Solomon's solution is offered to us after he used his amazingly magnificent intellectual and material resources to examine the meaning of life “under the sun”. He explored and investigated in depth everything that life had to offer, so that he could acquire the information necessary to make his life a complete joy. 

He looked at the exact same areas in which we think we will find success and happiness.  He examined whether joy was to be found by acquiring wisdom and knowledge, indulging himself in pleasure, creating all kinds of monuments, acquiring increasingly better and flashier toys, doing what was necessary to ensure success in his family generations and so on. 

He concluded after his experiment that life lived “under the sun” was empty and futile, so he kept repeating that “Vanity of vanities”, and “All is vanity”. 

As a result of his investigations and experiments, he even concluded that when one sought for wisdom and increased knowledge, the result was much grief and increased pain. 

He then affirmed that what is crooked cannot be straightened, reminding us that people always make the same mistakes over and over again, hurting themselves and others continually. 

When he investigated pleasure, indulging in everything that his eyes desired and withholding nothing, sexually and otherwise, though he enjoyed himself, he realized that pleasure did not get him anywhere. 

He plainly stated that though he had created a lot, there was no guarantee that the person who ruled after him would appreciate his accomplishments and maintain them. 

The more he discovered, the more he became more aware of the multiple disappointments in human experience. 

So Solomon though he had it all, admitted that he really had nothing. He was then forced to begin to look at things from a different perspective (12:4). 

In today’s study we will learn that God is in control of all the events of life and that He has set up the affairs of this world in a particular way and for us in a peculiar way.   

Solomon stressed that these things are what God sends.  Events might look as if they are gloom, doom, and pessimism, but that is not the reality. God intends us to have joy as well as other contrary experiences, because they fit into his design and purpose.  God’s hand is in everything and since we know that, we can enjoy life in all its aspects, for we know that God ultimately provides for his own.  It is only the life of the godless, those who live without God, that is empty, vanity, meaningless and a waste. 

Solomon discovered, as we will see, that God has appointed contradictory poles in life. Life has logical tensions and seeming contradictions both for the people of God, as well as for the godless.  

It is suggested that God has set up affairs in such a way that the eternal aspect of man will be stirred up and brought constantly to the surface of his consciousness.  Men would be constantly faced with the necessity to look to God as the giver of life. 

We will now examine how God established stages in life that are quite predictable and these we will describe as cycles of life.

Solomon is most emphatic that there is an appropriate time for everything and this includes both the pleasant and the unpleasant experiences.  Both are a normal part of life and both are decreed by God. 

Despite the fact that sin entered into the world, the divine order still prevails and these orderly cycles are simply under the control of God.

THE TEXT

Verse 1. Solomon states that for everything under heaven there is an appointed time.  This is true in the physical life, in matters of the soul, and in matters of the spirit.  All of life’s activities are covered and God works through the established order, determining everything that happens as he wills. 

Note that we have been told that change is a way of the life and the things of life vary constantly, with different events occurring steadily, sometimes without any warning or prior indication that such a thing would ever happen. Sometimes things go from one extreme to the other. 

Cycles exist in the affairs of men and though some think that they can avoid them it is impossible.  Sometimes we even see leaders, whether political or religions, begin to convince people that he or she can overturn the vagaries of life.  This is a lie and quite impossible. 

Sometimes some become fatalists, standing and accepting with a bowed head that it is impossible to do anything significant. Others try to anticipate the future and create advantages for themselves. But if we accept Solomon's affirmations, the logical conclusion is that we are not in control of the circumstances that determine our own life path. 

What we need to focus on now as we read, is to learn not to necessarily to depend on certain skills to change our circumstances, for Solomon says that is foolishness. Instead we should try to find the required way to succeed despite the changes and cycles, so that we will grow spiritually and be strengthened emotionally.

Verse 2.  Solomon begins with looking at physical life.  This involves creation and destruction, things which seem to be antagonistic one to the other, but which nevertheless continue regularly and unabated. There is a time to begin life and a time to end life. None of us ask to be born and none of us ask to die, but this done by God. These events, life and death are the boundaries of life. 

There is a logic to everything and God has established a schedule. The supply of food is most important for life, and scheduling is most important. One does not plant in the winter when it is snowing. There is an appropriate time for everything.

