Ecclesiastes 3:7

7 a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

Ecclesiastes 3:7 Meaning and Commentary

Ecclesiastes 3:7

A time to rend, and a time to sew
To rend garments, in case of blasphemy, and in times of mourning and fasting, and then to sew them up when they are over; see ( Isaiah 37:1 ) ( Joel 2:13 ) ; This the Jews apply to the rending of the ten tribes from Rehoboam, signified by the rending of Jeroboam's garment, ( 1 Kings 11:30 1 Kings 11:31 ) ; the sewing up or uniting of which is foretold, ( Ezekiel 37:22 ) . Some interpret it of the rending of the Jewish church state, signified by the rending of the vail, at the death of Christ; and of the constituting the Gospel church state among the Gentiles; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak
^F11; when it is an evil time, a time of calamity in a nation, it is not a time to be loquacious and talkative, especially in a vain and ludicrous way, ( Amos 5:13 ) ; or when a particular friend or relation is in distress, as in the case of Job and his friends, ( Job 2:13 ) ; or when in the presence of wicked men, who make a jest of everything serious and religious, ( Psalms 39:1 ) ; and so when under afflictive dispensations of Providence, it is a time to be still and dumb, and not open the mouth in a murmuring and complaining way, ( Leviticus 10:3 ) ( Psalms 39:9 ) ( 46:10 ) . And, on the other hand, there is a time to speak, either publicly, of the truths of the Gospel, in the ministry of it, and in vindication of them; or privately, of Christian experience: there is a time when an open profession should be made of Christ, his word and ordinances, and when believers should speak to God in prayer and praise; which, should they not, the stones in the wall would cry out.

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FOOTNOTES:

F11 (wrh men polewn muywn, wrh de kai upnou) , Homer. Odyss. 11. v. 378.

Ecclesiastes 3:7 In-Context

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 seek, 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 for war, and a time for peace.

9 What gain has the worker from his toil?