Ecclesiastes 11:1-10 “A Pleasant Thing It Is For The Eyes To Behold The Sun”
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Ecc 11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.
Ecc 11:2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.
Ecc 11:3 If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.
Ecc 11:4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.
Ecc 11:5 As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.
Ecc 11:6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.
Ecc 11:7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:
Ecc 11:8 But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.
Ecc 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.
Ecc 11:10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.
Introduction
Up to this point, Solomon, an apostatized king who typifies our own backslid old man, has three times encouraged us to “enjoy good in [ our] labor”.
Ecc 2:24 There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.
Ecc 3:13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.
Ecc 5:18 Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.
But in this chapter we are given a much more mature admonition from the same tormented king:
Ecc 11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.
Ecc 11:2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.
This is really the same admonition our Lord gives us in the parable of the unjust steward:
Luk 16:9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
Luk 16:10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
Luk 16:11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
Luk 16:12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?
Luk 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Christ commends the unjust steward, not for the fact that he stole from his master, but because he was resourceful in preparing for what he saw was coming. Christ wants us to prepare for what is yet ahead of us, and He knows that the only way we can do that is to be “faithful in that which is another’s” before we will be granted true spiritual riches.
The unjust steward was not faithful in the unrighteous mammon, but he certainly was resourceful in preparing for his own future at the expense of his master. We too, should prepare for our own future at the expense of our old man who was once our master.
That is the meaning of “if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.”
Ecc 11:3 If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.
In Job 36, speaking for God, Elihu told us that clouds symbolize those in whom Christ and His Words dwell. It is by His “clouds” that “He judges the people”:
Job 36:27 For he [ God] maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof:
Job 36:28 Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly.
Job 36:29 Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle?
Job 36:30 Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea.
Job 36:31 For by them judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in abundance.
Job 36:32 With clouds he covereth the light; and commandeth it not to shine by the cloud that cometh betwixt.
“According to the vapor thereof” tells us that if Christ and His words are within us, “who can but prophesy?”
Amo 3:8 The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?
The lion roars because the Lord caused it to roar. The clouds “empty themselves upon the earth”, because the Lord caused them to “be full of rain”, and trees that fall, lie where He causes them to lie. It is all God working all things after the counsel of His own will.
Jer 11:16 The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.
Jer 11:19 But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.
Luk 13:18 Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?
Luk 13:19 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.
It does us no good to cry Lord! Lord! while refusing to be obedient to our Lord.
The root of the Greek word translated as “fail” in Luk 16:9 is ‘leipo’, and this is how that root word is translated in the King James Version:
G3007
λειÌπω
leipō
Total KJV Occurrences: 6
wanting, 3
Tit 1:5 (2), Tit_3:13, Jas_1:4
destitute, 1
Jas 2:15
lack, 1
Jas 1:5
lackest, 1
Luk 18:22
The definition is “wanting, destitute, lack and lackest”. What both Solomon and Christ are telling us is that the greedy and selfish need not expect any help when they are in need, whereas the man who is generous, and selfless will use his resources to help others. That is the meaning of: “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.”
“You know not what evil shall be upon the earth” is the same as Christ telling us “… when you fail [‘you are wanting’] they may receive you into everlasting habitations”. They [ both spiritually and physically] may receive you into their care because of the generosity for which you are already well known. Here is the spiritual fulfillment of this message Solomon and Christ are giving us:
Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Mat 25:35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
When we “give meat… give drink… take in the needy, visit the sick and the imprisoned”, we are “casting [ our] bread upon the waters” and we shall indeed “find it after many days.”
The Lord knows those who are His, and those who are His “know His voice”.
Joh 10:3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
Joh 10:4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Our doctrine is not our doctrine, but it is His doctrine. We need not be anxious about who receives His doctrine He has given us. His sheep will “hear… His voice” and will accept His doctrine.
