Podcast 96 Ecclesiastes, “Pt 11, Ch 11”

The first verse of Ecclesiastes is such a common axiom in every Christian vocabulary, it is likely that most have forgotten its origin.

Ecclesiastes 11:1

Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.

What is it that keeps such a phrase alive. We hear it in other ways, “What goes around comes around.” “That which ye sow, so shall ye reap.” “It will come back to bite you.” “Do unto others as ye would have them do unto you.” The variations are, perhaps, multitudinous because everyone who has experienced life knows instinctively that it is true. We live on a spinning planet in a spinning universe. Everything circles something. The moon circles the earth. The earth circles the sun. Our solar system circles the galaxy at about 500,000 miles per hour. One cycle takes from 225 to 250 million years. What does our Milky Way Galaxy galaxy circle and where does it end? The point is everything returns. Consider the water cycle. From evaporation and transpiration to condensation to precipitation, water returns. It is quite possible that we have swallowed the same molecules of water many times, and those same molecules could have been consumed by every other living being since Adam.

Think of it in a broader scale. We are children of God, of noble birthright. We once lived with our Father in heaven and every good Christian’s goal is to return to the presence of God the Father and God the Son. Each of us is a universe. A Jewish proverbs says that if you kill a man, you kill a nation. Regardless of what scientists concoct or atheist’s claim, we all descended from Adam and Eve. We are all brothers and sisters, equal in the eyes of God who is no respecter of persons. That which we do has eternal significance. Sometimes small things have the greatest consequences.

“Cast your bread upon the waters” has great spiritual significance. Christ is the ‘bread of life.’ Bethlehem, where Christ was born, means House of Bread. When we eat the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, we take bread to remind us that he gave his body for us. That which is Christ centered will last. If we follow his laws and obey his commandments, after many days, we shall find Christ. In 1st John we read the following:

1 John 3:2

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

We live in a world of uncertainty; therefore, we must rely upon God, creator of all.

Ecclesiastes 11:2-5

Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.

Solomon counsels us to sow our seed. When one sows seed he scatters it broadly, generally in prepared soil, hoping it will grow.

Ecclesiastes 11:6

In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.

Sowing the seed both morning and evening significantly increases probability. We should also take joy in sowing our seed.

Ecclesiastes 11:7

Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:

Of course, plants need sunlight, but Solomon is not talking about merely temporal seeds or temporal light. He is talking about spiritual seeds and spiritual light. In Isaiah we read.

Isaiah 2:5

O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.

In typical Antithetical Parallelism, so common in in the Bible, Solomon plays light against darkness.

Ecclesiastes 11:8

But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.

Among other things vanity refers to the temporary nature of things. It refers to putting our trust in things that have no lasting value. That is why we must walk in the light of the Lord. Perhaps that is the primary theme of Ecclesiastes which begins with the famous opening of Ecclesiastes: