Ecclesiastes 11
Pastor Mark Hudson
Verse 1 of chapter 11 is not easily understood. First the verb translated as ‘cast,’ according to most scholars, does not mean throw or cast but send. The verse either has to do with being charitable or investing. The latter seems to fit the language and context better. Qoheleth encourages us to invest in a variety of measures, not just one, because we do not know the future. Then according to verse 3, these two examples inevitability and randomness (per Tremper Longman’s refer to commentary on this verses).
In verse 4, we find encouragement to work and not look at the wind possibly wondering if it will rain or blow the seed away. The next phrase may refer to a person who can’t decide to reap his harvest. Will it rain or should I wait another day? In v. 5, while we in the year 2023 can see more in the womb than generations before us, we still don’t know how a baby can be born. Here, God’s way are far above us is underscored. God makes everything. It all belongs to God and he has done it all so how could we know what will happen to us in the next minute, let alone in the next few months?
Then v. 6 seems to repeat verse 1. Work today because you do not know the future. If you think Qoheleth is pessimistic, remember these verses. Work, invest, live in the now, because you do not know the future. Qoheleth does not counsel us to eat, drink, for tomorrow we die. Rather, since there is so much uncertainty, work, invest, enjoy life but do this knowing that God is the only One who knows the future. Knowing this about God and our life now (under the sun) does not lead to pessimism or indolence but to work and joy.
Verse 9 can be read in a variety of ways. I am not certain my thoughts follow Qoheleth but he seems to remind us that enjoying life is a divine command. Not in the sense we may think. For our culture, enjoyment is often apart from God as in throwing off any constrains and just doing whatever I want. This kind of enjoyment is not what Qoheleth is commanding in verse 9. Yes, we are to take pleasure in life but in a life lived coram deo or before the face of God. Granted, Solomon did not always do this. But his counsel is still sound. Maybe we could suggest this paraphrase. “Whatever job you want to pursue, go after it. Whatever spouse you want, go ahead. However you want to spend your money and time, spend. But as you desire these things, God will hold you accountable for it all. With that in mind, live your life.”
In verse 10, we are to remove anger or vexation and pain from our body for youth is fleeting. For Qoheleth, almost everything is fleeting or transient. Except for God. Although expressed in, what to us, is an unusual way, he is right. This life is fleeting, passing away and so are we. We are passing through. While we do, we ought to live for the Messiah (coming from Qoheleth’s perspective, already come from ours) and be grateful for all we have in this life or as Qoheleth would say, “under the sun.”
Can we read this book as consistent with the other books in the Bible? If not, maybe we are reading it incorrectly. Ecclesiastes in considered canonical – that is, part of the cannon of Scripture. Keep reading this knowing we are not reading the original, we are some 3,000 years later, and we are removed from his cultural perspective but his ideas are words breathed out from God.
Dear Lord, not every part of the Bible has the same clarity that other sections contain. But You like variety as we see in the natural world. We witness different skin colors, different cultures, and different foods. We see a wide variety of literary approaches in the Bible. This book offers a different outlook that sometimes jars us and makes us question his technique. But we would be poorer without this book. There are some passages that we do understand and cherish. May we see through the vanities of this life so we will love, honor, and obey the Lord Jesus Christ. The Triune God will never change and He alone is gloriously eternal. In Christ’s most perfect name, Amen.