Cast Your Bread on the Waters (Ecclesiastes 11:1-6)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

You would take your Bibles now and open them

up to the book of Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11. We're gonna look at verses just one

through six today. And as you turn there, you're

probably going to see that we're getting towards

the end of this wonderful book of wisdom, but

we're not done. By no means. This is an important

passage for us as they all are and So would you

now give attention to the reading of God's word?

Ecclesiastes 11 1 through 6 Cast your bread upon

the waters For you will find it after many days

Give a portion to seven or even to eight. For

you know not what disaster may happen on earth.

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. 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. In the morning, sow your

seed. In an evening, withhold not your hand.

For you do not know which will prosper, this

or that, or whether both alike will be good.

This is God's Word. Let us pray and ask for his

help and understanding Father we do bless you

and we thank you for this word But Lord as many

of these verses and passages and chapters and

Ecclesiastes are they can be difficult And so

I ask you to open up our ears our hearts and

our minds to hear from you now Give us understanding

we pray for Christ's sake. Amen There was once

a Bible study that was going on in the student

lounge of a college dormitory There were two

students at the table. They both had their Bibles

open but there was a third Bible and There was

a third chair and it was open and the two students

motioned for another student to join them. Hey,

come on that student walked over sat down and

and looked down at the open Bible and he saw

Ecclesiastes chapter 11 verse 3, specifically

Ecclesiastes 11:3

the part about the tree that falls to the south

or to the north and the place where the tree

falls there it will lie. And the student immediately

knew upon reading that verse that he was the

fallen rotting tree just lying there on the ground.

And the student went back to his room, and he

pleaded with God for mercy, and God was merciful

to him. And the young student was converted that

night. He became a believer in Jesus Christ.

Friends, that student was the late R .C. Sproul,

who said that he's probably the only person in

all of history to be converted through Ecclesiastes

11 3. Indeed, I would imagine nobody within this

sanctuary has Ecclesiastes 11 .3 as their life

verse. But this shows the power of God's word.

It will not return void. If it were up to us,

truly up to us to convert people. Well, I would

at the very least take them down the Romans Road

not Ecclesiastes 11 3 actually if it were truly

up to me I would say Jesus you must perform a

miracle in front of this person right here and

right now to let them know that you are real

But that's not what God did in that situation

actually the normal means for God to change and

transform hearts is by his word And as this opening

illustrations shows, his entire word, his whole

counsel is used to convert hearts and to strengthen

faith. Only God could save someone through a

text like this about a fallen tree on the ground.

But as we look at this passage, we may wonder,

what is this all about? And so perhaps a theme

will help us, a summary statement. And so it

is this, since God's ways are higher than our

ways, we must learn to trust him and serve him

with all diligence. Let me show you what I mean.

Look at verses one and two. Cast your bread upon

the waters, it says. Are you imagining now a

loaf of bread floating down the river? What good

would that be? And so we need to figure out what's

going on here. There are a few different interpretations

of verses one and two. I'm going to share just

two interpretations with you now. Some believe

that casting your bread upon the waters has to

do with philanthropy, of almsgiving, of giving

to the poor. And as it says seven or eight, it's

saying be generous with your wealth. Be generous

in helping those in need. Indeed, I think we

would all agree with that. We should be generous

with what we have. But also it says that you

don't know when disaster may happen on the earth.

And so what some believe here is that this is

talking about casting your bread on the waters,

giving to the poor, because there may be a time

when you yourself will need to be the recipient

of somebody else's help. If that is the true

interpretation, it's very similar to the parable

of the shrewd manager. Do you remember that one

from Luke 16? There is a master who has a servant,

and the servant does the work for the master,

but the servant has been doing it dishonestly.

