“Cast your bread upon the waters, For you will find it after many days. Give a serving to seven, and also to eight, For you do not know what evil will be on the earth.” (v1,2)
The usual inference for the first statement is to throw caution to the wind. To get a profit one needs to invest and to catch any fish one needs to push the boat out. It might seem pointless because we can’t immediately see the reward but it comes later. Giving (to seven or eight) is his way of telling us to be generous but also to spread it around and not ‘to put all our eggs in one basket’.
He then talks about the weather and nature – “If the clouds are full of rain, They empty themselves upon the earth; And if a tree falls to the south or the north, In the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie.” (v3) Generally that’s what clouds are for. It doesn’t rain on a cloudless day. Whoever thinks too much about the clouds or wind and never plants his seed will not reap. Just get on with it, we will rarely if ever get perfect conditions. Spurgeon said that “To observe circumstances instead of trusting God shows unbelief, rebellion, foolish fear, and idleness.”
He states that we do not know the works of God (v5). God is so great that we cannot know, He is God, we are mere humans and we do not know how a baby grows in the womb or the way of the wind. Jesus said in John 3:8 in the context of being born again, “….The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes…..” Solomon comes around to talking profound wisdom, the wisdom of an Almighty God whose works defy explanation and show our limitations. He has made everything so there is no doubt that He knows how it works.
“In the morning sow your seed, And in the evening do not withhold your hand; For you do not know which will prosper, Either this or that, Or whether both alike will be good”. (v6) We should work diligently throughout the day because we do not know what the future holds. We must trust God for the future. The Bible tells us that we can plant and water but only God gives the increase, only He can make it grow. It logically follows that if we don’t plant we are more than likely to get nothing.
Each new day is a gift from God and we should enjoy it (v7,8). If God has given us light and we live many years, we must be thankful to God and rejoice. We will often face days of darkness so make the best of the enjoyable times. Our trust in God will help us to face those difficult times
Verses 9 and 10 seem to be related to the following chapter but we’ll look at them here. It is profound advice to rejoice in our youth. There is a warning about walking in the ways of our heart and in the sight of our eyes. In other words to enjoy our youth, but to remember that we will face God’s judgment, so that we need to be careful what we do
I rather like the Good News Bible version which I read over thirty years ago when a friend of mine put it to music – “Young people enjoy your youth, be happy while you’re still young. Do what you want to do and follow your hearts desire. But remember that God is going to judge you for whatever you do.”
We will all, whether young or old, have to give an account to God for things we’ve done (Romans 14:12)
He urges us to remove sorrow from our heart. It is suggested that we can only do this by living in the light of eternity. Not just living for this life here on earth, in fact it appears that if we do only live for our worldly existence, it is meaningless. Only in eternity will we have life without sorrow for it will be ended. The Apostle Peter urges us to be holy for God is holy and to be holy we need to put away evil which Solomon tells us to do in these verses.
We don’t have be miserable, in fact Christians should be the happiest people, not in the sense that we don’t have trouble or problems but in our faith and trust in The Lord Jesus Christ and that He will meet our needs. The Apostle Paul tells us in Galatians 5:16-26 “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
