Ecclesiastes 11:0 - Homiletics

Bread upon the waters; or, rules and reasons for practicing beneficence.

I. RULES . Beneficence should be practiced:

1. Without doubt as to its result . One's charity should be performed in a spirit of fearless confidence, even though the recipients of it should appear altogether unworthy, and cur procedure as hopeless and thankless an operation as "casting one's bread upon the waters" (verse 1), or "sowing the 'sea' (Theognis).

2. Without limit as to its distribution . "Give a portion to seven, yea even unto eight" (verse 2); that is, "Give to him that asketh, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away" ( Matthew 5:42 ). Social economics may, bug the sermon on the mount does not, condemn indiscriminate or promiscuous giving. One's bread should be cast upon the waters in the sense that it should be bestowed upon the multitudes, or carried far and wide rather than restricted to a narrow circle.

3. Without anxiety as to its seasonableness . As "he that observeth the wind will not sow, and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap" (verse 4), so he who is always apprehensive lest his deeds of kindness should be ill-timed is not likely to practice much beneficence. The farmer who should spend his days in watching the weather to select just the right moment to plough and sow, or reap and garner, would never get the one operation or the ether performed; and little charity would be witnessed were men never to give until they were quite sure they had hit upon the right time to give, and never to do an act of kindness until they were certain the proper, objects to receive it had been found.

4. Without intermission as to its time . "In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand" (verse 6). Who would practice beneficence as it should be practiced must be as constantly employed therein as the husbandman is in his agricultural operations. Philanthropy is a sacred art, which can only be acquired by pains and patience. Intermittent goodness, charity performed by fits and starts, occasional benevolence, never comes to much, and never does much for either the giver or receiver. Charity to be efficient must be a perennial fountain and a running stream ( 1 Corinthians 13:8 ). The charitable man must be always giving, like God, who maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, etc. ( Matthew 5:45 ), and who giveth unto all liberally ( James 1:5 ).

II. REASONS . Beneficence should be practiced for the following reasons:

1. It is certain in the end to be recompensed . (Verse 1.) The kindly disposed individual, who fearlessly casts his bread upon the waters by doing good to the unkind and the unthankful ( Matthew 5:45 ; Luke 6:35 ), may have a long time to wait for a return from his venture in practical philanthropy; but eventually that return will come, here on earth, in the inward satisfaction that springs from doing good, perhaps in the gratitude of those who experience his kindness, hereafter in the welcome and the glory Christ has promised to such as are mindful of his needy brethren on earth ( Matthew 25:40 ).

2. No one can predict how soon himself may become an object of charity . As surely as the clouds when full of rain will empty themselves upon the earth, and a tree will lie exactly in the place where it falls (verse 3), so surely will seasons of calamity, when they come, descend on rich and poor alike; yea, perhaps strike the wealthy, the great, and the good with strokes which the indigent, the obscure, and the wicked may escape. Hence the bare consideration of this fact, that bad times may come—not only depriving one of the ability to practice beneficence, but rendering one a fit subject for the same (the latter of these being most likely the Preacher's thought)—should induce one to be charitable while he may and can. This may seem a low, selfish, and unworthy ground on which to recommend the practice of philanthropy; but does its meaning not substantially amount to this, that men should give to others because, were bad times to strip them of their wealth, and plunge them into poverty, they would wish others to give to them? And how much is this below the standard of the golden rule ( Matthew 7:12 )?

3. No amount of forethought will discover a better time for practicing beneficence than the present . As no one knows the way of the wind ( John 3:8 ), or the secrets of embryology ( Psalms 139:15 )—in both of which departments of nature, notwithstanding the discoveries of modern science, much ignorance prevails—so can no one predict what kind of future will emerge from the womb of the present ( Proverbs 27:1 ; Zephaniah 2:2 ), or what shall be the course of providence on the morrow. Hence to defer exercising charity till one has fathomed the unfathomable is more than merely to waste one's time; it is to miss a certain opportunity for one that may never arrive. As today only is ours, we should never cast it away for a doubtful to-morrow, but "Act in the living present, Heart within and God o'er head." (Longfellow.)

