“Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end”

Know this song?

Either way, you hopefully know the text:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

" For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up 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 together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast 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 for war, and a time for peace.

What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man. I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away."

Ed Welch has written a helpful article focusing on the meaning of Eccl 3:11 (which is in bold):

But, given this article, maybe just the opposite is true. Those early events, and a number of them since, demonstrate that I am completely incapable of grasping the eternal. Perhaps the ability to be intrigued by the eternal is in my heart, but I certainly don’t have the ability to comprehend it.

Gault isn’t motivated by our odd infatuation with infinity so much as he is interested in a passage that is more complex than we think. Apparently there are no less than ten popular interpretations of the word eternity in this passage. The most common is found in Richardson’s book, where it means “a sense of eternity,” “a longing for eternity,” or “a quest for eternal matters.” This translation would be settled except Ecclesiastes isn’t interested in life after death. Its basic theology is “all come from dust, and to dust all return” (3:20). Its main interest is present life “under the sun” and not our musings about eternity.

The translation Gault prefers is darkness or ignorance rather than eternity, and he is not alone in his choice. To get this he must change the vowels of the Hebrew word, which is permissible because the original text was written only in consonants with vowels being added centuries after the text was completed.

Here is the entire verse (NIV):

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.

A paraphrase reflecting Gault’s preferred translation might read like this:

God has made everything appropriate in its time. He has placed darkness in the human heart so that people cannot discover all God has done. (Gault p.53)

This gives a very different conclusion. In times of difficulty, we are tempted to ask, “What is God doing?” or even “How could He have allowed this to happen?” The revised text offers this answer.

While God has created all the “times” of life (Ecclesiastes 3:2-8), each appropriate in its time (v.10), He has obscured humanity’s knowledge, placing darkness in their hearts, so that they cannot discover His divine program (v.11). But why? Because God wants humanity to enjoy the work He has given them (vv.12-13), to trust in His sovereignty and fear Him (v.14). (Gault p.57)

Focus on your task at hand; trust God for the future. That would be the message of the verse, and it fits the message of the larger book. It is simple and wise advice.

Read the whole thing here.

HT: Challies