forbearance (Union)
“A time to tear apart, and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent, and a time to speak.”
7. (:8) Love (Peace) vs Hate (War)
“A time love, and a time to hate;
A time for war, and a time for peace.”
Application: Use our time wisely in submission to God’s overall plan and His wisdom, even when we cannot understand everything about our particular season of life. God is in control.
II. (:9-15) DIVINE TIMEFRAME – DIVINE PERSPECTIVE ALLOWS FOR CONTENTMENT IN THE PRESENT IN LIGHT OF GOD’S PURPOSES FOR ETERNITY
A. (:9-11) Connection to Eternity Can Be Frustrating Right Now
1. (:9) Work Seems Futile
“What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils?”
2. (:10) Yet God Desires Responsible Living
“I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.”
3. (:11a) Life Must be Lived According to God’s Schedule
“He has made everything appropriate in its time.”
4. (:11b) Man Cannot See the End from the Beginning
“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.”
You won’t find dogs leading a frustrated existence; they have no connection to eternity. It does not bother them that they cannot understand the eternal purposes and plan of God.
B. (:12-13) Contentment Now Comes from Staying Positive and Seeing All Good Things as a Gift from God
1. Cultivate an Attitude of Rejoicing – Stay Positive
“I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice”
2. Cultivate Actions that Benefit Others – Do Good
“and to do good in one’s lifetime”
3. Cultivate Appreciation for God Supplying Your Needs – Partake Thankfully
“moreover, that every man who eats and drinks”
4. Cultivate Awareness of All of God’s Good Gifts – Work Purposefully
“sees good in all his labor – it is the gift of God.”
C. (:14-15) Control Must Be Yielded to the Eternal Unchanging Sovereign God
1. (:14a) God’s Works Last Forever
“I know that everything God does will remain forever;”
2. (:14b) God Does Not Need Our Help
“there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it”
3. (:14c) God Wants Men to Fear Him
“for God has so worked that men should fear Him.”
4. (:15) God Operates Outside of the Constraints of Time
“That which is has been already, and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by.”
Application: Doug Smith: The works of God are eternal. Even though life, from our limited perspective, may seem like a repetitive cycle, God has a purpose in it all and He ensures that everything unfolds in accordance with His plan and His will.
We need to fear God and live lives of contentment, appreciating all of God’s good gifts and allowing God to work out His eternal purposes.
III. (:16-22) DIVINE JUSTICE – DIVINE ACCOUNTABILITY MITIGATES THE FRUSTRATION FROM TEMPORAL INJUSTICE AND APPARENT PURPOSELESSNESS
A. (:16) Frustration from Temporal Injustice —
“Furthermore, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.”
B. (:17-21) Frustration from Apparent Purposelessness – How is Man Different from Beast?
1. (:17) Expectation of Accountability
“I said to myself, ‘God will judge both the righteous man and the wicked man,’ for a time for every matter and for every deed is there.”
2. (:18-21) Examination of Ultimate Destiny
“I said to myself concerning the sons of men, ‘God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but beasts.’ For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity. All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust. Who knows that the breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth?”
C. (:22) Existential Philosophy is the Best One Can Hope for Under the Sun
“And I have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities, for that is his lot. For who will bring him to see what will occur after him?”
Application: We have no need to be anxious or cynical because God holds the future in His hands and will establish righteousness.