Be Ready
Ecclesiastes 11:1-6
October 31, 2021
After taking a week off for our annual Disciple Now,
This morning we return to our study of this book of Ecclesiastes.
And since we are in the second half of this book,
We are looking “The Noble Pursuit of Wisdom”.
That is what the preacher has been instructing us in.
And we have seen this wisdom in various ways.
We’ve seen the wisdom that can be gained through mourning and sorrow and even attending a funeral.
Ecclesiastes 7:2 “It is better to go to a house of mourning Than to go to a house of feasting, Because that is the end of every man, And the living takes it to heart.”
The preacher taught us that
There is wisdom in avoiding a party and attending a funeral
Because it is more likely to push us
To contemplate the realities of death and judgment.
We’ve seen the wisdom of pursuing righteousness even though righteousness doesn’t always bring an immediate and temporal reward.
The preacher told us
• Not to expect that righteousness will instantly make life easier,
• But also not to think that the wicked will get away with it.
A wise man holds to righteousness
But doesn’t allow suffering to push him toward wickedness.
Ecclesiastes 7:18 “It is good that you grasp one thing and also not let go of the other; for the one who fears God comes forth with both of them.”
That is a wise man acknowledges that righteous men can suffer,
But still holds to the fact that it is better than wickedness.
We’ve seen the wisdom of civil submission.
Ecclesiastes 8:2 “I say, “Keep the command of the king because of the oath before God.”
Ultimately reminding us that it is our fear of God that teaches us
To respect His authority even when we don’t understand it.
Ecclesiastes 8:12-13 “Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly. But it will not be well for the evil man and he will not lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God.”
We’ve seen the wisdom of contemplating death and thus learning to enjoy life and to prepare for eternity.
Ecclesiastes 9:12 “Moreover, man does not know his time: like fish caught in a treacherous net and birds trapped in a snare, so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them.”
So man should certainly live with the coming expectation of judgment.
We’ve seen the wisdom of showing respect because a humble response is more successful then a violent one.
Ecclesiastes 10:10-11 “If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success. If the serpent bites before being charmed, there is no profit for the charmer.”
That was a proverb reminding us to avoid being defensive and combative,
But to speak with honor and respect
If we want to have success with the king.
All of this is simply practical wisdom from the preacher
And all of these things certainly come with gospel implications.
A person who attends a funeral or accepts a rebuke
Is finding the type of humility needed to also respond well to God.
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
A person who learns to pursue righteousness
Is ultimately a man who will run to Christ who alone provides it.
Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
A person who learns to submit to civil authorities
Is ultimately learning the type of meekness needed to submit to Christ.
Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.”
A person who embraces the reality of death and judgment
Is ultimately a person who will seek for life beyond the grave.
Matthew 13:47-50 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. “So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
I just simply want to remind you this morning that
The truths we are learning here from the preacher in Ecclesiastes
Are not just temporal wisdoms designed to give you a more enjoyable life.
Rather, the wisdom he is imparting
Is the very wisdom which you will need
If you are going to respond properly to Christ and the kingdom of heaven.
If you can’t learn to embrace mourning and rebuke here,
• What will you do when Christ confronts your sin?
If you can’t learn to submit here,
• What will you do when Christ calls you to deny yourself?
If you can’t learn to humble yourself here,
• What will you do when Christ exposes your sin and demands repentance?
If you are unwilling to acknowledge the certainty of death now,
• What will you do when Christ calls you to lose this life that you may gain the next?
You see that all this wisdom that is given to us by the preacher
Is ultimately wisdom that prepares us for the gospel.
It is the type of instruction that teaches us
To put aside the foolishness of our flesh so that we might run to Christ.
Ecclesiastes is a great book for preparing us for the gospel.
It is important that you understand that so that we give the proper weight and seriousness to the preacher as he teaches us wisdom.
Well THIS MORNING his wisdom continues.
And as he has masterfully done throughout the book,
• The preacher on the surface gives us what may simply be seen as practical advice for living,
• But what is really wisdom to prepare you for salvation.
Some see it as practical advice about commerce.
• They see the reference to (1) “cast your bread on the surface of the waters” as a reference to shipping of goods across the ocean.
• I’m not sure that is his intent, but many have seen that as practical advice about commerce.
• Certainly people have read his advice to (2) “divide your portion to seven, or even to eight” as sound advice regarding diversification and preparation for the future.
Verses 3-6 follow practical admonitions regarding farming.
• The importance of diligent labor, avoiding procrastination, and even embracing a little uncertainty as you work.
