The Strand Study Bible

ECCLESIASTES

ECCLESIASTES

1012

people’s thinking, I’ll tell them there’s no heaven.” The devil responds, “Ah, they’ll never believe that. This Book of Truth is full of messages about the hope of heaven through sins forgiven. They won’t believe that. They know there’s a glory yet future.” On the other side of the room another says, “I’ve got the plan. I’ll tell ‘em there’s no hell.” “No good,” he says. “Jesus, while He was on earth, talked more of hell than of heaven. They know in their hearts that their wrong will have to be taken care of in some way. They deserve nothing more than hell.” And one brilliant little imp in the back stood up and said, “Then I know the answer. I’ll just tell them there’s no hurry.” And he’s the one Satan chose. 3

Time is significant for three reasons: 1. It’s so rare Time is completely irretrievable. You can never repeat it or relive it. There is no such thing as a literal instant reply. That appears only on film. 2. It’s so relative For example, two weeks on vacation is not like two weeks on a diet. Also, some people can stay longer in an hour than others can in a week. And how is it that we can remember one direction of time but not the other? In other words, how is it that we can remember the past but not the future. Time really is relative. 3. It’s so deceiving; it acts more like a sovereign than a slave According to Solomon here, time, not man, is the master: * Ignore the master and you will lose track of him (Ever hear folks say: Where did time go?) Yesterday is a cancelled check; tomorrow is a promissory not; today is the only “cash in hand” you have. Benjamin Franklin once noted: You may delay, but time will not. 4 Time is the master, not man. * Cheat the master and the master will take you for everything you have (Ever hear folks say: But I lost track of time!) Better late than never, but never late is better. Don’t cheat the master if you don’t want to lose at time. Time is the master, not man. * Fool the master and you’ll find that you’ve become the fool (Ever hear folks say: Talk about wrong timing…) Time is always the hardest instructor; first it gives the test, then it teaches the lesson. Time is the master, not man. * Wrong the master and it will be the last time you’re right (Ever hear folks say: I just didn’t have the time…) There’s never enough time… unless you’re serving it. Time is the master, not man. * Manage the master and you will discover what “unmanageable” means (But all I needed was a little more time…) Time is like a hand full of sand – the tighter you grip it, the faster it runs through your fingers. John Randolph, who began his career in congress the year George Washington died, noted: Time is at once the most valuable and the most perishable of all our possessions. 5 Time is the master, not man. * Instruct the master and you’ll get the lesson of your life (Ever hear folks say: Well, it looks like… my time is up ) There are two dates on your tombstone, and all who view it will read them. But all that’s going matter Is what took place between them. Time is not our slave, as some might think; it is our sovereign. We like to talk as if time is on our side and that we can somehow control it. It is not, and we cannot. We can operate time, but we cannot own it. We can spend time, but we cannot save it. We can measure time, but we cannot master it. And once we’ve lost time, we can never win it back again. You’ve heard people say: Once you have mastered time... anything is possible. The problem with that statement is that time cannot be mastered; it is the master. And the reason it is our sovereign is because God, our Sovereign, created it ( Gen 1:5 ). Seeing God created time and thus controls it, it is God who is our ultimate Master. Thus, any sense of control that a person might achieve in this lifetime is illusionary, for the truly significant choices (vs 2-8) are made for us. NOTE – Respect the master ( time ) and it will yield to you its wisdom; respect THE MASTER and He, too, will yield to you His wisdom. David did. He respected both God and time (Psa 39:4-5). So did Moses (Psa 90:10-12). So did James (Jms 4:14). Do you respect the master/Master? Do you redeem the time (Eph 5:18)? Will you spend it for something that will outlast it? 3:9 In other words, what does it matter what man accomplishes (what he profits ) when it comes to the temporal realm. He can’t take it with him. Man was created with eternity in mind; he was created with a realization that this life cannot be all there is. 3:10 Solomon said, “I have seen the earthly accomplishments (the travail ) which men can do, yet what is the temporal compared to the eternal?” 3:11a Time is his , not ours. Time is God’s way of saying to us, “I’m in control of this life, not you. Therefore, like Moses (Psa 90:12), you should be asking me to “teach you to number your days, that you may apply your heart unto wisdom.” 3:11b Although eternity ( the world ) has been established in our hearts, because of sin, our understanding of the eternal has been darkened. Thus Solomon cries, “Oh, to yearn for eternity and yet not know the work of the Eternal One.” This is what he meant when he said, “ so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end .”