A Commentary in Simple English on Ecclesiastes

Chapter 3: All in God’s time

So (verse 10) the Teacher says again that God has given men work to keep them busy. Now the work which we do does not last for ever; but (verse 14) what God does, does last for ever.

Verse 11 is not easy. It says three things.

a. Everything is beautiful in its time. God changes things yet at any one time, there is a rightness about it all.
b. God, in His grace, has given to us a sense of past and present. [3.1] We can sorrow over the past. We can plan for the future. The word (‘Olam’) means less than eternity here.

c. This does not make us as wise as God. There are limits to what we know and feel. Yet God knows the end from the very beginning.

Verses 12 and 13 give us the Teacher’s second answer to his question. He says that we must give up. We cannot find out what God does. So the answer is much the same as 2:24-26. Our life is a gift to us from the God of grace. If we do not enjoy this life, then we waste it. We ought not to throw away God’s good gift to us.

Verse 14 says that the Teacher knows something. What God does is not like what we do. In verses 2-8 there was change. God never needs to change His plans. He does not have to put right any mistakes. So we cannot make God’s work any better.

In verse 15, we have a proverb. The first part is fairly plain. Past, present and future are all one. They are all part of God’s work and purpose. The last part of the verse is very difficult. It may mean: ‘God calls us to chase - to follow - the good things, that is, the enjoyment which is in our reach’ (as in verses 12 and 13). [3.2]

Verses 16-22 Is the Judge wise?

Verses 16 and 17 may also be proverbs. In verse 16, the Teacher sees. He sees men who are judges. They sit in courts of law. Justice should be there. But the judges are not just. They wrong other people. Sadly, this is often true. Judges want money. They may listen to a lot of clever talk, but not to the truth. Then sometimes the law itself is bad.

If the Teacher is really Solomon then he is the man who ought to put these things right.

In verse 17, the Teacher moves on from what he sees. Now he speaks about his own thoughts. He has seen the work which human judges do. But God is the Judge of all men. To judge is His work. No one can give God anything. He knows the truth. His law is good. His work is to put right what is wrong.

(Verse 18) The Teacher tells us what he thought about the wrong, which he saw in verse 16. Our first need is to learn the truth about ourselves. God teaches us! So the Teacher thinks about death again. (Verses 19 and 20) Animals die. Men die (Genesis 3:19).

Verse 21 is very difficult. Men do not know everything but God does. The Teacher said that in verse 11. Then the work of men is sometimes wrong. The Teacher said that in verse 16. God’s work is always right (verse 14). So now the Teacher can say: ‘No man knows whether there is life after death. But God does know and that is good’. As Christians we do know, because Jesus has broken the power of death. The Teacher says more. ‘There are questions this side of death to which I can find no answer. There may be an answer on the other side of death’. When he says that the spirit of a man goes up, he means ‘up to God’. The breath of an animal goes down to the earth.

So once more in verse 22 the Teacher finds the same answer to his question (See 2:24-26 and 3:13). We cannot look beyond our death to see what will happen in the world. So we should enjoy our work.