26/11/21. Study 9. Ecclesiastes 3:9-15

⁹ What gain has the worker from his toil? ¹⁰ I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. ¹² I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; ¹³ also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.

¹⁴ I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. ¹⁵ That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away^..

 

1. Explain the phrase, "He has made everything beautiful in its time" (3:11). To what theological truth about God revealed in 3:9-15 does this point us? Where else in Scripture do we find this truth?

God has planned out events to achieve His own good and beautiful purposes. Events are not random, but appropriate/fitting/suited/right for His purposes. The verse teaches God's sovereignty over events.

Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him. (8:12) 

 I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them.  (Jer 32:40)

“The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.”(Ezra 8:22)

 

The doctrine of 'providence' states that God knows the future in advance and controls all events in accord with His good and holy will in caring for His creation. The Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) puts it beautifully:

 

God the great Creator of all things doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by his most wise and holy providence, according to his infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of his own will, to the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy. (WCF 5.1) 

2. Qoheleth discovers that, although God "has put eternity" into our hearts, "We cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end" (3:11). What does this mean? What is Qoheleth's reaction to this truth, and what does he encourage people to think, do and feel about God?

We have a spiritual hunger for things beyond our physical life. We can see that our lives are incomplete. But a more immediate meaning in Ecclesiastes is that "eternity" (v.11) is within the verse explained as "from beginning to the end".  Qoheleth has spoken of the fact that we see meaningless cycles, but not the origin and goal of life. We do grasp that our lives are meant to carry purpose and meaning, but we cannot really find this out.

We cannot always perceive the good and beautiful purposes of God.

(cf 8:17 "then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out.")

who does great things and unsearchable,     marvelous things without number: (Job 5:9)

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! (Rom 11:33)

Our overall right response to this is trust. Joe noted that this actually frees us so many different things. Our hearts and desires are not pure at the best of times  

Our secondary response is to be contented with life's pleasures as gifted by God (2:24–26; 3:12, 22; 5:18–20; 8:15; (9:7–10). Our enjoyment of life rests on contentment with the goodness of God to us.

^"But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that".( 1 Tim. 6:8).

 We talked at some length about ambition  I defined this as a strong desire to be or to do something  it is a morally neutral thing  we are to be content at every point of our lives even in the presence of ambition, and we’re are to remain content even when our ambitions are not realized 

3. How does Qoheleth contrast here the nature of human toil with that of God's work? 

Human toil	God’s work
Need for inheritance, impermanent and is not remembered (2:18)	Endures forever (3:14a)
Uncertain and unworthy inheritance (2:19-21)	Cannot be thwarted (3:14b)
Leads to hate (2:18), despair (2:20), sorrow and vexation (2:23)	Leads to beauty (3:11)
Constant dissatisfaction (days…night) (2:23)	Leads to fear of God (3:14c)
Satisfaction is God’s gift (2:25, 3:13)
Uncertain gain (3:9)

 God gives only what He himself possesses: satisfaction in His work.

 

4. What might it mean that "God seeks what has been driven away" (v.15)?

Heb = "what has been pursued". 

This verse is difficult and has a range of meanings:

https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Ecclesiastes%203:15. The main ones would be that:

• God does things again and again (i.e. history repeats itself) (cf. 1:9).
• God looks for, examines or requires something that is past or that has already taken place.
• God seeks out what people chase/pursue after (i.e. happiness).
• God will restore what is in the past.
  
• God will call the past into account (cf. 12:14)