To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heavens
Ecclesiastes 3 opens by turning from the search for profit to a set clock: every human matter has its own season. The question the commentators press is whose clock it is, and what a person is meant to do while living under it.
Commentators read this verse as the answer to the misery of man's life. Sorrow reaches him, and death troubles his conscience. Still, he sees one thing:
Think of how miserable man is. No creature under the heavens is so open to sorrow, or feels it so sharply. His guilty conscience wakes up to what may come, and must come, after death. Yet he cannot help seeing something else too. He lives under a system in which God orders everything that touches this changing life of ours most closely. The verses that follow set this out in full.
The verse gives each thing a time — and that is also its limit. One writer contrasts what time measures with what God does:
Everything under the sun runs by "times." There is a time to be born, and a time to die. Whatever purpose people take in hand under heaven, each has its time, but only its "time." It is not "for ever," and its time passes on and is gone... But under all these passing times there is a "work that God does from the beginning to the end"... God does that work in ways of endless wisdom, and it lasts "for ever." "I perceive that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it."
A reference work makes the same point about the reach of our understanding: man's life is fenced in by time, while God's is not.
Man learns that he lives in time: there is a time for everything "under the heaven," but only "a time."... No one "can find out what God has done from the beginning to the end." God is working out His own end while this time lasts: man lives in time, but what God does will last for ever.
If the seasons are set, no effort can move them. That leaves man one place to take.
Man's anxious toil can change none of the facts. God's hand arranges; man's place is to bow... Man likes to rule, and he likes it no less now that he is fallen, sinful, and set on his own way. But we are creatures. No one can rule well unless he first serves the One who is above him, above all persons and all things. To fear Him is the beginning of wisdom; to forget Him, and above all to deny Him, is folly, ruinous now and for ever.
The same writer adds elsewhere that this danger reaches everyone, and that God has not hidden His own aim.
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." Man — whether Israelite or Christian — is likely to make mistakes. Besides, his true place is subjection and obedience. God Himself has an aim before Him which He sets before us.
One writer treats the words "under the sun" as the key to the whole passage. He also warns that people have used these verses to excuse a worldly life. He sets these balanced seasons against a life with one single object:
"Under the sun" there is a time for everything. God has set one thing over against another. If there is a birth, there is a death; if there is a smile, there is a tear; the sorrow stands over against the joy... But look at Paul in Philippians 3. Did he have "a time for everything"? No. "One thing I do," he says. And why? Because he had found his life, his sphere, and his object "above the sun"... We have often heard Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 twisted this way. But it is always by people whose hearts are in this present evil world.
If the timing belongs to God, then waiting is not wasted. One writer applies this to seasons of trouble:
David says, "My times are in your hand." If our times were in our own hand, we would be rescued too soon. If they were in our enemy's hand, we would be rescued too late... God's time is always best. "He has made everything beautiful in its time": when the mercy is ripe, we will have it... Deliverance may be later than our time; but it will not be later than God's time.
- Ordered. Life is not random. Behind the changing seasons is a system in which God "orders everything that touches this changing life of ours most closely."
- Limited. Each thing gets its time — "but only its 'time.'" Seasons expire; only what God does endures for ever.
- Bounded. Man "lives in time," so he cannot trace God's work from beginning to end.
- Submitted. Since "God's hand arranges," the wise response is to bow, not to force a season open. Fearing Him is where wisdom starts.
- Anchored. The balanced pairs are the rule "under the sun." Those who find their object above it can say with Paul, "One thing I do." They can wait, because "God's time is always best."
A time to be born, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
The verse opens with two events no one chooses: birth and death. Then it moves to the field, where a man plants and later pulls up what he planted. Do these fixed seasons mean life is pointless, or that Someone else holds the timetable?
The book has piled up misery. Yet something else runs underneath it.
Whatever man's misery may be, no creature under the heavens is so exposed or so sensitive to sorrow. On his guilty conscience there dawns the awful thought of what may and must come after death. Yet he cannot help seeing that he is under a system whose providence orders all that most closely touches the changing life he now lives.
William Kelly draws out what that order asks of man.
Man's anxious toil can alter none of the facts. God's hand arranges; man's place is to bow. Cain rebelled and gained nothing but bitter loss. Many others have taken the way of Cain, and the end is always the same. Man likes to rule, and no less so since he is fallen, sinful and self-willed. But as creatures, none can rule rightly who does not serve the One who is over him, over all persons and all things.
Born and dying, planting and uprooting: these pairs belong to one sphere. Read outside it, they mislead.
We believe the key to Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, and indeed to the whole book, lies in the phrase "under the sun." … "Under the sun" there is time for everything. God has set one thing over against another. If there is a birth, there is a death; if there is a smile, there is a tear; the sorrow stands over against the joy. This is the law of the old creation. But look at Paul in Philippians 3. Did he have "a time for everything"? No. "One thing I do," he says. Why? Because he had found his life, his sphere and his object above the sun.
