Ecclesiastes 3 Tragedies And Triumphs

ECCLESIASTES 3 TRAGEDIES AND TRIUMPHS

Let me quickly summarise last weeks sermon: we can't get no satisfaction. No one can get satisfaction from a secular under the sun lifestyle.

All Try The Chimerical Idolatries of

Laughter (Eccles. 2:1-3)

Luxury (Eccles. 2:4-11)

Labour (Eccles. 2:4-6, 18-24)

Lust (Eccles. 2:7,8)

Learning (Eccles. 2:12-17)

But for all their promises of fulfilment all they bring is meaningless vanity, a chasing after the wind. They don't work because you are a body and a soul! Essential to fulfilment and Eternal.

Take 5 show on ABC this week. Guy Pearce experienced the loss of his father a test jet pilot crash. All of his life seems to be a working out of this tragedy in his successful life, which he didn't feel was so successful. Through music he tries to get to grips with the hurts of his soul.

There's nothing inherent in humanity that allows us to extract fulfillment from the things we do.
Enjoyment is God's personal gift. Ecclesiastes 2:24–25
Those who are right with God derive the benefit of everyone's labor. 26

Ecclesiastes 3 could be considered the original Life's Little Instruction Book. Solomon gives us his impressions about life (verses 1–8) and his insights about God (verses 9–11), Solomon ends this section by sharing some instructions about living (verses 12–15).

Tragedies And Triumphs

¹ For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

² a 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;

⁵ a 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.

As you may be aware we had a public holiday in honour of the passing of Queen Elizabeth 2. A memorial service was held in Canberra where this passage from Ecclesiastes was the main Bible reading. I am not too sure whether anyone present there actually knew what this passage is about! And probably they sang the words to themselves to the tune the Byrds produced in the 1970's. But what are these words about?

Churck Swindoll writes: "At the start of a passage described as "one of the most ingenious parts of the Old Testament," Solomon began with the following summary statement: "There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

What follows this summary is a series of snapshots of real life, showcasing the all-pervading opposites of existence—good and bad, positive and negative. While most of us fill our photo albums with only the best photos, Solomon portrayed life in its stark reality. He included not only laughter and love, but hardship and pain as well.

In Ecclesiastes 3:2–8, Solomon strung together fourteen opposite events grouped together into seven sets. Donald Glenn writes, "The number seven suggests the idea of completeness and the use of polar opposites—a well-known poetical device called merism—suggests totality." Let's flip through Solomon's vivid photo documentary of life, examining these seven couplets to discover their wisdom.

The first pair of opposites refers to the beginning and ending of life in both the animal and plant kingdoms: "A time to give birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted" (Ecclesiastes 3:2).

Certainly, we have no control over the time or circumstances of our birth, and neither can we lengthen our lives beyond the time God has allotted to each of us. These events are in God's hands and occur according to His own time and sovereign plan."

The second pair of opposites Solomon described centers on the appropriateness of certain actions in specific situations: "A time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build up" (Ecclesiastes 3:3).

Real life involves a strange mixture of battlefields and hospitals, mortality and medicine, demolition crews and construction workers.

The third set of terms contrasts lamenting and celebrating, suggesting there is an appropriate time for both: "A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance" (Ecclesiastes 3:4).

Because God appoints certain times for both pleasure and pain, both of these elements of life must have a purpose in His plan. C. S. Lewis gave us a glimpse through the keyhole of pain into the chamber of God's purposes when he wrote, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."8

Knowing that God can and does use pain for His purposes doesn't make it any less painful. However, knowing that in God's plan there's also a time for joy can give us the hope to endure the pain and suffering that characterize life. Perhaps you're experiencing the grief of a tragic loss or the pain of an unexpected trial. If you're not there now, you will be someday! Life offers few guarantees, but pain is one of them. The reality of life is that our suffering ultimately will end only with physical death. But God promises believers an ultimate experience of laughter and dancing in heaven that will far surpass any relief we could gain in this world (Revelation 21:1–4; 22:1–2).

