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Doctrines Alluded to

Chapter Summary

Doctrines Covered or Alluded To

Chapters of the Bible Alluded To or Appropriately Exegeted with this Chapter

Psalm 7

Many who read and study this chapter are 1^st or 2^nd generation students of R. B. Thieme, Jr., so that much of this vocabulary is second nature. One of Bob’s contributions to theology is a fresh vocabulary along with a number of concepts which are theologically new or reworked, yet still orthodox. Therefore, if you are unfamiliar with his work, the definitions below will help you to fully understand all that is being said. Also included are various technical terms from Christian theology along with a few new terms and concepts which I have developed.

Sometimes the terms in the exegesis of this chapter are simply alluded to, without any in-depth explanation of them. Sometimes, these terms are explained in detail and illustrated. A collection of all these terms is found here: (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). Often, the terms below are linked to complete doctrines.

Definition of Terms

Client nation

The client nation is a nation where there are a lot of believers and a lot of mature and growing believers. This nation is known for its evangelization, for its Bible teaching, its Bible scholarship, and missionary activity. The government and leaders may or may not be supportive of such activity. However, generally speaking, such activity is allowed within the national entity. It is this activity which preserves such a national entity. Doctrine of the Client Nation (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

Pivot

A pivot it is the accumulation of mature believers living in a client nation or under civil government in a specific geographical location. While a pivot is composed primarily of mature believers, it may also include those positive believers whose momentum has carried them into spiritual adulthood. For more information, see R. B. Thieme, Jr.

Rebound (Restoration to fellowship with God)

In the New Testament, this is naming your sins to God, so that you are both restored to temporal fellowship with God and are then filled with the Spirit of God. In the Old Testament, naming your sins to God would result in a restoration of fellowship and, in some cases, the empowerment of the Holy Spirit once again (the Holy Spirit was not given to all Old Testament believers). The Doctrine of Rebound (HTML) (PDF).

The Revealed God (or, the Revealed Lord)

We all come to a time of God-consciousness where we understand the concept and possibility of the existence of God. At that point, we face 2 great questions: (1) do we want to know this God and (2) are will willing to believe in God as He has revealed Himself or do we make a god in our own image and worship that? In both the Old and New Testaments, God will make Himself known (He reveals Himself) to those who will believe in Him and to others as well. We know Him firmly and concretely as Jesus Christ; and in the Old Testament, He is known as the God of the Jews, the Creator of the Universe, the God of Moses (or of Abraham), etc.

Sin unto death

When a believer stays out of fellowship for an extended period of time and consistently acts against the plan of God, God may remove him from this life painfully using discipline that will result in his death. For more information, see the Doctrine of the Sin unto Death (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

Some of these definitions are taken from

https://www.gotquestions.org/

http://rickhughesministries.org/content/Biblical-Terms.pdf

http://www.gbible.org/index.php?proc=d4d

http://www.wordoftruthministries.org/terms-and-definitions/

http://www.theopedia.com/

A title or one or two sentences which describe Ecclesiastes 3.

Titles and/or Brief Descriptions of Ecclesiastes 3 (by Various Commentators)

Dr. John Gill: The general design of this chapter is to confirm what is before observed, the vanity and inconstancy of all things; the frailty of man, and changes respecting him; his fruitless toil and labour in all his works; that it is best to be content with present things, and cheerful in them, and thankful for them; that all comes from the hand of God; that such good men, who have not at present that joy that others have, may have it, since there is a time for it; and that sinners should not please themselves with riches gathered by them, since they may be soon taken from them.

Matthew Henry: Solomon, having shown the vanity of studies, pleasures, and business, made it to appear that happiness is not to be found in the schools of the learned, nor in the gardens of Epicurus, nor upon the exchange. He proceeds, in this chapter, further to prove his doctrine, and the inference he had drawn from it. Therefore we should cheerfully content ourselves with, and make use of, what God has given us.

Dr. Peter Pett: There Is A Right Time For Everything. There Is Also Transient Beauty In The World and Man Has Everlastingness In His Heart. But There Is Also Injustice, And In The End All Die. This appears to be Pett’s title of this chapter.

Ray Stedman entitled a series on Ecclesiastes as Things that don’t work.

This is a very difficult chapter to describe briefly. Whereas, most chapters in the Bible can be summed up in one or two sentences, Ecclesiastes defies such summarization, given its complex and varied subject matter.

Sometimes, a commentator will begin with a good observation of this chapter of the Bible.

Brief, but insightful observations of Ecclesiastes 3 (various commentators)

Rev. Joseph Benson: Solomon having mentioned God’s overruling providence in the latter end of the previous chapter, proceeds in this to illustrate the imperfection of human wisdom, which is confined to a certain season for all things that it would effect, which if we neglect, or let slip, all our contrivances signify nothing.

Benson continues: He then shows that the utmost perfection at which our wisdom can arrive in this world, consists: first,, In being contented with this order in which God has placed all things, and not disquieting ourselves about that which it is not in our power to alter. Second, In observing and taking the fittest opportunity of doing every thing, as the most certain means to tranquillity. Third, In taking the comfort of what we have at present, and making a seasonable and legitimate use of it. Finally, in bearing the vicissitudes which we find in all human things with an equal mind; because they are ordered by a powerful, wise, and gracious Providence.

Expositor’s Bible Commentary: IF the true Good is not to be found in the School where Wisdom utters her voice, nor in the Garden in which Pleasure spreads her lures: may it not be found in the Market, in devotion to Business and Public Affairs? The Preacher will try this experiment also. He gives himself to study and consider it. But at the very outset he discovers that he is in the iron grip of immutable Divine ordinances, by which "seasons" are appointed for every undertaking under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1), ordinances which derange man’s best-laid schemes, and "shape his ends, rough hew them how he will," that no one can do anything to purpose "apart from God," except by conforming to the ordinances, or laws, in which He has expressed His will. (comp. Ecclesiastes 2:24-26).

Matthew Henry: To expect unchanging happiness in a changing world, must end in disappointment. To bring ourselves to our state in life, is our duty and wisdom in this world. God's whole plan for the government of the world will be found altogether wise, just, and good. Then let us seize the favourable opportunity for every good purpose and work. The time to die is fast approaching. Thus labour and sorrow fill the world. This is given us, that we may always have something to do; none were sent into the world to be idle.