Mat 25:34-49 tell us why we should “cast our bread upon the water”. These verses explain why we should “give [ generous] portions to seven [ the complement of those in complete need] and to eight [ to the new man, through the new man]”.
It is that for which we are known that is in view with the statement “if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.” We cannot change our reputation after we have fallen into want and are in need of the help of others. As a tree falls, so will it lie, and our reputation as either greedy or gracious will always precede us.
God’s nourishing “rain” is His life- giving Word, which He sends upon the just and the unjust alike.
Isa 55:10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
Isa 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
The Word of God came to His own people. They did not, and we do not, at first receive Him. We are all guilty of denying and rejecting our Lord, and we will all “go into outer darkness [ and] weep bitterly” for doing so.
Mat 26:74 Then began he [ Peter, as a type of each of us] to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.
Mat 26:75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
Luk 23:27 And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him.
Luk 23:28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.
Like Peter we can all find what appears to be a very good reason to deny our Lord. After all our very life of our old man is at stake. That is the same as refusing to sow His Word because of what appears to be unfavorable conditions. If we fail to sow Christ in our lives, then we will have no harvest:
Ecc 11:4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.
“The fearful and the unbelieving… will have their part in the lake of fire.” The “slothful and wicked servant” is “afraid” to invest his master’s talent, and the same servant is afraid of the wrong ‘lion’:
Pro 22:13 The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.
Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
There will always be a ready excuse for us to be a “wicked and slothful servant” who accuses his Master of being a “hard man who reaps where he has not sown”. That was the self- righteous spirit of Job, which condemned God to make himself righteous. Job, of course, is us.
Mat 25:24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
Mat 25:25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
Mat 25:26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
Mat 25:27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
Mat 25:28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
Mat 25:29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
Mat 25:30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Job 40:8 Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?
It behooves us to be diligent servants with what the Lord gives us. What a blessing to be given a spirit that causes us to be grateful for what we have been given, rather than to be given a spirit that contends with our Lord and reproves Him for not being more generous toward us, and accusing Him of being a hard and unjust man.
We cannot know what God is doing to its full extent:
Ecc 3:11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
It is the height of foolishness for men to attempt to set dates concerning the works of our God. We may, and indeed must, know the voice of our True Shepherd, but “no man know the work that God makes from the beginning to the end”. No true man of God will be setting dates yet all true men of God can, with the apostle John, boldly make this statement:
1Jn 4:6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
Obviously there is a world of difference between knowing the voice of the true shepherd and knowing “the work that God makes from the beginning to the end”.
Ecc 11:5 As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.
Here is this same message in the New Testament:
Job 9:9 Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.
Job 9:10 Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number.
Rom 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
“You know not what is the way of the spirit”, means the same as Ecc 3:11. It simply means that God has not given to us to “know what will be on the morrow”.
Jas 4:13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
Jas 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Jas 4:15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
Jas 4:16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
“You know not what is the way of the spirit” also means that “no man can find out the work that God makes from the beginning to the end”. It most assuredly does not mean that we are incapable of knowing the Truth, trying the spirits to see whether they are of God, and knowing the voice of our True Shepherd.
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 10:4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
1Jn 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
A lazy, slothful spirit has no place in Christ or His kingdom within us. Some of the most common words of admonition in scripture are words like sober, vigilance, and diligence.
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
======================================================================= [ to be continued next week] Here is how Solomon makes this point:
Ecc 11:6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.
This is what we do know about the past, the present, and the future:
Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.
“Thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all,” but God’s eyes do see our unformed substance long before any of the days ordained for us ever come to be. We do not know what tomorrow holds, but we do know who holds tomorrow, and we know He wants us to be diligent, vigilant and sober. Therefore it is very wise for us all to “sow [ our] seed… in the morning, and in the evening” be equally as diligent in our Lords service. That is the message of the parable of the five wise and five foolish virgins, the parable of the talents and the warning we are given in Mat 24:
Mat 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
Mat 24:39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Mat 25:8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
Mat 25:9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
Mat 25:10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Mat 25:11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
Mat 25:12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
Mat 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Like “all things”, being diligent, vigilant or sober are all a work of God. Christ is, was, and always will be the most diligent person who has ever lived on this earth. Any one who is truly desirous of serving God was given that desire by having Christ Himself living within them, via His Father’s spirit.
