◄ Ecclesiastes 3:14 ►
I know that everything God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God does it so that they should fear Him.
Study Bible
I know that everything God does endures forever;
This phrase emphasizes the eternal nature of God's actions. In biblical context, this reflects the unchanging and sovereign character of God, as seen in Malachi 3:6, "For I the Lord do not change." The permanence of God's works contrasts with the temporal nature of human endeavors, as highlighted throughout Ecclesiastes. This eternal perspective is also echoed in Psalm 33:11, "The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations." The enduring nature of God's actions assures believers of His faithfulness and the ultimate fulfillment of His divine purposes.

nothing can be added to it or taken from it.
This phrase underscores the completeness and perfection of God's works. In the cultural context of the ancient Near East, where human efforts often sought to manipulate or enhance divine favor, this statement affirms that God's works are self-sufficient and beyond human alteration. This is reminiscent of Job 42:2, where Job acknowledges, "I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted." Theologically, this speaks to God's omnipotence and the futility of human attempts to alter His divine will. It also reflects the idea of God's creation being "very good" (Genesis 1:31), needing no addition or subtraction.

God does it so that they should fear Him.
The purpose of God's unchangeable and perfect works is to inspire reverence and awe among people. The "fear of the Lord" is a recurring theme in wisdom literature, including Proverbs 1:7, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." This fear is not about terror but a profound respect and acknowledgment of God's majesty and authority. Historically, this reverence was central to Israel's covenant relationship with God, as seen in Deuteronomy 10:12, where Israel is called to "fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways." This fear leads to obedience and worship, aligning with the broader biblical narrative of God's desire for a relationship with His people.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Solomon
Traditionally considered the author of Ecclesiastes, Solomon was the son of King David and known for his wisdom. He reflects on the nature of life and God's sovereignty.

2. God
The central figure in this verse, God is depicted as the eternal and unchangeable Creator whose works are perfect and complete.

3. Mankind
The verse implies a relationship between God's eternal works and humanity's response, emphasizing reverence and awe.
Teaching Points
The Permanence of God's Works
God's actions and creations are eternal and unchangeable. This should give us confidence in His promises and plans for our lives.

Human Limitation and Divine Sovereignty
We cannot add to or take away from God's work. Recognizing our limitations should lead us to trust in His perfect will.

The Purpose of Reverence
God's unchangeable nature and eternal works are designed to inspire reverence and awe in us. Our response should be one of worship and obedience.

Living with Eternal Perspective
Understanding that God's works endure forever encourages us to focus on eternal values rather than temporary, worldly concerns.

Trust in God's Perfect Plan
Even when we do not understand His ways, we can trust that God's plan is perfect and will ultimately lead to His glory and our good.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does understanding the permanence of God's works affect your daily decision-making and priorities?

2. In what ways can recognizing our limitations in altering God's plans lead to greater trust and peace in your life?

3. How does the concept of fearing God, as mentioned in Ecclesiastes 3:14, manifest in your personal relationship with Him?

4. Can you identify areas in your life where you have tried to "add to" or "take from" God's work? How can you surrender these areas to His sovereignty?

5. How do other scriptures, such as Genesis 1:31 and James 1:17, reinforce the message of Ecclesiastes 3:14 in your understanding of God's nature and His works?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Genesis 1:31
This verse connects to the idea of God's perfect creation, where everything He made was "very good," highlighting the completeness and enduring nature of His works.

Isaiah 46:10
This passage speaks to God's sovereignty and His ability to declare the end from the beginning, reinforcing the idea that His purposes will stand.

James 1:17
This verse emphasizes that every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change, aligning with the unchangeable nature of God's works.
Sermons
The Eternity and Perfection of the Divine Purposes and DoingsJ. O. Parr, M. A.Ecclesiastes 3:14
The Purposes of ProvidenceD. Thomas Ecclesiastes 3:14
The Conclusion of Folly or the Faith of the Wise?W. Clarkson Ecclesiastes 3:12, 13, 22
Divine Constancy and Human PietyW. Clarkson Ecclesiastes 3:14, 15
A Present Use and Enjoyment of the Gifts of God is AdvisableJ. Willcoc Ecclesiastes 3:14-17
People
Solomon
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Add, Added, Addition, Age, Anything, Endures, Fear, Forever, Nothing, Order, Revere, Whatever, Whatsoever, Withdrawn, Worked, Wrought
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Ecclesiastes 3:14

     1115   God, purpose of
     8321   perfection, divine
     8334   reverence, and God's nature

Ecclesiastes 3:11-14

     5853   experience, of life

Library
Eternity in the Heart
'He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also He hath set the world in their heart.'--ECCLES. iii. 11. There is considerable difficulty in understanding what precise meaning is to be attached to these words, and what precise bearing they have on the general course of the writer's thoughts; but one or two things are, at any rate, quite clear. The Preacher has been enumerating all the various vicissitudes of prosperity and adversity, of construction and destruction, of society and solitude, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

'A Time to Plant'
'A time to plant.'--Eccles. iii. 2. The writer enumerates in this context a number of opposite courses of conduct arranged in pairs, each of which is right at the right time. The view thus presented seems to him to be depressing, and to make life difficult to understand, and aimless. We always appear to be building up with one hand and pulling down with the other. The ship never heads for two miles together in the same direction. The history of human affairs appears to be as purposeless as the play …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

For what Christian Men of Our Time Being Free from the Marriage Bond...
15. For what Christian men of our time being free from the marriage bond, having power to contain from all sexual intercourse, seeing it to be now "a time," as it is written, "not of embracing, but of abstaining from embrace," [1977] would not choose rather to keep virginal or widowed continence, than (now that there is no obligation from duty to human society) to endure tribulation of the flesh, without which marriages cannot be (to pass over in silence other things from which the Apostle spares.) …
St. Augustine—On the Good of Marriage

But Thou who Both Hast Sons, and Livest in that End of the World...
11. But thou who both hast sons, and livest in that end of the world, wherein now is the time not of casting stones, but of gathering; not of embracing, but of abstaining from embracing; [2244] when the Apostle cries out, "But this I say, brethren, the time is short; it remains, that both they who have wives be as not having;" [2245] assuredly if thou hadst sought a second marriage, it would have been no obedience of prophecy or law, no carnal desire even of family, but a mark of incontinence alone. …
St. Augustine—On the Good of Widowhood.

