Time And Chance Happeneth To Them All: Why Do Things Happen The Way That They Do?

The King James Bible says in Proverbs 19:8 says: “He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good.” If you could summarize and explain all the goings on in this life under the sun, it could be truncated into a ‘phenomena’ that King Solomon observed that he referred to as “time and chance.”

We recently discussed a number of truths and wisdoms that Solomon came to understand with all the wisdom that God gave him, and how he “applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:” (Ecclesiastes 7:25); and in particular we discussed a number of things and labors in this life that are “vanity” and a “sore travail.” Solomon recorded these findings in the book of Ecclesiastes. In this study, we will examine a concept that was revealed to Solomon that explains why life is the way that it is, and why both good and evil occur when they do.

Ecclesiastes 9:11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. [12] For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.

This life, and everything that happens in it, comes down to “time and chance;” and once you can truly grasp this it will substantially open up your understanding that God gives to those who study his word and do so in fear of him (2 Timothy 2:15; Psalm 107:43; Proverbs 15:33).

We’ll delve a little more into Ecclesiastes 9:11-12 a little later, but first we will examine how the inspired word of God defines and explains what “time” is.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: [2] A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which 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 together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; [6] A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; [7] A time to rend, 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.

Solomon observed twenty-eight different instances of time that occur on this earth for any given reason, and are actions that are incumbent of everyone. These times match the lunar cycle, which follows the phases of the moon. The Hebrew calendar, for example, follows the phases of the moon, with each month beginning with a full moon). Genesis 1:14 says: “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:.”

I’m not going to get into too much detail about each individual time, as you can check and study-out the cross-references yourself (as it is not good for me or anyone to lay everything out on a silver platter for you, as you need to do your own investigations now and again); but I will briefly tackle some of the ones listed.

For example, allow me to briefly address “a time to love, and a time to hate.” This is controversial because modern, sissy-britches professing “churchianity” has browbeat it into people that we are to only love and never hate; and have perverted love to mean you are not supposed to judge anyone, raise your voice, don’t tell absolute truth (because ‘what is truth?,’ the modern man asks), don’t hurt anyone’s feelings, don’t discipline your children, don’t condemn sin, don’t be filled with indignation, etc,; but rather embrace and condone wickedness and fellowship with it, and turn God the Father into Barney the Dinosaur and Jesus a hippie who is your “buddy” and “homeboy” who affirms your wickedness. “Love is love,” is the perverse moniker of the day. And this, of course, is then buttressed by the mainstream media and public schools; even though truth and righteousness and God’s word, and adherents to that word who are not conformist jellyfish without a backbone, do not get that same “love.”

Without hate you cannot know love; and love requires you to hate certain things. The King James Bible makes this VERY clear. Proverbs 8:13 says, “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.” Psalm 101:3 states: “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.” Psalm 119:104 adds: “Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. [113] SAMECH. I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.” Even two of the characteristics of true biblical repentance that leads to salvation and in the life of a Christian involves “indignation” and “revenge” (against sin) (2 Corinthians 7:9-11). So, needless to say, there are times you need to hate, especially nowadays. But I am digressing from the main point of this message.

Getting back to the 28 times and seasons we read about – the question is, why these times? Solomon answers:

Ecclesiastes 3:16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. [17] I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.

These times occur or are demanded of us for a specific reason, reasons we may not fully understand at first but they are there for a reason, and more often than not it is for judgment. Now judgment does not automatically assume it’s for a negative cause. We as fickle man often miss this (I know I do a lot), and do not realize or stop to understand why something occurred, or why God allowed something to transpire. Even if it is not for us to truly comprehend, we are often so quick to assume that if something perceived as bad occurs, it therefore must be for that cause. This is often not the case. When Job lost everything, his friends immediately assumed that he had committed some absolutely terrible sin and God was exacting his wrath on him, but we know that was not the case (Job 32:3). Chastening from the Lord, for example, comes in a variety of shapes and forms, and we are reminded in both the Old and New Testaments that the Lord’s chastening is for our benefit because he is a loving Father who cares for us (Proverbs 13:24). Hebrews 12:5 says: “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: [6] For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. [7] If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? [8] But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.” Furthermore, Solomon noted:

