3:1-8 AN ORDERLY WORLD.

3:1 a season = an appointed time (Heb. zeman)

a time = a season. In the Hebrew these 28 seasons are set out in 14 lines, 2 in a line
with a space between each pair.
under heaven = upon the earth.
3:2 to be born = to bear. A woman reaches a certain age and development wherein she
can bear a child. Sarah was an example of God imposing a time Gen. 17:17, 21,
18:14, 21:2. These times and seasons for mankind are set and controlled by God, and
Man must pay the consequences if he tries to side-step them.
to die Ps. 31:5, 15, Heb. 9:27. Ps.139 shows how God made us in secret long before
we were born (v. 13 16) and there is a time for the resurrection IThess. 4:16 to 5:1
-4, and 2Thess2:3.
to plant it is beyond Mans power to alter the seasons. Man (by and large) is forced
to live by the yearly cycle. (Applied to a kingdom Ps.44:2, 80:8, 15, Jer.l8:9, Amos
9:15, Mat. 15:13) The law of Gen. 8:22 continues to this day.
to pluck up if fruit isnt harvested it tends to be ruined Rev.6:13, Is.34:4, and Jer.
18:7,9.
3:3 to kill = judicially. Out of its proper season, to kill is murder. lKings2:23 25
Adonijah was put to death by Solomon, 28 34 Joab was put to death by Benaiah at
the order of Solomon. Ps.78:31.34, Jer.l2:3.
to heal God healed Zedekiah when he repented Is.38:5,21, 57:18, Ps. 107:20,
147:3.
break down Jer.39:2,8, Mal.l:4, Ez.33:21. The first and third references are about
Gods promised judgment on Jerusalem, while the second reference is about Edom,
which God also promised to judge. Other times of breaking down arc: Sodom and
Gomorrah Gen. 19:23 26, the judgment of the whole earth Gen.6:3
to build up Neh.2:17,18,20, Ps. 102:13,14,16, Is.45:13 in reference to Cyrus,
Daii.9:25,Amos9:ll.
3:4 to weep Gen.23:2, 43:30, Joel 2:17, the time for those in Jerusalem to weep. to
laugh Sarah laughed in lack of faith Gen.21:6, Abraham laughed in faith -Gen.
17:17, God laughs at the raging of the heathen Ps.2:4, The Lord laughs at the
wicked because He knows their time of judgment is coming Ps.37:13. Christians
can look forward to a time of laughing Luke 6:21.
to mourn Gen.23:2, lSam.l6:l, Prov. 29:2, Is.38:14, 61:2, JoeI4:9, Zech.l2:10,12,
Mat.5:4,9:15.
to dance 2Sam.6:14,Ps.l49:3, 150:4, Jer.31:13, Judges 20:6, lKingsl5:22, Lam.4:l

3:5 to cast away stones, as out of a vineyard Is.5:2, Lev. 14:40,45, judges 20:16,
IKings 15:22, Lam.4:l
to gather stones Deut.27:4, Josh.4:3,8,20, ISam. 17:40, IKings 18:31,32, Ps.l02:14,
Is. 54:11
to embrace Gen.29:13, 33:4,48:10,2Kings 4:16
to refrain from embracing Prov.5:20, Joel 2:16, ICor. 7:5,6 3:6 to get = to buy, or to
acquire Geu.42:2,7,10, Ruth 4:5, 2Sam.24:21, Is.55:l, Jer.32:7, Eph.4:28
to lose Gen.31;39, Mat. 10:39, 16:25, Is.47:9
to keep ISam. 16:11, Prov.7:1, Luke 8:15, 2Timl: 14, John 2:10, 12:7
to cast away Judges 15:17, 2Kings 7:15, Is.31:7, Hos.9:17, Ecc.l 1:1
3:7 to rend- ISam. 15:27,2 8, IKings 11:11,31, 13:3,5, 14:8, Joel 2:13, John 19:24
to sew = to sew together, to adjust. Spoken of the kingdom in the parable of the two
sticks, Ex.37:15.
to keep silence Lev. 10:3, Ps.32:3, Amos 5:13,2Tim.2:11,12, lPet.2:15
to speak- Ex.7:2, Num.22:8, 2Sam.7:17, Ps.2:5, 145:6,11, Ez.2:7, Luke 1:19,20, John
16:13
3:8 to love Jer.2:2, Ez.l6:8, Dan.l:9, Gal.5:13, 2Thess.l:3
to hate 2Sam.l3:15, Ps. 105:25, Prov.25:17, Luke 14:26, Prov. 11:15, 15:27, 26:16,
John 12:25, Jude 23.
of war Ex.l7:16, Num. 1:3,20,22, 26:2, Deut.3:18, Judges 3:2, 2Sam.3:l, Jer.6:4,
Luke 14:31, Rev. 12:7, 19:11,19
of peace Josh. 11:23, 14:15, Lev.26:6, Judges 4:17, lSam.7:14, Ps.72:3, 85:8, Prov.
16:7, Is.9:7, Zech.9:10, Rom.5:1, Eph.4:3
All these verses show that life is rich and varied, and fall of reactions and interactions,
all integrated with each other. Solomon has listed the main activities of fallen Man,
showing the times and seasons for constantly recurring things. Every item listed is
continually being repeated, over and over again, in many different ways. The next
group of verses, 9-15, enlarge on this:
3:9 15 MANS LIMITATIONS
3:9 When Solomon looks at the activities of fallen Man, he asks what profit, or
benefit, or use is it to all of them, as they go from day to day, caught up in the toil of
their appointed seasons and times. 3:9 I have seen the travail = toil which causes

