Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: 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.
To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” It was Pete Seeger who set the first eight verses of the third chapter of Ecclesiastes to music, with, of course, some artistic license. The Byrds, however, took the song and, with their canorous chords and soothing harmonies, made it an international hit. The song soon became an anthem for social and political activism. “To everything (turn, turn, turn), there is a season (turn, turn, turn). And a time to every purpose under heaven.” The message was clear: “Change is coming; embrace the change!” Not only that, but with its final plea, “a time for peace I swear it’s not too late,” the song was seen as a protest against sending U. S. soldiers to Vietnam. There is no dispute that Pete Seeger wrote a beautiful melody to accompany the words of Ecclesiastes. But when it comes to biblical interpretation, he left much to be desired. He wanted to make the message about social and political change. But we must turn, turn, turn from Seeger’s interpretation.
Pete Seeger’s vision of things was different but, perhaps, not so very different from the Greek philosopher Heraclitus (c. 535-c. 475 B. C.) who is attributed with saying, “The only constant is change.” Heraclitus was also interested in getting people to embrace change. Change is part of life, he taught, because there is a rational, divine being behind it all who is himself in flux. For Heraclitus, wisdom wasn’t about discerning good from evil, bad times from good, but simply embracing change as reality. People shouldn’t be worried or distressed over the constant flux between good and evil. There is an underlying harmony to it all, he assured; we just need to embrace the constant changes and the tension between good and evil as a creative force. Solomon was keenly aware of the changing of the times and seasons, and of the constant tension between good and bad. But his purpose in drawing our attention to the changing times and seasons was neither get us to simply embrace change, nor to think that change is all there is, and it was certainly not to make us despair, as some do, in the face of change. Solomon’s purpose was to direct us to the only One who is constant in the face of change. Seeing then his higher purpose, what lessons must we learn from these eight verses?
First, we must learn that everything “under heaven,” i.e., under the sun (cf. Ecc. 1:3, 9), has its own appointed season. To put it more directly, every purpose of God has its appointed place in time. Seasons come, and seasons go because God has foreordained it all, is in control of it all, and has wisely appointed a purpose to everything. Note, it is a wise and good counsel. The changing of times and seasons may appear to some to be subject to random chance or, perhaps, to an erratic, capricious, and blind force or “god” of some sort, but Scripture teaches us that it is God “who works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Eph. 1:11). It is his purpose to work all things for good “to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). Let us remember the teaching of our catechism. “What do you understand by the providence of God? The almighty, everywhere-present power of God, whereby, as it were by his hand, he still upholds heaven and earth with all creatures, and so governs them that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, indeed, all things come not by chance, but by his fatherly hand” (HC Q/A 27). It is important to note that though God is in control, he cannot be charged with evil. The Belgic Confession notes that after God created all things, he “did not forsake them or give them up to fortune or chance, but that he rules and governs them according to his holy will, so that nothing happens in this world without his appointment; nevertheless, God is neither the Author of, nor can be charged with, the sins which are committed” (Art. 13).
Second, the affairs and purposes of men are ultimately subject to God’s sovereign will. There is an appointed time for a man to be born and an appointed time for him to die (Heb. 9:27). Man can neither determine the time of his birth nor the time of his death. It is all in God’s hands. This is why David said, “But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in Your hand” (Ps. 31:14-15a). It is the same with all other seasons of a man’s life. Man may make plans to plant, to heal, to build, to laugh, to dance, to gather, to embrace, to sew, to speak, to love, and to make peace, but God controls the times and the seasons, not man. This leads us to consider his sovereignty in our redemption, for the first advent of Christ was according to God’s purpose. Christ came “at the fulness of time” (Gal. 4:4), and “in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. 5:6). Note, too, if man is not in control of his own natural birth, how much less is he in control of his spiritual birth, which is “not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13)?
Third, man’s purposes are subject to change and futility. They are destined to come to an end. Man is born, but he must die. He plants his crops, but what is planted may soon be uprooted. He makes friends, but they might come to hate him. He may seek peace, but war looms on the horizon. The legacies we build are easily torn down. “There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand” (Prov. 19:21). Let us not put our trust in our own counsel or abilities. Rather, when we make plans, we ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that” (James 4:15). Let us, therefore, always be willing to submit ourselves to the Lord’s will.
Fourth, it takes wisdom to understand the times and the seasons and know how to properly respond to them. When God put the lights in the sky, he said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years” (Gen. 1:14). He gave us a way to discern day and night and the time of year that we might act accordingly. Will he not also help us to discern what season of life we are in? Moreover, will he not also grant us wisdom to understand the times we are living in? Jesus said to his disciples, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world” (John 11:9). He also said to the Pharisees and Sadducees, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times” (Matt. 16:2-3). Jesus also taught us what signs to watch for that we might be prepared for his coming again (Matt. 24; Mark 13). Lord, help us to discern the times that we might be found doing what you would have us do when you come, grant us wisdom to know how to properly act according to the changing of times and seasons, and help us to be thankful in good times and patient in evil times.
Finally, we may mourn when good times come to an end and give way to hard times, but let us learn to bear patiently with the hard times because they, too, will come to an end. “For His anger is but for a moment, his favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Ps. 30:5). “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:17-18).
Pete Seeger had it wrong. We live in a world of changes, but not all changes should be embraced. The cultural, moral, and sexual revolutions of the 1960s brought devastation to family and society, not to mention the havoc they wreaked on the church. His naïve vision for peace has done nothing positive for national security, nor for foreign policy and international peace. The radicals of the sixties denied the truth that nothing is better for us than to obey God, do the work that is ours to do, build godly homes, and seek first the kingdom of God, not some unachievable utopia on earth. No one has yet found true hope and rest in the life vision of any of the radicals of the sixties. What we can learn from Pete Seeger’s vision of things is that God’s word, which never changes, is always best.
Heraclitus also had it wrong. If all there is to life is flux and nothing more, what hope can anyone have in this life or the next? If God is not a constant but is himself always fluctuating, what hope would we have that all things will work out for good? The prophet Malachi understood that God’s covenant was certain and sure because of the unchangeableness of God. “For I am the Lord,
I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob” (Mal. 3:6). Our salvation is certain because “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8).
Seasons come and seasons go because God has determined that there is a time for everything and everything in its time. He has put everything in its time because he is working everything out according to the purpose of his will. Every birth and death, every planting and uprooting, every gathering and scattering, every time of war and every time of peace is leading toward the fulfillment of God’s glorious purpose, which means the glory and salvation of his people. It is not ours to orchestrate the times or to stoically face the changes of times as if they don’t ultimately matter; nor is it ours to despair at the times. It is ours to obey God’s word, to do our work, to humbly submit to him who has put everything in its time, and to patiently await the fulfillment of his promises to us. “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.’ Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city” (Rev. 22:13-14).
Rev. Steven J. Carr
Grace Reformed Church
Rogers, AR