Time is in His Hands
Pastor KC Liu / Ecc. 3:1-14 / Oct 4, 2015

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
4     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

9 What do workers gain from their toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.

15 Whatever is has already been,
    and what will be has been before;
    and God will call the past to account.

The Original audience? The aristocrats, the middle upper class that was preoccupied with making lots of money, seeking pleasure for its own gain. He was not talking to the average person, but the privileged person. Much like people who live in Orange County, one of the richest counties in America, ranking in the top 2%.

"There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
4     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace."

It is a beautiful poem that has inspired many songs throughout the centuries.  So what is Solomon trying to say about the reality of “time”? Is it about humans discerning the right time to act, or about God setting the time and controlling history in his hands?  If we read the chapter in its entirety, we will come to the conclusion that this passage is not about humans making a good use of time,

But it is about “The sovereign God who determines the times and the seasons, and people should stand in awe before him, who holds time in his hands.”  So why does Solomon tell his people to stand in awe, to respect, to be in holy reverence of God?

Because the Israelites were too busy buying and selling, making fortunes and losing them, thinking they alone were in charge. They did not stand in awe of God. How about our society today? Do we stand in awe of God? The answer is a big fat no!  

There are atheists who deny the existence of God, insult God, and use God’s name in vain.  There are billboards attacking God, and believe it or not, there are atheist churches out there. They meet together, in churches, to talk about why there is no God, and how we are the products of random cosmic accidents.  

It is to this kind of society that Solomon wants to speak.  And he is saying, “do not be foolish, time is in God’s hand. You are not in control. Therefore, stand in awe of God.”

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die" First, Solomon talks about birth and death. Here’s a question: do you get to choose if you get born or not? No, you don’t have a say.  Do you get to choose at least the time at which you are born? No.  Doctors can guess the due date of a pregnant mother, but they do not control the due date.  And we don’t decide what time we are going to die.  We can try to live a healthy life, but as we have seen over and over in our own church, death mostly come by surprise.  

Think about the Oregon school shooting 3 days ago.  Did those community college students in a rural small town think that it was going to be their last day on earth? Of course not.  Our lives are not in our hands.  We have no control over the time of our own birth, nor the time of our death.  They are both in the mighty hands of God. 

Solomon continues, there is “a time to plant, and a time to uproot.” I will interpret this verse in the context of war and peace.  In times of peace, usually people try to settle down somewhere. They try to take root in a community, get married and grow their families.  Since we are an immigrant church, your family has experienced this.  They planted here in Orange County and took root.  But in times of war, entire communities get uprooted and have to escape the devastation of war, such as in the Syrian Refugees Crisis.

“a time to kill and a time to heal”.  Again, Solomon is referring to times of war.  Did you know at for all of human history, there are always 30-40 wars going on constantly? Some of them are small tribal wars in other countries so we don’t hear about them. But war is constant and never-ending.  Do we control when we can kill? Can we kill anytime? No! if you do, you become the bad guy.  

But there is an appropriate time to kill, for example, elf-defense in a time of war.  Then after the war, it is the right time to heal. After the treaty is signed, we preserve life and offer medical support to the afflicted. And during war, many buildings are destroyed, such as the Twin Towers. But after war, it is time to rebuild and show the strength of the country once again.  This is a picture of Ground Zero in New York City.

"a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance”.  It is very interesting that Solomon writes in this order. He writes Sadness first, and Joy last in both sentences. He knew that in life, tragedies will come and Sadness will happen. There is no other option. You can’t control the tragedies; they are beyond your power. Even Jesus said himself, “in this world, you will have trouble.”  And in those times, Solomon is saying, “it’s okay to cry, just let it out. It’s okay to grieve and mourn, just let it out. It’s okay to get depressed, and even get angry and mad. It’s okay. Don’t bottle up your emotions inside. God is strong enough to handle your emotions. There is an appropriate time for this. Just let it out!"

But eventually, in the right time, your joy will be restored. Once again, you will be laughing and dancing.  Over time, our broken hearts get healed little by little; the pain hurts a little bit less each year.  Can you control sadness and joy over your own life? Can you control your emotions like a switch? No, it’s not possible.  It is in God’s hands. 

