Turn, Turn, Turn Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 June 14, 2009 American
folk singer Pete Seeger wrote a song in 1959
entitled, "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There is a Season)."
It became a #1 hit when the Byrds recorded it in
1965. The lyrics are taken almost exactly from the Ecclesiastes 3. To everything (turn, turn, turn) The
“turn” of course refers to the turning of the seasons of life. The
fact that a chapter from the Bible could become a number one song and played
by many others - from Dolly Parton to Bruce
Springsteen, from Judy Collins to Amy Grant – shows the enduring truth
of these words. The words connect with people. I have been asked to read this
passage at both weddings and funerals. People recognize that there is
something both profound and comforting in these words. In this chapter of
Ecclesiastes King Solomon says eight things about life. 1.
First, he lists the Seasons of Life v. 1-8 1 To everything there is a season, We
feel the truth of this in our bones. There is a rhythm to life. We all have
experienced it. There are seasons in
the year. That is why I love living in the north. My parents-in-law love
living in 2.
Second is the Duality of Life v. 1-8. By that I mean that there is both good
and bad in life. We wish it could all be good and happy, but that is naïve
and unrealistic. There is “4
A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to
dance.” We have wedding and funerals. “ 6 A time to gain, And a
time to lose;” Many of us learned that in the stock market crash.
There is “A time to keep, And a
time to throw away.” If you have ever moved from one house into
another, you know that. There is sickness and health. There are good times
and bad times. “7 A
time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; 8 A
time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.”
We may wish there would be no war and only peace. But that won’t happen
until Jesus returns to establish his kingdom on earth and turns swords into
plowshares and spears into pruning hooks. Until that time there will be, as
Jesus says, “wars and rumors of wars.” In this world there is the
inevitable duality of life. It has been this way ever since Adam and Eve ate
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – another duality
– and brought death into the 3.
This duality of life brings with it inevitable suffering. That is the third
point - The Suffering of life. This is one of the major themes of the whole
book, but only hinted at here in this section in verse 9 when he says “9 What profit has the
worker from that in which he labors?” the implied answer is
“none” He went into this aspect in depth earlier in chapter 2:18 “I hated all my labor in which I
had toiled under the sun….” 2:22-23 “For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of
his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? 23 For all his
days are sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his
heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.” Life is tough. Life is
suffering. To use Solomon’s favorite word, it is vanity. The seasons of
life, especially the dark side of life, takes its toll on even the most
optimistic of people. But Solomon does not dwell on this aspect, and neither
should we. 4.
He quickly goes on to verse 11 and speaks of the Beauty of Life v. 11 “He has made everything beautiful
in its time.” This is what we need to see and hold onto in faith. Before
I came here to western TAPESTRY Life is beautiful. With
its joys and its sorrows, the good and the bad, there is an overall pattern
of beauty. Sometimes we can’t see it, but by faith we believe it. 5. Therefore we need to
enjoy life. This is the fifth point – the Enjoyment of life. Solomon
repeats this several times in the book. He says in 2:24-25 “24 Nothing is
better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that
his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand
of God. 25 For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, more than
I?” He says in 3:12-13 “ 12 I know that
nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their
lives, 13 and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy
the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.” Some
people could look at the inevitable changes of life and despair. Solomon’s
main point of the book is that everything is impermanent and changing and you
can’t find anything in this mortal life that you can hold onto.
Everyone and everything passes away. But instead of despairing Solomon says
to enjoy it. Enjoy it while you have it. 6.
Sixth is the Depth of Life. There is more to life than eating and drinking
and enjoying life. This is also in v. 11 “Also
He has put eternity in their hearts.” If you are reading out of the
KJV it will say, “also he hath set the world in their heart,” but most translations will refer to eternity in their
hearts. It means that God has not left himself without a witness anywhere on
earth, as the apostle Paul says in Acts 14:17. “Nevertheless
He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good,
gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food
and gladness.” Paul was preaching to
pagans in Lystra and referring to the witness of
God in nature. As fallen as man is, as sinful and rebellious as man is, and incapable
of saving himself, still God not left himself without a witness and has set
eternity in their hearts. What does this mean? It means that God has placed in
man’s heart the hunger for something more than this world has to offer.
The apostle Paul spoke to the learned Greek philosophers of God
has placed a hunger in man’s heart which will not be satisfied with
anything less than God. There is a book entitled “Eternity in Their Hearts”
by Don Richardson. In this book this missionary researches and relates 25
stories out of hundreds of stories of cultures throughout the world that were
waiting for the gospel of Christ to be brought to them. Their traditions
passed on an ancient tradition of one true God who would redeem mankind.
There were amazing stories that foreshowed Christ and prepared the way for them
to recognize and believe in Jesus Christ. God has placed eternity in the
hearts of men “so that they
should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him,
though He is not far from each one of us.” That is the message of
Ecclesiastes. Solomon looked to see if anything else on earth could fill that
inner void in his heart with the things of earth, but nothing satisfied. All
was vanity and a grasping after wind. God has placed a hunger in the human
heart for something more than this world can offer. He has placed eternity in
our hearts – that is, a hunger for eternity - and our hearts will not
be satisfied with anything less than the eternal. Augustine said, “Thou
hast made us for thyself and our hearts are restless until
they find rest
in thee." 7.
Seventh is Purpose of Life. God is in control of history and nature and our
lives. Nothing happens randomly or accidentally. He also says in verse 11 “He 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.” God is at
work from the beginning to the end. Life has meaning and purpose and order.
It is perfect from God’s point of view. We might not understand it but
it is nevertheless true. Verses 14-15 “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. 15 That which is has already been, And
what is to be has already been.” In other words, God’s plan
is set and perfect and he does not make mistakes. There is a popular inspirational
poem by Max Ehrmann entitled
“Desiderata.” There is a line in it that says, “And whether or not it is clear to
you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.” God is in
control. This is the great doctrine of God’s providence. Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work
together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according
to His purpose.” 8. Finally the Accountability of Life. Verse
15 ends, “And God requires an
account of what is past.” Here again different translations render
this somewhat differently, but the intent of the verse is that even though
God is in control, we are also accountable. We are responsible for our lives
and our actions. We cannot blame our actions on God or fate or the
circumstances of our lives. You and I have to account to God for how we live
our lives. “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.” Throughout this book Solomon keeps
bringing us back to God. He ends the book in 12:13-14 with the words: “13 Let us hear the
conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all. 14 For God will bring every
work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or
evil.” It is all about accountability.
“And God requires an account of
what is past.” Therefore the question for you is: Have you dealt
with your past?” Is your
past accounted for before God? Christ died on the cross in order to deal with
the sins of our past. He took our sins upon him and bore the punishment for
our sins on the cross so that we would not have to. If we have accepted Christ
as Savior and his finished work on the cross then our sinful past has been
accounted for. God has graciously not counted our sins against us. 2 Cor. 9:15 says, “God
was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins
against them.” We are accountable for our lives, but God has saved
our lives through Jesus Christ. Praise be to God.
|