Dr. Peter Pett: [Solomon’s] experiments are now over but he continues to think about all the events and occurrences of life, and how they reveal the meaninglessness of it all, with the occasional glimmer of hope. And he sees that even the man with the open heart towards God is as much caught up in the time-line as everyone else. We know that he is included because of Ecclesiastes 3:9. In Ecclesiastes 2:24 he found enjoyment in his toil. Now the question is, what gain would he have finally from his toil?

Pett continues: [Solomon’s] thoughts move now to the repeated continuity of life. Along the time-line, which is everlasting (Ecclesiastes 3:11), various things are seen as occurring repetitively, each in its time. They come and they go, but they are but temporary. Only time moves on continually leaving man behind, even the godly man.

Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary: Man forms designs for his own happiness, gives free scope to his powers, and traces out the course of his life. Yet there is over him a higher system of things, a stern and terrible Power by which he is overmastered and subdued. He is made, after all, to fulfil the designs of heaven. The Divine control over every domain of creation is supreme over all other sovereignties.

The Pulpit Commentary: In confirmation of the truth that man’s happiness depends upon the will of God, Koheleth proceeds to show how Providence arranges even the minutest concerns; that man can alter nothing, must make the best of things as they are, bear with anomalies, bounding his desires by this present life.

Ray C. Stedman: I am amazed at the variety of things that are offered to us every day to help us find the secret of successful living. Magazine articles by the dozens tell us how to cope with various problems; TV commercials -- dozens to a program it seems -- bombard us, telling us how to be successful in life, or at least how to look successful even if we really are not, health clubs offer us saunas and whirlpool baths to relax us so we can face life with equanimity; while various kinds of drugs are available to turn us on, turn us off, take us out, or whatever.

Ray C. Stedman: All this is evidence of the universal search for the secret of enjoyment of life. Billions of dollars are spent every day on this quest. That is the very quest that the book of Ecclesiastes tells us about. The greatest experiment ever performed in the history of mankind to test the various approaches to success, enjoyment or contentment in life is recorded in this 3,000 year old book.

Ray C. Stedman: We now have come to the third chapter, which describes the combination of opposites in our experience. We read, for instance, "There is a time to weep and a time to laugh" (Verse 4). Throughout this chapter the idea is propounded that there is an appropriate time for all of life's experiences...Ron Ritchie won a kind of immortality for himself at Dallas Theological Seminary when, on the day of graduation, that most solemn occasion in educational life, he walked down the aisle, dressed in his sombre graduation robe, holding a coffee cup in his hand. He is remembered in the annals of Dallas Seminary as a man who did not know the appropriate action for a certain time.

Ray C. Stedman: There is an appropriate time for everything, the unpleasant as well as pleasant experiences. That is the argument of Ecclesiastes 3. This is not merely a description of what happens in life, it is a description of what God sends. Many of us are familiar with Bill Bright' s Four Spiritual Laws, the first of which is, "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life." When talking to someone about his relationship with God, that is an appropriate place to begin. That is the plan that is set forth here. All along, the Searcher, the author of this book, is saying that God desires to bring joy into human experience. Many people think Ecclesiastes is a book of gloom and pessimism because, on the level of the writer's limitations -- which, he says, are, "under the sun," i.e., the visible things of life -- his findings are gloomy and pessimistic. But that is not the message of the book. God intends us to have joy and his program to bring it about includes all these opposites.

Ray C. Stedman: This is the Searcher's thesis: God desires us to learn the secret of enjoyment. That enjoyment will not come from a variety of experiences. Those will bring but momentary pleasure, but not the secret of contentment, of continual enjoyment.

The key to enjoyment in life is our relationship with God.

Whedon: Koheleth now proceeds to inquire what business, so attractive to healthy and energetic natures, can do for the happiness of man. He at once finds that social law is rigorous and inevitable, and that he is helpless before it. Every effort can go but a little way before a counter effort must surely topple over and destroy all the results that it has accomplished.

One of the most difficult things is, how does one approach the book of Ecclesiastes?

The Keys to Interpreting Ecclesiastes (from Dr. Bob Utley)

Although this chapter is usually interpreted as dealing with the timeliness or appropriateness of human actions, in context, it deals with God's sovereignty (cf. Ecclesiastes 2:24-26; Ecclesiastes 3:14).

A.      When interpreting the book of Ecclesiastes it is very important that we see it is satire based on two key phrases:

         1.      “all is vanity” (i.e., transitoriness of human life and effort)

         2.      “under the sun” (i.e., physical life, earthly life viewed apart from God, i.e., agnostically)

B.      The central answer to a meaningless and frustrated life is found in

         1.      faith and obedience (cf. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

         2.      the simple pleasures of life as provided by God (cf. Ecclesiastes 2:24; Ecclesiastes 3:12-13; Ecclesiastes 3:22; Ecclesiastes 5:18; Ecclesiastes 6:12; Ecclesiastes 8:15; Ecclesiastes 9:7)

C.     Ecclesiastes is one of the books of the Bible that must be interpreted in its totality. Prooftexting this book or missing its tongue-in-cheek world-view will prove to be a hermeneutical disaster.

Dr. Bob Utley, Copyright © 2014 Bible Lessons International; www.freebiblecommentary.org; from e-sword; Ecclesiastes 3 chapter comments.

As I study a chapter, questions will occur to me—some of them important and many of them minor. Not all of these questions will be satisfactorily answered.

Fundamental Questions About Ecclesiastes 3

1.      What is Solomon’s philosophy or set of central ideas?

2.      Are there several philosophical systems to be found in Ecclesiastes 3?

3.      Could we read this chapter to be Solomon speaking to the rewards of life which the unbeliever may claim to?

4.      

It is important to understand what has gone before.

The Prequel of Ecclesiastes 3

We need to know who the people are who populate this chapter.

The Principals of Ecclesiastes 3

Characters

Biographical Material

We need to know where this chapter takes place. I may need to eliminate this one.

The Places of Ecclesiastes 3

Place

Description

By the Numbers

Item

Date; duration; size; number

At this point, we begin to gather up more details on this chapter.

A Synopsis of Ecclesiastes 3

Outlines and Summaries of Ecclesiastes 3 (Various Commentators)

Albert Barnes:

It follows from Eccles. 2:26 (For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.—ESV) that the works of people are subject in their results to another will (God’s) besides that of the doer. Here is the germ of the great question of later times - how to reconcile man’s free will with God’s decrees.