Where did Christ get His completely sold out desire to serve His Father? I will let Him answer that question for us because the source of His resolve will be the source of our resolve:
Joh 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
Joh 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
Christ was, of Himself, incapable of doing anything. “The Son can do nothing of Himself… I can of mine own self do nothing”. Those are His words. Can you and I choose of ourselves to do any better? What do the scriptures teach on that question?
Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Therefore those to whom it is granted to be a diligent, vigilant and sober son and servant of God, are of that spirit only because Christ is doing the work of His Father within that person.
Most men have no concern about the things of the spirit. Yet many who are seeking to know Christ and His Father still live in fear of not being given the gift if wanting to diligently serve God.
This beings us to our next verse:
Ecc 11:7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:
Christ is “the Sun”, and to know Him is to know His Father, and the blessing of knowing Christ is the greatest blessing given to men.
Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
Eph 5:14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
Here is how the process of coming to know Christ and His Father works:
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
Joh 14:8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
Joh 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
Joh 14:10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
Truly it is a pleasant thing for the eyes to behold the ‘Sun’, and to know that the works we do are not our works at all, but they are instead His work within us. The reason it is so pleasant is because we are made to know that our predestined salvation is also predestined to be strait and narrow process, and it is predestined to be full of tribulation.
Act 14:22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
“Much tribulation” is expressed elsewhere with these words:
1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
The ‘fire’ of 1Co 3 and 1Pe 4 is the “much tribulation” of Act 14, and it is same thing that is called “the wrath of God” in these verses:
Rev 15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.
There it is! “We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God”, and “no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled”.
Where is “the temple of God”? It is in heaven. It is in “the kingdom of God”, it is in “the kingdom of heaven”:
Rev 11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
It is the revelation that we are that temple which brings to us the additional revelation that ‘heaven’ in not a geographical planet or a physical location, but it is rather a realm of the spirit of which all physical things consist:
1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
Col 1:12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Col 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
All things consist by Christ, because the Father has given His spirit to Christ, and does all that is done “through Him”:
Joh 1:7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
Eph 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
What we just naturally fail to realize, the part we leave out when we read: “Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun”, is that it is that “the Sun” Christ Himself informs us that it is He who also “creates darkness… and… evil”.
Isa 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
Isa 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
When we are given to see that the Biblical meaning of the word ‘light’ is our “understanding”, then we will be able to receive the Biblical ‘light’ which teaches us that God creates the darkness as well as the light, and that both are integral to God’s plan for our salvation. The “light” that is so special, and which is ‘truly sweet, and the “Sun” which is ‘a pleasant thing for the eyes to behold’ is our understanding and our knowledge of God and His Son Jesus Christ.
This is all plainly so stated in God’s Word:
Eph 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Eph 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Here is just how important and how integral it is that “the eyes of our understanding be enlightened”. Here is “the hope of His calling”. Here is “the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints”:
Joh 17:2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
Just what is “life eternal”? This is “life eternal”:
Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Knowing God and Christ is life eternal, and if we do not believe the Truth that is revealed throughout scripture, that God is working all things, both the good and the evil “after the counsel of His own will”, and that includes the fact that He ‘creates light and darkness, good and evil’, then we do not know either the Father or the Son.
All of that being true, this too, will “enlighten… the eyes of [ our] understanding” of God and Jesus Christ who God sent:
Ecc 11:8 But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.
When the eyes of our understanding are not enlightened to know why God has given us these lives which are filled with so “many… days of darkness”, then “all that comes” will appear as “vanity” to an apostate king, which is what we all are when we are not given to appreciate “the hope of His calling [ and] the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints”.