The same writer warns that people quote these verses to excuse worldliness: "We have often heard Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 abused in the way you refer to."
Every season here carries a limit. A birth has its moment; so does a death; so does the crop you put in the ground.
"Times" measure everything under the sun. There is a time to be born, and a time to die. Whatever people take in hand under heaven, each thing has its time, but only its "time." It is not "for ever." Its time passes on and is gone. … But beneath the exercises of these times there is a "work that God makes from the beginning to the end." … Man cannot find out this work. His sight stops at the horizon of time.
One Person entered this measured scene from eternity.
The centre of it all is the Word made flesh, the person of the Son — an unfathomable mystery known only to the Father. He it is who has been here and has known a time to be born, and a time to die. We bow our heads and worship as we look at Him. His goings forth have been of old, from the days of eternity. His Spirit could say through the prophet, "My times are in Your hand." Yet He took His place in this time scene, and passed through it and out of it, by death and resurrection, to the throne of the Father.
The endless alternation is not aimless.
Now there is purpose in it — a double purpose. Man is abased, God glorified. Man needs abasing, and divine goodness has ordained it. Otherwise the psalmist's words would come true: "Because they do not change and do not fear God" (Psalm 55:19). But for man there is also a resurrection. It is not within the cycle of change, but beyond it. The one who "humbles himself" to accept God's lesson, turning to Him in this way, "will be exalted."
If the seasons are His, then delay is not neglect.
If our times were in our own hand, we would have deliverance too soon. If they were in our enemy's hand, deliverance would come too late. But my times are in Your hand, and God's time is always best. Everything is beautiful in its season: when the mercy is ripe, we shall have it. … Deliverance may be later than our time, but it will not be later than God's time.
- Ordered — God's hand arranges birth, death, planting and uprooting. Man's anxious toil changes none of it. His place is to bow.
- Limited — every purpose under heaven gets a season, but only a season; it is a "time," never a "for ever."
- Paired — under the sun God sets one thing against another: a birth against a death, a smile against a tear.
- Entered — the Son knew a time to be born and a time to die. He passed out of this scene by death and resurrection to the Father's throne.
- Beyond — the cycle abases man and glorifies God. For the one who humbles himself, resurrection lies outside the wheel altogether.
A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up;
This verse pairs killing with healing, and tearing down with building up. On its own it can sound like fate or an excuse, so commentators ask two things: who fixes these seasons, and how should a person live inside them?
One phrase runs through the whole book and frames this list of times. It marks what the book is looking at: life on earth as man sees it, in the old creation.
We believe the key to Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, and to the whole book, is the expression "under the sun." In this book the Spirit of God has given us a commentary on everything under the sun. It is a vivid picture of the old creation, and of man in the middle of it. "Under the sun" there is a time for everything. God has set one thing over against another. If there is a birth, there is a death; if there is a smile, there is a tear; the sorrow stands over against the joy. This is the law of the old creation.
The pairs are not random. Man is under a hand that arranges the things that touch his life most closely.
However great man's misery may be, he cannot help seeing one thing. He is under a system that orders, by God's providence, everything which most closely affects the changing life he lives now. No creature under the heavens is so exposed or so sensitive to sorrow. And on his guilty conscience there dawns the awful thought of what may and must come after death.
So how should a person meet a time to kill or a time to break down? Not by fighting it.
Man's anxious toil can alter none of the facts. God's hand arranges; man's place is to bow. Cain rebelled and gained nothing but bitter loss, and many others have taken the way of Cain with the same result. Man likes to rule, and being fallen, sinful, and wilful has not made him like it less. But no creature can rule rightly unless he serves One who is over him, over all persons and all things.
The word "time" is itself a limit: every season here runs out. Behind those passing seasons another work goes on.
"Times" measure everything under the sun. Whatever purpose people take in hand under heaven, each has its time, but only its "time." It is not "for ever." Its time passes on and is gone… But beneath the struggles of these times there is a "work that God makes from the beginning to the end"… and this work, done in ways of infinite wisdom, is "for ever."
These changes are counted and deliberate. And the writer of Ecclesiastes traced them back to God.
The book names twenty-eight "times," beginning with the time of birth and ending with the time for peace. Everything has a fixed time: life–death; seeding–harvesting; killing–healing; breaking down–building up; weeping–laughing; mourning–dancing, and so on. These are the times of the whole race. That is what human life is… The writer of Ecclesiastes recognises that all this trouble must be from God. God has produced these never-ceasing changes, so that they might work on men's hearts.
If each act has its right moment, wisdom is knowing which moment you are in. One writer sees this in Abraham.
Everything, as we read, is beautiful in its season. There is a time to build, and a time to pull down. There was a time for Abraham to be still, and a time for Abraham to be active; a time to be silent, and a time to break silence. And he understood the time. Like the men of Issachar afterwards, he knew the time, and what Israel ought to do. God's principles were Abraham's rules.
