Ecclesiastes 11:1-6

Please turn back in your Bibles to Ecclesiastes 11, page 559 if you've closed your Bibles.

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To us in the experience of our lives and the realities that we face, we ask that you would

do this for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Well, we're all in search of a good life.

That's what we want.

That's what those of you that are younger and are looking ahead and thinking about universities

and futures and careers, really the goal is a good life.

You want to live well in the world.

That's what politicians are always promising us.

They say, if you vote for me, we will give you a good life.

We will deliver the sorts of things that will give your life the sort of meaning and purpose

and joy that you want.

That's what Rachel Reeves thinks that this budget will deliver for British people.

That's what Donald Trump ran on the promise of as he was elected this past week.

He actually didn't just want to deliver the good life for American people, but the great

life.

We're told that a vote for him was a vote for a healthier, wealthier, safer America.

And people voted for him because that's what they want.

That is the great human quest, a life that goes well, a life that has purpose and that is

imbued with joy and satisfaction, a life of flourishing.

At one level or another, all of us make the choices we do, make the decisions that we do,

because that's what we want.

That's what we're searching for in this life.

And Solomon has told us from the start of this really rather enigmatic book that he is just

like us.

Ecclesiastes chapter 2 verse 3,

Ecclesiastes 2:3

I searched with my heart till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under

heaven during the few days of their life.

I'm searching for the good life, he's saying.

And we've seen he has searched and searched and searched.

He's tried everything, he's told us.

We've seen he looked, first of all, at the cycle of life.

He thought maybe wisdom is the way to go, and so he searched out wisdom.

And he's given himself to pleasure and wealth and hard work, and he has explored then whether

honor and respect will deliver the joy and significance that he is seeking.

He said, these things are the things that people tell us will deliver the good life.

I am going to road test every single one of them.

He's turned every stone that there is to turn, and we've seen that his conclusion has been

consistent the whole way through.

It's all vanity.

All of it.

It's all vapor.

That's what the word translated vanity, meaningless in some translations.

It's vapor, foggy vapor.

He's saying there's nothing there.

And the more that you grasp after it, the more you realize how thin the mist actually is.

You know, sometimes when you get a heavy fog, you don't maybe get it so much in the city,

anymore, but when you get a really heavy fog, and they call it a real pea super, because

you can't see, and you feel like in a really heavy fog, almost like you could lean against

it and it would hold you up.

Well, what he's saying here, what Solomon is saying is that there is a mist.

It doesn't hold you up.

In fact, when you grasp after it, it is handfuls of vapor.

It is fistfuls of nothing.

And yet, there's been a drumbeat, hasn't there, the whole way through the letter that gives

us hope that the search for the good life is not a vain search.

Play on words.

Chapter 2, verse 24, there is nothing better, he says, for a person than he should eat and

drink and find enjoyment in his toil.

Chapter 5, 18, behold, what I have seen to be good, okay, we're listening, good and fitting,

is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun

the few days of his life that God has given him.

8, 15, and I commend joy, for man has no good thing under the sun but to eat and drink and

be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has

given him under the sun.

9, verse 9, enjoy life with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life that

he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at

which you toil under the sun.

What is the good life, Solomon?

Eat your food, drink your wine, and enjoy them.

See, when you know, as the Christian does, that God is in complete control of absolutely

everything in the world, that you have what you have because he has given it to you, that

you don't have what you don't have because he has kept it from you, well, you can receive

the gifts that he gives and you can say thank you and you can enjoy them.

Gratitude and trust.

Gratitude and trust.

They are the two, they are the touchstone, you could say, of the whole Christian faith.

Gratitude for what you have and trust God for what you don't have.

Gratitude for the things that you enjoy and trust God for the things that are difficult

and a struggle.

Now, our temptation, of course, is to grasp, is to grasp after these things, to do that

thing of trying to grab the things that Solomon has told us are vapor.

We want to gain in some way.

We want to advance ourselves.

Use these things in order to secure our position.

Make us the center of things.

We go after these things hoping that they will be the means by which we can control our lives

and we can deliver happiness.

But that's not the life of faith.

It's all a gift.

And we are to receive what we have as such.

And we're to be thankful.

But you'll notice, you'll notice as we've gone through that it's not just eating and drinking

that Solomon wants us to enjoy, but also something he calls toil.

Each of those exhortations that I read for you that kind of are these little sound bites

at different points as we go through the book, each one of those includes a call to enjoy our toil,

our labor.