Verse 3. The process of living and dying continues together. We are told that every seven years the cells of the body are replaced. There is a time to kill and a time to heal.  God sometimes comes in judgment and at other times he comes in mercy, to heal those that he has judged.  

There will be a time to build up, to improve things, to increase abilities, to tear down parts of our house before we begin to remodel, to break up our business enterprise because it is not working for the best and then to rebuild what has broken down.

Verse 4.  Here Solomon turns to look at relationships, how we think, feel and interact with other people. This is a different area, the personal area of life. 

We are being warned that no one can escape the pain and sorrows of life.  When Jesus came to earth he did not have the pleasant, delightful, carefree life with no struggle or pain.  In fact, he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.  God has allowed a mix in life.  But note that Jesus did attend a wedding and enjoyed himself, but at Gethsemane it is a different matter.  

So God has told us through Solomon that in this fallen world there will be happy, laughing and carefree times, when one can dance (note that dancing is not necessarily bad), as well as times of sorrow and weeping. 

It is silly to laugh, dance and make merry in times of danger, apostasy, destruction and calamity, for these times call for rending the garment, placing ashes on the head, and mourning.

Verse 5.  At this point  events that involve rendering judgment are in view; when it is time to stop, analyze and evaluate, to think about what is happening and decide what is best. 

These series of opposites deal with the spirit, inner decisions, deep commitments, relationships etc.  Sometimes one has to break down things one has constructed in life, to demolish them, while there are times when one should begin to rebuild, to gather the pieces together, the strong things that last, one by one.  There will be a time when one will embrace a friend, but there will be a time when wisdom and prudence tells us to keep that person at a distance.  We might have to be prepared to lose what we have.

Note that there will be happy as well as painful times, for sometimes those close to us will act in ways which necessitate varying degrees of separation.

Verse 6.  The theme of verse five continues and it is pointed out that sometimes we have to seek and accumulate or get things, whether wisdom, or material things.  Then there will be times when we cannot hold fast to the things that we have but should scatter them. 

Believers know this quite well, for when we come to Christ we have to cast away what we have. If we don't, we will be denying Christ, harming our conscience and showing that we really do not love God.  Then there will be a time to hold fast what we have, for that requires faithfulness to God. 

Sometimes we have to look again at our behavior, habits, values and standards and throw out what is not right or appropriate.

Verse 7.   There is a time to tear our garments as in a time of great grief and a time to undo what we have done.

There will be a time when wisdom and obligation says to be quiet, for if one speaks, it will be the same as casting pearls before swine, or speaking wrong or out of ignorance. 

There are times when we should not pass on what we know, repeat gossip or keep a secret.  Then they would be times when we ought to speak up and stand for the truth. 

Sometimes we see actions that are wicked and we disapprove, and the appropriate course is to separate our self from those people and so express hatred for what they are doing. But they are also times that we have to confront evil and speak up, keeping no secrets.

Verse 8.   There is a time to express love and to show that we care.  There are many lonely, dejected, hurting people and we are required to show love in all its forms, practical and otherwise   

But there is a time to hate, for often there is much evil in the world such as slavery, bondage, abuse and deliberate, wilful destruction. 

Even God uses the sword sometimes.  So there is a time when tyranny should not be allowed and nations can rightly make war. But there are times when war is totally wrong, and these times are probably in the majority.  Most often wars are started because of greed.  Many times there are no real provocations.  Often wars develop into destruction far beyond what was contemplated and generally those that suffer the most are the poor, women and children, the widows, the fatherless, the vulnerable, those that God really love and care for. 

Peace is very important and one should pray that the sword is quickly sheathed.  One should not glory in war, ignoring the suffering of the innocent.

Verse 9.  Solomon draws a conclusion here.  We might enjoy things or obtain pleasure for a time, but there is no permanent sense of satisfaction.  He certainly cannot operate out of his own desires and do things that he wants.  There is no benefit in self effort, for that is only wearing oneself out.  We might work hard and promise ourselves rewards, but there is no guarantee that this is what God will give us.

Verse 10-13.  It is clear that God has so structured things that man will labor and suffer and he will be exercised and only find the purpose of things by careful, thoughtful examination, which must lead him to turn to God. 

There is no reason for despair. God has appointed life in such a way that a person can experience joy and pleasure, as long as they recognize that God has built into the heart something beautiful, which is, eternity in the heart. 