You can see a lot of practical wisdom regarding life in these verses.
Yet, does anyone really believe that the preacher’s only objective here
Was to teach you better commerce or better farming practices?
Of course not!
JESUS gave plenty of farming parables as well,
And yet none of them actually had to do with farming.
The preacher’s objective
• Is more than to give you temporal advice, though his advice is sound.
• Is to impart to you the kind of wisdom that is needed to enter the kingdom of
heaven.
He is giving you parables so that you will
Take logical advice and apply it on a spiritual level.
And just so you can be thinking as we work our way through this text,
The point of his imparted wisdom this morning is that you BE READY.
And you already realize that those are two words which our Lord delivered frequently.
NOW TO GET STARTED
I want to make THE DIVISIONS in the text easy for you to see.
3 times in these 6 verses the preacher makes the same application, and it revolves around what you don’t know.
• (2) “…for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth.”
• (5) “…so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.”
• (6) “…for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.”
The divisions of the text align around what you and I do not know.
• We don’t know about misfortune.
• We don’t know the activity of God.
• We don’t know the potential for success.
We live life in the dark in all 3 of those areas.
So let’s listen to the wisdom of the preacher here and we’ll divide our text along those three areas of ignorance.
#1 YOU DON’T KNOW WHEN MISFORTUNE WILL COME, SO BE PREPARED
Ecclesiastes 11:1-2
These verses are not totally unfamiliar to us,
We actually hear them quoted from time to time and with various connotations.
If you are looking merely for the face-value wisdom in them,
There is a reference to how you manage your finances or your treasure.
Verse 2 clearly has to do with the idea of DIVERSIFICATION.
However even in an earthly wisdom mindset
There is a bit of confusion regarding what is meant in verse 1.
We read, “Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days.”
It is a rather cryptic statement.
• Some, as we said, have taken it as a reference to shipping and commerce.
• Namely that a man should be busy in exporting and importing goods.
But that is a problematic application because
• IF “cast your bread on the surface of the waters” is a reference to shipping,
• THEN it is hard to understand what is meant by “you will find it”.
To “cast your bread on the surface of the waters”
Is to most certainly lose your bread.
No one who ever tossed a piece of bread into a pond
Ever expected to get it back, let alone to eat it one day.
If you throw bread in the water, it’s quite likely that an animal will eat it, but even if they don’t, it’s going to be soggy and ruined and you’re never going to want to eat it.
So the statement here is actually somewhat absurd.
If you “cast your bread on the surface of the waters” then “you will find it after many days.”
Well that’s just dumb sounding.
How does that work?
I don’t think the reference here is to COMMERCE, for that is a logical business with a logical expectation.
I think the reference here is to BENEVOLENCE; to generosity.
• How many of you have ever given money to the poor and expected to get it back?
• How many of you ever gave a meal to a poor man and expected a return on it?
No one.
From a purely financial standpoint, giving your bread to the poor
Is as bad of an investment as throwing it into the water.
Yet, this is the wisdom of the preacher.
But there is very much some practical wisdom here.
Proverbs 19:17 “One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, And He will repay him for his good deed.”
Certainly the New Testament affirms this:
Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
The preacher says that this is wisdom.
But from a worldly perspective
Few things make as little sense as pure benevolence.
When the world gives they do it for the certain gain.
• They do it if they can reap tax benefits from it.
• They do it if they can reap social benefits from it.
I laughed recently at an article that exposed the Anheuser-Bush Beer company.
• In 2017 the beer company donated 2 millions cans of drinking water to help
hurricane victims. That’s good.
• They then ran around $40 million dollars worth of advertisements in the
Superbowl to tell people about it.
• https://www.mic.com/articles/187623/budweiser-spent-a-ton-of-money-on-a-super-bowl-ad-thats-all-about-its-charitable-efforts
The world is generous when there is profit to it.
But true wisdom understands that generosity is profitable
Not because of our earthly reward
But because God rewards generosity.
This is why Jesus said:
Matthew 6:2-4 “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. “But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”
Luke 14:12-14 “And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. “But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
And that idea is stretched further in verse 2
Where he goes on to say, “Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth.”
There again many take that verse as a mere text talking about
The importance of saving and diversification.
Sort of that “keep something for a rainy day”
And “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” mentality.
But be careful that you don’t allow your interpretation of one text
To contradict what is clearly taught in Scripture.
You cannot allow the preacher here to be at odds with Jesus
Who was adamant that we not store up treasures on earth.
Be careful that worldly logic doesn’t drive your interpretation of this text.