"a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing," Back then, during times of war, rocks were thrown onto crop fields to render the field useless. If you look at pictures of Palestine, you will see a lot of rocks. We read in 2 Kings that Israel in its war with Moab was instructed, “Every good piece of land you shall ruin with stones.” It was a war tactic.  In peacetime rocks had to be cleared from a field before cultivation.”

And in times of war you refrain from embracing your enemies. But when it’s time to make peace you embrace them.  Think about your own life. Is there someone that you have refrained from embracing  whom God wants you to embrace? Is it time to make peace?

"a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,"  The context for this verse is probably the search for wealth. As people, we are constantly trying to acquire possessions. Can you control that? To a certain extent, if you are Bill Gates. Solomon says there will be times when you will acquire a lot, like he did, but there will also be a time when you lose everything.  For example, the Dot-Com bubble burst in 2000, or when the Sub-Prime Crisis hit in 2008. In these two instances people lost their jobs, lost their salaries, and millions had to foreclose on their houses.  They lost all their material possessions.  

Even if you wanted to keep your house, you couldn’t pay mortgage. Time to give it up, time to throw things away.  Can you control the outcome?  No, you can’t.  There was nothing you could do as an individual to prevent the sub-prime crisis.  It was all in God’s hands.  People were distracted with their wealth and possessions, and God allowed the crisis to hit as a wake up call to the world. God was saying, “don’t trust in your possessions, but trust in me. I hold all things together.”

 "a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak," This verse refers to the ancient practice of expressing sorrow.  When people mourned the death of a loved one, they would express their sorrow by tearing their clothes. For example, when Jacob thought that his son Joseph was dead, he “tore his garment” (Gen 37:29). But when the time of mourning was over, they would mend, sewing their clothes back together again. Also, people express their sorrow by keeping silence. When the time of mourning was completed, it was again “a time to speak.”

We cannot control when we tear and mend, nor can we control when we keep silent and speak. These two verses give context to the previous verses, summing up this poem.  In times of war and peace, there will be uprooting & planting, seeking and losing, tearing down and building up, killing and healing, tearing and mending, hating and loving.

Solomon repeats his question from chapter 1, “What do workers gain or profit for all their hard work?” Nothing. If all you seek is your own gain and profit, then you will gain nothing.  But if you seek beyond that, if you seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, then God will be the one adding to you, not you. Put God first, and God will give you a new set of his glasses. When you put these glasses on, you will see that God has made everything so beautiful. You will trust that his timing is right and true. You won’t blame God when crisis comes upon your life and he doesn’t answer your prayers in your own time line.  God has all authority and wisdom to say "yes" to your prayer, to say "no" to your prayer, and to say "wait" to your prayer.  If there is a delay, it is because you are not ready yet. It may be frustrating when you are in need, but it is a test of trust for you. Can you trust God that he will make everything beautiful in his time?

" I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him." In Conclusion, the purpose of Solomon writing this chapter is for people who have lost their awe and holy reverence of God. For those who think they are in control to get back to reality: God is God, and we are not. He is the creator, and we are created. While God is infinitely great, we are finite. He has full authority, and we are his subjects. He controls the times while we are subject to them. Therefore, fear him.

Whatever you are afraid of in your life, whether it’s getting bad grades, getting yelled at by your boss, breaking up with your girlfriend, losing your possessions, or maybe getting cancer, it’s nothing compared to the wrath of God.  Jesus said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matt 10:28).

Therefore, there is only one way to approach God, and that is with reverence, awe, and the fear of God. Do you have the Fear of God in your heart?  It’s a great thing to have.  Proverbs says that the Fear of God is the beginning of Wisdom.  Without fear of God, you will cave in easily when tempted to do wrong.  

Let’s bow our heads in prayer. I would like to make an invitation. If you lack the fear of God, and would like to have the fear of God increase in your heart, would you raise your hand as your respond to God’s Word? I would like to pray for you.

“Heavenly Father, would you increase the holy fear of you in our heart.  Let it be released right now. Thank you Father. We repent that we have treated you with disrespect.  We repent that we treated you too lightly.  Help us to see you for who you really are, our holy, awesome, king.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.”