Ecclesiastes 11 –12

Verses 11:1 & 2 are very good advice to all:

Teacher: Don’t be afraid to release your bread upon the waters,
        for in due time you will find it.
²     Divide your portion—put seven here, maybe eight there—
        for you can never be sure when or where disaster will strike.

I get two insights here, first is don’t grasp to your stuff like there is no tomorrow. Be free with giving stuff away because it always seems to come back in one way or another, even if it’s just the joy of giving. The second is how you handle your possessions. In the world of stocks the standard idiom is “don’t put your eggs in one basket.” This is rooted in verse 2 since if the stock crashes you will be protected if you are “diversified”  and hopefully the whole market is not tumbling down.

Verse 11:8 is a great reminder:

If a person lives many years, then he should learn to enjoy each and every one; but he should not forget the dark days ahead, for there will be plenty of them. All that is to come—whether bright days or dark—is fleeting. 

Good times and bad times are temporary for the most part. The key is how you handle each period. If we let the “dark days” get us down, often when things get better we cannot enjoy them because of a cynical disposition. So don’t fret the bad times, they will get better.

Verse 12:10 brought a smile to my face:

 The teacher also searched for just the right words to bring hope and encouragement, and he wrote honestly about truth and the realities of life.

Think about it, this comes from a man who wrote in verse 1:1 “everything is a great vanity” or “everything is meaningless” in other translations. I don’t know why but it’s funny to end one of the more depressing books of the Bible with these words.

Verses 12:12 & 13 really explains the God thing in a nutshell:

¹² So be warned, my child, of anything else that might be said! There is no end to writing books, and excessive study only exhausts the body. ¹³ And, when all is said and done, here is the last word: worship in reverence the one True God, and keep His commands, for this is what God expects of every person.

This often makes me reflect on why do I do this blog and study. The trap I get into too much study and take no action. I will look at the words and read them, not live them. Sure I may be able to debate creationism with the most ardent evolutionist but what does it matter if they cannot see the light. I often get lost in the technicalities of this and that and forget to keep it simple!! Verse 13 really sums it all up, just worship God and follow His commandments. Now the debate is what the commandments are. Is it Exodus 20 or the first 5 books? I think the Ten Commandments are the key, you follow them with all your heart and that really is all you need to do.

Before you say easy, look carefully. Jesus said looking at another woman with lust is a sin. Is that taking the adultery commandment and “one upping” it? NO! Jesus was clarifying the “do not covet” verse. The giving everything is not a commandment to give over 10% but rather making sure you do not make money your idol.