Introduction: What a waste to suffer loss and not learn from it! Often, you have heard me say, "Never waste a good trial." In the same way, we should never waste the lessons that can be learned from days wasted outside the will of God. The school of hard knocks is not the school anyone should desire to graduate from; but if a person must attend that school, he should plan to graduate with lessons learned.
There are some who learn from the wisdom of those who have traveled the road they seek. They listen to the warnings and follow the admonitions of the teacher. Then, there are those who must find out for themselves how destructive a bad choice can be. This is never wise to do, but there is always wisdom that can be gained. Solomon has lived much of his life outside God's perfect will. Now, he faces family, friends, and servants and warns them not to take the paths he took. Some will follow his advice and believe in his wisdom; others will hear the truth and feel that they must see if it's really all that bad.
Those, who choose the wrong path, are not wise but can become wise, as Solomon did, by learning the lessons found on the wrong road. It is still true that the wrong road always leads to the wrong place, but surely there are lessons to be learned and wisdom to be gained by realizing the error of one's unwise choices.
Nearing the end of this study, we now find Solomon's wise conclusions to unwise choices. In this section of chapter 11, we will see three admonitions learned through making wrong choices.
1. Be generous. - Ecclesiastes 11:1-2
"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."
- This is one of the picture phrases found in the Bible. The word "bread" here is representative of one's increase. In other words, it speaks not just of the provision of physical substance but also what provides that substance. Bread is made from grain grown from seeds. The picture Solomon draws here is that of casting seed upon the face of the waters. The result, of this kind of generous sowing, is found in the words "...thou shalt find it after many days."
- Solomon noted that sowing does not bring immediate results, for the profit from sowing only comes after "many days."
- In verse 2, Solomon admonishes those, under his teaching, to give charitably to many. The connection is made to verse 1 in that one should give a portion of what comes back "after many days" to those in need.
- The law of sowing and reaping is a universal law, and Solomon enforces that law by saying that whatever you sow, you will reap.
- Paul wrote, in Galatians 6:7, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
- Solomon's context is that of generosity with the Lord's provision. Notice with me the following verses that have to do with sowing your seed:* Psalm 41:1-2, "Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies."
* Proverbs 11:24-25, "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself."
* Proverbs 22:9, "He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor."
* 2 Corinthians 9:6, "But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully."
* Galatians 6:9, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."- There is a hidden principle in Scripture concerning sowing and reaping found in Matthew 6:26. Speaking of the sparrows, Jesus makes an interesting statement, "...for they sow not, neither do they reap..." Those, who do not cast their bread upon the waters, do not reap.
- This universal law, of sowing and reaping, is a law which no man can change. We will reap in due season what we sow.
2. Do not observe the wind when sowing. - Ecclesiastes 11:3-4
"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. He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap."
- An interesting observation in that Solomon says it's going to rain, end of report. There are those, who watch the skies, to see whether or not they can prepare the field and sow the seed. However, the plowing must be done when the early rains have come, even in the face of a great storm. The reason for this is that there will come a time when it's too late to reap.
- There's a great deal of procrastination when it comes to Christians and their sowing.* They will serve God if...
* They will give their money if...
* They will invest their time if...
* They will answer God's call if...- Curtis Hudson used to say, "Well then, you ought to 'if'!" Solomon teaches that IF you wait too long, you will miss the harvest. In the same light, IF you wait too long to sow in generosity, you will miss the harvest of God's blessing, not to mention the fact that those, whom you could help, would miss the blessing of your providing for their needs.
- Observance of the wind and clouds will always cause a person to delay when it comes to sowing seed. Recently, a friend sent me a story which exemplifies this truth of sowing without delay, even in the face of a storm.* Every Sunday afternoon, after the morning service at their church, the pastor and his eleven-year-old son would go out into their town and hand out Gospel tracts. This particular Sunday afternoon, as it came time for the pastor and his son to go to the streets with their tracts, it was very cold outside, as well as, pouring down rain. The boy bundled up in his warmest and driest clothes and said, "OK, Dad, I'm ready." His pastor dad asked, "Ready for what?"