4. The issues of beneficence, in the recipients thereof, are uncertain . That an act of charity, or deed of kindness, whensoever done, will prosper without fail in the experience of the doer thereof, has been declared (verse 1); that it will turn out equally well in the experience of him to whom it is done is not so inevitable. Yet from this problematical character of all human philanthropy as to results should be drawn an argument, not for doing nothing, but for doing more. Art atrabiliar soul will conclude that, because he is not sure whether his charity may not injure rather than benefit the recipient, he should hold his hand; a hopeful and happy Christian will feel impelled to more assiduous benevolence by reflecting that he can never tell when his kindly deeds will bear fruit in the temporal, perhaps also spiritual, salvation of the poor and needy. "The seed sown in the morning of life may bear its harvest at once, or not till the evening of age. The man may reap at one and the same time the fruits of his earlier and later sowing, and may find that both are alike good" (Plumptre).

LESSONS .

1. "As therefore ye have opportunity, do good unto all men" ( Galatians 6:10 ).

2. Weary not in well-doing ( Galatians 6:9 ).

3. Take no thought for tomorrow ( Matthew 6:34 ).

4. Cultivate a hopeful view of life ( Proverbs 10:28 ).

Verses 1-6

Conditions of success in business.

I. THE MEASURES TO BE ADOPTED .

1. Enterprises not free from hazard . "Cast thy bread upon the waters," meaning, "launch out upon the sea of business speculation." The man who would succeed must be prepared to venture somewhat. A judicious quantity of courage seems indispensable to getting on. The timid merchant is as little likely to prosper as the shrinking lover.

2. Prudence in dividing risks . "Divide the portion into seven, yea, eight parts," which again signifies that one should never put all his eggs into one basket, commit all his goods to one caravan, place all his cargo in one ship, invest all his capital in one undertaking, or generally venture all on one card.

3. Confidence in going forward, The agriculturist who, is always, watching the weather—"observing the wind and regarding the clouds (verse 4)—will make but a poor farmer; and he who is constantly taking fright at the fluctuations of the market will prove only an indifferent merchant. In business, as in love and war, the man who hesitates is lost.

4. Diligence and constancy in labor . The person who aims at success in business must be a hard and. incessant, not a fitful and intermittent, worker. If a farmer, he must sow betimes in the morning, and pause not until hindered by the shades of night. If a merchant, he must trade both early and late. If an artisan, he must toil week in and week out. It is "the hand of the diligent" that "maketh rich" ( Proverbs 10:4 ).

II. THE MOTIVES TO BE CHERISHED .

1. The expectation of a future reward . " Thou shalt find it [thy bread] after many days." Such enterprises, though attended with risk, will not all fail, but will generally prove successful—not immediately, perhaps, but after an interval of waiting, as the ships of a foreign merchant require months, or even years, before they return with the desired profits.

2. The anticipation of impending calamity . As no man can foresee the future, the prudent merchant lays his account with one or more of his ventures coming to grief. Hence, in the customary phrase, he "divides the risk," and does not hazard all in one expedition.

3. The consciousness of inability to forecast the future . Just because of this—illustrated in verses 3 and 5—the man who aspires to prosper in his undertakings dismisses all overanxious care, and instead of waiting for opportunities and markets, makes them.

4. The beige of ultimately succeeding . Though he may often fail, he expects he will not always fail; hence he redoubles his energy and diligence. "In the morning he sows his seed, and in the evening withholds not his band," believing that in the end his labors will be crowned with success.

Learn:

1. That business is not incompatible with piety.

2. That piety need be no hindrance to business.

3. That each may be helpful to the other.

4. That both should be, and are, a source of blessing to the world.

Verses 7, 8

Carpe diem: memento mori; or, here and hereafter contrasted.

I. HERE , A SCENE OF LIGHT ; HEREAFTER , A PLACE OF DARKNESS . Under the Old Testament the abode of departed spirits was usually conceived of as a realm from which the light of day was excluded, or only dimly admitted ( Job 10:21 , Job 10:22 ).

