As Sands Through The Hourglass
Time was produced by God during the creation. In Gen 1:14 as God separated light from darkness, He stated that the lights would “be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:” Time means nothing to God because He is eternal. Therefore, time was created solely for man’s benefit. Sadly, many take time for granted as though they have an unlimited supply. However, in Job 14:14, as the once unanswerable question was asked about living following death, we also see that man is not granted limitless time on earth. Job voiced the query, then proclaimed, “all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.”
This indicates that humanity measured time while on earth and has been doing so throughout recorded history. We often celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and such, which are annual occurrences. We also divide our daily waking hours, assigning them as periods in which to eat or participate in certain other activities. This is the measuring of time, and there have been many different methods of gauging time in man’s history. The sun, the “light of day”, was often used to do this. Perhaps one of the earliest ways was when a stick was placed in the ground, or a tree or landmark was noted, and the movement of the shadow was used to calculate different portions of the day.
At some point, man used the same idea and erected obelisks for this purpose and eventually invented the sun dial. Isa 38:5-8 shows us that this method was being used to measure time when God caused the sun to “back up” ten degrees as a sign to king Hezekiah that the king would recover of his illness and fifteen years was added to his life. Sadly, a study of the life of Hezekiah shows that he didn’t use the additional years of his life wisely. Early in his reign,(2Kings 18:5-7) he had faithfully destroyed pagan idols, repaired the temple, and trusted in God to deliver Jerusalem from the Assyrian army. Later, after being granted the fifteen additional years, Hezekiah acted foolishly and became proud. Then, when Isaiah warned him of the Babylonian captivity, and that his sons would become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon, his response was selfish indeed. 2Kings 20:17-19 shows he was only concerned about peace and truth in his own days. Time for him, as for all humanity, finally ran out.
Eventually, man created the hourglass. There have been many variations of these, beginning with connected animal-bladder bulbs bound with cord and wax, having a narrow neck, containing fine particles and aligned one atop of the other. These finally gave way to glass vessels. When these particles, usually fine sand, (by gravity) flowed from the upper to the lower bulb, it became a timekeeping device. Since the sand was measured to flow from one bulb to the other in one hour, we have the name “hourglass”. Historically, these were used for marine navigation (such as measuring ship speeds), because a ship is a moving vessel and the shadow was not a reliable gauge. Today the hourglass (sometimes a minute glass) is mostly used for things such as board games. The hourglass is also sometimes used as a decorative home accent, or as a symbolic representation of passing time.
The phrase “as sands through the hourglass” means that time passes steadily, swiftly, and irreversibly, much like grains of sand falling through an hourglass. Also, it may be an indicator of fleeting time. Each day or moment slips away like a single grain of sand, and once it passes to the bottom, it cannot be retrieved or turned back. Maybe one thinks of time as having inescapable flow. Just as gravity pulls sand down at a steady pace, human life moves forward continuously without pause. Or an hourglass might also indicate the idea of a finite life on earth. A limited amount of time is available, often serving as a gentle prompt to live purposefully or cherish the present. This is why some live by the motto “carpe diem”, commonly translated "seize the day".
However, even with the modern means of measuring the passing of time such as a clock or a wristwatch, many fail to “seize the day” to utilize whatever amount they have properly. Do we forget what the Spirit had Solomon write in Eccl 12:13-14? There, we not only learn what the whole responsibility of man is, but also why we need to use our time wisely. He wrote, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. ” God gave man time so that man could choose whom he would serve. God created time for man so each of us could prioritize and put first things first. Doing this will allow each of us to properly prepare for eternity.
This is why in 2Cor 6:2, the Spirit had the apostle Paul remind the church in Corinth of the timeframe. He told them, “behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”. This means they (and we) are living in the “last days”, the Christian dispensation of time. The “accepted time” and the “day of salvation” is simply stating that we now live when God’s plan for Salvation has come to fruition. Christ died on the cross of Calvary, shed His precious blood, was buried, and came forth from the grave to die no more, and ascended back to the Father in Heaven. Afterward, God, according to the promise of Christ, sent the Spirit to bring the Word.
The “Now” found twice in the passage above should remind man of his immediate need. If we put off or refuse to address our immediate needs, the passing of time “as sands through the hourglass” may make it impossible to do so. From 2Cor 5:10 we learn why we must focus on doing as God Commands in His New Testament Word before it’s too late. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
As the sands flow through the hourglass of your life, what are you doing to prepare for eternity? Why not do as God Commands? This is the only way to eternal life.
Dennis Strickland – Mooresville church of Christ
