There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven- 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. 

Shall we all sing “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be Will Be) now? Solomon’s fatalistic tribute to time may be beautifully poetic but I don’t believe he was really at his best when he wrote it. He sounds like a tired ruler who has been worn out by his 900 wives (can you even imagine!) and discouraged in his worship of idols.  At one point Solomon may have been the wisest man on earth but his unwise choices regarding wives and worship in themselves may keep him out of the Wisdom Hall of Fame.  And even though he is past his prime, he continues to journal. Here are a few of his (somewhat tarnished?) gems…

 “There is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him.” 

“God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but beasts.” For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity. All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust.” 

It seems Solomon’s capacity for hope has been sacrificed to the idols he worshipped. Regarding the future, he believes God has worked so as to intentionally obscure (or even obliterate) it so that men might focus completely on their three (or 2) score and ten allotment of years.  Listen to his sermon…

He has also set eternity in their heart, so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end…..That which is has been already and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by. 

Humans and animals come to the same end—humans die, animals die. We all breathe the same air. So there’s really no advantage in being human. None. Everything’s smoke. We all end up in the same place—we all came from dust, we all end up as dust. Nobody knows for sure that the human spirit rises to heaven or that the animal spirit sinks into the earth. So I made up my mind that there’s nothing better for us men and women than to have a good time in whatever we do—that’s our lot. Who knows if there’s anything else to life? (MSG)

I am remembering Country Joe McDonald’s impartation of wisdom after his cheerleading debut at Woodstock.  Joe may have just listened to the Byrds’ rendition of this scripture passage and been under Solomon’s spell. Indeed, Solomon’s wisdom may have fueled the 60’s moral devolution.

This passage may have come from the scripture but I have to keep in mind that not only was
Solomon weighed down with the so called benefits of this life (wealth and women), he had no
conception (or had lost his) that a new covenant was on the horizon. Do you think Solomon
might have liked to edit his work after learning of Jesus – his people’s promised Messiah?  I
think, like myself, he would have deferred to those whose view of the future were effected by
the hope-filled gospel of the kingdom, men such as Paul whose heart was also calibrated in
time with Moses, who said….
     Teach us to number our days that we may present to you a heart of wisdom.(Psalm 90:12)
Paul is clearly a man filled with bursting hope regarding the future. He practically cries out, to
the Philippians, “I long that I….
may be found in Him…..that I may know Him…..that I may attain to the resurrection of the dead…..
I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. But one thing 
I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal
for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 
While I do agree with Solomon that God has made everything appropriate in its time. I also
suggest (with Paul) that…..
…..as many as are perfect (i.e. “saints”), have this attitude; and if in anything you have a
different attitude, God will reveal that also to you.
So, while there is an appointed time for every event under heaven, I believe there was
a time and a glory for the Old Covenant and that it has past.  Now, I believe is the time for the
New Covenant and its own unique and enduring glory. I truly hope at some point God revealed
this to Solomon before he discovered that he was in fact much much more than just an animal,
whose fate was nothing more than just dust in the wind.
Father, thank you that our lives in Christ are anything but in vain, that our advantages over the
beasts are infinite. Thank you that even though our vision is not comprehensive, it is
sufficient to see the revelation of Your resurrected Son. Thank you that we too share the
inheritance of resurrection Life and that we have been created for a future and a hope as those
called not just to fear You but to love You and live in a place You have gone ahead to prepare for
us.
 
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