Solomon is wrapping up his reflections of the meaning of life with us. This chapter almost has the tone of a grandfather gathering his children to give them a letter of what this life is. He has found all his searches of life, in the grandest of ways, unfulfilling without the philosophy that God is in control of all things. To follow the way of God is what keeps man from destroying all about him. He’s calling us into the life of faith: to reject the life of faithlessness, the life of unbelief, the life of indifference to spiritual things. He’s calling us. He’s exhorting us. He’s saying, “Choose this day whom you will serve” in these final exhortations. In his sadness and disappointments, he wants us to learn from his lesson with the wisdom only Solomon could offer.
1 Cast your bread upon the waters for you shall find it after many days. 2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for you know not what evil shall be upon the earth. Casting your bread upon the waters refers to generosity. It means take risks, don't hoard and be greedy. Do so from morning to night. He is saying that what you sow will someday come back to you. You don't know what will become of your bread. Bread can be a spiritual metaphor given the actions of yeast causing the bread to rise. Give a portion of seven and eight refer an old custom when the master of a feast portioned out several parts to each guest and then sent portions to the poor. There may come a time you are poor and unable to do these things, or need these generosities.
3 If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if the tree falls toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it shall be. 4 He that observes the wind shall not sow; and he that regards the clouds shall not reap. When clouds are full of rain, they disperse water generously on the fields and the desert. Plentifully pour out your blessings on the land to produce fruit and lushness upon a barren wilderness. It seems an appropriate analogy to me. If you do not sow your fields in concern of the weather, your fields will not reap a harvest. Even if you give your generosity to some undeserving, you will certainly not miss those who are deserving. Don't let those who disappoint you deter you from blessing as many as you can. A tree will eventually fall in the direction it leans. When you die, your afterlife will be a reflection of the direction you have leaned during your lifetime.
5 As you do not know what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones grow in the womb of the woman who is with child, even so you do not know the works of God, who makes all. 6 In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand; for you do not know what shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. Solomon is saying here that we don't necessarily know the true nature of things in the way and thought of God. He states this tenet many times in Ecclesiastes. Sow your seed, bless others with your work and generosity. Do you know how bones grow in the womb? There is much mystery in life we don't know until later, or maybe not in this lifetime. Don't let it deter you from your purpose. You may not know what good will come of what you do, so do it regardless. Don't withhold in life. If your motives are good, they will be rewarded.
7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun. 8 But if a man lives many years, and rejoices in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness for they shall be many. All that is to come is vanity. The light is good and sweet. It is a joy to behold the good in life. Even if most of your life is good, remember the darkness when it is good. We get our equal share of light and darkness in life. In order to be truly happy, you have to embrace both the good and the bad. It is in remembering the tough times that cause our hearts to search for God, when it is good we are not to forget the goodness of God. It is on the focus of the light that we walk upright and do not take the good for granted.
9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth; and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes, but you should know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. How much did we take for granted when we were young? How much did I abuse my self when I had no idea of the consequences that would come. Youth will see the rose only until they encounter the thorns. They come as does our day of judgment. The sooner we are aware of these realities, the better we will make upright decisions and make our path a little lighter down the road. The better for our world and those around us when we prepare for these days.
10 Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh for childhood and youth are vanity. In the ignorance of our youth, we don't know the consequences of our choices as we try and fulfill the desires of the flesh. These things are vanity. They disappear leaving only with the results of our decisions. Our lusts end in sorrow.
I have a story I recently came upon. When we were 16 or so, my friend found a girl who was 13 and began having sex with her. They seemed to enjoy every minute of it. The full account of that story came when she came to tell me she was foolish by being with him. Whe wanted me to know the pain that haunted her from that decision. He didn't care for her more that what she offered. She continued to tell me of abusive parents who told her she was ugly and no one would ever want her. She was desperately looking for love and approval. She was used and damaged from the whole experience for a long time. She has pretty much recovered, but it is still a haunting memory and she deeply resents my friend for using her youth in that way. My father at one point in my youth, explained to me that I should look at a young girl and relate her to my sisters, before I had a sexual encounter. Picture her in curlers and a bath robe. Oh, I thought he had ruined me...I could never find the sexual forays my friends all had at earlier ages. I could not take advantage of such situations. However, Solomon is doing the same sort of thing for his children here. He is trying to protect us all from our lusts and make the world a better place in the process. There are many other lusts from my youth I wish I had taken the same approach. I pay for them now. As he said many times, hindsight is 20/20.
resources: http://www.fpcjackson.org/resources/sermons/Ecclesiastes/07a.htm, http://www.hallvworthington.com/bibletest/King%20James%20Version/21_011.htm, http://www.studylight.org/com/wen/view.cgi?book=ec&chapter=011, http://www.godrules.net/library/clarke/clarkeecc11.htm, http://www.searchgodsword.org/com/jfb/view.cgi?book=ec&chapter=011
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