Our God is a God of time and seasons. He demonstrated this to us at the beginning. God created heaven and the earth day by day for six days and rested on the seventh day. He is the author of time and seasons. He mentioned that the time and season shall not cease as long as the earth remains.
“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” (Genesis 8 verse 22)
God’s agenda for his children is tied to appointment times and seasons. He said concerning us in Isaiah chapter 60 verse 22,
“A little one shall become a thousand, And a small one a strong nation.
I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time.”
He made everything beautiful in his time: and also set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that He made from the beginning to the end. We are expected to make good use of our time. Some people are doing the right thing but at the wrong time. God is not a time waster so he does not expect us to be one.
The Bible admonishes us to redeem our time for the days are evil. God does not joke with time and season. He releases our inheritances to us at the appropriate time for particular things.
All his promises and covenants are also referenced to the set time.
Thus says the Lord: ‘If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season, then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers. (Jeremiah 33 verses 20 to 21)
Who wrote Ecclesiastes 3:1 and when was it written?
Ecclesiastes 3:1 was believed to be written by King Solomon at his old age. It was written between the fifth and second centuries BC.
What is the context of Ecclesiastes 3?
The context of Ecclesiastes 3 shows that God is in full control of every event of life.
We must understand that God is a sovereign God. He is the all in all, the Almighty full of powers and might.
Solomon had this deep knowledge of God before he wrote this chapter. He acknowledges that God has a purpose for his people and this purpose is tied to time and seasons. Those times and seasons are carefully listed in this chapter.
“A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; 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; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; A time to tear, 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 of war, And a time of peace. .” (Verses 2 to 8)
Solomon’s message is clear. It dictates the paradoxes of life displaying God’s timing in all things. It mentioned the state of balance in all situations. A time for good things and a time for bad things. According to him, there is nothing that happens by mistake, every event has an appointed time.
He explained the God-given task to believers. God made everything beautiful in its time and also put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out his work from beginning to end for his works are unsearchable. God unveils his good purpose to good people and men of understanding at good times.
The chapter ended with the place of judgment. It gives enlightenment on the problem of injustice between the righteous and the wicked and the difficulty in resolving such things. The place of justice as it relates to the righteous and the wicked is unfair according to Solomon.
Ecclesiastes 3 verses 16 and 17 mention,
“Moreover I saw under the sun: In the place of judgment, Wickedness was there; And in the place of righteousness, Iniquity was there. I 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.”
Solomon looked at the world and concluded that the fate of animals and human beings is the same since we are both made from dust, we shall all return to dust.
What is the message of Ecclesiastes 3:1?
The message of Ecclesiastes 3:1 informs us to trust God’s judgment in all situations.
The first part of this verse talks about the season while the second half talks about time. The entire verse informs about the appointed seasons. The promises of God for particular times are mentioned in the old testament and new testament.
God is the creator of heaven and earth. He is the manufacturer of both the living and non-living things of heaven and this world. We cannot know better than him. He is the ancient of days. A day to him is like a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.
He wants us to put our trust in Him at all times. He has the best plans for us ordained for the right time. He said to Habakkuk in chapter 2 verse 3,
“For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come,
It will not tarry.”
Good news translations say everything that happens in this world happens at the time God chooses”.
“To everything there is a season,” meaning
“To everything there is a season,” means life is vanity upon vanity.
This phrase charged us to worry less but allow God to be in charge of all affairs of our lives. He is the all-knowing God. It is not a bad idea to make our plans from a human perspective but we should present those plans to God in prayers. His ways are better than our ways, and so also are his thoughts.
Jeremiah 29 verse 11 says,
“ For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. ”
God has every good thing in stock for us. His promises are yea and amen. He releases these promises at will and when pleased.
Galatians 6 verses 7 to 9 admonishes us,
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
It doesn’t matter what you are going through. In various circumstances in our own lives, it may look like God is too slow and we begin to read possible meanings. God never slumbers nor sleeps. He will show up in due season.
“A time for every purpose under heaven” meaning
“A time for every purpose under heaven” means there is an appointed time for every purpose.
God is the one who regulates time. Time is from him, without God there wouldn’t be time. He created time at first instance.
Then God said, let there be light and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. (Genesis chapter 1 verses 3 to 5). This is the origin of time.
He has a perfect plan for your life before you were born. Believers are expected to accept his timing. He is never late. That affliction is just for a moment. The holy bible says weeping may just endure for the night but joy comes in the morning.
Keep your faith strong in him, he will make everything beautiful in his time.
What is the difference in biblical translations Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NKJV, KJV, NIV & ESV)?
Ecclesiastes 3:1 NKJV biblical translation “To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1 KJV biblical translation “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV biblical translation “There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1 ESV biblical translation “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”
There is no difference between NKJV and KJV translations. The 2 translations are written almost the same way.
In the same way, there is no difference between NIV and ESV translations.
There is a time for everything, in NIV is replaced by For everything there is a season, in ESV. The two phrases mean a period.
A season for every activity under the heavens, in NIV is replaced by a time for every matter under heaven, in ESV. The word activity and matter both means events.
The four translations have the same meaning.
How do I apply Ecclesiastes 3:1 to my life?
Applying Ecclesiastes 3:1 to my life is to keep my trust in God no matter the situation.
Christians should grow to the point at which the situation around us does not affect our Christian life. We must continue to display our total confidence in God and his words until our desired results are fully received. That is true Christianity.
God sees those challenges, he knows your breaking point.
1 Corinthians 10 verses 12 and 13 says,
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
If you are still wavering in your faith in God, start a new life today.
James 1 verses 6 to 8 says,
“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
Your seasons of hardships will soon be over, no more season of negative experiences, new seasons of wonderful human experience is here. God will begin to do a new thing in your present life. The best thing is to trust in him, he is too faithful to fail.
What is Ecclesiastes 3:1 prayer?
Almighty Father, thank you for your love for me. I know your plans for me are plans of good and not of evil. Take away all worries and fears from me and help me to stay focused on you and in your words in Jesus’s name I pray. AMEN
Conclusion
That popular song in the 60s, turn, turn, turn by “The Byrds” has said it all. Don’t stay rigid in life. Be ready to turn when it is time to do so. A wise man is flexible in his decisions.
God has been a God of time and seasons from the beginning. He designed the whole world in first place with times and seasons. In some parts of the world, we have wet and dry seasons, other parts termly referred to their seasons as winter, spring, summer, and fall.
These seasons are meant for different God-pre-determined purposes. There is time for planting, there is time for reaping. You cannot reap when you are meant to plant.
Ecclesiastes 11 verses 5 to 6 says,
“As you do not know what is the way of the wind, Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, So you do not know the works of God who makes everything. In the morning sow your seed, And in the evening do not withhold your hand; For you do not know which will prosper, Either this or that, Or whether both alike will be good. ”
We must realize the same in our walk with God, You cannot have it in your own time but in God’s time. There is a popular saying that God’s time is the best, it is actually the best and the proper time.