II. HERE , A GARDEN OF DELIGHT ; HEREAFTER , A WILDERNESS OF VANITY . Life beneath the sun, even to the most miserable, has pleasures which are wanting to the bodiless inhabitants of the underworld ( Ecclesiastes 9:10 ).

III. HERE , A PERIOD OF FEW DAYS ; HEREAFTER , A TERM OF MANY . At the longest, man's duration upon earth is short ( Job 14:1 ; Psalms 39:5 ); in comparison, his continuance in the narrow house, or in the unseen world, will he long.

LESSONS .

1. Enjoy life heartily, as a good gift of God.

2. Use life wisely, in preparation for the world to come.

Verses 9, 10

Advice to a young man or woman.

I. A GRAND PERMISSION —to enjoy life. "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth," etc.

1. Not a sanction to self-indulgence . The Preacher does not teach that a young man (or, indeed, any man) is at liberty to "make provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof" ( Romans 13:14 ); to have asserted or suggested that a youth was permitted by religion to follow his inclinations wherever they might lead, to plunge into sensuality, to sow his wild oats (as the phrase is), would have been to contradict the Law of God as given by Moses ( Numbers 15:39 ).

2. Not a protest ( ironical ) against asceticism . The Preacher does not say that God will judge men if they despise his gilts and refuse to enjoy them, Doubtless, in so far as asceticism springs from a contemptuous disregard of God's providential mercies, it is sinful; but this is hardly the case the Preacher has in view.

3. But a warrant for reasonable pleasure . The young man or maiden is informed that he or she may enjoy the morning of life to the utmost of his or her bent, "walking in the ways of his or her heart, and in the sight of his or her eyes," provided always such pleasures as are sinful are eschewed. Moreover, the Preacher's language appears to hint that such enjoyment as is here allowed is both appropriate to the season, the days of youth, and demanded by the nature of youth, being the legitimate gratification of the heart and eyes.

II. A SOLEMN WARNING —the certainty of judgment. " But know thou that for all these things," etc. The judgment of which the Preacher speaks is:

1. Future . The great as size will be held, not on earth, but in the unseen world; not in time, but in eternity. That the Preacher had no clear perception of either the time, place, or nature of this judgment, is probably correct, but that he alluded to a dread tribunal in the great hereafter seems a legitimate conclusion from the circumstance that he elsewhere ( Ecclesiastes 8:14 ) adverts to the fact that in this life men are not always requited either for their righteousness or for their wickedness. What was comparatively dark to the Preacher is to us clearly illumined, viz. that after death is the judgment ( Hebrews 9:27 ).

2. Divine . The Judge will not be man, but God ( Ecclesiastes 3:17 ; Psalms 62:12 ; Isaiah 30:18 ). This fully discovered in the New Testament, which states that God shall judge men by Jesus Christ ( Acts 17:31 ; Romans 2:16 ; 2 Timothy 4:1 ).

3. Individual . The judgment will be passed, not upon mankind in the mass, or upon men in groups, but upon men as individuals ( 2 Corinthians 5:10 ).

4. Certain . As the Preacher himself was not dubious, so would he have the young to know that the future judgment will be a momentous reality ( Hebrews 12:23 ; 2 Peter 2:9 ).

III. AN URGENT DUTY —to banish sorrow and evil.

1. To remove sorrow from the heart . Either

2. To put away evil from the flesh . Doubtless

IV. A SERIOUS REASON —the vanity of boyhood and manhood.

1. Both are transient . Youth and the prime of life will not last, but will pass away. Hence they should be kept as joyous and pure as possible. Only one thing more unfortunate for the after-development of the soul than a sunless youth, namely, a sinful youth. If the opening years of man's pilgrimage on the earth should be radiant with happiness, much more should they be glorified with holiness.

2. Both are inexperienced . Hence their fervid impulses should be moderated and restrained by the solemn considerations that spring from the brevity of life and the certainty of a future judgment.

Learn:

1. That youth should be happy and serious.

2. That man's existence has a future and a present.

3. That privilege and responsibility ever go together.