Ecclesiastes 3:1 - Meaning and Application

These verses show, first, that we live in a world full of change. The events of time and the conditions of human life are very different from one another, yet they come and go in no fixed order that we can control. Life keeps moving from one state to another, like the turning of a wheel (James 3:6). There is always a rising and falling, a growing and a fading. The shape of this world keeps changing, and always has.

They also show, second, that every change in our lives, along with its proper time, is firmly set by a higher power. We must accept things as they come, because we cannot change what has been appointed for us. This should keep us from being proud in good times, as if tomorrow must be the same as today. But it should also keep us steady and calm, so that we enjoy the good of our work in humble trust in God’s care, just as he advised earlier (Ecclesiastes 2:24). We should not be lifted up by hope or crushed by fear, but should expect every event with an even mind.

Here the writer gives a general statement: there is a season for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Things that seem opposite to each other each take their turn in the changes of life. Day gives way to night, and night to day again. Summer turns to winter, and winter to summer. Every purpose has its time. The clearest sky may become cloudy, and sorrow may follow joy. Then again, the darkest sky may clear, and the sun may break through the clouds.

What seems random to us is, in God’s wisdom and foreknowledge, exactly fixed. The very hour of each event is set, and it cannot be brought forward or delayed by even a moment. The writer proves this by listing many kinds of change, twenty-eight in all, matching the moon’s changing cycle as it waxes and wanes. Some of these changes come directly from God’s hand, and others depend more on human choice, but all are governed by his counsel. Everything under heaven changes, but in heaven there is an unchanging state and an unchanging purpose concerning all these things.

There is a time to be born and a time to die. These are set by God’s counsel, and as we are born, so we must die at the appointed time (Acts 17:26). Some have noticed that the text mentions a time to be born and a time to die, but no time to live, because life is so brief it hardly needs mentioning. As soon as we are born, we begin to die. Yet as surely as there is a time to be born and a time to die, there will also be a time to rise again, a set time when those who lie in the grave will be remembered (Job 14:13).

There is a time for God to plant a nation, as he planted Israel in Canaan. To make room for them, he also had to uproot the seven nations already there. Later, there was a time when God spoke about Israel too, to uproot and destroy them, when their sin had become full (Jeremiah 18:7, Jeremiah 18:9). There is also a time for people to plant, a season of the year and a time in life. But when what has been planted becomes fruitless and useless, it is time to uproot it.

There is a time to kill, when God’s judgments are in the land and everything is laid waste. But when he returns in mercy, then there is a time to heal what he has torn apart (Hosea 6:1, Hosea 6:2), to comfort a people after he has afflicted them (Psalm 90:15). In the same way, rulers sometimes need severe measures, but there is also a time when they should choose a gentler path and use healing remedies, not harsh ones.

There is a time to break down a family, an estate, or a kingdom, when it has made itself ripe for ruin. Yet if people return and repent, God will find a time to rebuild what he has broken down. There is a set time for the Lord to build up Zion (Psalm 102:13, Psalm 102:16). There is also a time for people to shut up a house, end a business, and tear things down, and those who are busy building must be ready for that as well.

There is a time to weep and mourn, when God’s providence calls for it, and wise, godly people will answer that call. This is fitting in times of shared trouble and danger, when laughter and celebration would be foolish (Isaiah 22:12, Isaiah 22:13; Ezekiel 21:10). Yet there is also a time when God calls for cheerfulness, a time to laugh and dance, and then he expects us to serve him with joy and gladness of heart. The time of mourning is named first because we must sow in tears before we reap in joy.

There is a time to throw away stones, by tearing down walls and fortifications, when God gives peace in the land and they are no longer needed. But there is also a time to gather stones together, for building strong places (Ecclesiastes 3:5). Towers may fall, like the tower in Siloam (Luke 13:4), and even the temple may be ruined so completely that not one stone is left upon another. Yet there is also a time for towers and monuments to be raised when a nation prospers.

There is a time to embrace a friend when we find him faithful, but a time to refrain from embracing when we find him unfair or unfaithful and have reason to suspect him. Then prudence calls us to keep some distance. This is often applied to married life, and explained by Paul’s teaching on marriage duties (1 Corinthians 7:3-5) and by Joel’s call to solemn gathering and restraint (Joel 2:16).

There is a time to get, to earn money, to gain promotion, to make good bargains, and to gain influence, when opportunity is open. This is a season when a wise person will seek what is needed. When someone is starting in life, has a growing family, is in the strength of his years, and has work going well, then it is time to be busy and make the most of the season. There is also a time to gain wisdom, knowledge, and grace, when a person has a real chance to do so. But then he should expect a time to spend, when all he has may barely be enough for his needs. And even more, there will be a time to lose, when what was quickly gained will be quickly scattered and cannot be held.

A time to tear garments, as when there is deep grief, and a time to sew them back together, as a sign that the grief is over. There is a time to undo what we have done, and a time to do again what we have undone. Jerome applies this to the tearing down of the Jewish church and the building up of the gospel church after it.

There is also a time when it is wise, and our duty, to keep silent, when the time is evil (Amos 5:13), when speaking would be like throwing pearls before pigs, or when we are in danger of speaking wrongly (Psalm 39:2). But there is also a time to speak for God’s honor and for the good of others, when silence would mean giving up a righteous cause, and when we must confess with the mouth to be saved. A large part of Christian wisdom is knowing when to speak and when to stay quiet.

There is a time to love and show friendship, to be open and cheerful, and that is a pleasant time. But there may also be a time to hate, when we must break off close friendship with people we once liked, and keep some distance because we have found reason for suspicion, even though love is slow to accept it.

There is a time of war, when God draws the sword in judgment and lets it do its work, and when rulers draw the sword to punish evil and protect what is right. There is also a time of peace, when the Lord puts away the sword and makes wars end (Psalm 46:9), when the purpose of war has been reached, and when people on all sides are willing to live in peace. War will not last forever, and no peace in this world can be called lasting. In all these changes, God has set one thing against another, so that we may rejoice as if we did not fully rejoice, and weep as if we did not fully weep.

III. The lessons drawn from this truth. If our present life is subject to such change, then we must not expect our full share and lasting portion in it, because its good things are uncertain and do not last (Ecclesiastes 3:9). What gain is there for the one who works? What can a person promise himself from planting and building, when what seems finished may soon, and surely will, be torn down and broken up? All our effort and care cannot change either the changing nature of these things or the unchanging purpose of God about them.

Then we must see ourselves as being under trial in this life. There is indeed no lasting profit in the work we do here. The thing itself, once we get it, will do us little good. But if we rightly use God’s ordering of events, there will be profit in that (Ecclesiastes 3:10). I have seen the burden God has given to people, not to make them happy through it, but to exercise them in it. He uses changing events to train different graces, to test their trust in him through every turn, and to teach them both how to live with little and how to live with much (Philippians 4:12).

There is a great deal of toil and trouble among people. Labor and sorrow fill the world. This toil and trouble are what God has assigned to us. He never meant this world to be our rest, and so he never appointed us to take our ease in it. For many, this work becomes a gift. God gives it to people as a doctor gives medicine to a patient, to do them good. This burden is given to make us tired of the world and eager for the rest that remains. It is given so that we may stay active and always have work to do, for none of us was sent into the world to be idle. Every change gives us some new task, and we should be more concerned about that duty than about how things turn out.