Indeed, that is part of the programmatic verse I mentioned from chapter 2, verse 3.

I searched with my heart till I could see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven

during the few days of their life.

And Solomon hasn't really expanded on what that to do means,

of what the toil actually is,

until Ecclesiastes chapter 11, 1 to 6.

Ecclesiastes 11 · chapter mention

See, he's bringing the plane into land.

And as his descent towards the conclusion of this book comes around,

he tells us what the good of our toil should be.

And it's a summary of how we are to live the good life.

You could say it's a practical summary of the life of faith.

And there are two elements.

Point number one, he tells us,

admit what you don't know.

Admit what you don't know.

Did you notice 11, 1 to 6, Solomon repeats that phrase.

Verse 2, you know not.

Verse 5, you do not know.

You do not know.

And again, verse 6, you do not know.

There is so much about this life of which we are ignorant.

Think about how limited our knowledge is,

how little we know of ourselves,

how little we know of other people.

All the things we are ignorant about,

how ignorant we are of the deep state,

of God Himself.

There are so many questions that we could ask one another.

And the honest answer is,

I don't know.

But how often are we prepared to do that?

We don't like doing that.

We don't like recognizing

that there are limits to our knowledge.

Now, of course, if I was to ask you the question,

do you know everything there is to know in the world,

you would say, no, of course I don't.

But then I ask you another question,

and you don't know,

but you give an opinion.

Because it's really important

that you're seen to have an opinion.

But recognizing these limits

is a vital part of true wisdom.

That's what Solomon is saying.

But 25 years ago,

I knew a guy, and his name was Dave.

But in our group of friends,

he was known as,

I know.

In fact, back when I used to put

people's nicknames in my phone,

and when I put somebody's name in my phone,

I put their nickname in,

it came up, I know.

Anytime anyone commented

on something in conversation,

they might have seen,

they might have heard,

quite apart from whether Dave was around or not,

his response was always,

I know.

Or, I thought that.

You say, I see they're closing the road

for maintenance next week.

I know.

It became a running joke.

In fact, we would invent things

to get him just to say it.

Scandalous things made up

about celebrities,

politicians, famous people.

Did you see such and such

has turned into a frog?

I know.

I saw that.

The truth is,

we can all be a bit like that

in our own ways.

We don't want to admit

that we have limits

to our understanding

and our knowledge.

And Solomon is clear here

that whatever we do know,

there are some things

that are simply beyond us.

There are some things

that you can't know yourself

and you can't Google

to find the answer.

And he highlights

three very obvious areas.

Verse 2,

first of all,

we are ignorant about the future.

Give a portion to seven

or even to eight,

for you know not

what disaster may happen

on the earth.

Now, we'll see in a minute

he's talking about generosity here,

and the reason

that we should be generous people,

he's saying,

is because we don't actually know

what lies in the future.

Those poor people in Spain

last week,

their diaries were filled with plans.

And those plans were washed away,

literally,

in the floods.

You could leave here this evening

and get home

and get into bed

as you expect to do,

and I hope that does happen,

or you could leave here,

you could drop down

with a heart attack,

or you could be crossing the road

and one of those maniacs

on an electric scooter

could take you out.

It could be the end of your life.

You could be,

the rest of your life

could be significantly different

than you'd hoped.

You don't know.

All those things

that are in your diary,

will you get to attend

those meetings?

Will you get to go

on those holidays?

Will you get to make that call

or see that person for lunch?

You don't know.

We're ignorant about the future.

Solomon also says

we're ignorant about the work of God.

Verse 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.

We know that life begins

at conception.

We know that a baby

is formed in their mother's womb.

We know that cells divide

to form a hand over here

and an eye over here.

But we don't know

how life is created.

We don't know

how these things happen.

There are some things

that only God,

the maker of everything,

knows.

This was his point

when he spoke

to Job from the storm.

Job 38,

Have you comprehended

the expanse of the earth?

Asking it in a way

as if to say,

Well, of course you haven't.

I'm the only one

that's done that.

Where is the way

to the dwelling of light

and where is the place

of darkness?

Only God knows those things.

I often hear people

say things like,

Well, I believe God

will do this

or I believe God

will do that.

We've no idea.

One of the big themes

about the book of Ecclesiastes

is some of what we were hearing

this morning

from Acts chapter 4.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

God is in complete

sovereign control

of absolutely

every single detail

of the world

and we don't know

why he works things out

the way he does.

We've no idea.

Thirdly,

we're ignorant

about the outcome

of our work.

