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King Solomon had made the observation in Eccl 3 that “there is a time for every-thing“. He now makes the encouraging statement that God “has made everything beautiful in its time” – His disposal of the times of our lives is beautiful, a source of delight. King Solomon then introduces the concept that “eternity” in the human hearts is the capacity for something larger and greater than the succession of times that are so uncontrollable. This is an extension to focus of time in Ecclesiastes 3:1. Human beings have a capacity for “eternal” things, something that transcends the immediate time situation.
When God created humans, he not only had time but very much eternity in mind. He wants to spend time with His human creation but also spend eternity with them – He is the God of eternity. However, with the entrance of sin when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, the relationship was broken and they had to work on being restored with God. Humans on their own went further and further from God and He had to do various things to restore this relationship that was designed for eternity. But to no avail – hence the worldwide flood to start all over again with Noah. But this did not work because humans continued on their disobedience route away from God. People on their own simply cannot find their way back to a relationship with God. Even the call of Abraham to lead a people of God, the Hebrews, and the giving of the Law to Moses was not able to get people to return to God.
God had to become man – the divine Son becoming human in the person of Jesus. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). This finally made it possible for people to be restored in relationship with God because Jesus said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). “Whoever believes in him (Jesus) shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Jesus told his disciples clearly in His prayer to His Father: “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3). Receiving this eternal life in Jesus by believing in Him makes it possible for us to have our relationship restored with God and for us to spend time and eternity with Him. We are thankful that: “Everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear Him” (Ecclesiastes 3:14).
