A Time for Everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

To every thing there is a season,
And a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break 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 cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (KJV)

I was thinking about the fisherman in ancient China, who trained cormorants to dive for fish. In essence, the birds were indentured servants, but they were probably happy to get meals every day instead of living in danger on their own out in the wild, where they themselves might have been hunted for food. As the photograph in my verse image above shows, there are still some fishermen today who fish that way, using homemade bamboo rafts on the river where they fish. As a student of world history, I feel bittersweet moments when I read about this ancient method of fishing, knowing that such an art would be lost soon, if not almost gone, in today’s day and age. Young people might not want to fish like that anymore. It’s hard work. It’s so much easier to play video games, work in air-conditioned office complexes, and order sushi to be delivered to their doorsteps.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 remind me that there is a time for everything under the sun. Sometimes things of old pass away and new things arrive. This passage of Scripture also gives a hint about what was to come in the Bible hundreds of years after Solomon penned those words. We all know what happened then. The New Testament chronicled it very well. The only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ, came to earth to save our souls.

II Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” A Christian is new “in Christ” and not apart from Christ. When we believe in Jesus Christ, our lives are made new. Such is the passage of time before and after salvation. So, yes, there was a time when I was still unsaved, and a time when I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. There was a time when my soul warred against God, and a time when my heart is now fully at peace with God. Once saved, my peace with God is for all eternity. And that’s a very long time.

To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break 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 cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;
A time to love,
And a time to hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NKJV)


Scroll to Top