“That which is has already been, and what is to be has already been; and God requires an account of what is past.” The first part of this verse is almost identical to the first half of Ecclesiastes 1:9 and has already been discussed on Day 1 of my study through Ecclesiastes.
But the second half of the verse is significant, especially in the context of chapter three and the entire book: “And God requires an account of what is past.”
It is because He does it. He does it so that we might fear Him. And whatever He does is permanent.
Those are the main ideas that I pick up from the one verse that I am meditating on today.
A lot of what is said in these verses has already been discussed in detail. In verse 9 Solomon asks, “What profit has the worker from that in which he labors?” In verse 10 he says, “I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.” Verses 12 and 13 are a repeat of Ecclesiastes 2:24-26 where he says that men should be happy in life and enjoy profit from their labor.
This seems to be one of the more notable and well-known passages of Ecclesiastes. Solomon starts out, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven…” Verses 2-7 go on to describe how everything in life has it’s appropriate time and place to occur.
It is interesting that the Preacher begins with the reality of life and death in our sin-cursed world: “A time to be born, and a time to die.” Life and death were preeminent in Solomon’s mind at the time. As he neared his death he contemplated his life and all that he had done.
I really like these few verses. Verse 24 says, “Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.” Sounds good to me! Eat, drink, and enjoy life while profiting from my labor.
“This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.” Is it true that God’s design for man was to enjoy life and find satisfaction in everything he does? Of course! In Genesis 1:26-28 God created man and told him to be fruitful and multiply and exercise dominion over the earth. Genesis 2:4-8 gives a more detailed description of man’s creation and implies that man has a responsibility to work and enjoy the fruit of his labor (literally).
What should I write about next? Are there issues that you are facing or that the church is facing today that need to be addressed? Take 15 seconds to let me know!
