Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:9-15

Bird's-eye view

The Preacher, having just laid out the unchangeable rhythm of God's sovereignty in the previous verses, a time for this, a time for that, now turns to the implications for man who lives within that fixed economy. He asks the fundamental question about the meaning of our labor in a world where everything seems to be a chasing after the wind. The answer is not despair, but a profound theological realism. God has orchestrated this entire affair, this whole business of life under the sun, as a divine curriculum. He has made everything beautiful in its proper time, and has planted a longing for eternity in the human heart that this world cannot satisfy. This dissatisfaction is a feature, not a bug. It is designed to drive us outside of ourselves to Him. The conclusion is that true enjoyment of life's simple gifts, eating, drinking, working, is not something man can seize for himself. It is a gift from God, received by faith. This whole arrangement is designed by God so that men should learn to fear Him, recognizing His eternal, unalterable work and their complete dependence upon Him.

Outline

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 9 What advantage is there to the worker from that in which he labors?

The Preacher begins with a hard-headed question. After that long list of appointed times, birth and death, planting and plucking up, the natural question for any thinking man is, "So what's the point?" If everything is so thoroughly arranged and determined from the outside, what profit is there in my sweat? If the outcome is already fixed, why should I bother getting up in the morning? This is not the question of a lazy man, but of an honest one. He is looking at the world as it is, a world of endless cycles, and asking where the meaning is. This is the problem of "hebel," of vapor or futility. You work hard to build something, and a time to break down comes. You gather stones, and a time to cast them away comes. What lasting gain can there be? This question sets the stage for the divine answer, which is not found "under the sun" but comes down from above it.

v. 10 I have seen the endeavor which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.

Here is the first part of the answer. This whole business, this "endeavor," this constant cycle of toil and activity, is not a random, meaningless accident. It is a divine assignment. God has "given" it to us. It is our occupation, our task. Your job, your family duties, your mowing the lawn again, all of it is a curriculum assigned by God. He is not a distant, deistic clockmaker who wound the world up and walked away. He is intimately involved, assigning the very tasks that often frustrate us. Recognizing the divine source of our toil does not immediately remove the frustration, but it does change its nature. We are not wrestling with blind fate; we are wrestling with a divine syllabus.

v. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.

This verse is the theological center of the passage, and perhaps the whole book. It unfolds in three parts. First, "He has made everything beautiful in its time." God's timing is perfect. The time to weep is just as beautiful, in its place within God's vast tapestry, as the time to laugh. We don't see the whole picture, so to us, the parts often look ugly or out of place. But from God's perspective, the perspective of the artist, every stroke of the brush contributes to the final masterpiece. Nothing is wasted. Second, "He has also set eternity in their heart." This is crucial. God has hardwired us with a longing for the transcendent, the permanent, the eternal. We have a homing instinct for Eden, a craving for a world not subject to decay and futility. This is why we are so profoundly dissatisfied with a world under the sun. We were made for another world, and the echo of it is in our souls. This longing is a gift, a clue pointing us to the Giver. Third, this is all arranged "so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end." The first two points create a tension that we cannot resolve on our own. We see glimpses of beauty, we long for eternal beauty, but we cannot connect all the dots. We can't see the whole blueprint. This is by divine design. God has arranged the world in such a way as to keep us from becoming proud, self-sufficient little gods who think they have it all figured out. Our finitude is a gift that forces us to look to the Infinite One.

v. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to be glad and to do good in one’s lifetime;

Given this divine setup, a beautiful but perplexing world and a heart that longs for more, what is the proper human response? The Preacher says he "knows" this. This is not a guess; it is a settled conclusion. The best thing, the only sane response, is to rejoice and to do good. Notice the order. Joy is not the result of figuring everything out. Joy is a choice, an act of faith in the God who has made everything beautiful in its time, even when we can't see the beauty. And this gladness is not a detached, selfish hedonism. It is coupled with doing good. True biblical joy is fruitful; it overflows in good works. It is a glad-hearted obedience.

v. 13 moreover, that every man who eats and drinks and sees good in all his labor, it is the gift of God.

This deepens the previous point. The simple pleasures of life, a good meal, a cool drink, satisfaction in a job well done, are not things we can achieve or earn on our own. The ability to enjoy these things is a direct gift from God. Many a rich man has a thousand cans of peaches but no can opener. He has the food, but no ability to enjoy it; he has the wealth, but no "spiritual taste buds." The world is full of miserable people who have all the external blessings. The Preacher is telling us that the blessing is not the thing itself, but the God-given capacity to take delight in the thing. This is grace, pure and simple. It is God giving us not just the created good, but the power to see it as good and rejoice in it.

v. 14 I know that everything God does will be forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, God has so worked that men should fear Him.

Here we come to the grand purpose of it all. The Preacher again states what he "knows." God's work is not like our fleeting, temporary work. It is eternal, complete, and unalterable. You cannot improve upon God's plan, and you cannot derail it. His sovereignty is absolute. And why has He arranged the world this way? What is the ultimate goal of this unchangeable, sovereign plan? "God has so worked that men should fear Him." This is the point of the whole curriculum. The cycles of life, the eternity in our hearts, our inability to grasp the whole plan, and the gift of simple joy, all of it is designed to bring us to a state of reverent, worshipful awe. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom because it is the end of our own pretensions to wisdom. It is the humble recognition that He is God and we are not.

v. 15 That which is has been already and that which will be has already been, yet God seeks what is pursued.

This final verse seals the argument for God's exhaustive sovereignty over time. There is nothing new under the sun because the One who is over the sun holds all of history in His hand. Past, present, and future are an eternal now to Him. But this does not lead to a fatalistic apathy. The final clause is telling: "God seeks what is pursued." This can be understood as God calling to account that which has passed away. He brings the past back for judgment and review. Nothing is lost or forgotten. Every deed, every moment, is held within His eternal memory. This adds weight and significance to our lives. Though we live in a world of cycles, our actions within those cycles have eternal significance because the eternal God is the one who oversees it all and will call it all to account.

Application

The central application for the Christian is to learn how to live joyfully within the beautiful futility that God has ordained for us. This world, under the sun, is a world of vapor. Your accomplishments will fade, your house will fall into disrepair, and your lawn will need mowing again next week. This is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be embraced by faith.

God has placed eternity in your heart, which means you will never be fully satisfied here. This is a good thing. That divine discontentment is meant to drive you to Christ, in whom all the promises of God are Yes and Amen. He is the one who gives the can opener, the ability to enjoy your food, your drink, and your work as gifts from a sovereign Father.

Therefore, do not despise your toil. See it as your God-given occupation. Do not despair over the repetitive nature of it all. Instead, receive the gift of joy in the midst of it. Eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already accepted your works in Jesus Christ (Eccl 9:7). The whole point of this intricate, sovereign, and often baffling world is to teach you to fear God. And the fear of God, in the Christian economy, is not a cowering dread, but a joyful, trusting, and worshipful awe of the One who holds all things together for His glory and for the good of His people.