Ecclesiastes 3:1-83:1For everything there is a season, and a time for

every matter under heaven; 2a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up 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 together;a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from

embracing;6a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast 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 for war, and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:9-15“What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man. I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. [15] That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.”

Ecclesiastes 3:16-21“Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth?”

Ecclesiastes 3:22“So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?”

Ecclesiastes

The Great Experiment

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8The Preacher is still trying to answer the question: “What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?” (1:3) 1. The Preacher began his investigation

by looking into his own experiences and the tests or experiments that he undertook.• The wisdom that he applied

himself to. (1:16-18)• He tried pleasure. (2:1-3)• He tried accomplishments,

including the accumulation of wealth. (2:4-8)

• The conclusion of these? “…all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.” (2:11)

2. Now, the Preacher turns to observations from life in general.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8The Preacher begins his observations with a list of 14 contrasting pairs. 1. Time to be born…time to die2. Time to plant…time to pluck3. Time to kill…time to heal4. Time to break down…time to heal up5. Time to weep…time to laugh6. Time to mourn…time to dance7. Time to cast away…time to gather8. Time to embrace…time to refrain9. Time to seek…time to lose10.Time to keep…time to cast away11.Time to tear…time to sew12.Time to keep silent…time to speak13.Time to love…time to hate14.Time for war…time for peace

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8A. What is the purpose of the list? • “For everything there is a season,

and a time for every matter under heaven.”

• Season…denotes a fixed, definite portion of time

B. The list shows that life – when viewed by man – seemingly has extremes that cannot be understood or predicted by man. • At any particular time, each of

these could be understood. But taken as a whole, man really is incapable of explaining the whole no matter how hard he may try.

C. So, why then does God allow for each of these occasions or events to have their own season or time? Read again Eccl. 3:9-14.

Ecclesiastes 3:9-15A. All of these occasions or events help

man to understand…1. God is in control.2. God does understand the entire

picture.• “He has made everything beautiful

in its time.”3. Man should trust in God.

• Note again the phrase: “…He has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”

• The complexity of world around us causes us to want to know more, and the only reasonable and true answer is that we must trust in Him who has made everything beautiful in its time.

Ecclesiastes 3:9-15A. All of these occasions or events help

man to understand…4. Man should do good and enjoy life.

• Does that mean that we should treat every occasion with happiness? Obviously not. The writer has already stated that there are times of mourning and weeping. Yet, these should not surprise us.

5. God has placed these events before us so that we might fear Him.• We cannot control these things, but

God can. God’s plans cannot be altered.

(Ps. 33:11)• We cannot understand all of these

things, but God can.

Ecclesiastes 3:16-21A. The Preacher now observes that there

are injustices in the world – wickedness in the place of righteousness and justice. • Our world is full of situations where

seemingly the evil succeed and avoid punishment. (Psalm 73:2-15)

• Yet, the Preacher again alludes to the fact that men have a finite time and peripheral view. God’s view is infinite and eternal. In the end, God will judge. (Eccl. 3:17, Psalm 73:16-17)

B. The brevity of man’s life also tests the faith of man. It may seem to us that we are no better off than the other animals who simply die and return to the dust of the ground. We must again realize that this physical life is just a short view of eternity – our spirit will return to God who gave it.

Ecclesiastes 3:22“So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?”

Ecclesiastes

The Great Experiment