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"A time to cast away stones"

Text: Ecclesiastes 3:5

OBSERVATIONS OF LIFE III

The observations Solomon made were from life itself. He had seen how his father David was involved in many wars. He learned many lessons from what he observed.

“A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing.”
Ecclesiastes 3:5

1. Sowing stones in the field

a) War can cause people to become creative in a wrong way.

b) All kinds of ideas may arise as to how to damage and/ or destroy the land of the opponents.

c) One wicked way was to cause fields to be strewn with stones.

d) This would make sowing crops very difficult.

2. “A time to cast away stones”

a) Post-war must not see the people in despair.

b) The land may be devastated.

i) Houses destroyed.

ii) Fields are damaged badly.

c) The challenge is to begin the reconstruction process as soon as possible.

i) If there are stones, they must be found and cast away.

ii) The fields may be repaired and made cultivable again.

3. “And a time to gather stones”

a) A new use of the stones may be discovered.

b) The stones can be re-gathered and put to good use.

c) Stones may be used to build walls and houses!

4. “A time to embrace”

a) To be alive is cause for rejoicing.

b) The family may embrace and celebrate life together.

c) The community can rebuild again too.

d) In embrace, new hope and life can commence strongly.

5. “And a time to refrain from embracing”

a) But celebration is not everything.

b) Soon, life beckons us to rebuild.

i) The family

ii) The community

iii) The country

6. It would take much faith and courage

a) To restore.

b) To rebuild.

c) To be stronger and wiser.