Solomon’s way of stating it is that to every separate work, which goes to make up the great aggregate of human activity (the “travail,” Eccles. 3:10), there is a season, an appropriate time which God appoints for its being done (Eccles. 3:1-8). To the question (Eccles. 3:9) What profit? he answers that the works of people, if done according to God’s appointment, are a part of that beautifully arranged scheme of Divine Providence which, as a whole, is, by reason of its extent and duration, incomprehensible to us (Eccles. 3:11).

Man’s good is to rejoice and do good in his lifetime, which he can do only as God appoints (Eccles. 3:12-13). God’s work, of which this would be a part, is forever, is perfect (and so not subject to vanity), and is calculated to teach people to revere Him (Eccles. 3:14). His work, which was begun long ago, is now going on to completion; His work hereafter will be a complement of something which was done previously; and He recalls the past in order to add to it what shall make it complete and perfect (Eccles. 3:15). The principle of divine government - that every work in order to be permanent and successful must be God’s work as well as man’s work - is also declared in Psalm 127:1-2 (attributed to Solomon).

Rev. Joseph Benson:

Solomon proves that we ought to make use of what God has given us, by showing the mutability of all human affairs (Eccles. 3:1-10). The immutability and unsearchableness of the divine counsels (Ecces. 3:11-15). The vanity of honour and power, often an instrument of oppression, for which God will judge the oppressors (Ecces. 3:16–17); whose condition in this world is no better than that of brutes (Ecces. 3:18-21). Therefore live well (Ecces. 3:22).

Adam Clarke:

Every thing has its time and season (Ecces. 3:1-8. Men are exercised with labor (Ecces. 3:9–10). Every thing is beautiful in its season (Ecces. 3:11. Men should enjoy thankfully the gifts of God (Ecces. 3:12–13). What God does is for ever (Ecces. 3:14). There is nothing new (Ecces. 3:15). The corruption of judgment; but the judgments of God are right (Ecces. 3:16–17). Man is brutish, and men and brutes die in like manner (Ecces. 3:18-21). Man may enjoy the fruit of his own labors (Ecces. 3:22).

Gary H. Everett gives a broad outline for the first two verses:

1. The Preacher Concludes God Has a Purpose — Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

2. The Preacher Explains His Conclusion — Ecclesiastes 3:9-15

Arno Gaebelein:

1.      The times of man under the sun (Ecclesiastes 3:1-11)

2.      When then is the good? (Ecclesiastes 3:12-15)

3.      Concerning judgment and the future (Ecclesiastes 3:16-22)

Dr. John Gill:

There is a time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1); of which there is an induction of particulars (Ecclesiastes 3:2); so that though every thing is certain with God, nothing is certain with men, nor to be depended on, nor can happiness be placed therein. There is no striving against the providence of God, nor altering the course of things.

The labour of man is unprofitable, and his travail affliction and vexation (Ecclesiastes 3:9). Though all God's works are beautiful in their season, they are unsearchable to man (Ecclesiastes 3:11); wherefore it is best cheerfully to enjoy the present good things of life (Ecclesiastes 3:12); and be content; for the will and ways and works of God are unalterable, permanent, and perfect (Ecclesiastes 3:14).

Though wicked men may abuse the power reposed in them, and pervert public justice, they will be called to an account for it in the general judgment, for which there is a time set (Ecclesiastes 3:16). Yet, such is the stupidity of the generality of men, that they have no more sense of death and judgment than the brutes, and live and die like them (Ecclesiastes 3:18). Therefore it is best of all to make a right use of power and riches, or what God has given to men, for their own good and that of others, since they know not what shall be after them (Ecclesiastes 3:22).

David Guzik:

THE REIGN OF TIME, A GLIMMER OF HOPE

A.      God and time.

         1.      (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) A time for every purpose.

         2.      (Ecclesiastes 3:9-11) A glimmer of hope in seeing God as the master of time.

         3.      (Ecclesiastes 3:12-15) What the Preacher knows.

B.      Injustice is unanswered by death.

         1.      (Ecclesiastes 3:16-17) The problem of injustice and an uneasy assurance of solving this problem.

         2.      (Ecclesiastes 3:18-21) The common fate of animals and humans under the sun.

         3.      (Ecclesiastes 3:22) Finding peace under the sun.

Matthew Henry:

I.       The mutability of all human affairs (Ecclesiastes 3:1-10).

II.      The immutability of the divine counsels concerning them and the unsearchableness of those counsels (Ecclesiastes 3:11-15).

III.     The vanity of worldly honour and power, which are abused for the support of oppression and persecution if men be not governed by the fear of God in the use of them (Ecclesiastes 3:16). For a check to proud oppressors, and to show them their vanity, he reminds them,

         1.      That they will be called to account for it in the other world (Ecclesiastes 3:17).

         2.      That their condition, in reference to this world (for of that he speaks), is no better than that of the beasts (Ecclesiastes 3:18-21).

Solomon concludes that it is our wisdom to make use of what power we have for our own comfort, and not to oppress others with it.

Matthew Henry:

(Ecclesiastes 3:1-10)             The changes of human affairs.

(Ecclesiastes 3:11-15)           The Divine counsels unchangeable.

(Ecclesiastes 3:16-22)           The vanity of worldly power.

Matthew Poole:

Every thing has its time; in which, to enjoy it, and therewith do good to others, is our good (Ecclesiastes 3:1-13). God does all according to his decree that we should fear him, and there is nothing new (Ecclesiastes 3:14,15). The vanity of unjust judgment; God is the great Judge of all (Ecclesiastes 3:16,17); and he will make men know that they are here but as brute beasts (Ecclesiastes 3:18-22).

Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge:

Ecclesiastes 3:1–10: By the necessary change of times, vanity is added to human travail;

Ecclesiastes 3:11–15: There is an excellency in God’s works;

Ecclesiastes 3:16–22: But as for man, God shall judge his works hereafter, though here he be like a beast.

Ray Steadman:

If you look carefully you will see that these eight opening verses gather around three major divisions which correspond, amazingly enough, to the divisions of our humanity: body, soul, and spirit. The first four pairs deal with the body:

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up; (Ecclesiastes 3:1-3 RSV)

Then the Searcher moves into the realm of the soul, with its functions of thinking, feeling and choosing, the social areas, and all the interrelationships of life that flow from that.