And when the master finds out what the manager

has been doing, he seeks to fire him. But knowing

that this is coming, the manager of the master's

money goes to the different clients. And he changes

their contracts. He changes what they owe. Because

he's thinking, if I show this kindness to them,

perhaps they'll show kindness. to me. Now there's

something commendable and there's something incommendable

about that passage. One, being dishonest and

wasting your master's possessions, that's not

good. But the part that is commended is looking

out for your future. And so perhaps that's what's

going on in Ecclesiastes 11, one through two.

Be generous with your wealth, help other people,

for you may need them to help you at some point

in the future. But the second possible interpretation

is that this is referring to international trade.

So the word that's used here in the ESV, the

word cast, it's very literally the word send.

Send your bread on the waters. And so what many

people believe about this passage is this is

saying send out your grain, send out your products,

buy ship, send them far away, dealing in trade

and business. and then you will receive a good

return. Now, this could be it. Indeed, I think

this is probably the correct interpretation.

The NIV has it very literally. It says ship your

grain across the sea. After many days, you may

receive a return. But there's something we should

understand if this is the correct interpretation.

This is actually risky business. Okay, they didn't

have Amazon Prime two -day shipping in those

days and so what this would be with Solomon or

whoever it would be putting their goods onto

a ship and sending it very far away and It could

be months It could be years before you get something

in return and along the way what might happen

to the ship it could it could be sunk right but

if you don't Go for it You don't receive a good

return Solomon indeed I believe was engaged in

this kind of thing because of first Kings in

that book it says that Solomon engaged in this

very kind of venture with his own fleet of Ships,

and so he knows what this is like and he also

knew that it was risky business Commentator Sidney

Gridanus says this was a risky business, especially

in those days The journeys were long and hazardous

and the owners had no idea how their ships or

goods were faring. Many shipwrecks dot the bottom

of the Mediterranean Sea. But friends, this is

not a message about sending your grain by ship.

I think we need to take this and apply it to

our spiritual lives. Philip Riken says the preacher

invites us to handle our spiritual business the

same way. What we invest in the kingdom of God,

our time, our talent, our treasure is never wasted.

God calls us to exercise our gifts for the good

of his kingdom. Now I've already mentioned one

parable. Here's another one for you that Jesus

tells. Do you remember the parable of the talents?

Within that parable there is a master who has

to go away for a time and he's got some servants

and he leaves them with money. The word talent

there is referring to a unit of money, of currency.

And so to one servant he gives five talents.

To another servant he gives two talents. And

to the third servant he gives just one. And as

I said, the master goes away, but he intends

to come back. And he intends for those servants

to do something with what he gives them. And

the first two do a good job with it. The first

servant is able to multiply the five talents.

And so he's able to present to the master 10

talents. He's doubled what he was given. The

second servant does the same. He multiplied his

two through wise investment. And so he's now

able to give back four to the master. Well, do

you remember what the third servant did with

his talent, with his money? He buried it in the

ground, didn't he? He buried it in the ground.

And Jesus speaks strongly within that parable

when he says, for to everyone who has will more

be given and he will have an abundance but from

the one who has not even what he has will be

taken away and cast the worthless servant into

the outer darkness in that place there will be

weeping and gnashing of teeth to our ears that

perhaps sounds like strong language but friends

it should because that third servant knew what

was expected of him And yet he was too afraid

to use what was given to him for good. He was

paralyzed by fear, not from love and obedience

toward his master. He knew what was expected

of him, and yet he did nothing to accomplish

it. Instead, he actually, within that parable,

blames his inaction on the master himself. And

he just hides that talent in the ground. Friends,

We should do something with our lives. We should

do something with that which God gives to us.

Perhaps it's helpful to think of our lives as

an investment. How much should you invest in

living for God? All of it. We should invest all

of ourselves in living for God. And so let me

ask you, how are you investing yourselves in

kingdom living and work? Friends, God expects

us to use our lives for his kingdom. When Jesus

returns, what will he find us doing? Whether

you go on a mission trip or whether you start

a Bible study or whether you get together with

somebody who just needs prayer. Whether you share

the gospel with somebody, every time you do that,

you are investing in the kingdom of God. Why

don't we though? Why don't we invest all of ourselves?