We finish our study today with an admonition which can only be understood by the torment that is poured out upon the kingdom of the beast which is who an apostatized King Solomon typifies. Think of how these words must have affected the mind of an old and apostate king:
Ecc 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.
We all do just that, and it appears that youth is wasted on young people. But God’s righteous judgment redeems and justifies His purpose in creating all the darkness and ignorance and evil through which we must all live:
Ecc 11:10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.
Our Creator knows that sorrow cannot be removed from our hearts as long as “evil from our flesh” continues to dominate our lives. That is where the “much tribulation… works… tried by fire… fiery trials… and seven plagues of the seven angels” comes into God’s plan and purpose for our lives and those things are used by God to judge and burn out of us all of our sins of “wood, hay, and stubble”. Then after judgment has accomplished its predestined purpose, this is what we are made to understand:
Isa 26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
1Co 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
Our present fiery trials and much tribulation, seven last plagues, and the judgment of the kingdom of our old man all have a wonderful and worthy purpose, and when it has all done its work within us then we will “learn righteousness” and only then will we “know God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent into this world to save “all in Adam”.
Next week we will find that ‘the evil days will come when we will say we have no pleasure in them’:
Ecc 12:1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
Ecc 12:2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
Ecc 12:3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
Ecc 12:4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
Ecc 12:5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
Ecc 12:6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
Ecc 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
Other related posts
- Ecclesiastes 9:10-18 "The Poor Man's Wisdom Is Despised, and His Words Are Not Heard" (January 18, 2014)
- Ecclesiastes 9:1-9 "All Things Come Alike To All" (January 18, 2014)
- Ecclesiastes 8:9-17 "There Is A Time Wherein One Man Rules Over Another to His Own Hurt" (January 18, 2014)
- Ecclesiastes 8:1-8 "Where The Word of A King Is, There Is Power" (November 24, 2013)
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- Ecclesiastes 7:1-9 "The Day Of Death..." (October 20, 2013)
- Ecclesiastes 6:7-12 "Who Knows What Is Good For A Man In This Life?" (November 21, 2013)
- Ecclesiastes 6:1-6 "Do Not All Go To One Place?" (October 20, 2013)
- Ecclesiastes 5:3-10 "For In The Multitude of Dreams and Many Words There Are Also Divers Vanities" (September 22, 2013)
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- Ecclesiastes 4:1-8 "Wherefore I Praised The Dead Which Are Already Dead More Than The Living Which Are Yet Alive" (August 31, 2013)
- Ecclesiastes 3:12-22 "Whatsoever God Doeth, It Shall Be For Ever" (August 25, 2013)
- Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 "To Every Thing There Is A Season, and A Time To Every Purpose Under The Heaven" (August 19, 2013)
- Ecclesiastes 2:14-26 "Therefore I Hated Life..." (August 4, 2013)
- Ecclesiastes 2:1-13 "What Was That Good For The Sons of Men, Which They Should Do Under The Heaven All The Days of Their Life" (July 27, 2013)
- Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 "An Experience of Evil God Has Given the Sons of Humanity to Humble Them" (November 27, 2013)
- Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 "All Is Vanity" (November 17, 2013)
- Ecclesiastes 12:8-14 "Fear God and Keep His Commandments, For This Is The Whole Man" (February 17, 2014)
- Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 "The Evil Days Will Come When We Will Say We Have No Pleasure In Them" (January 27, 2014)
- Ecclesiastes 11:1-10 "A Pleasant Thing It Is For The Eyes To Behold The Sun" (January 26, 2014)
- Ecclesiastes 10:11-20 "The Labour of The Foolish Wearieth Every One of Them" (January 18, 2014)
- Ecclesiastes 10:1-10 "A Little Folly" On The Part of A Man Known For Wisdom "Sends Forth A Stinking Savor" (January 18, 2014)