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; (Ecclesiastes 3:4-5 RSV)

The last six of these opposites relate to the spirit, to the inner decisions, the deep commitments.

a time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to rend, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:6-8 RSV)

929 Chapters Outline of Ecclesiastes 3 (David Z. Moster)

Ecclesiastes 3 – “Reflections”

I.       Summary

Qohelet reflects upon time, the fate of man, and tells people to enjoy their lives.

II.      Photo (Photo from www.omnisalsa.com)

Qohelet teaches a lesson: “A season is set for everything… A time for wailing and a time for dancing.” (vv. 1, 4).

III.     Select Verses

         1-8:            A season is set for everything, a time for every experience under heaven: A time for being born and a time for dying, A time for planting and a time for uprooting the planted; A time for slaying and a time for healing, A time for tearing down and a time for building up; A time for weeping and a time for laughing, A time for wailing and a time for dancing; A time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones, A time for embracing and a time for shunning embraces; A time for seeking and a time for losing, A time for keeping and a time for discarding; A time for ripping and a time for sewing, A time for silence and a time for speaking; A time for loving and a time for hating; A time for war and a time for peace.

         12-13:        Thus I realized that the only worthwhile thing there is for them is to enjoy themselves and do what is good in their lifetime; also, that whenever a man does eat and drink and get enjoyment out of all his wealth, it is a gift of God

         19-21:        For in respect of the fate of man and the fate of beast, they have one and the same fate: as the one dies so dies the other, and both have the same lifebreath; man has no superiority over beast, since both amount to nothing. Both go to the same place; both came from dust and both return to dust. Who knows if a man’s lifebreath does rise upward and if a beast’s breath does sink down into the earth?

IV.     Outline

         1-8             A time for everything

         9-15           God has set man’s place; Enjoy life

         16-22         The fate of all living things is the same; Enjoy life

From 929chapters.com accessed March 11, 2020.

A Synopsis of Ecclesiastes 3 from the Summarized Bible

Contents:           The mutability of all human affairs and the unchangeableness and unsearchableness of the divine counsels.

Characters:        God, Solomon.

Conclusion:       We live in a world of changes. The events of time and the conditions of human life are continually passing and repassing, yet every change is determined by the supreme power and we should therefore accommodate ourselves to His purposes. The only true pleasure of life is in making good use of the things God has given us, making ourselves serviceable to those about us.

Key Word:          Man’s portion, Ecclesiastes 3:22.

Strong Verses:  Ecclesiastes 3:12, Ecclesiastes 3:14, Ecclesiastes 3:17.

Striking Facts:   Ecclesiastes 3:17. In the midst of all the inequalities of human affairs it is a great comfort to know that the eye of faith can see that Jesus Christ, the Judge, stands before the door and that when He comes, He will reward the righteous and punish the pride and cruelty of oppressors. Though the day of affliction may seem long, we may patiently wait His coming, when there will be an examination into every purpose and every work done under the sun.

Keith L. Brooks, Summarized Bible; Complete Summary of the Bible; ©1919; from e-Sword, Ecclesiastes 3.

It is helpful to see what came before and what follows in a brief summary.

The Big Picture (Ecclesiastes –)

Scripture

Text/Commentary

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes

A Bird’s Eye View of Ecclesiastes 3:1–5:7 (from B. H. Carroll)

In Ecclesiastes 3:1-5:9 we have the elements that limit:

I.       The Divine Elements are,

         1.      The law of opportunes (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

Things must be done in their time or they are a failure.

         2.      The eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:9-11 a)

"God has put eternity in our hearts" (Ecclesiastes 3:11) is a great text. This means -that money and worldly things cannot satisfy the yearning of the human heart, which is for eternal things.

         3.      The finiteness of man's nature (Ecclesiastes 3:11 b)

         4.      The laws of God are infrangible (Ecclesiastes 3:14–15)

Ecclesiastes 3:14-15 mean that the laws of God are infrangible, i.e., cannot be broken with impunity, and that whoever breaks the laws of the divine limitations him will God break.

 II.      The Human Elements are,

         1.      Iniquity in the place of justice (Ecclesiastes 3:16–22)

                  a.      The observation is that iniquity was in the place of justice; that unjust men in court block the way of the righteous if they appeal to them. This is like the parable of the widow and unjust judge. A modification of this thought is found in the divine element, that God will judge the righteous and the wicked (Ecclesiastes 3:17).

                  b.      A serious question arises in Ecclesiastes 3:18-21. This is not a proposition but a heart question: Is there a distinction between man and beast?...The conclusion of Ecclesiastes 3:22 is a most natural one. If man dies like a beast and that is the end of all for him, then he can do no better than to make the most of this life.

         2.      The oppression of the poor (Ecclesiastes 4:1–3)

The oppression of the poor and the question arising was a temporary one, as to whether it would not be better to be dead or never to have been born (Ecclesiastes 4:2-3). following that is an observation with respect to labor and a question which arose from it.

         3.      Labor and skill actuated only by rivalry with the neighbor (Ecclesiastes 4:4–16)

                  a.      The observation was that a man's labor and skill were actuated only by rivalry with hia neighbor (Ecclesiastes 4:4) and the question arising from it is this: Is it not better then, just to be a sluggard? (Ecclesiastes 4:5-6).

                  b.      Then in Ecclesiastes 4:8 we have an illustration of a miserly bachelor who is never satisfied with -his acquired wealth, notwithstanding that there is no one to whom he might leave his wealth at death. I once knew a man in Austin who had no relatives and owned a great deal of Austin, yet he would go across the street to his neighbor's to warm rather than buy coal.

                  c.      Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 is a contrast with the condition of the bachelor and is a wonderful gem of literature, expressing the advantages of co-operation. Two are better than one because they can be mutually helpful to each other. This is the foundation principle of all partnerships, whether for business, war or the home. "A threefold cord is not quickly broken."

                  d.      In Ecclesiastes 4:13-16 we have an illustration of the same principle in the vanity of kings in acquiring great dominion to be turned over to an ungrateful son. There is doubtless a reference here to Solomon himself and his son, Rehoboam. Solomon foresaw the coming of Rehoboam and his people who would not rejoice in their heritage.