Solomon tells us,

Verse 6,

Work hard, we're told.

Get the grades, we're told.

Then you'll get the job,

the good job that you'd like.

Put the work in,

in the good job,

and then you'll be set.

That's what we're told.

You'll be set.

Will you?

Will you?

You don't know.

And just because it worked

that way for other people

is neither here nor there.

We all know people

who followed the right advice,

did all the right things,

and failed.

I remember talking

to an investor

who wasn't a Christian,

but he understood this.

He'd been investing

for many years

and he said to me,

I don't know why

some businesses I've backed

have flown

and why others have flopped.

I used the same criteria

to decide.

I only invest

where I like the people,

where the books were good,

and where the product

seemed like a good product.

But one does well

and the other fails.

He said,

it's a mystery.

That is the wisdom

of Ecclesiastes 11.

Our pursuit,

in our pursuit

of the good life,

wisdom requires us

to admit what we don't know.

It doesn't mean,

of course,

that we pursue ignorance.

We're not trying

to be stupid

or that we consider

not knowing.

Like,

some people,

I think,

maybe some Christians,

think that ignorance

is a virtue in some way.

They can spiritualize it.

Solomon is not saying

that it is godly

to be ignorant.

Of course he's not.

We should pursue knowledge

and we should especially

pursue knowledge of God.

We should pursue

the knowledge of God,

which is a knowledge

that we will never

fully exhaust,

but we should do it

so that we know

His ways better.

But there will always

be a white spot

on the map

when it comes

to our understanding

of God's providence.

Admit what we don't know.

But while we do that,

while we admit our limits,

Solomon doesn't want us

just to sit on our hands.

There is a positive toil

that he wants us

to lean into

and to enjoy as well.

So here's the second point.

Act on what you do know.

Act on what you do know.

Solomon has told us

that God is in complete

sovereign control

over every detail of life.

He has repeatedly told us

that we must live by faith

in this reality

if we will experience

the joy that he keeps

talking about.

The question is,

what does a life of faith

actually look like?

What does it involve?

Well, again,

we have three commitments.

Verses 1 and 2,

first of all,

he commends to us

risky generosity.

Risky generosity.

Cast your bread

upon the waters

for you will find it

after many days.

Give a portion to seven

or even to eight.

Casting your bread

on the water

sounds to me

like quite a strange idiom.

Conjures up images

in my mind

of feeding ducks

in the park,

throwing them some moldy crusts

and watching them go soggy.

So it's a bit strange.

But what he's doing here

is actually describing

giving to other people

and giving probably

to those who are in need

in some way.

And he's saying,

do that with great generosity.

The number seven,

you will know,

is the biblical number

of perfection.

And he's saying

that you should even

go beyond that.

He's kind of using hyperbole.

Don't just go as far

as you can.

Go even further.

He's saying,

go to eight.

It's a call

to take risks

as you invest

in other people.

It is a call

to relinquish

selfish control

of your own life

and your own possessions.

He is saying

the Christian

is to live

their life

with open hands.

Be generous

with what you have.

Remember,

it's gift,

not gain.

Now,

one of the interesting

things about this

is that he doesn't just say,

go and be really,

really generous.

Do you notice?

Cast your bread

upon the waters

for you will find it

after many days.

See,

part of the reason

that we live

with open hands

is because

the casting

brings a return.

Cast your bread

for you will find it.

The Christian knows

that to give to others,

especially the needy,

is actually

to give

to the Lord.

Proverbs 19,

whoever is generous

to the poor

lends to Yahweh,

lends to God,

and he will repay him

for his deed.

One commentator

says this,

Solomon is issuing

a call to be

boldly generous

and lavishly good

to our neighbors.

This is the epitome

of wisdom,

even though it looks

like a losing proposition.

Wisdom does not

walk by faith,

but by sight.

See what he's done there?

That's the key

to any generosity,

you see.

Do we trust God

to keep his word?

We could hear this

sort of thing,

you know,

give to the poor

and you will find it again

after many days.

You know,

if I give a bit over here,

well,

I might get a bit more

back over here.

There are certain theologies

that would espouse

that kind of nonsense.

we're not trying

to make our generosity

come back to us

because that's not

being generous.

Nor is it the life

of faith.

It's the life

of seeking to control

God in some way

which when we put it

like that actually

sounds like a life

of folly,

doesn't it?

I am going to seek

to pursue controlling God.

That is the absolute

epitome of madness.

What he's saying here is

we are to be generous

in a way that feels risky

but it is surrendered

to the will

and providence of God.