Ecclesiastes 3:11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

We are so fixated on the world and keeping ourselves alive that we cannot see and understand fully why God does what he does. God does and allows what he does for a purpose whether we understand it or not, and he uses and commands certain times for a certain purpose. Isaiah 46:9 adds a bit of additional detail to Solomon’s statement: “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, [10] Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:” Furthermore, God hides the understanding of foreknowledge and certain things from us; as it is written in Job 33:16: “Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, [17] That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.” If we knew a fraction of what God knows, as he can see the bigger picture and we cannot, we’d act a whole lot differently and would be a lot more haughty and arrogant if we did know as a result. And again, there are cases when God does not want us to know the timing of something, per an interaction with Jesus Christ before he ascended back up to heaven. Acts 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? [7] And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

Hence why we are regularly reminded, “The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17).

But having said that, there are times when God does exact judgment because of sin and wickedness,; specifically on a national scale; where the times can change depending on the actions of the people. Keeping in mind what Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, the Lord spoke in Jeremiah 18:7: “At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; [8] If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. [9] And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; [10] If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.”

People often imagine God is ignorant to the times and is oblivious to what happens here on earth. Far be it from that. Job 24:1 says, “Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days?” God is VERY much aware and in control, but at the same time he gives man a free will. He is not a sadist who controls us in a simulation. No, he gives us a free will; and people who do not seek the Lord and glorify wickedness have no conception of judgment. But if you seek out the truth from God’s word, and with the direction of the Spirit of truth, the Holy Ghost that dwells in the believer, then things will make sense. Proverbs 28:5 says, “Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things” – all things pertaining to judgment that is.

Moving right along, Solomon provides a few more insights on man’s relation to the times in which we endure:

[6] Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him. [7] For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be? [8] There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it. [9] All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt. [10] And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity. [11] Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. [12] Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: [13] But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.

I will not get too detailed in covering each individual verse in that passage, but I will broadly address it as a whole. Verse 6 is what I have been alluding to already, and for this cause it creates sorrow, woe, concern, fear and apprehension in us because we don’t know what’s going to befall us, and because of that every man handles this differently.

The prudent take heed of this and try to cover all their bases and be prepared for problems that may arise in the future, especially when signs and indicators show that tough times are approaching (Proverbs 22:3, 27:12, 14:15; Hebrews 11:7); and the child of God that fears the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, who lives by faith, knows that even with all the best preparations and work ethic he will still need God Almighty to intervene and provide for them – Proverbs 21:31 says: “The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD.” See also the entirety of Psalm 37.

On the other hand, many ignore “time and judgment” and do nothing out of sheer laziness, malaise and cowardice (Ecclesiastes 4:5; Proverbs 22:13). But most people just double down on their wickedness. Instead of diverting course and repent towards God, most people just say, ‘screw it, bottoms up!’ Or, “you only live once” (YOLO); or, “my body, my choice;” or, ’embrace your faults: your faults are what make you special.’ The list could go on and on covering all the silly things that lost people tell themselves to justify their sins (Colossians 2:8) – sins that are increasing their chances of hitting the grave sooner, not to mention how all those selfish, self-destructive actions effect others around them. Consider this: our Lord says there is “a time to mourn;” and yet most people party it up instead. Observe:

Isaiah 22:12 And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth: [13] And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die. [14] And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