         4.      The elements of weakness in human worship (Ecclesiastes 5:1-7)

The elements of weakness in human worship as noted in Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 are lack of due consideration which results in the sacrifice of fools and rash vowing and then not paying the pledge. Here I give an observation: often let their mouths go off half-cocked and then when settlement day comes say before the messenger, "It was an error." This principle applies in all our general work. For many years I was an agent for different phases of denominational work and handled thousands of dollars for the kingdom enterprises. On many occasions in our conventions pledges were made for some kingdom interest and when I took the matter up with the different ones for collection many of them would not even answer my letters. Then these same ones would come into the convention again and make another pledge and refuse again to pay it. This led me to go through my list of pledges when they were first made and write after each one of these the German word, nix. One would be astonished to go over these lists because of the great number on the list with nix after the name and also because certain ones are in the list whom a credulous person would not suspect. This experience of mine led me to emphasize very strongly this passage in later years: "Keep your foot when you go to the house of God."

         5.      Injustice in governmental affairs. (Ecclesiastes 5:8–9)

Another observation is recorded in Ecclesiastes 5:8-9. This relates to the matter of injustice so often wrought in governmental affairs, but we are admonished to remember that the One who is over all regards, and that his purpose in human government is to secure equal rights to all, since the earth is for all, and all, including the king, must be fed from the field.

B. H. Carroll, An interpretation of the English Bible; from e-Sword, Ecclesiastes 1:2–5:9 (edited).

I was surprised as to how closely most of these translations tracked.

From www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ecclesiastes%205&version=NASB;NKJV;NRSV;CEB;CEV; concept inspired by Dr. Bob Utley.

Outline or Summary of Ecclesiastes 3:1–8 (various commentators)

Dr. Thomas Constable:. As is customary in Ecclesiastes, the writer began this section by stating a thesis (Ecclesiastes 3:1). He then proceeded to illustrate and to prove it true (Ecclesiastes 3:2-8).

Gary H. Everett:

1.      General Summary — Ecclesiastes 3:1

2.      The Vanity of Wisdom — Ecclesiastes 3:2-3

3.      The Vanity of Mirth and Pleasure — Ecclesiastes 3:4

4.      The Vanity of Strength and Conquest — Ecclesiastes 3:5

5.      The Vanity of Riches — Ecclesiastes 3:6

6.      The Vanity of the King’s Rule over Israel and the Nations — Ecclesiastes 3:7-8

David Guzik: To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: This list — describing the different seasons and facets of life — is beautiful. Yet it also casts a dark shadow, because it reminds us of the inevitability of trouble and evil, and of the relentless monotony of life.

Sometimes, the commentary covers more verses than those named below.

Introductory Commentary of Ecclesiastes 3:1–8 (various commentators)

The Cambridge Bible: The survey of human occupations and interests that follows has a striking parallel in the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius (iv. 32), who, from his Stoic standpoint, sees in their perpetual recurrence, evidence of the monotonous iteration of the phenomena of man’s life, analogous to that of the phenomena of Nature.

Adam Clarke: Two general remarks may be made on the first eight verses of this chapter.

1.      God by his providence governs the world, and has determined particular things and operations to particular times. In those times such things may be done with propriety and success; but if we neglect the appointed seasons, we sin against this providence, and become the authors of our own distresses.

2.      God has given to man that portion of duration called Time; the space in which all the operations of nature, of animals, and intellectual beings, are carried on; but while nature is steady in its course, and animals faithful to their instincts, man devotes it to a great variety of purposes; but very frequently to that for which God never made time, space, or opportunity. And all we can say, when an evil deed is done, is, there was a time in which it was done, though God never made it for that purpose.

Clarke continues: To say any farther on this subject is needless, as the words themselves give in general their own meaning. The Jews, it is true, see in these times and seasons all the events of their own nation, from the birth of Abraham to the present times.

College Press Bible Study: In this section the reader is confronted with seven parallel passages demonstrating the theme that God, the Creator, is in control of His world. More than this, it illustrates the various activities which take place in the lifetime of one generation. The Preacher has observed that one generation passes away while another generation moves in to take its place (Ecclesiastes 1:4). Here he gives a detailed account of the activities of each generation from birth to death.

The College Press continues: Parallelisms were popular with the writers of the Old Testament. One is tempted to be carried away with the poetic beauty of the passage and possibly miss the message which it contains. This popular passage from Ecclesiastes has made its way into the forms of art, poetry and song in our present generation. It should be emphasized once again, however, that the theme discussed in chapter two is still under consideration. Some have written that this is an unrelated insertion of material without appropriate relationship to the context of the discussion, but a cursory reading of the two chapters together would dispense with such an argument. The lesson is that God controls through orderly laws and principles. Man may run contrary to God’s appointed times and seasons, but if he does, he will experience frustration and failure. The “good man” of the preceding chapter attempts to live in harmony with God’s order, while the “sinner” has little regard for it.

The College Press concludes with these 5 points: Certain qualities mark the comparisons. (1) The list is rather extended. This may serve the purpose of demonstrating that the many sides of life are under God’s control, or it may have been Solomon’s intention to show the various activities of man from the time of his birth until the time of his death. (2) Nothing evil is included in the list. Some of the activities are difficult to interpret as to exact meanings, but nothing needs to be placed in the category of immoral behaviour. This is very clear. The contrary is actually true. Since the second line of the couplet partially explains the first line, the meaning of each line interprets the meaning of the other. The meaning of the event must be in harmony with the parts of the comparison. Nothing in any of the descriptions suggests evil activities. Hate, kill, rend and war are all extreme in nature, but are approved by God under qualifying circumstances. (3) Some events are inevitable. It is obvious that no one has control over the time of his death (Ecclesiastes 8:8). We are also subjected to a “time” to give birth, to weep and to heal. These circumstances of life are beyond our control. God controls them in the sense that His laws are active in His world. It is improper to read predestination into the passage. (4) Some events can be experienced at one’s own discretion. Man controls such activities as loving and refraining from love, deciding what to keep and what to cast away. Even in these areas, however, there are times and seasons within God’s order when good judgment dictates policy. (5) Sometimes one works contrary to the seasons. One may keep silent when he should be speaking. He may laugh when he should be mourning. The wise man interprets the times and adjusts his activities accordingly.

Dunagan: These verses really strike at human independence. We may think that we have control over our lives and what we will do each day, but a closer look makes us realize that often we are doing nothing more than reacting instead of acting.

Dunagan continues: The things in this chapter basically happen to every generation. And people may try to laugh, when it is a time to mourn, but they will only experience frustration and failure.

