万物都有定时
传道书三章1至14节
1凡事都有定期，天下万务都有定时。
2生有时，死有时；栽种有时，拔出所栽种的也有时；
3杀戮有时，医治有时；拆毁有时，建造有时；
4哭有时，笑有时；哀恸有时，跳舞有时；
5抛掷石头有时，堆聚石头有时；怀抱有时，不怀抱有时；
6寻找有时，失落有时；保守有时，舍弃有时；
7撕裂有时，缝补有时；静默有时，言语有时；
8喜爱有时，恨恶有时；争战有时，和好有时。
9这样看来，做事的人在他的劳碌上有甚么益处呢？
10我见神叫世人劳苦，使他们在其中受经练。
11神造万物，各按其时成为美好，又将永生安置在世人心里（注：“永生”原文作“永远”)。然而神从始至终的作为，人不能参透。
12我知道世人，莫强如终身喜乐行善，
13并且人人吃喝，在他一切劳碌中享福，这也是神的恩赐。
14我知道神一切所做的都必永存，无所增添，无所减少。神这样行，是要人在他面前存敬畏的心。
信息分享
如所罗门所为，我们也经常会将「时间」挂在嘴边，诸如「起床时间了」、「没时间」、「没时间做事」、「别浪费时间」、「时间到了」、「全时间」等等短语，不胜枚举。我们的家中几乎每个房间都有一个时钟。但所罗门在这里却挑选了一些人生大事，让我们深入思想。
这些对句可以有不同的应用实例。例如「栽种有时，拔出所栽种的也有时」，可以直接理解为播种和收割的时间；或暗喻我们是时候该落叶归根，或是时候要有一个新的开始。当我们回望过去的时候，我们便看见这些人生的转捩点。
在第5节上，我们看见一幅图画，一个工匠正在一堆废物中左挑右选；他把不适用的石头丢弃，将有用的保留。同样地，在我们的人生中，我们有时也要检视我们的工作，看看哪些并无价值，而虚度了神给我们的光阴，每天的86,400秒。我们要经常反问自己：我们的时间用得有价值吗？有永恒的价值呢？抑或是没有价值？第6节下提出了类似的观念：保守有时，舍弃有时。
最终在第11节，所罗门开始去看神的作为：「神造万物，各按其时成为美好。」如果我们能将种种的人生际遇，都能看为神手中的工作，我们的人生态度便会截然不同。当我们相信神在我们身上有祂的计划，我们便能将自己放在祂的手里，让祂按照祂的美好计划带领我们。现在就是交托的时候了。
A TIME FOR EVERYTHING
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-14
1 To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
2 A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
3 A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
4 A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
7 A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;
8 A time to love,
And a time to hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.
The God-Given Task
9 What profit has the worker from that in which he labors?
10 I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
12 I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives,
13 and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.
14 I know that whatever God does,
It shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.
Message
We use the word “time” almost as much as Solomon did. “Time to get up”, “haven’t got time”, “there’s no time to do anything”, “don’t waste time”, “time’s up”, “full time”, and many more phrases which we constantly use contain this word “time”. We have at least one clock in almost every room in the house. But Solomon picks out some of the great events of life and tells us to think about them.
Some of these couplets have varied applications. e.g. “A time to plant, a time to uproot” can simply mean seedtime and harvest or it can tell us there are times to put down our roots and there are times when it is obvious we should make a new start. We can all look back and see those turning points in our lives.
In verse 5a the picture is of a builder sorting through a pile of rubble, throwing away the stones which are useless for his purpose and keeping those that are. Again there are times when we need to look at what we are doing, how we are using the time God has given us, 86,400 seconds each day. Is the thing we are giving our time to really worthwhile? Will it count for eternity or not? A similar thought is in verse 6 - a time to keep, a time to throw away. Are you a hoarder?
Then in verse 11 Solomon begins to see the hand of God. “He has made everything beautiful (appropriate) in His time.” If we could just see the circumstances of our lives as an unfolding pattern in the hands of God, it would make such a difference to us. As we accept the truth that God has a plan for our lives, we can trust Him to guide us according to His own wonderful plan. Now is the time to do just that.