I think I know why. Because we're scared. We

are scared. We don't know. The outcome. We don't

know what's ahead. And we're scared because we

can't control all of the situations in which

we find ourselves. And that's where verses three

and four are going. Look there. It seems that

Solomon is not just a king, and not just a wise

man, but apparently also a meteorologist. Because

he's talking here about the wind, right? And

he paints this picture of a farmer looking up

in the sky, looking at the clouds, observing

the wind. The farmer here is endlessly assessing

situations. This farmer is always looking at

the weather channel. He's always reading the

farmer's almanac. This farmer is always at Home

Depot talking to his buddies about when is the

best time to plant. Friends, certainly there

is real wisdom in timing. Ecclesiastes 3 shows

us this. There's a time to plant and a time to

pluck up what is planted. But the one who never

plants because the conditions are not perfect

is the one who will never reap a harvest. And

the person who will never plant because the ideal

conditions are never good enough. This person

is doing what this passage is warning us against

he is afraid He is afraid that the situation

is not perfect for what he needs to do And I

think we act in this way because we just don't

know what's ahead And we can't control all things

a few years ago. I was in my backyard and I was

cutting some limbs from a tree I had these two

trees in the yard. I got more than that. But

this this one tree fell into another tree. And

so tree number two is holding up tree number

one. So I climbed up in tree number two with

my chainsaw, started cutting away the limbs.

So tree number one would continue following.

But at that moment, I looked up and I noticed

the sky was getting really dark. I mean, really

dark. And I thought I I got to get out of here.

So I hopped out of the tree I started walking

briskly with my chainsaw back to the house and

I heard this loud crash and I looked behind me

and it was like something out of just an intense

action movie as Tree number three gets struck

by lightning falls into tree number one and tree

number two And a year later, Helene came and

tree number four would fall on what was left

of tree one, two, and three. Friends, the whole

point of this is stay away from my backyard.

The second point of this is you don't have control

over some of these things, do you? You don't

have control over the wind. The lightning did

not consult with me first, did it? when we observe

these things and we're petrified by them, this

is us not trusting God. And the good news is

that when we don't know what's ahead, or we don't

have the control, we can trust in the one who

does know. and who does have the control. These

are God's incommunicable attributes, which I

know is a big phrase. Basically what it refers

to is God has some attributes like omniscience

and omnipotence and omnipresence and immutability,

sovereignty, that he does not share with us.

We don't have those attributes, but he does share

with us other attributes that he has, like the

ability to love. and have knowledge and wisdom

and to even speak, right? But there are things

that just belong to God and to God alone. And

this is actually good news for us because the

one with infinite knowledge is also the one with

infinite power. And friends, where the rubber

meets the road here is to recognize this world

is broken and yet we can't fix it all, can we?

That is the work of God. Indeed, that work has

already happened because Jesus has fixed it,

promises to make all things new, because Jesus

went to the cross to redeem people for himself

as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. When we

think about the things we can't know and can't

do, consider this, Jesus knew exactly what he

was getting into when he came to save us from

our sins. Philippians 2 says it best, he emptied

himself by taking the form of a servant, being

born in the likeness of men, and being found

in human form. He humbled himself by becoming

obedient to the point of death, even death on

a cross. Jesus knew exactly what he was getting

into for you and for me. So you see, this is

about trusting God. who can do what we cannot

do, and he knows the things that we cannot know.

And that's where verses five and six are going.

Look there. Just as we don't know the way of

the wind or how the bones form in the womb, we

cannot fully grasp the work of God. Now, being

that scripture uses the same word for spirit

and for wind, it's a little bit difficult to

discern exactly what verse five is talking about.