Dunagan concludes: While the sinner becomes frustrated at life, realizing that they are not marching to a tune of their own making, the Christian seeks to accept the fact that many unexpected things will happen in life, and that life isn't going to always follow our game plan.

Gary H. Everett: Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 represents the Preacher’s next phase of learning when he tells us that our life is made up of times and seasons, or periods of change; and we learn that these seasons have been divinely placed within our lives by God (Ecclesiastes 3:1). The Preacher lists these divine seasons in Ecclesiastes 3:2-8. We clearly identify with such a description of our lives as we recall how we move from birth to childhood to adolescence to adulthood to old age and finally to death.

Gary H. Everett: Having pursued every vanity of life that was with his reach, and having found all of life’s pleasures unfulfilling, King Solomon now turns his attention to the divine element of life. In Ecclesiastes 3:1 he reflects upon God’s divine timetable for every aspect of creation. He acknowledges that every person, every nation, every aspect of creation, has a purpose and plan that God Himself embedded within its design. God has a plan that is made up of times and seasons, which were beyond Solomon or man’s ability to determine and orchestrate. King Solomon had spent much of his life trying to orchestrate the affairs of his kingdom, pursuing wisdom, mirth, building projects and the acquisition of great wealth. Yet in all of these pursuits the king realized he was subject to the design and predetermined plan of his Creator, the God of Israel.

Everett continues: Our life is a series of seasons. When we yield our lives into the hands of divine providence and provision, God is allowed to orchestrate these seasons in a magnificent way. I have seen these seasons very clearly in my life as God has orchestrated them towards a greater level of sacrifice and service. I began making a sacrifice as a Seminary student, and watched God’s hand provide my needs. As I continued to serve the Lord, I have had the experiences of sensing seasons of change soon before they arrive.

Everett concludes: For example, in 1988, the Lord dealt with me about returning to Fort Worth to finish my Seminary degree. In 1993 I received a promotion with DMJ Management, where I served for 4 years. It was a season of learning how to deal with Christian business ethics in a corporate world. In 1997, I sensed a season of change coming just before being called into the mission field. In 2010-2011, I took a sabbatical of rest and saw God’s divine hand of provision. After one year, I was called back into the mission field in an amazing series of divinely orchestrated events. In contrast, I have observed men and women as they orchestrate their own careers apart from divine intervention. They do reach their peaks of success, but in an exhausted state of ill marriage or ill health or broken marriages. Such individuals have not relinquished their lives unto divine providence and provision. Thus, life is busy and difficult and eventually failures await them in some form or manner. This is the vanity that the preachers describes in the first chapters of Ecclesiastes.

Later, Everett writes: There are twenty-eight seasons listed in the following verses. It is in these seasons of life orchestrated by God that we find meaning and purpose in our lives.

David Guzik: A time to be born, and a time to die . . . a time to break down, and a time to build up: A bad facet answers each good facet. The Preacher understood that though there are good things in life, the bad things can’t be escaped.

Personally, I did not see this as a good, bad; good, bad; good bad; but more taking in the whole realm of human experience in the typical person’s lifetime.

Kidner: Obviously, we have little say in the situations which move us to weep or laugh, mourn or dance….'Who would imagined', we sometimes say, 'that the day would come when I should find myself doing such-and-such, and seeing it as my duty! So the peace-loving nation prepares for war; or the shepherd takes the knife to the creature he has earlier nursed back to health. The collector disperses his hoard; friends part in bitter conflict; the need to speak out follows the need to be silent.

Kidner: The repetition of ‘a time . . ., and a time . . .’ begins to be oppressive. Whatever may be our skill and initiative, our real masters seem to be these inexorable seasons: not only those of the calendar, but that tide of events which moves us now to one kind of action which seems fitting, now to another which puts all into reverse.

H. Macmillan, D. D.: At no period of the year are the sunsets so varied and beautiful as in autumn. The many-coloured woods of the year’s eventide correspond to the many-coloured clouds of the sunset sky; and as the heavens burst into their brightest hues, and exhibit their loveliest transfigurations when the daylight is fading into the gloom of night, so the year unfolds its richest tints and its fairest charms when it is about to sink into the darkness and desolation of winter.

Macmillan took this opportunity to wax on and on and on about the fall: No one can take a walk in the melancholy woodland in the calm October days without being deeply impressed by the thought of the great waste of beauty and creative skill seen in the faded leaves which rustle beneath his feet. Take up and examine one of these leaves attentively, and you are astonished at, the wealth of ingenuity displayed in it. It is a miracle of design, elaborately formed and richly coloured—in reality more precious than any jewel; and yet it is dropped off the bough as if it had no value, and rots away unheeded in the depths of the forest.

Macmillan does eventually draw a conclusion from all of this: Myriads of similar gems are heaped beneath the leafless trees, to moulder away in the rains of November. It saddens us to think of this continual lavish production and careless discarding of forms of beauty and wonder, which we see everywhere throughout nature. Could not the foliage be so contrived as to remain permanently on the trees, and only suffer such a periodical change as the evergreen ivy undergoes? Must the web of nature’s fairest embroidery be taken down every year, and every year woven back again to its old completeness and beauty?...Yes! she weaves and unweaves her web of loveliness each season—not in order to mock us with delusive hopes, but to wean us from all false loves, and teach us to wait and prepare for the true love of our souls, which is found, not in the passing things of earth, but in the abiding realities of heaven.

Even Macmillan’s conclusion gets drawn out: This is the secret of all her lavish wastefulness. For this she perpetually sacrifices and perpetually renews her beauty; for this she counts all her most precious things but as dross. By the pathos of her autumn loveliness she is appealing to all that is deepest and truest in our spiritual nature; and through her fading flowers and her withering grass, and all her fleeting glories, she is speaking to us words of eternal life, whereby our souls may be enriched and beautified for ever.

Morgan: His ceaseless reiteration of the words, ‘A time . . . a time . . . a time,’ are intended to indicate his sense of the monotony of all things, rather than of their variety.

It is A. H. Moment who observes that this song/poem/psalm is divided into 7 stanzas, the number of perfection and completeness. V. 1 is the title.

Dr. Peter Pett: This list is made up of fourteen contrasting phrases depicting opposites. The fourteen is intended to convey the idea of the divine perfection of the list. It is the perfect seven twofold. It is noteworthy that the first two in the list stress the idea of death, both the death of man and the death of plants. The Preacher is very much aware of the reality of death. But against it he sets the reality of new life. That too he is aware of. We again have illustrated the continual repetition of birth and death. Things are born and they die, and new life replaces them. And all in their time. The time line goes on, with all these activities continually repeating themselves.