People quote this list to excuse whatever they want, claiming there is a time for everything. One writer answers that the believer's life is not ruled by these swings at all.
But look at Paul in Philippians 3. Did he have "a time for everything"? No. "One thing I do," he says. And why? Because he had found his life, his world, and his goal "above the sun" — in that "new creation" of which Christ is the Head and the Centre, and in which "all things are of God." We have often heard Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 abused in the way you mention. But it has always been by people whose hearts are in this present evil world, and who are bold enough to quote Scripture in defence of their worldliness.
- Appointed. God's hand arranges killing and healing, tearing down and building up. Man's anxious toil changes none of it.
- Measured. Each purpose gets a time, and only a time; it passes, while the work God does runs on for ever.
- Balanced. Under the sun God sets one thing against another — a tear for every smile — and that is the law of the old creation.
- Exercising. God sends the twenty-eight changing seasons to work on human hearts, not to leave them comfortable.
- Discerned. Wisdom is knowing which season you stand in, as Abraham did. But the believer's centre stays above the sun, in the "one thing I do" — never in an excuse for worldliness.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
This verse sits inside a long list of paired opposites. Every human experience gets its own appointed slot. Here the pairs are the ones we feel most: tears and laughter, mourning and dancing. Two questions press on the reader. Who decides which season we are in? And does this list excuse us to do whatever we feel like doing?
One writer finds the key to this chapter, and to the whole book, in a single phrase:
We believe the key to Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, and indeed to the whole book, lies in the phrase "under the sun." In this book the Spirit of God has given us a commentary on everything under the sun. It is a glowing picture of the old creation, with man in the middle of it. "Under the sun" there is time for everything. God has set one thing over against another. If there is a birth, there is a death; if there is a smile, there is a tear; the sorrow stands over against the joy. This is the law of the old creation. But look at Paul in Philippians 3. Did he have "a time for everything"? No. "One thing I do," he says. Why? Because he had found his life, his sphere, and his object "above the sun."… We have often heard Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 misused in that very way, but always by people whose hearts are in this present evil world, who are bold enough to quote Scripture to defend their worldliness.
Each item on the list gets a season. Then the season closes:
Everything under the sun is measured by "times." There is a time to be born, and a time to die. Whatever people set out to do under heaven, each thing has its time — but only its "time." It is not "for ever." Its time passes on and is gone… But underneath the testing these times bring, there is a "work that God makes from the beginning to the end."
God's calendar makes room for tears. But one writer asks what kind of tears they should be:
It is clear from Ecclesiastes 3 that God's calendar makes room for weeping. It says, "There is … a time to weep." But we should want our weeping to be intelligent. Some tears in Scripture achieve nothing… We need to be kept from tears that do not match the feelings and movements of divine Persons. And we need to be encouraged to weep as God would have us weep.
Knowing which season you are in is the practical difficulty. One writer put it bluntly, then gave a disturbing illustration of a mind out of joint with reality:
Well, my young fellow-traveller, if there is a time to laugh, God says there is also a time to weep. But you see we are apt to do either at the wrong time. I saw a young lady laugh heartily as her sister lay dead by her side.
Scripture gives a case where sincere sorrow was gently overruled. When the people of Jerusalem heard God's law read out and burst into tears, their leaders stopped them — that particular day had been set aside for gladness:
It was no wonder, for God's word never spares evil; and they justly felt their sins. But we ought as His people to feel His grace to His own. Many fail here, as the people of Israel did until they learnt better that day. There is "a time to mourn, and a time to dance," and that season called for dancing… "for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."
One writer describes how God played both notes to man — first through John the Baptist, then through Jesus:
When He mourned to him, man had no tears; when He played joyful music to him, man had no dancing. The human heart proved to be no instrument for the finger of God. All was out of tune when God tried it… He would have raised a solemn note through John the Baptist, who came neither eating nor drinking. Then He would have raised a more joyful one through the Son of man, who mixed freely with people. But there was no music in the heart of man for God.
The pairing is not permanent. One half of it is going to be abolished:
Every true tear recorded; every true tear valued by God; but every tear wiped away. Dear friends, let us value the opportunities of the night of weeping. It stands on God's calendar: "There is… a time to weep."… Suppose we were more sensitive to everything that goes against the holy love of Christ, and grieved over it in a godly way. Then there would be answering occasions of joy, for He delights to "give … beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning."
- Sun. "Under the sun" is the key. In the old creation God sets one thing against another, so every smile has its matching tear.
- Season. Each item gets a time — and only a time. Underneath the passing seasons runs a work of God that lasts for ever.
- Room. God's calendar makes room for weeping. But the writers want intelligent tears — weeping that matches God's own heart, not the kind that achieves nothing.
- Timing. The danger is doing the right thing in the wrong season. In Jerusalem, leaders hushed real tears over sin, because God had marked that day for joy.
- End. God records and values every true tear. Then He wipes every tear away — beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning.