JUN 17

Ecclesiastes 11:1-2
Memorise Ecclesiastes 11:1
“Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days”

And so as Solomon builds up to the conclusion to this book, he draws some final contrasts between the fool and the wise, and exhorts men to seek to be as the wise, and not as the fools. And so he begins this second last chapter with commands, of practical wisdom to live responsibly and with generosity in life, for our life is in the hands of God, and we know not what shall be on the morrow.

The first exhortation he gives in Ecclesiastes 11:1-2, is about living generously. He uses an illustration that was common in their agrarian society to help us to understand this point. What does it mean to cast our bread upon the waters? Commentator Matthew Henry explains:

“Thy bread-corn upon the low places (so some understand it), alluding to the husbandman, who goes forth, bearing precious seed, sparing bread- corn from his family for the seedness, knowing that without that he can have no harvest another year; thus the charitable man takes from his bread-corn for seed-corn, abridges himself to supply the poor, that he may sow beside all waters (Isaiah 32:20), because as he sows so he must reap, Galatians 6:7. We read of the harvest of the river, Isaiah 23:3. Waters, in scripture, are put for multitudes (Revelation 16:5), and there are multitudes of poor (we do not want [lack] objects of charity); waters are put also for mourners: the poor are men of sorrows. Thou must give bread, the necessary supports of life, not only give good words but good things, Isaiah 58:7. It must be thy bread, that which is honestly got; it is no charity, but injury, to give that which is none of our own to give; first do justly, and then love mercy. “Thy bread, which thou didst design for thyself, let the poor have a share with thee, as they had with Job, Job 31:17. Give freely to the poor, as that which is cast upon the waters. Send it a voyage, send it as a venture, as merchants that trade by sea. Trust it upon the waters; it shall not sink.”’

It is an advice to ‘invest’ in good works, knowing that this is God’s desire for you. Likewise, verse two advises us to be generous to the people around you (7 and also to 8), for you do not know if today is your last day on earth, and thus there is no reason to hoard excessive wealth. It speaks of liberal giving, not just to one or two, but to the many around you.

Thought: All my money is God’s money, not mine!
Prayer: Lord, help me to be generous with the resources that You have blessed me with.