The Pulpit Commentary: The providence of God disposes and arranges every detail of man’s life. This proposition is stated first generally, and then worked out in particular by means of antithetical sentences. In Hebrew manuscripts and most printed texts Ecclesiastes 3:2-8 are arranged in two parallel columns, so that one "time" always stands under another. A similar arrangement is found in Joshua 12:9, etc; containing the catalogue of the conquered Canaanite kings; and in Esther 9:7, etc; giving the names of Haman’s tensions. In the present passage we have fourteen pairs of contrasts, ranging from external circumstances to the inner affections of man’s being.

W. Walters: I think it was Sir James Mackintosh who said that whenever he died, he should die with a host of unaccomplished purposes and unfinished plans in his brain. So every earnest man will leave behind him many a half-finished, and even many an unattempted work. Nevertheless, with a true and earnest heart we may complete some things—we may weave the threads of life into a fabric of varied use and beauty—and, like David of old, serve our generation by the will of God before we fall on sleep, and are laid among our fathers.

J. Willcock: Our author makes a fresh start. He drops the autobiographical style of the first two chapters, and casts his thoughts into the form of aphorisms, based not merely upon the reminiscences of his own life, but upon the experience of all men. He gives a long list of the events, actions, emotions, and feelings which go to make up human life, and asserts of them that they are governed by fixed laws above our knowledge, out of our control. The time of our entrance into the world, the condition of life in which we are placed, are determined for us by a higher will than our own, and the same sovereign power fixes the moment of our departure from life; and in like manner all that is done, enjoyed, and suffered between birth and death is governed by forces which we cannot bend or mold, or even fully understand. That there is a fixed order in the events of life is, to a certain extent, an instinctive belief which we all hold. The thought of an untimely birth or of an untimely death shocks us as something contrary to our sense of that which is fit and becoming, and those crimes by which either is caused are generally regarded as specially repulsive. Yet there is an appointed season for the other incidents of life, though less clearly manifest to us.

Willcock continues: Our wisdom lies, not in mere acquiescence in the events of life, but in knowing our duty for the time. The circumstances in which we are placed are so fluctuating, and the conditions in the midst of which we find ourselves are so varying, that a large space is left for us to exercise our discretion, to discern that which is opportune, and to do the right thing at the right time. The first class of events alluded to, the time of birth and the time of death, is that of those which are involuntary; they are events with which there can be no interference without the guilt of gross and exceptional wickedness. The actions and emotions that follow are voluntary, they are within our power, though the circumstances that call them forth at a precise time are not. The relations of life which are determined for us by a higher power give us the opportunity for playing our part, and we either succeed or fail according as we take advantage of the time or neglect it.

Willcock continues: The catalogue given of the events, actions, and emotions which make up life seems to be drawn up without any logical order; the various items are apparently taken capriciously as examples of those things that occupy men”s time and thoughts, and at first sight the teaching of our author does not seem to be of a distinctively spiritual character. To a superficial reader it might appear as if we had not in it much more than the commonplace prudence to be found in the maxims and proverbs current in every country...But we are taught by Christ himself that knowing how to act opportunely is a large part of that wisdom which is needed for our salvation. He himself came to earth in the "fullness of time" (Gal. 4:4), when the Jewish people and the nations of the world were prepared by Divine discipline for his teaching and work (Acts 17:30–31; Luke 2:30–31). The purpose of the mission of John the Baptist, calculated as it was to lead men to godly sorrow for sin, was in harmony with the austerity of his life and the sternness of his exhortations. It was a time to mourn (Matt. 11:18).

Willcock concludes: The purpose of Christ’s own mission was to reconcile the world to God and to manifest the Father to men, so that joy was becoming in his disciples (Mark 2:18-20). He taught that there was a time to lose, when all possessions that would alienate the heart from him should be parted with; and that there would be a time of gain, when in heaven the accumulated treasures would become an abiding possession (Matt. 6:19, Matt. 6:20). "That which the Preacher insists on is the thought that the circumstances and events of life form part of a Divine order, are not things that come at random, and that wisdom, and therefore such a measure of happiness as is attainable, lies in adapting ourselves to the order, and accepting the guidance of events in great things and small, while shame and confusion come from resisting it." But such teaching is applicable, as we have seen, to the conduct of our spiritual as well as of our secular concerns. The fact that there are great changes through which we must pass in order to be duly prepared for the heavenly state, that we may have to forfeit the temporal to secure the eternal, that the new life has new duties for the discernment and fulfillment of which all our powers and faculties need to be called into full exercise—should make us earnestly desire to be filled with this wisdom that prompts to opportune action. "If any of you lack wisdom," says St. James, "let him ask of God, that give to all men liberally...and it will be given him" (James 1:5).

J. S. Wright: Verses 1-8 have an important connection with the theme of the book and relate closely to what precedes and to what follows. Man is to take his life day by day from the hand of God (Ecclesiastes 2:24-26; Ecclesiastes 3:12-13), realizing that God has a fitting time for each thing to be done (Ecclesiastes 3:1). The significance of this section is that man is responsible to discern the right times for the right actions; and when he does the right action according to God's time, the result is 'beautiful' (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Although Kidner and Morgan both spoke of the monotony and oppression of the repetition of the words, that is not at all how I felt about reading this poem.

Some of these can be moved to the end of v. 8

Commentary on Ecclesiastes 3:1–15 (various commentators)

Bridgeway Bible Commentary: Events controlled by God’s fixed order (3:1-15): In 1:1-11 the author considered the ceaseless toil and repetition in the natural world and decided that life was useless. Now (ignoring for the moment the conclusions he has just outlined in 2:24-26) he considers the fixed order of events in the world. It appears to him that everything happens at the time God has decided it will happen. In view of this, all human effort to improve life is useless. People can change nothing (3:1-9).

The Bridgeway Bible Commentary continues: The writer is confident that God does everything perfectly according to his plan, but he is also frustrated because he does not know what that plan is. People can only accept whatever God sends them and find pleasure in it (10-13). They can change nothing; events will go on repeating themselves according to God’s fixed purposes. Their realization of this keeps them in a state of fear before God (14-15).