Letter xxvi. (Circa A. D. 1127) to the Same
To the Same He excuses the brevity of his letter on the ground that Lent is a time of silence; and also that on account of his profession and his ignorance he does not dare to assume the function of teaching. 1. You will, perhaps, be angry, or, to speak more gently, will wonder that in place of a longer letter which you had hoped for from me you receive this brief note. But remember what says the wise man, that there is a time for all things under the heaven; both a time to speak and a time to keep …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

The Conclusion of the Matter
'Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; 2. While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain; 3. In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, 4. And the doors shall be shut in …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Of Self-Annihilation
Of Self-Annihilation Supplication and sacrifice are comprehended in prayer, which, according to S. John, is "an incense, the smoke whereof ascendeth unto God;" therefore it is said in the Apocalypse that "unto the Angel was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all Saints'' (Chap. viii. 3). Prayer is the effusion of the heart in the Presence of God: "I have poured out my soul before God" saith the mother of Samuel. (1 Sam. i. 15) The prayer of the wise men at the feet of …
Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of Prayer

Introductory Note.
[a.d. 145-220.] When our Lord repulsed the woman of Canaan (Matt. xv. 22) with apparent harshness, he applied to her people the epithet dogs, with which the children of Israel had thought it piety to reproach them. When He accepted her faith and caused it to be recorded for our learning, He did something more: He reversed the curse of the Canaanite and showed that the Church was designed "for all people;" Catholic alike for all time and for all sorts and conditions of men. Thus the North-African …
Tertullian—Apology

The Lapse of Time.
"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest."--Eccles. ix. 10. Solomon's advice that we should do whatever our hand findeth to do with our might, naturally directs our thoughts to that great work in which all others are included, which will outlive all other works, and for which alone we really are placed here below--the salvation of our souls. And the consideration of this great work, …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

"For they that are after the Flesh do Mind,"
Rom. viii. s 5, 6.--"For they that are after the flesh do mind," &c. "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." There are many differences among men in this world, that, as to outward appearance, are great and wide, and indeed they are so eagerly pursued, and seriously minded by men, as if they were great and momentous. You see what a strife and contention there is among men, how to be extracted out of the dregs of the multitude, and set a little higher …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

How the Silent and the Talkative are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 15.) Differently to be admonished are the over-silent, and those who spend time in much speaking. For it ought to be insinuated to the over-silent that while they shun some vices unadvisedly, they are, without its being perceived, implicated in worse. For often from bridling the tongue overmuch they suffer from more grievous loquacity in the heart; so that thoughts seethe the more in the mind from being straitened by the violent guard of indiscreet silence. And for the most part they …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

The Holy War,
MADE BY SHADDAI UPON DIABOLUS, FOR THE REGAINING OF THE METROPOLIS OF THE WORLD; OR, THE LOSING AND TAKING AGAIN OF THE TOWN OF MANSOUL. THE AUTHOR OF 'THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.' 'I have used similitudes.'--Hosea 12:10. London: Printed for Dorman Newman, at the King's Arms in the Poultry; and Benjamin Alsop, at the Angel and Bible in the Poultry, 1682. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Bunyan's account of the Holy War is indeed an extraordinary book, manifesting a degree of genius, research, and spiritual …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

A Sermon on Isaiah xxvi. By John Knox.
[In the Prospectus of our Publication it was stated, that one discourse, at least, would be given in each number. A strict adherence to this arrangement, however, it is found, would exclude from our pages some of the most talented discourses of our early Divines; and it is therefore deemed expedient to depart from it as occasion may require. The following Sermon will occupy two numbers, and we hope, that from its intrinsic value, its historical interest, and the illustrious name of its author, it …
John Knox—The Pulpit Of The Reformation, Nos. 1, 2 and 3.

"Who Walk not after the Flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the Flesh,"
Rom. viii. 4, 5.--"Who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh," &c. If there were nothing else to engage our hearts to religion, I think this might do it, that there is so much reason in it. Truly it is the most rational thing in the world, except some revealed mysteries of faith, which are far above reason, but not contrary to it. There is nothing besides in it, but that which is the purest reason. Even that part of it which is most difficult to man, …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Appendix 2 Extracts from the Babylon Talmud
Massecheth Berachoth, or Tractate on Benedictions [76] Mishnah--From what time is the "Shema" said in the evening? From the hour that the priests entered to eat of their therumah [77] until the end of the first night watch. [78] These are the words of Rabbi Eliezer. But the sages say: Till midnight. Rabban Gamaliel says: Until the column of the morning (the dawn) rises. It happened, that his sons came back from a banquet. They said to him: "We have not said the Shema.'" He said to them, "If the column …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Ecclesiastes
It is not surprising that the book of Ecclesiastes had a struggle to maintain its place in the canon, and it was probably only its reputed Solomonic authorship and the last two verses of the book that permanently secured its position at the synod of Jamnia in 90 A.D. The Jewish scholars of the first century A.D. were struck by the manner in which it contradicted itself: e.g., "I praised the dead more than the living," iv. 2, "A living dog is better than a dead lion," ix. 4; but they were still more …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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