Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 3: Our times beneath God’s rule

Begin in prayer

Before we read about the times God sets, let us ask Him to teach our family reverence for His rule and His judgment, and to help us see Christ here.

While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.”

Genesis 8:22

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Help us trust Your wise rule through joy and sorrow. Teach us to receive today’s good with thanks and remember that every work comes before Your judgment. Help us see Jesus. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

The Preacher names times for birth and death, planting and uprooting, sorrow and joy, war and peace. He sees the burden God has given people. God makes everything beautiful in its time and sets eternity in human hearts, yet people cannot discover His whole work. Enjoying food, drink and labor is His gift. God’s work endures without addition or loss, so people should fear before Him. Wickedness appears even in the place of justice, but God will judge the righteous and the wicked. People and animals both die and return to dust, while no one can show a worker everything that will follow him.

As you read Ecclesiastes 3, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God sets a time for everything, and He will judge the righteous and the wicked.

The paired times describe a life we cannot arrange entirely for ourselves, and joy and grief each have their place under God’s rule. God has made everything beautiful in its time and has set eternity in human hearts (verse 11). Yet we cannot find out all the work God has done from the beginning to the end. God’s work endures, and we can neither add to it nor take from it, so we fear Him (verse 14). The Preacher saw wickedness even in the place of justice (verse 16), yet he knows God will judge the righteous and the wicked. Under the sun, people and animals share one breath, die alike and return to dust (verses 19 to 20). For this the Preacher says “all is vanity” (verse 19). Jesus is the Son through whom God will judge, and He gives life to those who believe (John 5 verses 24 to 29).

How does Ecclesiastes 3 show us that God sets a time for everything, and He will judge the righteous and the wicked?

God’s enduring work calls us to fear Him.

Our lives pass through changing times. God’s work cannot be increased or diminished by us. We should bow before Him rather than expect to understand His whole purpose.

God gives present good within our limited lives.

Food, drink and enjoyment in labor come from His hand. The Preacher also commends doing good while we live. Gratitude and faithful action belong together.

God will judge the injustice people see.

Wickedness appears where justice should be done. God names a time for every purpose and work. Earthly courts cannot cancel His judgment of the righteous and the wicked.

Memorise

I said in my heart, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.”

Ecclesiastes 3:17

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, will I trust God with my times, and turn to Jesus before the judgment?

The Preacher says that “God will judge the righteous and the wicked”. Injustice will not escape His attention, and our own sins also come before Him. We need a hope that can face both death and judgment.

Jesus is the Son through whom God will judge, and He gives life to those who hear and believe (John 5 verses 24 to 29). His death for His people answered the guilt they could never remove. On the cross He endured the judgment their sins deserved. His offering finished everything needed to reconcile them to God. He rose to give His people life beyond the death that ends their earthly labors.

Turn from sin and trust Jesus. Coming to Him in faith brings forgiveness. On the day God judges the righteous and the wicked, everyone who trusts Jesus will find He has borne their judgment.

Parent's note

Tell your children that no one can face God’s judgment without Jesus, and each child needs His forgiveness. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call them to turn from sin and believe in Him. Ask God to give them new hearts that fear and trust Him.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for His enduring work, His gifts in our changing days and salvation through Jesus. Bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

in the day when God will judge the secrets of men, according to my Good News, by Jesus Christ.

Romans 2:16

Eternal God, our times are in Your hands. Teach us to fear You when life brings sorrow and when it brings joy. Forgive the wrong we have done, and lead us to Jesus for mercy before the day of judgment. Help our family receive today’s gifts with thanks and do the good You set before us. Amen.