Be Bold and Rejoice (Ecclesiastes 11:1-10) 06.14.26
Sermon Manuscript
Ecclesiastes 11:1-10 Be Bold and Rejoice
Intro:
Throughout this series we have talked on many topics found within the book of Ecclesiastes. Clark started the series by diving into what could be considered the problem of the book, the cancer that has infected all creation, futility. Futility means that everything under the son (in creation) has the timer on it, it is all fleeting and will one day pass away. This was a direct result of the curse from Genesis 3, and it invaded all of life. Our relationships, our work, our contentment… And what we have seen in the weeks since then, is that futility can subtly seep into our hopes as well.
We hope in money, marriage, success, prestige, pleasure, and countless other things that over promise and under deliver. Really, anything that gives us an illusion of control can become a pseudo-savior. But Qohelet, the author of Ecclesiastes, relentlessly tears down these false savior we create until we are forced to face the truth about life of under the sun: that the only thing certain in life is death.
The Problem:
This uncertainty and powerlessness we all face is probably best summarized in Ecclesiastes 9:11-12 “11 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. 12 For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.”
This is what Ecclesiastes faces us with, the uncertainty of life’s outcomes even when we play by life’s rules. In fact, the only certainty we have is that one day everything in this life will be taken from us. We cannot control outcomes. We cannot know the future. We cannot guarantee success. And we can't escape death, no matter how many distractions we find along the way. So how are we supposed to live a life where nothing is certain except that it will end? ?
The aim of Ecclesiastes chapter 11 is answering that question, and what it teaches is that even though we don’t know what tomorrow will bring, we do know whose hand tomorrow is in. And because of that, we are free to boldly pursue life’s opportunities, and freely enjoy God's gifts. How are we to live in face of life’s uncertainties? Boldly pursue life’s opportunities and rejoice in God’s gifts. These will be our two points today: Pursue Life's Opportunities and Rejoicing in God's Gifts.
Outline - - - Point 1: Boldly Seize Life’s Opportunities. Point 2: Rejoice in God’s Gifts
Point 1: Seize Life’s Opportunities
Ecclesiastes 11 wants to make the problem we all face crystal clear by repeating it 4x in the first 6 verses, and problem that we face is “we don’t know.” We don’t know when or what disasters will happen, we don’t know how God grants life in the womb or how He is working in a situation, and we don’t know what ventures will be successful and which ones will succeed. But Qohelet won’t let this reality become an excuse to let life pass us by.
The first two things Qohelet teaches is that we need to act despite the risk, yet do it wisely. We see this in verse 1-2:
"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.
Casting your bread upon the waters doesn’t mean feeding the ducks like it does here in Florida. It either meant generously giving to some charitable means, or it meant risking your investment by sending it overseas. The latter interpretation is how the NIV translates it.
I tend to agree with the NIV here, but whichever way you interpret it, Qohelet is calling his readers to action despite the unknown. When you give generously towards the church or your neighbor, you never know what your return will be. It’s risky. To send grain overseas was a risky venture, there was no radar or local Jerusalem forecast team. Yet, Qohelet says do it anyway. Life offers opportunity, and Qohelet is encouraging us to boldly pursue it. Give generously when and where you can, and pursue life’s opportunities.
But… do it wisely, this is Qohelet’s second point.
Qohelelt is teaching us that acting boldly is not acting recklessly. Whether we see it as give a portion to 7-8 or investing in 7-8 ventures the general principal is the same. Diversify and account for the risk in the world. In fact, the call to diversify your giving is a recognition of the uncertainty we face, and wisely planning for it. Qohelet won’t allow us to be cowards too afraid to act, but he doesn’t allow us to be reckless either. He is calling us to courage, the virtue found between the vices.
Third, verse 3-4 teaches us not to be immobilized by analysis paralysis.
“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.”
This is such a fitting thing to say right after telling us to be wise with our risk taking, isn’t it? Aren’t we tempted to just run the numbers all day, projecting and calculating in the name of wisdom until the day is gone and the opportunity passes. Qohelet is showing that there is always going to be inevitability and randomness in the world. Where the tree falls it will lay. But we can’t be like the farmers just pondering the weather without ever planting the vineyard. Don’t abuse the practice of wisdom for the sake of idleness. The perfect situation will never come, act wisely while you can.
Lastly, in verses 5-6 Qohelet tells us why we can live this way.
“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, 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.
Though we don’t know how God works, we know that He is working, so we keep going. Verse 5 reminds us that we don’t understand how God operates. We don't know how God bestows life, and we don’t know exactly how His providence is working in creation. But we do know this, God is granting life and God is working. We might not know the what, but we know the Who. We know whose hand those outcomes rest in. He has promised to be for us and not against us, and this side of the cross as Paul says in Romans 8:28 “28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[ have been called according to his purpose.” - Because all think for our good, this is why Christians can be the boldest of people.
