Turn, Turn, Turn (Meditations in Ecclesiastes, Part V)

Text: Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

In the first two chapters, Solomon has already demonstrated the futility of human work and accomplishment as ultimate ends in-and-of themselves, notwithstanding their purpose as meaningful and joyous pursuits. Work is important and good – it simply cannot withstand the weight of ultimacy people might naturally place upon it.

To that end, we encounter the notable third chapter. Made famous by Pete Seeger’s song that rocketed to the top of the Billboard charts in the mid-sixties after being recorded by The Byrds, Solomon’s legendary poem considers both the cyclical nature of life (echoing 1:4-7) and the reality that all human endeavors will both change and eventually cease.

Many of the Eastern religions would claim to have the market cornered on the ideas of balance and cyclical existence. Solomon’s writings in Ecclesiastes go to show us that these concepts are certainly not the exclusive intellectual property of the meditative religions. Indeed, as people grow in their walk with and knowledge of the God of the Bible, one of the things they should begin to notice is how much the notion of balance in life is taught in the Scriptures. Christian wisdom tells us that extremes are unwise in all things except those which the Bible explicitly directs you toward, namely, love of God and love of people (Matthew 22:36-40).

And so, Solomon’s writings penetrate through many presuppositions people might be inclined to apply to their interactions with Scripture. All Christians everywhere most likely understand the dictum that there is a time to love, but a time to hate? A time for war? A time to kill? Ecclesiastes 3 is as much a part of Scripture as anything else and it won’t do to try and marginalize it with some appeal to difference of genre. In that case, which parts of the book count and which parts are irrelevant, and how do you know? The hermeneutical and interpretive gymnastics far too often deployed are best set aside to allow Scripture to interpret and explain itself instead.

A time to kill…
Romans 13:3-4, for example, details the biblical case for capital punishment through the God-ordained authority of the state. And nowhere in the Bible is war forbidden (the command of Christ in Matthew 5:38-42 to turn the other cheek being a personal one and not applicable to an entire nation, for instance). Remember, as well, that the prohibition in the Ten Commandments is translated, “You shall not murder,” (and not simply “kill”, in Exodus 20:13).

A time to hate…
The very presence of love in a person’s life necessitates the existence of hate. To love one thing is to hate something else. The love of God creates in a person the hatred of sin, evil and the defilement of God’s glory. A true love of people will manifest a hatred of all things that would keep them from reconciliation and deeper communion with God (consider the words of Christ Himself in places like Revelation 2:2 & 6, Matthew 6:24, and Luke 14:26).

A time to lose…
After his whole life is decimated, we are told that, “Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:20-21) The original readership of Hebrews is reminded that, “[A]fter you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.” (Hebrews 10:32-34)

It would certainly seem that God has just as much purpose (if not more) in our losses as He does our acquisitions (never forget Christ’s words in Luke 12:13-21).

And so we are reminded by Solomon’s observations that the whole of life does not reside only upon the positive side of the ledger of human experience. It is not all about gaining, establishing, and building. It is not all about laughter, celebration, and love. We would be wise to remember that the accounts of the great empires are important in history both in regards to their establishment and accomplishments as well as to their declines and failures. Business ventures, jobs, friendships, sports dynasties, political terms… so many aspects of human life we deem important fade away and end just as readily as they begin. Solomon himself will go on to say that, “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart,” as well as, “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth,” later in chapter 7. To be truly understood, life must be viewed and experienced in its entirety, with God trusted as the sovereign ruler over it all. Everything has its place. Everything is made beautiful in its time.

Winter and fall are as necessary and important as summer and spring.

“For everything there is a season.”

Everything.

Therefore, wisdom is the learned ability to decipher between the points of balance within a given situation. The question of wisdom is not if one must speak, tear down, or go to war, but when. And this understanding of balance in your life will keep you from unnecessary extremes, and consequently, put you in a better place both to understand and to interact with the world. Progress for progress’ sake is as foolhardy as holding to the status quo for its sake. Biblical wisdom considers all valid options and understands the ebb and flow of history and human life. It does not seek one at the absolute exclusion of the other, and is only fully devoted to those things that God calls and commands us to be.

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Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
to whom belong wisdom and might.
He changes times and seasons;
he removes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who have understanding;
he reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what is in the darkness,
and the light dwells with him.
To you, O God of my fathers,
I give thanks and praise,
for you have given me wisdom and might...
- Daniel 2:20-23