The Book of Ecclesiastes 3:1–22

 ¹To everything there is a season,  

A time for every purpose under heaven:

²A time to be born,

And a time to die;

A time to plant,

And a time to pluck 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;

A time to embrace,

And a time to refrain from embracing;

⁶A time to gain,

And a time to lose;

A time to keep,

And a time to throw 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 of war,

And a time of peace.

⁹What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? ¹⁰I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. ¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. ¹²I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, ¹³and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

¹⁴I know that whatever God does,

It shall be forever.

Nothing can be added to it,

And nothing taken from it.

God does it, that men should fear before Him.

¹⁵That which is has already been,

And what is to be has already been;

And God requires an account of what is past.

¹⁶Moreover I saw under the sun:

In the place of judgment,

Wickedness was there;

And in the place of righteousness,

Iniquity was there.

¹⁷I said in my heart,

“God shall judge the righteous and the wicked,

For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.”

¹⁸I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.” ¹⁹For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. ²⁰All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust.

²¹Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth? ²²So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

Preamble: As has been noted by others there are twenty eight different activities noted by King Solomon that make up this most famous section of O.T. Scripture. In essence they speak to cycles of life that every generation will face, with no clear one having any advantage over the other. For half of them (14) are positive, and half are negative (BBC). How we apply them then will be the measure of each ones wisdom. O yes they are literal, but do not forget that metaphoric application is also possible.

Commentary

Vs. 1-8 ¹To everything there is a season,  

A time for every purpose under heaven:

²A time to be born,

And a time to die;

A time to plant,

And a time to pluck 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;

A time to embrace,

And a time to refrain from embracing;

⁶A time to gain,

And a time to lose;

A time to keep,

And a time to throw 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 of war,

And a time of peace.

King Solomon’s opening declaration is profound, for he rightly sees that for everything there is season; that there are repeatable cycles in this life under the sun that all of creation goes through. The randomness of evolution then is clearly debunked, because to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven (vs. 1). For God Himself has created all things, sustains all things, watches over all things; even while allowing humanity, and all created life, its own free will, for which every living thing will give an account to Him for what they have done here under the sun. These wise sayings then are a look into that.

Vs. 1-2 “To everything there is a season,  

A time for every purpose under heaven:

²A time to be born,

And a time to die”

A time to plant,

And a time to pluck what is planted;

The time of birth is a time which no one chooses for themselves in all of creation; whether mankind, or anything in the animal kingdom, or any aquatic life. For the time of and place of our births is determined by God alone (Acts 17:26-28). Equally on par with that then is our deaths, for the length of life is also determined by God, no amount of genetic engineering then will ever alter the human lifespan which is governed to now max out at 120 years. Therefore because no one is assured of life, it is critically important to be reconciled to God while you can be, for who knows what the future holds, or doesn’t hold for you. Therefore, there is a very clear Spiritual application, and that is the rebirth of our persons by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and yet this also is predetermined and foreordained by God, however, to go into this subject here in detail here would take many pages, and so we will forego that aspect of this for now, yet know this that everyone who has been appointed to eternal life will believe in Christ (Acts 13:48). And yet there is still another application of this and that is one may have to give one’s life for another, the Lord Jesus Christ laid down His life for us so that we might live, and one day we too may have to lay down ours to save another, or maybe even save many.

“A time to plant,

And a time to pluck what is planted”

The obvious here is that there are cycles of life not only in the agrarian culture of the Bible times, where planting and harvesting was done by one and all; O’ that the church as a whole had such a mindset today of sowing the seeds of the Gospel and then reaping in the harvest; and so there is an appropriate time for everything is the point that is being made here. Now there are endless applications for this, and for all of these sayings, their applications for your person and life then are to be discovered and exercised by you.

Vs. 3 “A time to kill,

And a time to heal;

A time to break down,

And a time to build up”

Now this may seems offensive to some, but in the cycles of life there is a time to kill, like when we slaughter animals for our food, though the saying is more clearly directed towards human life, like when a murderer is to be put to death, or when God ordered His people to kill the Canaanites and take possession of their land. Regarding this though no Christian has ever been ordered by God to kill anyone, for the Lord Jesus Christ would not allow His disciples to kill, not even to protect Him (Matt. 26:52). Nonetheless this saying has a general application during times of defense; like of defending someone's life which may necessitate taking another's, or during times of war, when sadly young men (and women) have to take another’s life. The positive to that is that there is also a time to heal, a time for reconciliation, when the bitter animosities of war are forgotten (or better) forgiven. Now the second half of the verse carries this theme on, saying there is also a time to break down and a time to build up. For which the applications are seemingly innumerable, and yet sometimes it’s better to break something down than to leave it standing, while on the other hand there is also a time to build up; for a rebuke is not always needed, for sometimes a building up of someone or something is desperately needed.

