He has also set eternity in their heart
Ecclesiastes 3:11 Rest for our restless hearts is only found in the eternal God who created us for himself
“He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11 NASB1995
One of God’s most amazing qualities is His eternal nature. It is impossible for us as humans to conceptualize eternity — “time without beginning or end” as written in the dictionary entry in the image above. Astrophysicists worry themselves about the age of the universe and when (and how) it will end; God is outside all of space and time, so to Him that’s not an issue!
Ecclesiastes is a book that focuses on one existential question found in its third verse — “What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun?” (Ecclesiastes 1:3). To me, it seems to focus on hopelessness rather than our Christian hope, in that it repeatedly points out that all people die, regardless of their wisdom or foolishness.
The book was written at some point between 450 and 150 BC, and is ascribed to the thoughts of one Kohelet. This person’s name translates loosely as “member of an assembly” both in the original Hebrew and in Ancient Greek — Ἐκκλησιαστής (Ekklēsiastēs). Kohelet is referred to as “the Preacher” or “the Teacher,” passing on his wisdom to readers of his era.
Looking at today’s verse, we see that Kohelet understands that mankind is aware of the eternal and even longs for it. God is the source of that awareness; he has “set eternity in their heart.” It’s not only Christians who have “eternity in their heart(s)”. From Enduring Word,
ii. The well-known missionary and author Don Richardson used the phrase eternity in their hearts to describe the phenomenon of redemptive analogies in most all aboriginal cultures. Almost every culture has traditions, customs, or ways of thinking that reflect basic Biblical truth, and these can be used by missionaries to explain the gospel.
The next phrase shows that although God gave man the awareness and yearning for eternity, He hasn’t revealed details about His eternal work. That keeps this thought of eternity burning in the heart of man. The Preacher tells of us his own studies into what satisfies the human heart, and knows that nothing on Earth will fill this longing, either practically or intellectually.
Saint Augustine of Hippo receiving the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, painting by Philippe de Champaigne, 17th century. Public Domain.
St. Augustine (354 - 430 AD) gave the definitive explanation — and answer to — this quandary in his precept “You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they can find peace in You” from his Confessions. What did Augustine mean by this?
From Bibles.net:
Jesus tells us to come and trust him with our burdened and restless souls—for now, and for eternity—for he is the Lord and our only Savior. Augustine experienced exactly what Jesus promised—freedom from the sin and soul-searching that once enslaved him. He says,
Already my mind was free of ‘the biting cares’ of place-seeking, of desire for gain, of wallowing in self-indulgence, of scratching the itch of lust. And I was now talking with you, Lord my God, my radiance, my wealth, and my salvation.
Augustine found that trusting Jesus to reconcile him to God put his desires in the right order. Only when he was at peace with the Giver could he truly enjoy God’s good gifts, for the gifts are there to point us to the Giver we long for.
Rest for our restless hearts is only found in the eternal God who created us for himself. To rest in God is to receive the gift of salvation freely offered to us in Jesus Christ, and then to entrust our lives to him.
Have you found this rest?
Amen!
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Today’s prayer is from Knowing Jesus:
Heavenly Father, I truly worship and praise You, that You are our great Creator Who has made everything beautiful in its time and appropriate to complete Your plans and purposes. Thank You that You made us in Your image and likeness and that in Your grace have set eternity in the hearts of all people. Help me to surrender to Your sovereign will, to establish You on the throne of my life, and to trust You to fulfil Your perfect plan and purposes in each of our lives. This I ask in Jesus' name, AMEN.