Wednesday 19th April
Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
“There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.” (NIVUK)
There are fourteen pairs of ‘times’ listed in the poem. Two times seven. Perhaps signifying that the totality of time is in God’s hands. Commentators have sought various patterns to the underlying meaning in this poem and developed complex second guesses for the more obscure phrases. What, for example, could be profound about the process of scattering and gathering stones? Stones were used to mark the boundaries of fields and to build houses – simple practices common to life in the land.
Perhaps the pattern we are meant to see is precisely that simple. At the heart of the poem are two pairs that we would consider completely mundane (setting up a homestead and embracing someone (v7-8)). Yet the poet is making the staggering claim that even things as routine and seemingly completely within our control and choice are not actually hidden from God. He has ordained times even for this. Nothing we do is hidden from his sight – or more importantly, his oversight.
This is a disturbing thought for many people. We like to think that perhaps the big decisions, where and when an earthquake or a tsunami might strike, are within God’s control. But the small decisions, where will I build a fence or what will I have for breakfast (cf Matthew 6:31), are all within our control. We have an imaginary line along which the size of decisions and God’s involvement in them shifts and moves. We remain autonomous. We are independent.
The Teacher though would warn us that trouble lies down that path. Although scripture affirms that we do indeed ‘make decisions’, wisdom demands that we remember every day that we live ‘under heaven’ (v1). As another teacher explains…
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:12-13) (NIVUK)
