Ecclesiastes 11 – 12
Verse 11:1 in an interesting line:
Cast your bread upon the waters,
for you will find it after many days.
This seemed odd since I look at this as illogical, since if you cast bread on water it will either be eaten or become waterlogged. If you do by chance find it after many days, there is no way you would want to do anything with it. KJV, ISV, and others seem to match this translation, so that is no help. The NIV says “Send your gain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you” which makes sense. The CJV says “Send you resources over the seas, eventually you will reap a return.”
What this verse is saying is take a calculated and wise step in life and wait for a return. In today’s world this would be like investing as a young person so you can have a retirement in your old years. One needs to think about their dreams and aspirations and then calculate two things, the return for self and the benefit for the community. Investing helps companies gain capital to grow and in return you either gain in growth of the stock or dividends. In a business or job, one needs to calculate the costs, potential growth and the future potential before setting forward.
Verse 11:8 is almost an oxymoron:
So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity.
Here Solomon talks about how we need to rejoice as we get older but at the same time we have a meaningless future in the grave. Once we die very few will be remembered or thought about. Maybe at best a generation or two who knew you, but most of the time that’s only family. We look at men like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln as names that will live in infamy. While that may be true look at all the other great nations from thousands of years where little is known about their once great rulers. In essence once we are gone, that’s it, we have no more meaning just remembrance.
12:1 is probably the most important message I can give any young person:
Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;
Now don’t ever think that once you are blessed by God, life will be easy. We have no real account of this in the Bible. Job lived well and peaceful before going through torment, and then returned to this peaceful existence, but with the memory of the past. Of the disciples, all but John lived to a natural death, and he died in exile on an island. Now there are many “blessed” who do seem to live the easy life, but at the same time we need to learn their “back story” before thinking they had it easy all the time. Our pastor, PK, tells stories of how he tried to quit on the church in its early years because it was not growing. He lived through tough times, stress with the family and persevered to become one of the fast growing churches in the nation.
He did so because he had a calling from God. Granted it didn’t work out the way he expected, but at 16 he kept focus and 30 years later his vision has come true. That is why remaining close to God will keep your life in focus. I did forget to mention, guys like David who were blessed and did have to work hard for his victories, really didn’t have big problems until he drifted from God’s plan. Other stories in the Bible are similar, when man tries to force God’s promise. Abraham, Jonah, and others come to mind when not following God. Just remain in fellowship with God and things will be ok!