And so, as Solomon says, “neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.” Adding “sin to sin” (Isaiah 30:1) is never the answer. But, the world comes up with all these cute sayings and reasonings to justify their filthy and sinful lives; and verse 11 explains why it is this way. Verse 11 is one of the most important verses in the Bible, in my opinion, and does not get anywhere near the attention that it should. Most people don’t repent and continue in their sins because judgment does not immediately fall upon them. ‘A little doesn’t hurt, look at me, I’m fine, so come over here and give it a try! What, are you some kind of prude?,’ they may say. We see this attitude especially with a lot of our older folks these days, who have this mentality of, ‘well, I’m not dead yet; I got this far in life: so who are you to judge me? I think I’m a good person.’ That’s the mentality these days. Using what the Lord said in Jeremiah 18:6-10, as we read earlier, let’s use the United States of America as a perfect example of this. America is a prime example of what happens when the Lord just steps back and lets wickedness spread unrestrained like the plague. America has not been truly humbled in a VERY long time, hence why we have generations of people who still thumb their noses at life, and think we are the envy of the world and are so free and prosperous. Nothing could be farther from the truth, and only now are some of the younger folks, by and large, becoming hip to this because we have so much less to lose and so little to gain concerning worldly goods.

One of the sorest judgments is when your Father is so ashamed of you he does not even bother to chasten or correct you, and lets you “be filled with their own devices” (Proverbs 1:31). When a person, or in this case a nation as well, hardens its heart too much then the Almighty gives those people exactly what they want: more lies and deception. Romans 1:28 says, “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;” “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12).

And make no mistake about it: the ruination of the United States is around the corner, and the inhabitants are going to be in for a time of it. It will be “a time to die;” a “time to pluck up that which is planted;” “a time to break down;” “A time to weep;” and “a time of war,” among other things…

So, now having defined and discussed time in the Bible, let’s now reexamine what Solomon observed in Ecclesiastes 9:11-12:

Ecclesiastes 9:11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. [12] For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.

In tandem with time, Solomon also observed another axiom of life under the sun, and that is things often boil down to chance; or, as it might be sometimes seen as luck or being unlucky, random opportunity or misfortune, or as some have figuratively said, ‘as fate would have it.’ Solomon lists five different instances where preparation, skill, knowledge, tenacity and other attributes don’t matter as they are trumped and determined by the time and by pure chance. To keep things very simple, I’ll list a few basic examples we can all relate to using mostly child-like understanding (Luke 18:15-17; 1 Corinthians 3:18-20).

“The race is not to the swift.” – We’ve all heard and know all too well the story of the tortoise and the hare. Things such as a leg cramp, shoelaces coming untied, stepping on a pebble in just the right spot, showboating; a flat tire, cautions and wrecks and trading paint, determine the winner more often than not, especially if one cheats.

“Nor the battle to the strong” – We’re all too familiar with the underdog story. Ever played the board game Risk? The game predicated on conquering the world is settled by rolling the dice. Ever played with Rock’em Sock’em Robots? A flurry of uppercuts determines the winner; and even in real life fighting, a random weak jab can shut someone’s lights off.

“Neither yet bread to the wise” – Stupidity and lies (especially nowadays) get glorified and revered more than the truth and facts do. One lie will have spread around the world before the truth has had time to put its boots on. Social media demonstrates this perfectly and how everything is algorithmically based (barring direct meddling with censorship and shadow banning and controlled opposition). You can speak perfect truth and honesty, have great production quality, and yet get little attention; whereas some loser who flexes how much money they have gets all the attention, and propaganda and deceit and get-rich-quicks win the day. Solomon later remarked in the same chapter: “Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard” (Ecclesiastes 9:16).

“Nor yet riches to men of understanding” – We’ve all played the board game Monopoly at some point. You can be completely clueless about finance and money and can win purely based on luck and good fortune. Monopoly comes down to dice rolls and landing on certain spots on the board, some of them literally called “chance.” When you get right down to it, the mega wealthy got their wealth by more luck and random chance than hard work; and when you consider the old adage, “it’s who you know,” that’s how massive wealth is made. Most people who actually know financial fundamentals are hardly ever crazy rich.

“Nor yet favour to men of skill” – We see people getting the job who totally don’t deserve it and are not qualified for the position, but they get it because, again, “it’s who you know;” or are hired because of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); or are the son or daughter of royalty, wealth, or notoriety.

Speaking in jest, it’s The Game of Life: spin the wheel to decide your fate!

