Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
3:1For
everything there is a season, and a time for every
matter under heaven;
2a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones
together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from
embracing;
6a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:9-15
“What gain has the worker from his toil? I have
seen the business that God has given to the
children of man to be busy with. 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. I perceived that there is nothing
better for them than to be joyful and to do good
as long as they live; also that everyone should
eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—
this is God's gift to man. 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.”
Ecclesiastes 3:16-21
“Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the
place of justice, even there was wickedness, and
in the place of righteousness, even there was
wickedness. I said in my heart, God will judge
the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time
for every matter and for every work. I said in
my heart with regard to the children of man
that God is testing them that they may see that
they themselves are but beasts. For what
happens to the children of man and what
happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies,
so dies the other. They all have the same breath,
and man has no advantage over the beasts, for
all is vanity. All go to one place. All are from
the dust, and to dust all return. Who knows
whether the spirit of man goes upward and the
spirit of the beast goes down into the earth?”
Ecclesiastes 3:22
“So I saw that there is nothing better than that a
man should rejoice in his work, for that is his
lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after
him?”
Ecclesiastes
The Great Experiment
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
The Preacher is still trying to answer the
question: “What does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?” (1:3)
1. The Preacher began his investigation by
looking into his own experiences and the
tests or experiments that he undertook.
• The wisdom that he applied himself
to. (1:16-18)
• He tried pleasure. (2:1-3)
• He tried accomplishments, including
the accumulation of wealth. (2:4-8)
• The conclusion of these? “…all was
vanity and a striving after wind, and
there was nothing to be gained under
the sun.” (2:11)
2. Now, the Preacher turns to observations from
life in general.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
The Preacher begins his observations with
a list of 14 contrasting pairs.
1. Time to be born…time to die
2. Time to plant…time to pluck
3. Time to kill…time to heal
4. Time to break down…time to heal up
5. Time to weep…time to laugh
6. Time to mourn…time to dance
7. Time to cast away…time to gather
8. Time to embrace…time to refrain
9. Time to seek…time to lose
10.Time to keep…time to cast away
11. Time to tear…time to sew
12.Time to keep silent…time to speak
13.Time to love…time to hate
14.Time for war…time for peace
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
A. What is the purpose of the list?
• “For everything there is a season, and a
time for every matter under heaven.”
• Season…denotes a fixed, definite
portion of time
B. The list shows that life – when viewed by
man – seemingly has extremes that
cannot be understood or predicted by
man.
• At any particular time, each of these
could be understood. But taken as a
whole, man really is incapable of
explaining the whole no matter how
hard he may try.
C. So, why then does God allow for each of
these occasions or events to have their own
season or time? Read again Eccl. 3:9-14.
Ecclesiastes 3:9-15
A. All of these occasions or events help man
to understand…
1. God is in control.
2. God does understand the entire picture.
• “He has made everything beautiful in
its time.”
3. Man should trust in God.
• Note again the phrase: “…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 complexity of world around us
causes us to want to know more, and
the only reasonable and true answer is
that we must trust in Him who has
made everything beautiful in its time.
Ecclesiastes 3:9-15
A. All of these occasions or events help man
to understand…
4. Man should do good and enjoy life.
• Does that mean that we should treat
every occasion with happiness?
Obviously not. The writer has already
stated that there are times of mourning
and weeping. Yet, these should not
surprise us.
5. God has placed these events before us so
that we might fear Him.
• We cannot control these things, but
God can.
 God’s plans cannot be altered. (Ps.
33:11)
• We cannot understand all of these
things, but God can.
Ecclesiastes 3:16-21
A. The Preacher now observes that there are
injustices in the world – wickedness in the
place of righteousness and justice.
• Our world is full of situations where
seemingly the evil succeed and avoid
punishment. (Psalm 73:2-15)
• Yet, the Preacher again alludes to the fact
that men have a finite time and peripheral
view. God’s view is infinite and eternal. In
the end, God will judge. (Eccl. 3:17, Psalm
73:16-17)
B. The brevity of man’s life also tests the faith of
man. It may seem to us that we are no better
off than the other animals who simply die and
return to the dust of the ground. We must
again realize that this physical life is just a
short view of eternity – our spirit will return to
God who gave it.
Ecclesiastes 3:22
“So I saw that there is nothing better than that a
man should rejoice in his work, for that is his
lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after
him?”
Ecclesiastes
The Great Experiment