The boldness Ecclesiastes calls us to can take a limitless number of directions in life. That's how wisdom works. It applies to careers, education, ministry, and family decisions. But I want to focus on one area where Christians are especially tempted to retreat because of uncertainty, and that is investing in people.
People are perhaps the clearest example of what Ecclesiastes has been teaching us all along: we cannot control outcomes. We can make wise decisions, we can act faithfully, we can love sacrificially, and still not get the response we hoped for. Any parents of toddlers in the room… ? In many ways, investing in people is riskier than investing money because people can wound us in ways money never can.
Many of us know exactly what that feels like. Personal betrayals, broken friendships, strained family relationships, and rejected efforts to help others can leave scars that linger for years. Those scars remind us of our vulnerability and can tempt us to protect ourselves rather than pour ourselves out for others. C.S. Lewis captures this reality well in The Four Loves:
- “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”
I want to recognize the risk that this call to vulnerable love and investing in people brings. Inviting someone into your home, investing the time and energy into thoughtful conversations over months and years, and loving people well who don’t know how to love you back takes a toll. You can invest for months and never see a return, and when the time comes where you finally seize the opportunity to share your faith, a relationship that you’ve nurtured and invested in blows right up in your face. They decide they want nothing to do with Jesus and nothing to do with you if you look and act too much like Him.
At minimum, it can make you feel like your faithful pursuit is futile and at worst, say on the mission field, it could cost you your life. But the reward is worth the risk because Christ is worthy, and He calls us to love people. He died for us while we were still sinners, and he washed the feet of Judas on the night Judas would betray Him. He loved lost people, and He is still loving lost people through us, His body.
So, what does it look like to share your faith with that lost friend or family member who the Holy Spirit has put on your heart? We all have at least one. Well, that would come with risk. Maybe they will blow you off. Maybe they ask questions you don’t have the answers to. But maybe God has already been at work in their heart, and He prepared you for this very moment where your faith becomes theirs. God is still working and granting life.
There is the risk of pain and rejection there. But, the reality of the Gospel is, that the greatest risk we could ever face has already been removed from us. Christ has come, and through His work on the Cross, those who are in Him are never at risk of losing our most precious prize, Him. This is exactly the point Paul makes as he ends the chapter in Romans 8:37-39
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God. Therefore, risk it for the kingdom, sow your seed. As verse 6 says, sow it in the morning and sow it in the evening. Don’t recklessly throw it out to be scorched or abused, but recognize the fertile grounds God has uniquely prepared for you and cast your bread upon the waters. Go for it. You do not know which seeds God intends to prosper, but you know the God who causes them to grow, and He has promised a return. That return might not look like we’d imagined, but God is bringing a return on all our faithful work. Ecclesiastes tells us that we do not know what God is doing tomorrow, but Romans 8 tells us that whatever He is doing, He is doing it for our good.. So boldly seize the opportunities God has placed before you.
Transition:
Well, if Ecclesiastes stopped there, we might walk away thinking Qohelet's answer to life's uncertainty is simply to stay busy. Keep sowing. Keep working. Keep taking risks.
Yet that is only half the picture. The God who calls us to boldly act is also the God who calls us to rejoice in life. The God who calls us to sow seed is also the God who gives sunshine. As verse 7 indicates, “ Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.” There are things we are called to do, but there are also joys we are called to receive and both when done faithfully glorify God.
Beginning in verse 8, Qohelet shifts from how we should act in a world we cannot control to how we should take joy in a world we cannot keep. That brings us to point number two: Rejoice in God’s Gifts.
Point 2: Rejoice in God’s Gifts
Let’s read God’s call to rejoice in verses 8-10.
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.[b]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[c] from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.
This section is the last occurrence of what commentators call the carpe diem passages. Now many of you know that phase translates as “seize the day,” but that is not the connotation here. It is more “receive today.” Receive and rejoice in God’s gifts today, while they are being offered to you.” There are 6 of these “receive today” passages spread throughout the book of Ecclesiastes, and the author strategically uses them to break up Qohelet’s ongoing observation that everything in this world is fleeting. Let’s take a look at a few of the others.
Ecclesiastes 2:24 “24 There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment[c] in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God”
Ecclesiastes 5:19-20 “9 Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. 20 For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.
Ecclesiastes 9:9 “9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain[b] 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.”