The fourth of Solomon's seven sets refers to times of confrontation or punishment versus forgiveness and restoration: "A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to shun embracing" (Ecclesiastes 3:5).The time to gather stones can be likened to the time to embrace, while the time to throw stones can be equated with the time to shun embracing. In other words, there are occasions when we should affirm and encourage others. At other times, however, we may need to offer caring confrontation to hold others accountable for their attitudes and actions.

The fifth pair Solomon noted refers to holding on or letting go of things of the world: "A time to search and a time to give up as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away" (Ecclesiastes 3:6).

Solomon's sixth pair of phrases may refer to the theme of mourning and recovery from loss, both personally and in ministry to others: "A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; a time to be silent and a time to speak" (Ecclesiastes 3:7).

The final set of polar opposites refers to some of the more extreme realities of human life: "A time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace" (Ecclesiastes 3:8).

On one hand, we're expected to express love, grace, and forgiveness to others. On the other hand, certain events require the response of hatred toward injustice, oppression, sinfulness, and prejudice. On an international scale, love, grace, and forgiveness are characterized by peace, while taking a stand against injustice and oppression may sometimes result in war.

It's true that Christians should advocate peace (Romans 12:18; Hebrews 12:14; 1 Peter 3:11). However, we're living in the real world, where peace is not always possible. If history has taught us anything, it's that peace always comes at a price. Sometimes that price is war.

How To Handle Tragedy And Triumph

1.Accept God's Sovereignty Over Your Life

We have some serious questions: What about the Holocaust? What about the Ukraine ? What about genocides in various places in the world? I can't answer all those questions. But I can say this: When you stand back and view the great cavalcade of human experience from the divine perspective, God's fingerprints cover everything— the places of misery and tragedy most of all.

2.Accept God's Variety In Your Life

David Jeremiah writes :

1-8, 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live;13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil---this is God's gift to man.

Life—the awesome gift of God—shouldn't be afflicted by the paralysis of analysis. We'll either be frozen in fear over what comes next, or we'll become so confused over the meaning of it all that we won't notice the joy leaking out through the seams of everyday living.

There comes a time to "lighten up" a bit, as people sometimes say. Do we take God, His Word, and His laws any less seriously? Not at all. We simply acknowledge the boundaries defined by His greatness and our smallness.

He cannot be put into any convenient box of our design. As Archie Bunker once said (with painfully mangled theology), "That's how He got to be God." Besides, poking too far into the matter is how we got to be in our present state.

"God moves in a mysterious way / His wonders to perform," hymnist William Cowper wrote. Some people want to master every corner of the God question before they make a commitment to believe in Him, and they miss the heart of the issue—the issue of the heart.

Jesus says, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). In telling us that, Jesus uses a great old Bible word to describe the way God wants to bless our lives. He abundantly pardons our sins (Isaiah 55:7). His grace is exceedingly abundant (1 Timothy 1:14).

Psalm 37:11 promises us an abundance of peace. The apostle Paul says that out of the abundance of God's grace and righteousness, we can reign in life through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17). We have abundant labors in His kingdom (2 Corinthians 11:23), but also abundant joy (Philippians 1:26) and abundant mercy (1 Peter 1:3).

I think when most Christians approach the end of life, they're going to wish they had served God more faithfully. But I think they'll have another regret—that they didn't fully take advantage of the wonderful abundance in life that Christ offers us.

God enjoys our enjoyment! He filled the world with good things for a reason. Go to a football game. Spend time with your family. Take a vacation. Pursue an enjoyable hobby. Relax in the sauna. Do a little something for yourself every day, and thank God for the blessings He has abundantly poured into your life.

12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live;13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil---this is God's gift to man.

3.Accept God's Mystery For Your Life

¹¹He 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.

