The Evil Days (Ecclesiastes 11-12)
Ecclesiastes is a book about how we ought to live our lives. Throughout this book, we have noticed that Solomon is writing with a minimal perspective. He's just a mortal man. He hasn't seen the spiritual realities. He does not know what God is doing or how things will play out after this life ends. But he gives excellent advice about the situation on Earth. Those who pursue eternal peace and everlasting joy will not find it on this earth. Solomon has tested everything and discovered that it's all the same pursuit of vanity. There is not one thing on earth that will fix what is wrong with this earth. God made it this way, and we cannot change it. The best we can do is enjoy our work and the fruits of it.
Now, he comes to the close of his letter, and it's like he wants to put an exclamation mark on that claim. He wants us to understand the best way to live to have the best chance at a great life. To complete the book, we will look at the last four sections. The first three sections tell us what to invest in to have a good life. The final section tells us why.
Investments (11)
So, the first three sections are about investments. If life is vain and there is no one thing that can provide satisfaction or sanctuary from tragedy, what should we do with our time? How can we live the best life?
Ecclesiastes 11:1--2 (ESV) --- 1 Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. 2 Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.
Invest In Relationships (1-2)
The first piece of advice is to cast your bread upon the waters. What does that mean? Why would we want to throw bread upon the water? It's all soggy and useless. He says, "You will find it after many days." Doing something that seems careless and useless will give us bread again after many days? That's odd.
To understand this, we must consider what we would do with extra bread. We might be tempted to hold on to it or store it for ourselves. But then it would just go old and moldy. Solomon is saying to share it while it's good. Don't think that you ought to hold on to what you have. Share and let those around you enjoy your time of plenty.
In verse 2, he clarifies that this is what he's talking about, saying, "Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth." This verse also starts into a theme of this section. Solomon wants people to recognize what they don't know. He wants them to live with humility and wisdom. Living selfishly and hoarding up riches will hurt you when the economy shifts and those riches aren't worth anything, or when something happens to destroy your riches like what happened to Job. The better investment is in the people around you. Invest your wealth in relationships and show love toward others. Who knows what the future may bring? The person you share with may have plenty in the future when you have none.
Invest In Time (3-6)
Ecclesiastes 11:3--6 (ESV) --- 3 If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth, and if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will 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 the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. 6 In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.
Next, he tells his readers some undeniable things. What do we expect to happen when we look up and see dark clouds? It's going to rain, of course. And what happens to a tree that falls in the woods? Nothing. It just sits there. These are intended to illustrate something we know. They are what they are.
Then, he contrasts that with things we don't know. He says, "He who observes the wind will not sow." When casting seed upon the soil, it's possible that the wind would blow your seed away or pile them up in a place that will not grow. Here Solomon says that we might see a breeze and think we know it will be a windy day. But the wind is not like the rain. It's not predictable. Those who claim they know what the wind will do without modern technological equipment are foolish. We don't know how much wind will blow.
Overall, Solomon is pointing out that we need to stop making excuses, stop predicting things that cannot be predicted, and stop procrastinating. We need to do the work we should be doing, sow the seed, or reap the harvest. We don't know what the future will bring. Please don't wait until it could be too late. Please don't wait too long, fearing that it will be difficult. Get out there and do what you got to do.
This is excellent advice. It's easy to say that something negative might happen. But we need to press on and do the difficult work anyways. We will reap if we have sown.
Invest In Joy (7-10)
Ecclesiastes 11:7--10 (ESV) --- 7 Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. 8 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. 9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. 10 Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.
The third section tells us that we must be careful to rejoice in the good things we have in life. We must be sure not to become bitter or saddened by everything we don't have. Life is too short for that. Overall, life is a pleasant thing to enjoy. It is greater than death.
I heard someone say to ask people some interesting questions this week. They asked, "If I gave you a million dollars today, would you be happy? Would you wake up happy tomorrow?" The people responded yeah, I would be pretty happy about that. So he asked, "Would you say it would be hard to keep you from being happy?" They said, "Yeah, I would say that." Money can solve a lot of problems. I think I could overlook many bad things that might happen and still be happy with a million dollars in the bank. Then, he asked, "What if you could have the million dollars, but you won't be able to wake up tomorrow morning?" They all said they wouldn't want the money.