The New Testament certainly speaks of diversification,
But not in a way in which you might not expect.
1 Timothy 6:17-19 “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.”
And so it seems best again to follow along with the preacher
As though he is also referring to generosity here.
That would be to say that a man
Should not only be generous and benevolent to the poor,
But to seven or eight different poor people.
You should invest in several of the poor.
WHY?
“for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth.”
You don’t know when things may go bad for you
And when you will need the help of others.
Luke 16:1-9 “Now He was also saying to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was reported to him as squandering his possessions. “And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg. ‘I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.’ “And he summoned each one of his master’s debtors, and he began saying to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ “And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ “Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ “And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light. “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.”
Do you see what the manager did?
• He used benevolence as a means to secure his own future and Jesus praised him for it.
This is the practical wisdom that the preacher is giving here.
You don’t know what misfortune might be heading your way
SO BE PREPARED.
Don’t prepare in a worldly way, prepare in a wise way.
Don’t invest in stocks and bonds and other perishable commodities,
Invest in people and the poor and ultimately in God.
And ultimately the point is to BE READY FOR COMING MISFORTUNE
That is wisdom.
#2 YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT GOD IS DOING, BUT YOU DO KNOW WHAT YOUR JOB IS.
Ecclesiastes 11:3-5
The preacher leaves financial advice and moves TO FARMING ADVICE.
But again, we would be naïve to think that all he has in mind here is farming.
There is a practical wisdom to be gleaned from his instruction.
(3-4) “If the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it lies. He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap.”
There are two elements of nature that are discussed here.
• Clouds – which when they are full give rain.
• Wind – which when it blows might blow down a tree.
Now to a farmer both of those are realities that they pay attention to.
As I’ve told you before I meet for prayer and breakfast every Friday with 4 farmers.
I’ve heard the conversations:
• “I sure need a rain so I can plow”
• “I sure hope it doesn’t rain, I’ve got hay on the ground.”
• “That cotton sure needs a rain on it.”
• “I wish it would quit raining so I can get in my field.”
And the same is true for wind.
• “I need the wind to die down so I can spray some weeds”
• “A good wind would sure help dry things out”
THE POINT IS that farmers depend on rain and wind.
It can be welcomed or it can be unwelcomed.
And the threat of either can drastically change a farmer’s plans.
“It’s supposed to rain tonight” or “It’s supposed to blow tomorrow”
Are phrases that can drastically change a farmer’s plans.
But there is more to the point.
THE FARMER HAS NO CONTROL OVER EITHER.
That is what is meant by the statement
“wherever a tree falls, there it lies.”
The wind and the rain greatly dictate a farmer’s plans and
They have absolutely no control over whether it comes or not.
BUT HERE IS WISDOM:
(4) “He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap.”
Farmers will understand this.
Let’s say you need to cut hay.
Well you don’t want to cut hay and then have it get rained on.
But what if the farmer goes outside every morning and says, “I better not cut my hay because it might rain.” Well, he’s never going to do it.
What if he needs to spray weeds, but he goes out every morning and says, “I better not spray today because the wind might blow.”
Well, he’s never going to do it.
IN ONE SENSE certainly the point would be that
You can’t always wait for ideal conditions. That is true.
But there’s more here than that.
(5) “Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.”
• Things like wind and rain – that is God’s job.
• Things like plowing and sowing – that’s your job.
God has given you a job to do and you do it.
That’s how farmers operate.
If farmers waited for God to forecast for them the rain and the wind
They might not ever farm at all.
Instead, they have to operate in faith
That God is doing His job and they have to do their job
Even though they don’t know what God might or might not do.
THAT’S LIFE ISN’T IT?
There are things that God has commanded you to do,
But procrastinating or waiting on them
Because you don’t know God’s timetable is A FOOLISH GAMBLE.
We are talking here about the responsibility of man.
(Certainly we love to talk about the sovereignty of God, but don’t swing your pendulum so far that you lose sight of man’s responsibility)
Certainly God is at work to regenerate and awaken and draw and call and save and secure. We love to discuss His work of grace.
But that doesn’t negate the fact that man is also called
To seek, to repent, to trust, and to endure.
And you can never adopt this totally “Let go and Let God” Mentality without falling into disobedience.
Take evangelism for example.
(People often use this chapter to speak of evangelism)
• Can you save anyone? No, God has to do it.
• But what are the means through which God saves? You preach the gospel.
You have no idea who God is working on,
But you are still called to preach the gospel.
You don’t know what God is doing,
But you still have to be prepared to do your job.