Isn't that what Jesus said

in Luke chapter 6?

Luke 6 · chapter mention

Luke 6, 35,

Do good and lend

expecting nothing in return

and your reward

will be great

and you will be sons

of the Most High

for He is kind

to the ungrateful

and the evil.

Verse 38,

Luke 6, 38,

Give and it will be given

to you good measure

pressed down,

shaken together,

running over

will be put into your lap

for the measure you use

it will be measured

back to you.

Those who are generous

without any desire

to gain themselves

end up gaining

because that's the way

the upside down nature

of the kingdom of God.

Same principle

of the Apostle Paul

in 2 Corinthians 9,

Whoever sows sparingly

will also reap sparingly

and whoever sows bountifully

will also reap bountifully.

Each one must give

as he has decided

in his heart

not reluctantly

or under compulsion

for God loves

a cheerful giver.

Be generous

and do it with a smile

on your face

he's saying.

Risky,

and the only way

that's possible,

risky generosity

is only possible

if it is kind of

coming out

of a confident faith.

Faith that God

is in complete control

of our lives,

that we have

what we have

and we don't have

what we don't

because of him.

And it's a faith

that he will keep

his promise

to provide

and return

our generosity

with blessing.

So what are you doing

to be generous

to others,

especially those

who are in need?

One of the things

I think we often do

is we think to ourselves,

well,

I think if,

I know I need

to be generous

and I'm really keen

to do that,

but I think it would

be better

if I waited

until I was

in a better place

financially

in order to be generous

then, you know,

when I get to that point

then, well,

I'll have that much

in the bank

and then I'll be able

to do it.

Now, each of us,

of course,

must give according

to our means

and according

to our conscience,

but we are supplied

by God's abundance.

So what we're really

talking about here

is faith.

It is trusting God

that we can be

generous with

whatever we have,

however much it is,

however much

or however little,

we can be generous

with that,

trusting that God

will supply.

You can be generous,

you can even be

extravagant

in your generosity

because you know

that God is faithful

and He has been

abundantly generous

to you.

We heard this morning

about being bold

and not giving way

to fear

as it comes

to living out

our Christian life

and speaking boldly

about the Lord Jesus.

That principle

applies here as well.

We should be bold

in our faith

in trusting God

as we are generous.

His word calls us

to do that

that He will supply.

Risky generosity.

Secondly,

Solomon calls us

to a realistic busyness.

Verses 3 and 4,

a realistic busyness.

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.

He who observes

the wind will not sow

and he who regards

the clouds

will not reap.

There are some things

that are predictable

in life,

like when the clouds

come in,

we can assume

that rain will follow

and there are some things

that are unpredictable

like when and where

a tree will fall

in the forest.

And Solomon is saying

that's how it is

in the world.

We've got to be realistic

about that.

And that should change

nothing about

how hard we work.

I had a quick visit

to Belfast this week

and when we came in

to land in Belfast,

it was grey and wet

and the person

on the front said,

you know,

welcome to Belfast.

Well, I'm afraid

that the rain

has arrived

just ahead of us.

Of course it has.

It's Northern Ireland.

What did he expect?

It's not the Bahamas.

It's grey and wet

all the time

in Northern Ireland.

And yet,

the country is full of people

who still fire

into their work

every day regardless.

Solomon's saying,

don't look out the window

and say,

well, it looks like rain today.

I don't think I'm going to work.

Oh, it's a bit bluey.

We can't work today.

He's saying,

work hard.

Be busy in the things

that God has given you to do.

That includes the generosity

that Solomon has just mentioned

because another thing

that Solomon is getting at here

with this kind of

looking at the wind

and, you know,

holding back

from actually getting stuck

into your work

because you're looking

at the weather

and wondering,

will it work out

and everything else?

He's saying,

look,

don't be anxious

about that

when it comes

to generosity either.

Remember,

don't fear

that you're going

to be left short

in some way.

Get on with being generous

as well as everything else.

He's saying,

waiting for the point

at which you can read

the way the wind is blowing

and therefore can then

live without risks

or,

to put it another way,

to live without

having to trust God

because that's the opposite,

isn't it,

of the life of faith.

He's saying,

that's not the call

for the Christian.

Get after what it is

that you're supposed to do,

whatever the weather.

Metaphorically

and actually.

If you're waiting

for a fair wind

in your life

and whatever kind of

call the Lord

has put on your life,

if you're waiting for that,

you'll never get anything done.