Isn't that interesting? To have the ability to wake up tomorrow was worth more than a million dollars. Yet, we struggle to be happy about waking up like we would be happy about all that money. We let little things ruin our day and fail to be grateful for our time on earth.
This is at the root of what Solomon says in this section. "Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun." Rejoice in your life. Rejoice in your youth. Life is fleeting, so take the time to adjust your attitude while you can. Choose to be happy about your blessings instead of constantly wishing you had something you cannot have.
Solomon encourages the young to walk in the ways of our hearts and the sight of our eyes without vexation or pain. He encourages us to live the best life we can live. However, he's not throwing God out of the picture. He's not encouraging reckless, sinful living. He wants us to remember that God will judge us based on our decisions. Enjoy life, but be wise in how you enjoy it. He encourages us not to be selfish and lose sight of the one who created us.
This idea is also found in the first verse of Chapter 12. He tells us again, "Remember your creator in the days of your youth." Then, again in verse 13 of Chapter 12. He says, "The end of the matter, all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." Our attitude toward life should be one of joy, but while we enjoy life, we must remember, revere, respect, and honor the one who gave it to us. Out of the gratitude in our hearts, we must serve him and keep his commandments.
The Evil Days
This concludes the book's main point, but let's see why he encourages us to invest in relationships, time, and joy.
Ecclesiastes 12:1--8 (ESV) --- 1 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”; 2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, 3 in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, 4 and the doors on the street are shut---when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low--- 5 they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets--- 6 before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, 7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 8 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.
Why do we need to invest in these things? Hard days are coming. He says, "The evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, 'I have no pleasure in them.'" If your life doesn't seem very good right now, it's important to recognize that it will probably worsen. One day you will look back on today and think, "Those were the days." Maybe our society will improve, and technology will bring great prosperity, but our bodies will wear out. We will not continue to live forever.
All of these pictures are fascinating. He speaks of different body parts going on. The keepers of the house are our hands and arms. The strong men are legs. The grinders are teeth. The dimmed windows are our eyes. The doors being shut indicates that you are shut in and cannot do business anymore. The sound of the grinding could have to do with hearing. You won't be able to sleep, and you will wake up too early when you fall asleep. You will be afraid of things you've never been afraid of. You will move like a grasshopper who can't jump. Your hair will go gray, and your desires will slow way down.
Ultimately, this section tells us that we will all die. Pictures of the cord snapping and the water spilling out depict death. He wants us to invest in what matters to have the most meaningful life possible because death is knocking at the door. We will all die at some point. We might as well cut to the chase and invest in what will bring us the best possible life.
Application
At the end of the day, what Solomon says is excellent advice. Investing in relationships, using our time wisely, and enjoying our lives are essential, but this advice falls short of what we learn in the New Testament.
Invest In God
Jesus tells us that we would do well to invest in heaven. Instead of giving to people who can one day benefit us, Jesus tells us to invest in God. Give what you have to the poor and receive those who will never be able to repay you.
Engage In Spiritual Things
Procrastinating rings true throughout the New Testament, but it's not about putting off work that you do for yourself. It's about doing the work that glorifies God. Don't let the spiritual work sit there unfinished. Do what needs to be done before it's too late and before you lose the opportunity to bear fruit for God.
Find Joy In God's Blessings
We can enjoy what God gives us in life, but we might do better to find joy in our relationship with God and invest in that. That's what Paul says.
Philippians 4:4--9 (ESV) --- 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me---practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
In this text, Paul gives us something else to focus on. He tells us to "rejoice in the Lord always." True joy and peace come from knowing the revealed truth about God and Jesus. It's great to have a positive attitude and a grateful heart for all the physical things you have in life, but it's even more important to rejoice over the great love God has demonstrated toward you. These spiritual blessings should overwhelm us at times. God has provided us with more than we could ever possibly deserve. Dwell on what is good and fill your mind with the good things in life. Think about whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise. Let these good things fill your mind and bring you joy. We are partakers of the heavenly blessings.
Conclusion
Nothing is stopping us from living the best possible lives we can live. Now that we know what that looks like, don't procrastinate. Please don't wait for a day when it looks like everything will line up perfectly. Live for God now, and don't wait until it's too late. We only get one chance at this. Let's make the most of it.