God has given man events and things; times such that they will occupy themselves, never going beyond the established boundaries and viewing life as a gift from God.  Man should rejoice, do good and enjoy it.  The way to enjoy the cycles which man cannot change is really to live with the cycles, always staying in the presence of God. 

Man was created for eternity and he should recognize that God is always there, and he should always be looking forward to that eternal city, trusting God, remembering that life, this life is not the end. 

It should be clear to us by now, that God does not give us a blueprint to life which would enable us to run things on our own.  Man has this inner drive for eternity and he cannot remove it.  Life apart from God makes no sense and he can live only by the grace of God and this grace is only given for one day, one day at a time. 

This is God’s order and man will never be able to find out the work of God for he is finite and fallen. He is incapable of understanding God's work from beginning to end. 

It is therefore important for man to continue to live his life, eat and drink, following the rhythm of life, for that is the purpose of God in his remarkable plan.  Man is to live life with energy, seizing the opportunities and be happy. 

But in doing so he must understand that it is God who has designed certain things for the pleasure and  enjoyment of man.  Anything that cannot be regarded as a gift of God must be rejected, but everything that God has created can be enjoyed according to his direction. 

We are here dealing with the gift and fear of God.  These are all that matter.  There is harmony in the plan of God and when all events are considered together, there's no need for perplexity or despair.  Man must make good use of what God has provided, realizing that God made all things beautiful.

Verse 14.  God has made things that are lasting, nothing is really new, for no one can make any original contribution.  Nothing that is contributed will last and any creation with be run over by events and subsequent actions.  God is sovereign and no one can interfere with his plan.  God is in charge and his measures can never be affected, defeated, reversed, altered, or disannulled. 

So the fear of the Lord will always be the beginning of wisdom. Man should trust the wisdom of God, for he will never surrender his prerogatives.  Life without recognizing God is empty miserable and meaningless.  God has established it that way.  The secret to life is recognizing the presence of God and following him. 

There is no need to fear the cycles of life and the struggles of life. 

When we do that we really are trying to play God, wanting to be in charge of what happens to us.  When God refuses to pay attention to that we get angry.  But remember that nothing can be added to what God does, and nothing can be taken away from it. 

We can remember the case of the faithful Job who started straying in the direction of wanting to play God, insisting on being in charge.  That is not a direction that will bring happiness.

Verse 15.  Here Solomon repeats himself to emphasize this point 

The Lessons of life will always be repeated, for we do not seem to learn the lessons very well.  We keep making the same mistakes, and so the circumstances and cycles keep recurring so that we will learn. 

Actually the repeating cycles teach us that God is patient and will keep on teaching us over and over again until we get it right.  God never forgets and brings back everything so that we can learn and be accountable.

CONCLUSION

Frail man must understand that God operates in eternity.  The secret of life is living in the presence of God day by day, moment by moment. 

We must learn to live and rejoice in any and every circumstance, those that bring us pain and those that bring us pleasure. We should recognize that all of life comes from the choice of a loving and a wise Father who lives in eternity and who intends that we begin to concentrate on things of eternity. 

When we seek to find the principles to manage our varying crises and operate so that we do not suffer what other people suffer, keeping only the beautiful things, having only mountaintop experiences, having friendships that really work, avoiding the downside, the tragedy, sickness and death, our search will be futile. 

We expect God to give us answers to make us avoid trouble, even though this is something that would prevent us continuing to sense God’s presence in the middle of the troubles. 

We are wrong to expect these answers.  God has promised to be always there with us, to make everything beautiful in its time, to finally take us into his presence forever. 

We must learn that God is all we have, not principles that will make us do what we want.  When we have God we have everything that we need and all things will work together for good. 

It is difficult to appreciate that God strengthens his people through pain and brings joy in due time.  He allows them to be born and to die, to gather and to scatter, to win and lose, always being reminded that life is most unpredictable.  

Since this is the case and since man was created for eternity, with a longing in the heart for this missing piece of the puzzle, this eternity, our mission is to fear God and to tell others to fear God. This is the only thing that will make us enjoy the cycles of life and the unpredictability in human existence. 

If we look at the grace of God we can live as conquerors.  We must have God to understand that we can never know things by reason alone, but we can know them by the spirit of faith. 

We should remember that with God time is an eternal now and that is where we are headed.