Time Dey for Everything

One seed enter ground. One baby cry for di first time. One friend say goodbye. One crowd begin dance. Different moments, some happy, some sad. And one old teacher look all of dem and talk: time dey for each one.

Di book of Ecclesiastes na one of di books wey strange pass for di Bible. Di person wey write am call imself di Teacher, di son of David, king for Jerusalem. Plenty people don connect am with King Solomon, wey dey famous for im wisdom. Di Teacher set out to understand life. E look work, enjoyment, money and learning, and e keep dey talk say all of dem be like breath, like vapour, e dey here and e don go. E dey honest about how life fit dey confuse person. But for chapter three e stop and look time itself, di way life dey come for seasons. And e write one of di poems wey people for di world know pass.

For everything, season dey, and time dey for every purpose under heaven. Then e list dem, two by two, like pendulum wey dey swing. Time to born, and time to die. Time to plant, and time to pull up wetin dem plant. Think about di farmer year for Israel of old: rain and ploughing, planting, harvest, then di dry season. Time to kill and time to heal. Time to break down and time to build up. Time to cry, and time to laugh. Time to mourn, and time to dance.

Di list continue. Time to throw stones away, and time to gather dem. Time to hug, and time to no hug. Time to look for something, and time to stop to look. Time to keep, and time to throw away. Time to tear, and time to sew. Time to keep quiet, and time to talk. Time to love, and time to hate. Time of war, and time of peace. Fourteen pairs, wey cover almost everything wey person dey pass through. Di Teacher no dey tell us make we do dese things. E dey notice say na so life be. We no dey control di seasons. Dem dey come, and we dey live pass dem. So e ask: wetin worker really gain from all im hard work?

And see im answer. God don make everything fine for im time. E also don put eternity inside dem heart, yet we no fit fully understand wetin God don do from beginning reach end. Na why we dey long for something pass dis life. Something dey inside us wey big pass di seasons, hunger for wetin go last forever. And di Teacher draw two lessons. First, enjoy di good gifts of every day. E good to dey happy and to do good, to eat and drink and find joy for your work. Na God gift be dat. Second, trust wetin God dey do. Anything wey God do go last forever. Nobody fit add to am and nobody fit remove from am, and God dey do am so dat people go stand with awe for im front. Di seasons dey change. God no dey change.

Di Hebrew title of di Teacher na Qoheleth. E come from one word for assembly, people wey gather together, so e fit mean person wey dey gather people to teach dem. When dem translate di book enter Greek, di title become Ecclesiastes, from ekklesia, di Greek word for assembly. For di New Testament, na dat same word ekklesia dem dey usually translate as church.

You go find dis poem for Ecclesiastes chapter three, verse one reach fifteen. One teacher wey see all di seasons of life, and find God hand for every one of dem. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. Which season of life you dey now, and how you fit trust God inside am?