fatigue, which God (= Elohim), has given to the sons of men = adam (associated
with Mans origin from the dust of the earth), to be exercised in = to labour at.
3:11 Sm and Gdsp says He has made everything beautiful in its season; but he has
also implanted ignorance in their mind, so that Mankind cannot discover the work
which God has done from beginning to end.
his time = its proper season
the world = Heb. olam = the ages, or the world in relation to time. When Adam and
Eve sinned. God took from them their understanding of time, and made the fallen
Race aware of the present far more than the past or future. That is why fallen Man is
unable to find out the work that God makes from the beginning to the end The list
of 3:1 8 gives us the things of Mans times or seasons which he does see, but what
God does is from time past to time everlasting.
3:12 fallen Man is limited to this level of satisfaction and fulfillment in his life. Sm
and Gdsp says I know that there is nothing good for them but to be glad and to enjoy
themselves while they live. Within the restrictions of mortality, and caught in the
endless cycle of seasons and times, Solomon sees that Man can at least rejoice and
do good in, or during his life.
3:13 God has blessed fallen Man, as Gen. 8:21 shows I will not again curse the
ground for Mans sake; for (ALTHOUGH) the imagination of Mans heart is evil from
his youth . . . God knows what fallen Man is like nevertheless. He left not Himself
without witness, in that He did GOOD, and gave us rain from heaven Acts
14:15 -17. Couple v.l2 (rejoicing and doing good), with v.l3 (eating and drinking and
enjoying the fruit of labour) and you have an ideal way of living, for fallen Man. This
is without God. It is a material plane of life, but it is the best.
3:14 for ever = Heb. olam = the ages. The irresistible will of God is described. He
orders Mans life, he controls all things by his power Col. 1:16,17, 2:9. He dictates
all the seasons and times of fallen Man. Rom. 1:19 32 shows how God has revealed
himself to Mankind at all times since the Fall, leaving the fallen Race ^without
excuse. 3:15 refers again to the cycle of ch. 1:1 11
God requires = God is ever bringing back
3:16 22 MAN AND BEAST ON THE SAME LEVEL
3:16 the place of judgment = an expression like ; the courts of justice
WICKEDNESS = lawlessness and iniquity, from Heb. rasha. As is common for
fallen Man, where there should be truth and justice, there is sin.
3:17 the righteous = a righteous one.
the wicked = a lawless one. God will judge all men one day Jer.l7:10, 32:19, Mat.
16:27,2Cor.5:10,2Tim.4:1, lPet.4:5

3:18 The fact that God appoints a time for everything which fallen Man does. Fallen
Man is largely if not totally unaware of the fact that he is living according to Gods
control in every detail of his life. This also shows that fallen Man is the same as the
beasts or animals. God controls all the times and seasons of animal life as for
example, see the 80 questions in Job 38-41.
3:19 The one great common factor ruling all of Creation is death. Rom.8:18 23,
quoted in lCor.15. That which befalls, is the event or happening, as in 2:14. The
one thing is death. They all have one breath (ruach = spirit). Fallen Man is as much
a part of the material world as everything else created. The very bold statement here
sums it all up Man has no pre-eminence above a beast (living creature). Ps.49:12,
Ps. 146:4
3:20 one place = Sheol, or the grave.
all are of the dust Gen. 1:24, 2:7,19, 3:19. In Gen. 1:24 God says let the earth bring
forth the living creature = nephesh = soul. Ps. 103:14 He remembers that we are
dust, and ICor. 15:47
turn to dust again -,Gen.3:19, Ps.22:15, 104:29, 146:4, Job 10:9, 34:15.
3:21 spirit = ruach = breath. Sm and Gdsp says Who can know whether the spirit of
Man goes upward or the spirit of a beast goes downward . . .? Who can tell the
answer to this question? Ecc. 12:7 gives the answer see the notes there. God gives
breath, or spirit, to all souls, making them living souls, and when he withdraws his
spirit, the souls die.
3:22 Repeating the thought of 2:24. The share (or portion) for fallen Man, is to rejoice
in his own works why? because he is mortal, and cannot do anything beyond what
God has set for him. 11:9 carries the same thought. Solomon gives a positive
command to the young man, then adds the qualifying but know . . . Ecc. is about the
fate of fallen Man and fallen Creation. Solomon sees many positive things, but always
there is the extreme limitation of mortality imposed on everything. (A story I once
wrote, had a number of animals, being born, living, and dying, in a vast plain. They
thought they were free, and wild, and able to roam as far as they liked, but the plain
was in fact fenced in. The twist in the story was the fact that none of the animals had
ever walked as far as the fence).