Verse 12 builds on what Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 8:7 – “For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?” No one knows, and death can happen at any moment for any reason, and Solomon gives two basic examples of catching fish in a net and trapping birds in snares. It’s no different than us. Like them, we continue on with our lives, eating, sleeping, mating, etc.; and then in an instance that fish or bird ends up on someone’s dinner plate!

Jesus does not outright call it time and chance but he does make a clear allusion to it in the gospel of Luke, and it perfectly ties in with all that we have covered thus far:

Luke 13:1 There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. [2] And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? [3] I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. [4] Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? [5] I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Ecclesiastes 9:11-12 answers the commonly asked question, why did such and such die when they did? Because “time and chance happeneth to them all.” It’s not the most flowery of answers, but it’s the answer. Did that innocent fish or bird want to be caught that day and be someone’s next meal? You and I are no different.

James 4:13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: [14] Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. [15] For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. [16] But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. [17] Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

‘Chance’ is referenced seven times in the King James Bible in both Testaments. The last reference ties back into time described by Solomon. 1 Corinthians 15:35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? [36] Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: [37] And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: [38] But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.

Notice how in order to have life you must have death. As we read earlier, “A time to be born, and a time to die.” Things have to die in order for there to be life. A seed goes into the ground and it dies, but out of that comes the life of a plant that produces fruit and many more seeds (John 12:24-26). I saw a video one time of this smug atheist who was wise in his own conceits, and he approached this man at a pro-life rally march and asked him if God is pro-life then why did he flood the whole earth? The man in the march did not have an answer because he had never been asked such a foolish question (and frankly probably did not know a lick of the Bible); but as I noted earlier, “Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things” (Proverbs 28:5). That fool was so deluded that he could not understand that in order for life to survive and thrive, things must die. I guess perhaps when infected with a parasite we should not treat it, starve it and kill it, and just let it eat of us until we die first, right? Typical atheists, such fools. But this is what time and chance looks like; and we may not understand specifically why God does or allows a certain thing, but we know there is a good reason for it that may present itself clearly in the future when we might “find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11), as 1 Corinthians 2:10 says, “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.”

And so therefore, understanding all that we have covered, Solomon does provide for us some practical advice that we can apprehend and implement in our walks with Christ:

Ecclesiastes 11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. [2] Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. [3] If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. [4] He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. [5] As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. [6] In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.

Since we “know not what shall be on the morrow,” and time and chance are always happening in the background, we should still be charitable – which is the “bond of perfectness” (Colossians 3:14; 1 Corinthians 13) – in all that we do, regardless, as we don’t know what each day will bring; and do as Jesus commanded, “Occupy till I come” (Luke 19:13).

Lastly, one other thing should be noted also, and that is what Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:1: “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.” Even though we are to study the time for instruction in righteousness, doctrinally speaking, these things have no effect on our salvation (see the rest of the chapter) and does not mean we have to fear having to endure God’s wrath and the time of future of furious wrath from God the called the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30), and such time is not to on constrain our ambassadorship for him (2 Timothy 4:1-5; 2 Corinthians 5:1-19). I mention this because I see a LOT of these sensationalist rapture date-setters, monthly prognosticators and glorified astrologers, who “conveniently” gloss over that verse, thereby affecting the context proceeding it, to allow themselves to continuously waste everyone’s time trying to “predict” the Lord’s return so they can get clicks and clout. It’s a purposeful deception, and these liars (and there are MANY of them) only aid in causing the word of God to be blasphemed and mocked.

SEE: False Prophet Robert Breaker Caught Lying And Changing Facts To Keep Pushing The False “Revelation 12 Sign”

So, I hope this was an aid to you and you came away from this learning a few things and how it can help your walk with the Lord; and even to those who are not saved or are unsure if you truly are, I pray this got you to think about some things and broadened your horizons; and if you have more questions be sure to check out these other messages I have written as well:

The Sad Vanity Of This Life, Working And Eating To Never Be Fulfilled

The Forgotten Verses Of Salvation

Christians Today Are A Powerless Embarrassment That No One Takes Seriously

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[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).

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