Solomon described God’s plans and our proper response in view of our inability to comprehend them fully. He said we should fear God. This is a common emphasis in all Hebrew wisdom literature. read more
The Practical Ideal. Acceptance of the Universal Scheme1-15. God is a God of order. The problem which the writer has set himself is not yet solved. He has found that wisdom, culture, pleasure, are all good, though, even if we combine them, there is still something lacking, and they will not explain the mystery of existence. In continuing to seek for a rule of life that shall lead him to the highest good, he reminds himself that God is a God of order, and wisdom lies in adapting ourselves to... read more
(15) Is now.—Rather, was long ago.Requireth.—Seeketh again: i.e., recalleth the past. The writer has not been speaking of the bringing the past into judgment, but of the immutable order of the universe, which constantly repeats itself. But it would seem that the word suggesting the thought of seeking for the purpose of judgment leads on to the next topic. read more
Ecclesiastes 3:1 How for everything there is a time and a season, and then how does the glory of a thing pass from it, even like the flower of the grass. This is a truism, but it is one of those which are continually forcing themselves upon the mind. Borrow's Lavengro, xxvi. He is a good time-server that finds out the fittest opportunity for every action. God hath made a time for everything under the sun, save only for that which we do at all times to wit, sin. Thomas Fuller. References. III.... read more
The Quest obstructed by Divine Ordinances. Ecclesiastes 3:1-15The time of birth, for instance, and the time of death, are ordained by a Power over which men have no control; they begin to be, and they cease to be, at hours whose stroke they can neither hasten nor retard. The season for sowing and the season for reaping are fixed with any reference to their wish; they must plant and gather in when the unchangeable laws of nature will permit (Ecclesiastes 3:2). Even those violent deaths, and... read more
SECOND SECTIONThe Quest Of The Chief Good In Devotion To The Affairs Of BusinessEcclesiastes 3:1 - Ecclesiastes 5:20I. IF the true Good is not to be found in the School where Wisdom utters her voice, nor in the Garden in which Pleasure spreads her lures: may it not be found in the Market, in devotion to Business and Public Affairs? The Preacher will try this experiment also. He gives himself to study and consider it. But at the very outset he discovers that he is in the iron grip of immutable... read more
2. Further Results of the Search CHAPTER 3 1. The times of man under the sun (Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 ) 2. When then is the good? (Ecclesiastes 3:12-15 ) 3. Concerning judgment and the future (Ecclesiastes 3:16-22 ) Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 . There is a time for everything. Twenty-eight “times” are mentioned, beginning with the time of birth and ending with the time for peace. Everything has a fixed time: Life-death; seeding-harvesting; killing-healing; breaking-down building-up;... read more
3:15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God {f} requireth that which is past.(f) God only causes what which is past, to return. read more
MAN’S TIMES (Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 ) These are orderly and seasonable, but bring no permanent profit, because man is still ignorant of God’s purpose in them all. He does not know how to fit his work into God’s work. The conclusion is in Ecclesiastes 3:12-15 . GOD’S TIME (Ecclesiastes 3:16-22 ) There is a suggestion in verse 17 that this is long. It will be a time, too, of judgment and manifestation (Ecclesiastes 3:17-18 ). Yet, and perhaps because of this, man’s death is not different from... read more
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Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 3:15
15. Resumption of :-. Whatever changes there be, the succession of events is ordered by God's "everlasting" laws ( :-), and returns in a fixed cycle. requireth that . . . past—After many changes, God's law requires the return of the same cycle of events, as in the past, literally, "that which is driven on." The Septuagint and Syriac translate: "God requireth (that is, avengeth) the persecuted man"; a transition to Ecclesiastes 3:16; Ecclesiastes 3:17. The parallel clauses of the verse support... read more