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Ecclesiastes 11 Commentary

Random Outcomes For Everyone!

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KEY THOUGHT: And he who regards the clouds will not reap. [Ecclesiastes 11:4b NKJV]

Kindly read your Bible before going through the commentary!

Ecclesiastes 11 NKJV

The Value of Diligence

11 Cast your bread upon the waters,
For you will find it after many days.
2 Give a serving to seven, and also to eight,
For you do not know what evil will be on the earth.

3 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.
4 He who observes the wind will not sow,
And he who regards the clouds will not reap.

5 As you do not know what is the way of the [a]wind,
Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child,
So you do not know the works of God who makes everything.
6 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.

7 Truly the light is sweet,
And it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun;
8 But if a man lives many years
And rejoices in them all,
Yet let him remember the days of darkness,
For they will be many.
All that is coming is vanity.

Seek God in Early Life

9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth,
And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth;
Walk in the [b]ways of your heart,
And [c]in the sight of your eyes;
But know that for all these
God will bring you into judgment.
10 Therefore remove [d]sorrow from your heart,
And put away evil from your flesh,
For childhood and [e]youth are vanity.

Footnotes

a. Ecclesiastes 11:5 Or spirit
b. Ecclesiastes 11:9 Impulses
c. Ecclesiastes 11:9 As you see to be best
d. Ecclesiastes 11:10 vexation
e. Ecclesiastes 11:10 Prime of life

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Ecclesiastes 11 Commentary

Investment or business. There are no straight equations. Is the teacher again talking about the randomness of events and their outcomes? Probably no. The author is carefully pointing the reader to the sovereignty of the Creator God even in matters of commerce and industry. God has the last word.

Whatever is outside of our control we call “random”!

Go ahead and invest, but know the LORD has the last word. It’s never entirely up to the equations we draw.

Invest when parameters are suitable. But what guarantees that the parameters will remain right throughout the lifetime of your investment? Equally, withhold your investment because the parameters are wrong. Are you sure the parameters will remain unfavorable forever?

The teacher carefully introduces the businessman to the world beyond the physical parameters. The chickens can formulate equations based on the location of feeders and the times when the farmer brings feed. But they do well to look up and know that the farmer can change all these parameters. Men don’t have to be chickenheads!

Of course, the wise hen will still instruct her chicks on the location of feeders and meal times.

Enjoy life when you can but understand that hard times always come. The prophet-cum-teacher draws our attention to responsibility. Whatever we do has consequences. Probably life isn’t meaningless after all.

Yet the teacher still insists that everything to come is meaningless. Are we looking at another version of the word meaningless? Probably yes. The future is unknown. The details are missing. Even the headlines end with question marks.

Again the teacher appeals to a world that takes life on the whim. There is more to life. We can always find the feed at location “A” simply because the farmer is faithfully placing it there. But will the world see it that way?

The author dispels the notion that life is “headless”. The fact that we don’t know doesn’t mean there is nothing. The randomness of outcomes proves the existence of the Creator God. There is someone pulling the strings behind the scenes, hence the randomness.

Loving Scripture….

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24 thoughts on “Home”

  1. It has been exciting learning how God can make things happen to his choosen one, God workout something wonderful and fulfils the promises he made to the father of Joseph.

    God’s words remains true so are his promises and indeed it has been God working out the salvation of man Kind by Grace through Faith alone.

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  11. Profound. My life needs a new introduction to God. Not that I have been right, but because God desires to help me… I see an amazing Grace here. Having broken the first commandment, still God looks for me and helps me to build up with him… And live for him. A littles knowledge of the Lord will ignite my passion and desire to serve him. This morning I pledge to seek, live and serve the Lord Jesus Christ and His purposes everyday of my life.
    Beautiful lesson

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  12. The Lord reintroduces himself and shows Israel, He is all they need. Some boast in horses and others in chariots but we’ll boast in the Lord. He is able and the only one worthy of our trust. Lord teach me how to always look up to you at all times and not focus on my strength or capabilities. This is my prayer

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  14. This far too common today. Just do something that seems like true worship yet it’s intent and actual practice is not even close to the set standard by the Lord. I personally feel challenged of some things we do in our personal lives, the focus of many churches and ministries today. We’ll need to realize the Lord must be worship as he has personally guided. Provides a good start of my reflection today

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  15. In those days when there was no King everyone did as they pleased. This is a good reminder to us that we are on own when the King of Kings isn’t leading our lives we’ll be doing what is not right and the results will show clearly how life without Christ looks like. We thank God that even when it looks like he’s not there, he’s behind the scenes working. I have learnt to trust in the Lord always.

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  16. Iam seeing this being stressed… There was no King in Israel… So lawlessness is the order of the day. This shows how heartless and wicked man can be with out the right King in his life. He can do anything. May the Lord help us to allow Christ in our lives that every aspect of our lives is changed and we yield ourselves to him alone.

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  17. I’m sure as the two daughters in-law stayed in Naomi’s home they learned about the God of Israel and appreciated His works among his people. Ruth’s determination and what she says moves my heart. She’s convinced she must go with Naomi and wants to spend her life with her, this relationship was strong especially between a mother inlaw and a daughter in-law. Yet Ruth stays and how she puts it shows the depth of her heart, I’ll go with with you, your people will be my people, your God will be my God…

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