Gary H. Everett introduces vv. 1–15: God’s Calling Through His Divine Intervention in the Affairs of Mankind (The Seasons of Our Life) – After the Preacher concludes that God has predestined mankind and creation to vanity based upon reflects upon his own frustrations of life (Ecclesiastes 1:12 to Ecclesiastes 2:11) and upon those of others (Ecclesiastes 2:12-26), he turns himself to a wider search by looking above. He realizes that God has a purpose for mankind based upon the realization that He continually intervenes in the affairs of mankind, and because His divine laws govern the outcome of men’s lives. We call this divine calling, in which we come to realize that God has a redemptive purpose and plan in His creation.

Everett continues: Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 represents the Preacher’s next phase of learning when he teaches us that our life is made up of times and seasons, or periods that change into another period of life. We learn that these seasons have been divinely placed within our lives by God (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Once the Preacher recognizes these divine seasons of life (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8), he concludes that man should simply rest in God and enjoy each day’s journey, knowing that God will work in his life each day (Ecclesiastes 3:9-15).

Jamieson, Fausset and Brown: Earthly pursuits are no doubt lawful in their proper time and order (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8), but unprofitable when out of time and place; as for instance, when pursued as the solid and chief good (Ecclesiastes 3:9–10); whereas God makes everything beautiful in its season, which man obscurely comprehends (Ecclesiastes 3:11). God allows man to enjoy moderately and virtuously His earthly gifts (Ecclesiastes 3:12–13). What consoles us amidst the instability of earthly blessings is, God’s counsels are immutable (Ecclesiastes 3:14).

Ecclesiastes 3:1a

Hebrew/Pronunciation

Common English Meanings

Notes/Morphology

BDB and Strong’s Numbers

lâmed (לְ) [pronounced l^e]

to, for, towards, in regards to; belonging to

directional/relational/ possessive preposition

No Strong’s # BDB #510

kôl (כֹּל) [pronounced kohl]; also kol (כַּל) [pronounced kol]

all, all things, the whole, totality, the entirety, everything

masculine singular noun with the definite article

Strong’s #3605 BDB #481

z^emân (זְמָן) [pronounced zehm-AWN]

appointed time, set time, time; season, occasion

masculine singular noun

Strong’s #2165 BDB #273

This is a rare word, found only 4x in Scripture: twice in Esther, once in Nehemiah and here.

Barnes: The rare word translated “season” means emphatically “fitting time” (compare Neh. 2:6; Esther 9:27, 31). Perhaps that could be updated to the right time. Or we might understand this to mean, there is a time and place for all legitimate human activity.

E. W. Bullinger: a season = an appointed time. Hebrew. z^emân. Compare Ezra 10:14. Neh. 2:6. Est. 9:27. A word is not necessarily a "later" word, because there has not been occasion for it to be used, or needed before. See App–76 in the addendum.

Dunagan: “appointed time”-a fixed, definite portion of time, especially, a stated time.

Whedon: To every thing — Better, To every enterprise, or undertaking.

Ecclesiastes 3:1a [There is] a season for everything...

Ecclesiastes 3:1a There is a season... (various commentators)

Rev. Joseph Benson: [This season is a] certain time appointed by God for its being and continuance, which no human wisdom or providence can alter. And by virtue of this appointment of God, all vicissitudes which happen in the world, whether comforts or calamities, come to pass; which is here added to prove the principal proposition, that all things below are vain, and happiness is not to be found in them, because of their great uncertainty, and mutability, and transitoriness, and because they are so much out of the reach and power of men, and wholly in the disposal of God.

Dr. Thomas Constable: "Event" (Ecclesiastes 3:1) means human activity that one engages in by deliberate choice. Each of these events has its proper time and duration.

Dr. John Gill: To every thing there is a season,.... A set determined time, when everything shall come into being, how long it shall continue, and in what circumstances; all things that have been, are, or shall be, were foreordained by God, and he has determined the times before appointed for their being, duration, and end; which times and seasons he has in his own power.

Gill continues: [T]here was a determined time for the whole universe, and for all persons and things in it; a settled fixed moment for the world to come into being; for it did not exist from everlasting, nor of itself, nor was formed by the fortuitous concourse of atoms, but by the wisdom and power of God; nor could it exist sooner or later than it did; it appeared when it was the will of God it should; in the beginning he created it, and he has fixed the time of its duration and end; for it shall not continue always, but have an end, which when it will be, he only knows.

Dr. John Gill concludes: [There is a season for] for the reign and ruin of antichrist; for the reign of Christ on earth, and for his second coming to judgment, though of that day and hour knows no man: and as there is a set time in the counsels and providence of God for these more important events, so for every thing of a lesser nature.

Matthew Henry: [This is the] general proposition [that Solomon] laid down: To every thing there is a season, Ecclesiastes 3:1. 1. Those things which seem most contrary the one to the other will, in the revolution of affairs, each take their turn and come into play. The day will give place to the night and the night again to the day. Is it summer? It will be winter. Is it winter? Stay a while, and it will be summer. Every purpose has its time. The clearest sky will be clouded,...Joy succeeds sorrow; and the most clouded sky will clear up.

The Pulpit Commentary: Every thing refers especially to men’s movements and actions, and to what concerns them.

Trapp: To everything there is a season.] A set time, such as we can neither alter nor order. This is one of those keys that God carries under his own belt. {Acts 1:7} To seek, to do, or get anything before the time, is to pull apples before they are ripe.

Dr. Bob Utley: “There is an appointed time for everything” The “appointed time” (lit. “for everything a season”) seems to refer to the common events of human life. The “appointed time” does not speak of the advantageous human time, but of the divinely appointed time. The emphasis of this chapter is on divine appointment. It speaks of the mystery of human effort (“under heaven”) as it is compared with the sovereignty of God. In Wisdom Literature “appointed time” is often “appropriate time.” 

John Wesley: A season - A certain time appointed by God for its being and continuance, which no human wit or providence can alter. And by virtue of this appointment of God, all vicissitudes which happen in the world, whether comforts or calamities, come to pass.

David was a wonderful example of a man who understood this. At a very young age, God told him that he would become king over Israel. However, instead of embarking on a mission to remove Saul from office, David waited for God to do that—then he stepped up.

Ecclesiastes 3:1b

Hebrew/Pronunciation

Common English Meanings

Notes/Morphology

BDB & Strong #’s

w^e (or v^e) (וְ or וּ) [pronounced weh]