Some days,

we've got to go

and graft in the rain

and push against the wind

and some days,

it is a bit easier.

But he's saying,

look,

you've got to be realistic.

This is the world

we live in.

Let's get busy anyway

about the things

that God has given us to do.

The third element

of enjoyable toil.

First is risky generosity.

The second is realistic busyness.

And the third,

he says,

reasonable diversity.

Five to six.

Reasonable diversity.

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.

Sowing seed,

on the one hand,

withholding not your hand.

Those are two different

pursuits actually.

One is this,

the other is that.

Solomon is making that clear.

So what he's really saying here

is you think about your life,

as you think about

the things that you

throw yourself into,

don't put all your eggs

into the one basket.

We might call it

pursuing a diverse portfolio.

Not necessarily just

financial investments,

but just develop a side hustle

in your work.

Seek to find ways

to be productive.

Work hard.

You don't know

what might come of it.

You don't know

what God might do

with your efforts.

There are lots of good things

that you could

throw yourself into.

Now, of course,

those things have to

kind of take their place

among the priorities

that you have,

the commitments

that you have.

But he's saying,

get after it.

What he's doing,

actually,

is pressing us

to do the very opposite

of what we might think

or what we might be

tempted to think

in this world of Hevel,

this world of vapor.

See, you might think,

if everything is vapor,

well, there's no point

working hard.

But what he's saying here

is actually,

vapor is a motivation.

It's kind of counterintuitive.

Our ignorance

and lack of control

that he's just emphasized,

alongside the possibility

of disaster,

verse 2,

you do not know

what disaster may happen

on the earth.

So, these are a couple

of really significant realities.

We don't know loads of stuff.

We don't have any control

over the world

in which we live.

Disasters do happen

in this world,

and we might be tempted

to think to ourselves,

you know what,

I'm going to lock the doors,

I'm going to stay at home,

I'm going to try and just

be as safe as I possibly can.

And he's saying,

no, the opposite is true.

Get after it,

work hard,

hustle,

give generously,

and serve others,

and trust all the while

the outcome to God.

That's the good life.

That is,

Solomon's words,

what is good

for the children of man

to do under heaven

the few days of our lives.

Admit what you don't know,

and act on what you do

with a generosity

and a busyness

that is all the time

submitted to God,

trusting the outcome

to him.

The question we have is,

well, does this actually work?

Can we actually really

call this the good life?

You see, it's a vision

of life that's quite different

from what we're given

in other places, isn't it?

Our culture wouldn't call

that the good life.

So we need to define

what we mean by the good life,

because the truth

of the matter is,

this was the life

that was embodied

by the Lord Jesus.

The one who is the way,

the truth,

and the life.

The Lord Jesus lived

a life of absolute generosity,

giving, giving,

and giving again,

trusting his Father

with the outcome.

In his humanity,

Jesus was subject

to the vapor of this life

just as we are.

In his humanity,

he didn't know exactly

how every twist and turn

of his story

was going to work out,

but he pressed on.

Remember,

he wrestled with his Father

in the Garden of Gethsemane.

In that moment,

he was anxious about,

you could say,

casting his bread

upon the waters.

In this case,

that bread was his body,

the bread of life.

But he gave it over,

not my will,

but yours be done.

He gave it over

as he surrendered

to the cross,

and in doing so,

he purchased life

for the world.

How did it go for him

and then,

after that,

well,

three days later,

he was vindicated

as the Father

raised him from the dead

and ushered him in

to resurrection life.

Solomon's wisdom

was embodied

in the Lord Jesus Christ.

So,

it's not just wise advice

for us,

but it has been confirmed

as the path

that actually brings life

that is truly life.

It's the path

to resurrection glory.

So,

that is why

when Jesus tells us

to take up our cross

and follow him,

to embrace

the generous pattern

of life,

the pattern of my life

for yours,

which is essentially

the banner

over all of this,

that's the way of toil

in Ecclesiastes 11.

When he calls us

to do that,

we should lean in.

We should trust him.

We should live by faith

because we know

that actually,

in the end,

the return is worth it.

See,

that's where this

all lands for us.

In the end,

when we embrace

this pattern of life,

when we say,

I don't know this,

but I'm trusting you,

and when we say,

I'm going to lean in

to what you've called me

to do in a pattern

of generous service,

we're following

the example

of the Lord Jesus,

but we do that

confidently,

full of faith,

because we know

that is the path

to resurrection glory.

That's the path

of life.

That's the good life.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.