 Vs. 4 A time to weep,

And a time to laugh;

A time to mourn,

And a time to dance;

These too a very important, because there are times when weeping is most appropriate; especially in one’s own life; for as King Solomon notes later,

²Better to go to the house of mourning

Than to go to the house of feasting,

For that is the end of all men;

And the living will take it to heart.

³Sorrow is better than laughter,

For by a sad countenance the heart is made better.

⁴The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,

But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. ^{Ecc. 7:2-4}

That said life is not to be monotone, or of one fixed emotion, rather just as there are times of weeping and mourning, there are also times of laughter, for a cheerful heart does us all much good (Pr. 15:13). Again there is a time for mourning, and there is a time for dancing (i.e. celebration). But singing songs to one who is of a heavy heart is not how you comfort or console them (Prov. 25:20), nor should one be given to joy and celebration when repentance and contriteness is clearly needed and called for (Isaiah 65:12; 66:4; Jeremiah 7:8-20 etc.).

Vs. 5 “A time to cast away stones,

And a time to gather stones;

A time to embrace,

And a time to refrain from embracing”

Casting away stones was how one cleared the land in ancient Israel, making the field fit for plowing and seeding crops. Similarly gathering stones was how they built their houses, out of stones and mortar. Each then has its own place, and yet they are both tied together, for from one comes the other. And so it is in the marriage life there is a time for embracing, and a time to refrain from embracing; because having intimate relations is not always appropriate, especially when children are around.

Vs. 6 A time to gain,

And a time to lose;

A time to keep,

And a time to throw away;

There are times to gain, when in one’s life one acquires…, equally there are also times to lose… times when those “treasures” no longer are needed, or profit you. Like downsizing after the kids move out, or a beloved spouse has passed on, or your time of life dictates a change, or maybe it’s putting some of that gain into the Gospels service, or for the benefit of others; though I would never see that as a loss but more gain! However I don’t want to decide these things for you, nor do I want to limit the scope of the passages application. Again there is a time to gain and a time to lose, a time to keep and a time to throw away, for when something becomes enslaving it’s time to get rid of it! Hoarders then should consider this passage, and release themselves from their own fears and bondages. Now ones faith in Christ is above all else ones most valuable possession, guard and keep and treasure it above all else, for everything else in this life ends when yours down here under the sun does. 

Vs. 7 “A time to tear,

And a time to sew;

A time to keep silence,

And a time to speak”

This theme and thought continues, and though ones first instinct is to think of clothing, there is more to this than just that. Yes, it could just be clothing; if that is as far as you want to take it; but tearing is the destruction of something, for it is an aggressive act by which something is going to be permanently altered or damaged. Sewing on the other hand is the making of something new, or the repairing of something old. It is the positive act to the tearing's negative. And so there is also a time to keep silence and a time to speak. Endless applications abound for this, and a good study of the Book of Proverbs will endow one with much understanding regarding this (to get started consider Psalm 39:1; Prov. 9:8-9; 13:3; 15:2, 4, 28; 16:23; 18:21; 21:23; 24:7, 25; 28:23; 31:8-9; Isaiah 1:17 etc.).

Vs. 8 “A time to love,  

And a time to hate;

A time of war,

And a time of peace.”

Our love towards others should never be in question, for this is apart of the greatest commandment. That said there is also a time of hate, like when one observes a grave injustice, or sees the helpless and weak being abused, for these and many other things (sins) we are to hate, and so the saying love the sinner, but hate the sin finds a clear application here. Again you can love someone, but hate what they are doing. The Lord Jesus made hating one’s own life, or even one’s own family members (when necessary) apart of being His disciple (Matt. 10:37-39; Luke 14:26). For sometimes we will have to leave those who reject the Lord behind. As for war and peace, the disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ is never called to war, or to be at war with anyone, for as much as depends on us we are to live peaceably with all (Rom. 12:18). Nonetheless as In O.T. times there are clearly times of war which God ordains, as there will be again when the Lord Jesus Christ returns and makes war with the beast and his armies. Going to war then for the Christian on behalf of the nation in which one dwells then is a deeply personal choice and conviction, whether to go, or not to go; whether to take an active role in combat, or not. Know this though that the war waged by man is a always a horrible thing, for many innocent people always suffer and are killed in them. Therefore before you go, if you decide to go, just make sure that you are sure of your own faith and convictions, for in all things and at all times Christians are first and foremost to be people who seek the well being of others. So that whatever you chose, you can do so with a clear conscience, for whatever is not of faith is sin. A time of peace; as there is a time of war, there is also a time of peace, when life is no longer combative or even argumentative, when the world’s weapons of war will be made into implement for feeding the poor, when the Lord Jesus Christ Reigns and brings an end to all rule and authority and power, for only then will we all know peace.

