Stuck between Time and Eternity - Ecclesiastes 3
Read: Ecclesiastes 3
Listen: “Turn! Turn! Turn!” by The Byrds
Listen: A Song - “Vapor” by The Liturgists
Listen: A Meditation – “Vapor Meditation” by The Liturgists
“Turn! Turn! Turn!” was written by Pete Seeger in 1959 and became a folk/rock hit in 1965 after The Byrds adapted it (Wikipedia). The majority of the song is taken from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 with only a few words added to the lyrics. The song’s title reminds us of the cycles we see in life – all of the extremes and everything that happens in between. Birth and Death. Weep and Laugh. Mourn and Dance. Love and Hate.
The beginning of Ecclesiastes 3 tells us: “There is an occasion for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven…” Compared to the previous two chapters where the Preacher’s focus has been on futile events “under the sun” – these seasons “under heaven” are less pessimistic and, while not optimistic, at least realistic. Every season is set in opposition to its extreme, the purpose being to show the full range of life.
We have already seen the endless cycle of monotony in our world in chapter 1, so why do we need the list of extremes in chapter 3? We see why in verse 11, “He has made everything appropriate in its time…” God is eternal, limitless, boundless. He is the creator of everything including time, and given His eternal nature, He is Lord over time. Every activity has an appointed time; there is no time, season, or situation that is outside of God’s authority.
I find this truth to be frustrating at times. This side of heaven, living “under the sun” is challenging. All the struggle, toil, and futility we see in life is a direct result of the fall (Genesis 3:17-19). The negative seems to stick better in the mind than the positive, so I tend to remember the hard times, the struggles, the frustrations more. And the more I remember and live through the hard things, the more I find everything I do to be futile, and the more frustrated I get with God’s timing. For being Lord of time, I do not always like His timing.
Even I have to admit, though, His timing is best. He knows what He is doing and when and why and how. God has it all figured out – He is the Eternal One – His big picture is so much bigger than anything I can even imagine or understand. So, amidst our frustration, we must remember there is more to the story that we will ever know, and we must keep drawing closer to Jesus. In the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary on Ecclesiastes, the authors write: “God uses all of this tension, frustration, and burden to drive us to Him. It is a sign of God’s goodness. He knows there is no such thing as happiness apart from Him, and He wants us to learn that” (44). Everything that happens – good or bad – will always serve as a guide back to God.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 continues its explanation for the time poem by saying, “…He also put eternity in their hearts, but no one can discover the work God has done from beginning to end.” The Lord of time is the Eternal One. He uses the seasons of our lives to draw us to Him because to draw near to Him means we are trusting in His knowledge of all our comings and goings, all of our past days and future moments. He is sovereign over every moment in time, and we must trust that God will always act at the most appropriate time for every season. We can trust He is working even if we cannot see it or understand how He is working.
We started Ecclesiastes 1 with the question – what is the point of life? Chapter 2 showed us that anything we can possibly imagine to make meaning out of life is completely pointless. And now in chapter 3, God is revealed as the Lord of time and eternity. He is sovereign over every moment of time, every season – good or bad – that we experience. The next puzzle piece in answering the chapter 1 question is to recognize God as Lord of time and eternity. He is the most solid foundation we could ever ask for in this life. And while we might not have an answer to the question yet, we can lean into the One who knows all the answers, even when we do not.
