Are You Watching Closely?

Are You Watching Closely?

“You see, but you do not observe.” - Sherlock Holmes, “A Scandal in Bohemia”

Such an admonishment could not be levied against Solomon. What we find in Ecclesiastes is something we are not used to witnessing in our modern era. A king whose eyes are open. Our modern leaders are so busy telling us how we should behave, that they miss out completely on what it is we actually do. Not Solomon, who here recounts to us in vivid detail all of what he witnessed. The opening chapters of Ecclesiastes prove that not only is the king in tune with the struggles of the people he oversees, but with the human condition itself. Solomon’s keen observation is tempered with absolute honesty. It should be no surprise that insights provided directly by God should be dead-on accurate, still as applicable today as they were when first written down. And what truths does Solomon elucidate here? That there is a proper time for everything under Heaven. A time to weep, mourn, kill, tear, scatter, or plant. And a time to laugh, dance, heal, mend, gather and uproot. A time to search, and a time to give up searching. There is a comforting element to understanding that these things are not surprises. Our myopic tendency to only focus on the here and now creates a mindset that believes what we see will last eternally. That nothing ever changes and that trend lines equal destiny. Solomon says that all things have their own specific time. Opposites don’t cancel each other out, they share their designated time in the sun. While there is nothing wrong with enjoying the pleasant times when they arrive it is fruitless to act shocked or appalled when they leave and are replaced with something less favorable. And if all you see are clouds and troubles, Solomon’s reminder is that even the darkness will pass.

This allows us to draw a pretty important inference. That wisdom, and the understanding commensurate with it, requires a long view. Solomon is not endorsing an emotionally driven lifestyle, leaping from high to low straight back to high again. “[A] time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot” (Ecclesiastes 3:2) These are examples of times that are spread far apart, that require time in between. So while we may wish to move on to “a time to laugh” it’d be a mistake not to give due time and consideration to the “time to weep” that precedes it. To be sure, there is a distinction between wallowing in sadness and allowing it the time required. But both shoving aside the sadness and over indulging in it are two sides of the same coin, a mindset fixated on the “now”. We are products of our environment and our surroundings can be summed up rather neatly with the phrase “over-stimulated”. News rushes by us in a torrent, our news cycles which used to be counted in weeks can now be numbered in the hours and sometimes minutes. Entire controversies erupt and subside on lunch hours. And our flighty attention spans, already condensed, struggle to snap from one to the next, the crests of an overworked and never ending wave pool. It trains us to see solely what is in front of us and very little else. This diminishes our perspective and with it our understanding. Solomon invites us to expand our horizons with the clarity of honesty and to diminish ourselves with the humility of the believer. 

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) Have you ever reached for something out of grasp, wanted something you weren’t meant to have? Welcome to humanity. Men desire eternity and seek it in each and every form that is sure to deny it to them. Any semblance of a legacy here on earth? “There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.” (Ecclesiastes 1:11) What of the works of Shakespeare, Mozart, Michelangelo, the Empire State Building? “And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” (Ecclesiastes 4:4) If this seems doubtful, a cursory view of the history of the “tallest buildings in the world” will show you how envious the whole enterprise is. And if the fleeting nature of today’s society still seems blown out of proportion consider that the Great Pyramids of Giza were the tallest structures in the world for well over 3,500 years, the Empire State Building held that title for only 36. A chasing after the wind. Solomon’s writings become truer with age, not less so. 

Scripture retains its meaning, not because of the wisdom of Solomon. But because of the intent of the true Author. “For the Lord gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:6) So why does God tell us these things in Ecclesiastes? Does He wish us to despair? Never. Keep in mind the totality of Scripture, not just the words in front of you now. Expand your horizons to more than just the moment to deepen a perspective seasoned with experience only time will allow. And read the verses again. We live in what is commonly referred to as “The Information Age”. We’ve moved on from the Industrial Revolution to an economy, and accompanying society, built on information technology. We have access to more information now than kings of old, and more access to power and ability than even the wealthiest monarchs in history could have believed. And yet… “You have seen many things, but have paid no attention; your ears are open, but you hear nothing.” (Isaiah 42:20) It’s not necessarily true that we are dumb, but we are most certainly distracted. We see everything in the world, but don’t stop long enough to observe a bit of it. “All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain.”-Roy Batty, “Blade Runner”. Solomon referred to it all as a chasing after the wind. So why even bother?

If we are admonished for not paying attention and for hearing nothing, that would suggest there are things worth seeing, and a voice worth listening to. Solomon concurrs throughout. “I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere Him.” (Ecclesiastes 3:14) “A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without Him, who can eat or find enjoyment?” (Ecclesiastes 2:24) A calling to acceptance. Solomon reminds us we live in a world we cannot change. If we could dictate tomorrow, would there ever be a time for war? A time for weeping? A time to scatter? No, the world moves at the direction of Another. We are merely along for the ride. And how best to spend our time here? Without God we cannot find enjoyment, so eat, drink and find enjoyment in the work you are doing. Not the work you did yesterday, nor the work you hope to do tomorrow. (But didn’t you say earlier not to live solely in the moment, and that wisdom requires a perspective imbued with the ‘experience only time will allow’?) Yes, thank you nettlesome hypothetical devil’s advocate. There’s an important distinction in the attitude Solomon describes, enjoying what the Lord has given you in the here and now. And the anxiety plagued hyper focus on what is happening just this moment. It’s the difference between living and surviving. Both are similar activities that even share overlapping goals, but one is far preferable to the other. (And far better for you in every conceivable way.) 

But we bump into the same question in this study. If all is a chasing after the wind and we are merely bobbing along the currents of destiny, all of our memories doomed to fade and our dreams and tragedies lost to time, why all the bother? “Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”” (John 5:19) 

A time to be born, (Luke 2:7) and a time to die, (John 19:30)

a time to plant (Matthew 13:4) and a time to uproot,  (Matthew 15:13)

a time to kill (Revelation 19:15) and a time to heal, (Matthew 9:22)

a time to weep (John 11:35) and a time to laugh, (Luke 6:21b)

a time to mourn (Luke 19:41) and a time to dance, (John 2:2)

a time to scatter stones (Luke 10:1) and a time to gather them, (Matthew 4:18)

a time to embrace (Luke 19:5) and a time to refrain, (John 20:17)

a time to search (Luke 15:4) and a time to give up, (Matthew 7:23)

a time to keep (John 6:39) and a time to throw away, (Matthew 7:19)

a time to tear (Matthew 27:51) and a time to mend, (John 19:26)

a time to be silent (Matthew 27:14) and a time to speak, (Matthew 26:64)

a time to love (John 3:16) and a time to hate, (Luke 14:26)

a time for war (Matthew 10:34) and a time for peace. (Matthew 5:9)

How can we not follow our Savior’s example? We can look at our endeavors as a chasing after the wind, or we can remember whose Kingdom we should truly serve. Again, we should look to Jesus for guidance. “Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I, too, am working.’” (John 5:17)  

Jordan Williamson