Missionary Hudson Taylor sometimes quoted this Frederick W. Faber poem when afflictions came his way: Ill that God blesses is our good, And unblest good is ill.
And all is right that seems most wrong, If it be His sweet will.

Guy Peace struggles to handle grief from his dad's death at 39. When he turned 39 he realised he could move on from there now from his grief.

4. Accept Your Mortality and Immortality

Solomon recognises that there is one existential threat that no one can escape. The reality of death.

The fragility of life. And death! Pearce again loved the song "Here comes the flood!""The actors gone there's only you and me.. we shall say good bye to flesh and blood."

Psalm 31:14-16 But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors! Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love!

1 My times are in Your hand; my God, I wish them there!
My life, my friends, my soul, I leave entirely to Your care.

2 My times are in Your hand whatever they may be,
pleasing or painful, dark or bright, as You know best for me.

3 My times are in Your hand; why should I doubt or fear?
My Father's hand will never cause His child a needless tear.

I wonder if Saint Augustine had Ecclesiastes 3:11 in mind when he wrote, "Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they learn to rest in Thee"? That says it as succinctly as it could be said. The unrest we see in our world and in our own hearts tells us we have not found our rest completely in God. And we will not experience that rest completely until we enter the realm for which we were created—eternity.

5. Accept Your Insensibility Around Your Life

I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live;¹³also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil---this is God's gift to man.

Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.v⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

God's plan is good; His purpose clear. But the last part of verse 11 tells us that His program is mysterious. Nobody can figure it out.

If you've picked up this book thinking that I have answers to all of life's imponderable mysteries and miseries, I must apologize. I'm not God, and I can't understand it all. I try to figure it out just as you do, and I often wish God would be more forthcoming with the answers. The evangelist Vance Havner used to say, "God writes over some of our days: 'Will Explain Later.'"

Solomon goes on in verse 11 to add this beautiful sentence: "He has made everything beautiful in its time." Everything that happens in our lives has a purpose. God makes it beautiful in its time. This verse is the Old Testament counterpart of Romans 8:28: "We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

In our churches we used to sing a chorus based on this verse:

In His time, in His time,
He makes all things beautiful in His time.
Lord, please show me every day,
As You're teaching me Your way
That You'll do just what You say in Your time.

6. Accept Your Responsibility For Your Life

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.¹⁵That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.

7.Accept God's Supremacy Over All Life

The phrases "fear God" or "fear the Lord" occur more than 114 times in the Bible. For example:

You shall fear the LORD your God and serve Him. (Deuteronomy 6:13)

Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served. (Joshua 24:14)

The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever. (Psalm 19:9)

You who fear the LORD, praise Him! (Psalm 22:23)

[Walk] . . . in the fear of the LORD and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 9:31)

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7:1)

Does this imply that we should cower in fear of God—tremble as we enter the church or begin our morning prayer? Not in the way we fear any force of malevolence, such as a wild animal or a disaster or a misfortune for someone in our family. No, this kind of fear we feel in the presence of something too marvelous for words.

The One powerful enough to set that sun in space, and to create that waterfall, is far more worthy of our fear and wonder. He holds all of space and time within His fist, and how small are we in that context?

This is a fear caught up in love—the way we may have once feared our earthly mothers and fathers, but to the trillionth power. It is a fear that inspires worship as the heat inspires warmth. Life? We have no reason to fear it. God? We have every reason. We fear His magnificence, His infinity, His wrath, and therefore we fear the prospect of ever wandering from His friendship, ever turning from His presence, ever losing His power, as Solomon did. We fear the thunderous power of a love so relentless it could send One's own Son to die. We fear the utter blackness of God turning away, as endured by Christ on Calvary. We stand before the cross and realize we can add nothing. We can take nothing away. The act is perfect and forever, and our fear turns to abounding love and devotion.

Kipling wrote… If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;…

If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss;

… You'll be a man my son.