One thing we should notice from Qohelet’s instruction is the way he draws our attention to the ordinary gifts in life that we often take for granted. Food, drink, our work, our possessions, and everyone who's been married for more than six months, your spouse. We need to be reminded of the goodness to be experienced in these things. When we forget, we can fall into the trap of holding out on enjoying life until that ‘extraordinary’ gift: the boat, the vacation, the promotion comes and never enjoying today.. When we do this, we miss out on the ordinary gifts that God gives for our enjoyment every day. God loves to work through the ordinary… So don’t take God’s gifts for granted, enjoy them, and give thanks to God because that glorifies Him.
Look, my top love language is not gift giving… but none the less there is a unique delight I get from watching my sons eat the macarons I bring home every Friday, or opening their Christmas gift (even though their true enjoyment comes mainly from ripping the paper), or giving my wife an anniversary gift that communicates how important she is to me. It’s their delight that gives me delight, but if my wife just wanted the gift and to never have a conversation or dinner with the gift giver, I would begin to think something was wrong with our relationship. On the other hand, I could be equally as hurt if she refused every gift I gave here. These are two pitfalls we can fall into, either making the gift our god, or subtly closing ourselves off to the Giver by refusing to enjoy His gifts. It’s the pitfalls of hedonism and asceticism. Qohelet wants to affirm you that God’s gifts are indeed good! Don’t abuse them, but enjoy them!
Turning back to our carpe diem passage this morning, we will look at two ways that Qohelet encourages us to embrace joy in life.
First, take joy in all of life. Qohelet says if “a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all.” He isn’t saying that in every moment of every day you are only allowed to express jubilee, but what he is saying is that a Christian life should be recognizable by the joy that permeates it. This is what Paul captures in 1 Thess 5:16-18 “16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” It is God’s will for you to be joyful. God has given you gifts and the gift of enjoying His gifts, so enjoy them.
Second, take advantage of the youth you have while you have it, and pursue the things that bring you joy. This doesn’t just apply to those who are below forty. No, what he is saying is pursue what you enjoy while you can do it. While you can run with the kids, the grandkids, do it. While you can travel the world, while your body and budget will let you, do it. Pursue the desires of your heart, this is God’s gift to you, and it makes the gifts He gives each of us uniquely fitted for to us.
I enjoy sports, particularly weight-lifting. There is no moral compulsion for me to subject myself to leg days, I am no more or less righteous for spending xx amount of money on protein powder. But I do it because I enjoy the sport. And Qohelet is saying “Go, go enjoy it while you can. Not only is weight-lifting a gift, but the ability to enjoy it is too.” We each have those gifts; hobbies we might call them. They are gifts, and God wants you to enjoy these gifts, so do it wisely while you can.
Now this joy filled life Qohelet is calling us to is not an uninhibited, unrestrained, hedonism. Qohelet won’t allow that, in fact he qualifies these calls to joy with reminders of the long-term realities. At the end of verse 9 he tells us to remember that everything we do will one day be judged by God. This means what we enjoy and the way we enjoy is still subject to God’s will and design. This isn’t a call to act on every desire that enters our hearts.
Furthermore, the end of verse 8 reminds us that many days of darkness are coming. There will come a time when the gifts we enjoy start to be taken from us. One day I will put the barbell and basketball down for good. One day our travel might be limited to the living room. And one day, if you are married, either you or your partner in life will die and leave the other behind. Ecclesiastes 11:8 exposes the fragile, fleeting nature of earthly joy.
Qohelet wants us to be aware that every gift we enjoy under the sun will one day be gone, but there is One Gift that can never be taken away from us, and that is the Gift Giver Himself. Christ has come, the fount of every blessing has come. And on the darkest of days at Calvary, He secured for us something greater than any gift under the sun. The One who gave every good gift has now given Himself to His people.
David understood the Gospel when He said
Psalm 73:26
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
This doesn’t eliminate the pain we feel when the fleeting nature of this life strikes, but we can know that pain, suffering, and loss doesn’t have the final word. The days of darkness come, but Christ has the final word and He says that I am His, and He is mine. As great as His earthly gifts are, one day we will behold the Giver face to face and every tear will be wiped away.
Conclusion:
Life under the sun is uncertain. Opportunities come and go. Youth fades. Loved ones die. The days of darkness come. But there is One who does not fade. Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So, hold loosely to every earthly gift and cling tightly to Him. Then you will be free to risk boldly, rejoice deeply, and live wisely until the day our faith becomes sight. Live life boldly and rejoice in it. For the God who holds tomorrow has given you today, and more importantly, He has given you Himself.
Let's Pray
Silent Reflection:
- Ways God is calling you to act faithfully,
- Ways God is calling you to rejoice in Him
Benediction:
- Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