However, consider it could be talking about both

here. As it talks about the wind, it may also

be talking about the work of the spirit, but

consider also what it says about the bones in

the womb of a woman with child. Have you really

truly reflected on just how amazing it is that

children are born? A few years ago, when Brittany

was pregnant with Hazel, a good friend of mine

texted me and he said, your daughter, is the

size of a kumquat right now. We can know the

stages of development within a child in the womb,

but how does it really work? I don't know, and

I'm married to a neonatologist. Friends, this

is the work of God, isn't it? It really is. And

as you look at verse five and you see this thing

about the wind and all, actually I believe that

what's happening here is actually gonna be picked

up later on by Jesus himself. Do you remember

Jesus talking with Nicodemus in John three? Nicodemus

asks, how can a man be born again when he's old?

And Jesus says this, which again I think sounds

a good deal like Ecclesiastes 11 .5, the wind

blows where it wishes and you hear it sound,

but you do not know where it comes from or where

it goes. So it is with everyone who's born of

the spirit. And so Jesus does the same thing.

He uses the word for wind to teach us about the

work of the Holy Spirit. And friends, talk about

something we cannot do. We cannot save ourselves.

We cannot regenerate ourselves. The Spirit works

faith into our hearts just as God gives us the

physical birth, and we don't have anything to

do with that. You cannot make yourself be born.

You also cannot make yourself be reborn. It is

the work of God. And Ecclesiastes 11 .5 highlights

the work of God. Look there at the end of the

verse. You do not know the work of God who makes

everything. The word that's used there in the

Hebrew for make is also the same as the word

for do. And the point is this, God knows and

does what we cannot. Namely, He saves us when

we were dead in our trespasses. But friends,

sometimes we think we bring a lot to the table.

Sometimes we think that we're more powerful and

more intelligent than we really are. And when

we start to behave like that, we need to put

ourselves in the sandals of Job. Do you remember

towards the end of the book of Job when God finally

speaks and he starts asking questions of Job?

He says to Job, where were you when I laid the

foundations of the earth? It's a rhetorical question,

but the implied answer is, I wasn't created.

Have you commanded the morning since your days

began and caused the dawn to know its place?

No, can't say that I have. Where is the way to

the dwelling of light, Job? I don't know. Job,

have you entered into the springs of the sea

or walked in the recesses of the deep? Have you,

Job? No. Can you lead a constellation, Job? No.

Can you send forth lightning, Job? No. Then answer

me this, who are you to contend with the Almighty?

Friends, when we start acting like we know everything

about God, when we start behaving like we have

more power than we really have, friends, this

is not strength. This is not intelligence. This

is foolishness. God's ways are higher than ours.

And because God's ways are higher, verse six

gives us our course of action. Look there as

I begin to close. It says, so in the morning

and in the evening, for you don't know which

will succeed by God's providence. And just because

we don't know all things and we can't do all

things, does that mean we just give up working

and serving God? Of course not. That's actually

what Solomon here is saying not to do. But some

of us live so paralyzed by the fear of failure

that we wait for the perfect ideal conditions

before we'll serve somebody else. Before we'll

trust God to do what he has called us to do.

Before we'll share our faith or use any of our

gifts. But friends, when we behave like that,

when we're always looking for the perfect moment,

it'll never come. Let's say that you work with

somebody and they need to know the gospel. And

you say to yourself, I'm gonna share the gospel

with them, but I gotta wait for the right day.

Friends, if that's your mentality, it's always

gonna be a little bit too rainy. a little too

windy, a little too overcast. You're not gonna

feel it. And then one day that coworker will

up and leave the department. The coworker may

leave the company. The coworker may leave this

life. Friends, God does not give us spiritual

gifts to be hidden. And he does not call us to

a task without ordaining. the outcome. He is

the one who saves. Our part is to be obedient

to share the gospel and trust him with the result.

Christian, do not be paralyzed by the unknown.

Recall Ecclesiastes 11 3 and the student who

was converted through it. Proof that God's word

accomplishes its purposes. Let us be faithful

then. to cast our bread on the waters, trusting

God even when we cannot see the outcome, and

leaving the results to Him. Amen.