Vs. 9-13 ⁹What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? ¹⁰I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. ¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. ¹²I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, ¹³and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

King Solomon now questions the “profit” that the worker has in all his labors, for if what one does not remain what is the point? Nonetheless God has given us all purposes and abilities by which our persons and lives may be occupied and enriched in doing and pursuing down here under the sun (vs. 9). Indeed God has made everything beautiful in its time (vs. 10). And He has put eternity in our hearts; so that we may in the hope of finding Him seek Him and find Him (Acts 17:26-27); and yet Solomon found that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end; there is a clear distinction then between God's works and ours, for ours can be sought out and seen, but all of His are way beyond the scope of our comprehension (vs. 11). With that then King Solomon found it is best then for mankind to rejoice and do good in our lives, to live our best lives, and enjoy all the fruit of our labors, for it is the gift of God (vs. 12-13).

Vs. 14 “I know that whatever God does,

It shall be forever.

Nothing can be added to it,

And nothing taken from it.”

God does it, that men should fear before Him.

In contrast then to mankind’s earth bound works, which are temporary, there is God’s. For everything He does shall be forever, for like His own Eternal Person, so are all His Works and Ways. Nothing then can be added to what God has done and nothing then can ever be taken from it. For if God creates a thing no one can destroy it, or if God destroys a thing no one can rebuild it, for God does it so that we all should fear before Him. People who think the world will end by nuclear conflict are only deceived, for God will not give this world to be destroyed by mans will and power, but He Himself will bring an end to all of this creation that mankind has corrupted through sin, before He institutes a new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells! (Isaiah 65:17, 22-24; 2 Peter  2:13). 

Vs. 15 “That which is has already been,

And what is to be has already been;

And God requires an account of what is past.”

In the theme of there is nothing new under the sun is the fact that history constantly repeats itself, for human beings don’t “evolve”; (but we can be changed through the Gospel by our faith In the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Holy Spirit regenerates our person and makes us new creations In Christ, with a new nature with new righteous appetites and holy desires); for the same evils and injustices appear in every generation, this is humanities ongoing legacy because of sin. Thus history past is right now once again playing itself out somewhere in this broken world, for what is to be has already been, there is nothing new under the sun. Nonetheless God requires an account of what is past. Humanity collectively or individually cannot then claim “ignorance”, for God has placed eternity in everyone’s heart. For we all in that sense know Him and know His will therefore we are all without excuse (Read Romans 1:16-32).

Vs. 16-17 ¹⁶Moreover I saw under the sun:

In the place of judgment,

Wickedness was there;

And in the place of righteousness,

Iniquity was there.

¹⁷I said in my heart,

“God shall judge the righteous and the wicked,

For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.”

King Solomon also observed under the sun, in this broken world in the place of judgment wickedness was there. For not all lawful authority is good and decent, nor honest and fair. Indeed in the seat of judgment he found that wickedness was there. Police officers then are not inherently more honest, or have more integrity, or live more righteous lives than anyone else, simply because they wear a uniform. For a uniform changes no one. For what they are when they go in, is what they will be when they go out. Same with Judges, rulers and government authorities, for these too can also be wicked, corrupt, dishonest, and misleading, even abusing and wrongly imprisoning people through the power and authority that they wield. Thus it pained King Solomon greatly to see in the place of judgment wickedness there. Just as it greatly pained him to see in the place of righteous (i.e. the pulpit) where the pastor, preacher, teacher, or priest holds a seat that iniquity was found there. Therefore King Solomon knowing even his own limitations to make things right in this broken and sinful world, said in his heart; like all who want to see truth and justice done, who are now so powerless against such things, that:

“God shall judge the righteous and the wicked,

For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.”

Their time then is now, but His will be then, when He makes straight what they made crooked. When He repays the righteous and judges the wicked. 

Vs. 18-22 ¹⁸I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.” ¹⁹For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. ²⁰All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust. ²¹Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth? ²²So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

King Solomon now turns to the subject of death, but first he considers mankind’s frailty, and in this he sees God testing us all so that we may all see ourselves as we really are, temporal and mortal; no better than anything in the animal kingdom; not that we are animals in God’s sight; but that we are no better than them in regards to the temporal nature of our flesh. For as he rightly observes all go to one place, that is the grave, for just as we all came from dust, so we all return to dust (vs. 18-20). Thus in that regard mankind has no advantage over anything in the animal kingdom, just as the wise man has no more advantage over the fool, when it comes to this inevitable fact, for all die. What King Solomon could not observe though as one living under the sun as a natural man, not born-again by God’s Holy Spirit, is that we who now live under the Son of God will live! For just as in Adam all die so also all those in Christ shall be made alive! And so here he merely sees the end of all mortal life as the animal spirits going downward to the earth and ours upward back to God who created us who will judge us all (vs. 21). King Solomon then returns to the familiar, to mankind living out their days in the enjoyment of their labors, for this is their heritage given us by God (vs. 22). Again, these things were all written by him as one living under the sun, not one living under the Son, at least not yet.

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.