Now or Never – Rewind

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven—  Ecclesiastes 3:1  NASB

Time – How difficult it is for us to not read this verse (and the following elaboration) as if it is about dates on the calendar!  The addition of just a few extra words pushes us to imagine that the author uses our cultural presuppositions.  The Hebrew text reads (literally), “For everything a season an occasion for every joy (delight, matter, business) under heaven.”  Does this verse imply that each and every event is fixed?  If I add “there is” to the translation, does that make me think that everything is already appointed?  If I read the verse without “there is,” doesn’t this verse merely express the orderly repetition of opportunities?  Is this verse prescriptive, i.e., everything is already determined, or descriptive, i.e., when things happen they seem to fall into repeating patterns?  The answer is very important.

If you read this verse as though the Bible is teaching that God (or whomever) has already appointed times and seasons so that every event is already fixed in the divine calendar, then you will inevitably arrive at the logical conclusion that no matter what you do it is only the fulfillment of an already predestined plan.  That means life is really an illusion since your experience of “free” choice is actually nothing more than the fulfillment of the dates on the divine calendar. Personal responsibility is a joke.  Whatever you do has already been appointed.  So do whatever you wish.  Only God is to blame.

But if you read this verse as nothing more than a description of human experience concerning the appearance of repetition, the feeling that we are going around the wheel once more, then there is no predestined arrangement.  Things just seem to happen in cycles.  It appears as if everything has a proper place but this appearance is not a statement of the ontological reality of a fixed universe.  Personal responsibility must be exercised as the opportunities presented by the patterns become clear.  What you do about those opportunities changes the world.  You are accountable.  You are to blame.

Such a simple little idea.  Such a small change.  Just insert “there is” and suddenly an entirely new logical problem emerges.  “There is” gives the verse ontological status as if this verse confirms what already is.  But remove the inserted “there is” and the verse is just a description of human experience, of the way things seem to be.

A time to give birth and a time to die;

A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.

A time to kill and a time to heal;

A time to tear down and a time to build up.

A time to weep and a time to laugh;

A time to mourn and a time to dance.

A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;

A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.

A time to search and a time to give up as lost;

A time to keep and a time to throw away.

A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;

A time to be silent and a time to speak.

A time to love and a time to hate;

A time for war and a time for peace.  (Ecclesiastes 3:2-8)

So tell me.  Are these verse about “times” fixed in the future, or are they about what happens in human existence experienced as opposites?

Ah, and once you answer that question, what do you think about this verse: “He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,” (Ephesians 1:5).

Topical Index:  time, ‘et, experience, predestination, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Ephesians 1:5