Ecclesiastes 3:1 - God Is Sovereign & Thus Has A Time & Season For Everything He Has Planned.
Ecc. 3:1; God Is Sovereign And Thus Has A Time and Season For
Everything He Has Planned.
CONTENT; What's in the verse; Translations; Paraphrase; Word
Study:
Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV) To every thing there is a season, and a
time to every purpose under the heaven:
Ecclesiastes 3:1 (AMP) To everything there is a season, and a
time for every matter or purpose under heaven:
Season. Literally, "an appointed time,"... A season is therefore
not merely a convenient time, but a decreed time. [SDA Commentary]
CONTEXT; What's around the verse; Overview; Topic:
Many thoughtful non-Christians will find that this book reflects
an all-too-familiar sense of despair. Life in this world has not
changed fundamentally from the author's day. Apart from a personal
relationship with God any life truly is meaningless. [The 365-Day Devotional
Commentary]
Everything in God's Own Time
CROSS REFERENCES; What's in verses elsewhere.
Isaiah 46:10 (KJV) Declaring the end from the beginning, and
from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My
counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
Psalm 33:11 (KJV) The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever,
the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
Proverbs 21:30 (KJV) There is no wisdom nor understanding nor
counsel against the Lord.
Proverbs 19:21 (KJV) There are many devices in a man's heart;
nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.
Hebrews 6:17 (KJV) Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew
unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed
it by an oath:
COMMENTARY / APPLICATION: Moving From The Head To The Heart
What is God teaching here? What does it teach about Jesus?
Solomon ponders the sovereign design of God (3:1-22) [Ryrie SB]
We are subject to times and changes over which we have little or
no control,... contrast this state with God's eternity and
sovereignty. [NIV SB]
Timing is important. All the experiences listed in these verses
are appropriate at certain times. The secret to peace with God is to
discover, accept, and appreciate God's perfect timing. The danger is to
doubt or resent God's timing. This can lead to despair, rebellion, or
moving ahead without his advice. [Life Application SB]
Solomon's point in this section is that God has a plan for all
people. Thus he provides cycles of life, each with its work for us to
do. Although we may face many problems that seem to contradict God's
plan, these should not be barriers to believing in him, but rather
opportunities to discover that, without God, life's problems have no lasting
solutions! [Life Application SB]
God made time to be filled with activities. Humans do not
exercise ultimate control over time. We must seek to use time as God has
made it to be used. If we demand the right to ultimate control over
time and to certainty as to the results of our labor in time, we are
doomed to hopelessness. If we can trust God with our time and let Him
control its use, then the activities of life can gain joy and meaning.
[Disciple SB]
God has so constructed His world that different events come and
go on schedule. Opportunities arise, and we find joy or sorrow as
we realize the importance of acting on them during their lifetime.
God did not make a haphazard world void of meaning. He made one that
offers chances at various intervals of our days. The world God created
has a well-balanced structure. Nothing is accidental in God's world.
He holds everything in His wise and omnipotent hand. [Disciple SB]
How comforting it is to know that the events of the universe are
ordered by a compassionate, gracious, long-suffering, faithful God. If
tragedy strikes, we have but to wait patiently for the hour of
redemption. This is the broadest unfolding of God's sovereign rule, and
understanding divine sovereignty is a prerequisite to trusting divine
providence.... The different activities mentioned (vv. 2-8) include 14 pairs of
opposites in order to cover the widest range of activity and to represent
every aspect of human activity. They are exclusively divine activities
in respect to appointment--i.e., a proper time for God to act. His
sovereignty demands that all rest upon His will (cf. Deut 32:39; Ps 75:2;
102:13). Since man cannot know what God intends to do, he consequently
cannot order his own doings and goings, but must wait upon the Lord.
The lengthy list adds emphasis to the fact that all of man's life is
under the control of the overall providence of God (cf. Jer 10:23).
[Believer's SB]
God's sure purpose must not be confused with fatalism, a theory
proved false by God's appeals to men to repent and obey. [Scofield SB]
When you feel cast down and despondently sad
And you long to be happy and carefree and glad,
Do you ask yourself, as I so often do,
Why must there be days that are cheerless and blue?
Why is the song silenced in the heart that was gay?
And then I ask God, "What Makes Life This Way?"
And His explanation makes everything clear,
The Soul Has Its Seasons the same as the year,
Man, too, must pass through life's autumn of death
And have his heart frozen by winter's cold breath -
But Spring always comes with new life and birth
Followed by Summer to warm the soft earth -
And, oh, what a comfort to know there are reasons
That souls, like Nature, must too have their seasons,
Bounteous Seasons and Barren Ones, too,
Times For Rejoicing and Times To Be Blue -
For with nothing but "Sameness" how dull life would be
For only life's challenge can set the soul free,
And it takes a mixture of both Bitter and Sweet
To Season Our Lives and make them complete.
[Helen Steiner Rice]
July. What special memories that word conjures up! In our
locality we regularly have a spiritual retreat then. Seeing old friends,
joining them in worship, hearing God's Word expounded powerfully-all are
blessings I wouldn't forgo.
Almost as soon as we return home the black sweet cherries are
ready to can. My daughter and I are off to the orchard and come home
laden with ripe, juicy fruit. Soon the pantry shelves sparkle with the
filled jars. Oh, yes, it's work, but our efforts are far outweighed by
satisfaction and anticipation of how good those cherries will taste next
winter.
As we're driving through the countryside in July we often see
huge piles of wood awaiting the homeowner's saw. He will cut the
cumbersome logs into manageable pieces for fireplace or woodstove. In our
light summer clothing and with beads of perspiration on our faces,
it's hard to imagine that the wood will be needed. But it will-in
winter.
Another common sight during this month is immense round bales of
hay lining the road at the edge of a field. These bales are dried
and then enveloped in white plastic to await the need in midwinter.
When snow covers the ground, the livestock on the surrounding farms
will be grateful for the hay.
Sometimes it seems that we spend our whole summer getting ready
for winter! I prepare for winter because I know it is coming. After
all, we've been promised that the seasons will continue until Jesus
returns to take us home with Him.
"There is a time," says the wise man of old, "for everything,
and a season for every activity."
What season is it for you now? Is it summer? Are you preparing
for the winter of life?
Each of us must have a time for study, for prayer, for devotion,
for witness. We must have a season for developing and using the
spiritual gifts God has given us. The winter will come when it will be
difficult or impossible to prepare. Let's take advantage of the glorious
freedom of "summer" to glorify God in every way we can. --Lea Hardy
www.adventist.org/devotionals
This earth is the place of preparation for heaven. The time
spent here is the Christian's winter. Here the chilly winds of
affliction blow upon us, and the waves of trouble roll against us. But in
the near future, when Christ comes, sorrow and sighing will be
forever ended. Then will be the Christian's summer. All trials will be
over, and there will be no more sickness or death. "God shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow, nor crying . . . : for the former things are passed
away" (MS 28, 1886). {7BC 988 re Rev.21:4 (see EGW on 1 Cor.
15:51-55)}
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