But it is also so very true in regard to salvation.
God has commanded you to repent of your sin and trust in Jesus.
But so many wait because they aren’t sure if judgment is coming yet.
• Do you know when the clouds are going to let loose the flood?
• Do you know when the winds are going to topple your tree?
No, so BE READY
God promised to flood the earth but to save Noah.
What did Noah have to do? Build a boat
God sent Joseph to Egypt to save his brothers.
What did Joseph have to do? Ration grain
God sent Judah into Exile to lead to their purification.
What did Judah have to do? Repent
GOD WILL DO HIS JOB, BE SURE YOU DO YOURS.
Be prepared, be ready. That is wisdom.
#3 YOU DON’T KNOW WHEN PRODUCTIVITY WILL BE HIGHEST SO KEEP SOWING.
Ecclesiastes 11:6
Still on the analogy of a farmer,
You don’t know when the best time to sow will be.
• But if you are able to sow in the morning what should you do? Sow
• And if you are able to sow at evening what should you do? Sow
Why?
“you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.”
And certainly that’s fine advice for farming.
• We all know how the cotton farmers will sow at all hours when it is time to put the seed in the ground.
But again we are naïve to think that
The advice here is simply about better farming practices,
Just like we are naïve to think that verse 1 is about financial advice.
The point here is much like the previous ones.
Be ready and SEIZE YOUR OPPORTUNITY.
There are 3 problems that are actually addressed in this text.
1) Preparation – failing to prepare for coming misfortune.
2) Procrastination – not doing what you should when you should.
3) Idleness – failing to seize the opportunity before you.
Now you know and I know that we COULD MAKE some real practical points about WORLDLY SUCCESS here.
• We could talk about good financial practices and good work habits.
• We talk about the practical wisdom of diversification, hard work, and seizing
opportunities.
• And a good motivational speaker could tie all of those in to how you can live a
successful life on this earth.
BUT DON’T FALL INTO THAT TRAP.
The wisdom of the preacher
IS NOT A WISDOM that is concerned with your temporal comfort.
The wisdom of the preacher
IS A WISDOM that is preparing you to stand before God.
THESE ARE PARABLES TO APPLY TO SALVATION.
• Everyone knows not to put all their eggs in one basket.
• Everyone knows that the secret to success is work.
• Everyone knows that you have to seize your opportunities.
• Laziness and sloth will never pay off.
But what is true in a temporal sense is even more true in a spiritual one.
And this is where gospel wisdom is applied.
You can find wisdom here for the believer and the unbeliever.
FOR THE BELIEVER apply it to evangelism.
When you share the gospel, share it at all times and in all seasons.
• You don’t know when it will be effective.
• You don’t know when the soil will receive it.
2 Timothy 4:1-5 “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
We would also remind a believer to be generous and ready to share
And to store up for themselves a true treasure in eternity.
Luke 12:13-21 “Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. “And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.” ’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
It would be a horrible mistake to be a person
Who is rich in this world but not rich toward God.
It would be a horrible mistake
To have a bigger bank account on earth than in heaven.
James said:
James 5:1-6 “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you.”
There is a lot of application there.
• I realize that giving to the poor might feel like throwing your bread in the water, but never disregard the value of lending to God or of storing treasure in heaven.
• I realize that sharing the gospel can be discouraging and it may feel like nothing comes of it, but you don’t know what God is doing so do your part and keep sowing.
That would be very practical wisdom to the believer.
And yet, I would argue that the wisdom of the preacher here
Is meant even more FOR THE UNBELIEVER.
To tell the man to let go of this world
That he might take hold of that which is life indeed.
• That he would tell the sinful man to open his eyes to the fact that one day misfortune will come and he had better be ready for it.
• That he would tell the sinful man to not get distracted but to understand he is called to repent and trust in Christ.
• That he would tell the sinful man to not disregard his opportunity for salvation but to seize it.
The fact is that in this life there are things you and I don’t know.
• We don’t know when trouble may come.
• We don’t know what God is doing.
• We don’t know the length of our window of opportunity.
And that is true for eternity.
• A wise man prepares for the future.
• And while the world understands this financially or even in regard to farming.
• WE UNDERSTAND IT SPIRITUALLY
You must prepare for the future (ETERNITY).
The favorite words of Jesus were “Be ready”
Matthew 24:42-44 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.”
Luke 12:35-40 “Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. “Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. “Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. “Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. “You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”
• Are you ready for misfortune?
• Are you ready for the harvest?
• Are you preparing today for what will certainly come later?
This is wisdom.
Be ready.
