“That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.”
The observation that what is now has been before, and what will be has already been, reiterates the theme of cyclical recurrence while possibly suggesting that this very pattern represents God's eternal design. The return of the past and the predictability of the future need not imply meaninglessness if they reflect divine order rather than mere chance. Qohelet's statement that God seeks what has been driven away implies divine activity maintaining the order of creation, suggesting that even cyclical return participates in providential design.
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