3:1-5:20Solomon's paint 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 Study BibleEcclesiastesChapter 3
Ecclesiastes 3
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 1064, 1065
A few verse numbers on this page were hard to read in the scan and are marked with a dotted underline — compare with the original page image if in doubt.
3Ecclesiastes 3
1a time for every activity under heaven.
2A time to be born and a time to die.A time to plant and a time to harvest.
3A time to kill and a time to heal.A time to tear down anda time to build up.
4A time to cry and a time to laugh.A time to grieve and a time to dance.
5A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
6A time to search and a time to quit searching.A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7A time to tear and a time to mend.A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
8A time to love and a time to hate.A time for war and a time for peace.
9What do people really get for all their hard work? 10I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. 12So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. 1SAnd people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God. 4And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God's purpose is that people should fear him. 15What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again.
The Injustices of Life
1616I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the courts of law are corrupt! 17I said to myself, “In due season God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their deeds.” 18I also thought about the human condition—how God proves to people that they are like animals. 18For people and animals share the same fate—both breathe* and both must die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless! 20Both go to the same place—they came from dust and they return to dust. 21For who can prove that the human spirit goes up and the spirit of animals goes down into the earth? 22So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is why we are here! No one will bring us back from death to enjoy life after we die.
Textual footnotes
- 3:19 Or both have the same spirit.
Life Application Notes 10 notes
3:1-8Timing 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.
3:8When is the time for hating? We shouldn't hate evil people, but we should hate what they do. We should also hate it when people are mistreated, when children are starving, and when God is being dishonored. In addition, we must hate the sin in our lite—this is God's attitude (see Psalm 5:5).
3:9-13Your ability to find satisfaction in your work depends to a large extent upon your attitude. You will become dissatisfied if you lose the sense of purpose God intended for your work. We can enjoy our work if we (1) remember that God has given us work to do (3:10), and (2) realize that the fruit of our labor is a gift from him (3:13). See your work as a way to serve God.
3:11God has “planted eternity in the human heart.” This means that we can never be completely satisfied with earthly pleasures and pursuits. Because we are created in God’s image, (1) we have a spiritual thirst, (2) we have eternal value, and (3) nothing but the eternal God can truly satisfy us. God has built in us a restless yearning for the kind of perfect world that can only be found in his perfect rule. He has given us a glimpse of the perfection of his creation. But it is only a glimpse; we cannot see into the future or comprehend everything. So we must trust God now and do his work on earth.
3:12To be happy and do good are worthy goals for life, but we can pursue them in the wrong way. God wants us to enjoy life. When we have the proper view of God, we discover that real pleasure is found in enjoying whatever we have as gifts from God, not in what we accumulate.
3:14What is the purpose of life? it is that we should fear the all-powerful God. To fear God means to respect and stand in awe of him because of who he is. Purpose in life starts with whom we know, not what we know or how good we are. It is impossible to fulfill your God-given purpose unless you revere God and give him first place in your life.
3:16Evil and corruption sit in the place where justice should be, thus affecting the legal system. Solomon asked how God’s plan can be perfect when so much injustice and oppression exist in the world (4:1). He concluded that God does not ignore injustice but will bring it to an end at his appointed time (12:13, 14).
3:16ffSolomon reflects on several apparent contradictions in God's control of the world: (1) There is evil and corruption where there should be justice (3:16, 17); (2) people created in God’s image die just like the animals (3:18-21); (3) no one comforts the oppressed (4:1-3); (4) many people are motivated by envy (4:4-6); (5) people are lonely (4:7-12}; (6) recognition for accomplishments is temporary (4:13-16). It is easy to use such contradictions as excuses to not believe in God. But Solomon used them to show how we can honestly look at {ife’s problems and still keep our faith. This life is not all there is, yet even in this life we should not pass judgment on God because we don’t know everything. God’s plan is for us to live forever with him. So tive with eternal values in view, realizing that all contradictions wilt one day be cleared up by the Creator himself (12:14).
3:19-22Our bodies can’t live forever in their present state. In that sense, humans and animals are alike. But Solomon acknow!- edged that God has given people the hope of eternity (see the note on 3:11), and that we will undergo judgment in the next life (3:17; 12:7, 14)--making us different from animals. Because we have eternity planted in our hearts, we have a unique purpose in God's overall plan. Yet we cannot discover God's purpose for our lives by our own efforts—only through building a relationship with him and seeking his guidance. Are you now living as God wants? Do you see life as a gift from him?