"Dad, it's time we gather our tracts together and go out." Dad responds, "Son, it's very cold outside, and it's pouring down rain." The boy gives his dad a surprised look, asking, "But, Dad, aren't people still going to Hell even though it's raining?" Dad answers, "Son, I am not going out in this weather."
Despondently, the boy asks, "Dad, can I go, please?" His father hesitated for a moment then said, "Son, you can go. Here are the tracts. Be careful, son." "Thanks, Dad!" And with that, he was off and out into the rain.
This eleven-year-old boy walked the streets of the town going door-to-door and handing everybody he met, in the street, a Gospel tract. After two hours of walking in the rain, he was soaking, bone-chilled wet, and down to his very last tract. He stopped on a corner and looked for someone to hand a tract to, but the streets were totally deserted. Then, he turned toward the first home he saw and started up the sidewalk to the front door and rang the door bell.
He rang the bell, but nobody answered. He rang it again and again, but still no one answered. He waited but still no answer. Finally, this eleven-year-old trooper turned to leave, but something stopped him. Again, he turned to the door and rang the bell and knocked loudly on the door with his fist. He waited, something holding him there on the front porch. He rang again; and this time, the door slowly opened.
Standing in the doorway was a very sad looking elderly lady. She softly asked, "What can I do for you, son?" With radiant eyes and a smile that lit up her world, this little boy said, "Ma'am, I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but I just want to tell you that Jesus really does love you, and I came to give you my very last Gospel tract which will tell you all about Jesus and His great love." With that, he handed her his last tract and turned to leave. She called to him as he departed, "Thank you, son! And God bless you!"
Well, the following Sunday morning in church, pastor dad was in the pulpit and, as the service began, he asked, "Does anybody have a testimony?"
Slowly, in the back row of the church, an elderly lady stood to her feet. As she began to speak, a look of glorious radiance came from her face, "None of you in this church know me. I've never been here before. You see, before last Sunday, I was not a Christian. My husband passed on some time ago leaving me totally alone in this world.
Last Sunday, being a particularly cold and rainy day, it was even more so in my heart as I came to the end of the line where I no longer had any hope or will to live. So, I took a rope and a chair and ascended the stairway into the attic of my home. I fastened the rope securely to a rafter in the roof then stood on the chair and fastened the other end of the rope around my neck. Standing on that chair, so lonely and brokenhearted, I was about to leap off when suddenly the loud ringing of my doorbell downstairs startled me. I thought, 'I'll wait a minute, and whoever it is will go away.' I waited and waited, but the ringing doorbell seemed to get louder and more insistent, and then the person ringing also started knocking loudly. I thought to myself again, 'Who on earth could this be? Nobody ever rings my bell or comes to see me.' I loosened the rope from my neck and started for the front door, all the while the bell rang louder and louder.
When I opened the door and looked, I could hardly believe my eyes, for there, on my front porch, was the most radiant and angelic little boy I had ever seen in my life. His smile, oh, I could never describe it to you! And the words that came from his mouth caused my heart, that had long been dead, to leap to life as he exclaimed with cherub-like voice, 'Ma'am, I just came to tell you that Jesus really does love you.' Then he gave me this Gospel tract that I now hold in my hand. As the little angel disappeared back out into the cold and rain, I closed my door and read slowly every word of this Gospel tract.
Then, I went up to my attic to get my rope and chair. I wouldn't be needing them anymore. You see, I am now a happy child of the King; and since the address of your church was on the back of this Gospel tract, I have come here to personally say thank you to God's little angel who came just in the nick of time and, by so doing, spared my soul from eternity in hell."
There were now no dry eyes in the church. And, as shouts of praise and honor to the King resounded off the very rafters of the building, pastor dad descended from the pulpit to the front pew where the little angel was seated. He took him in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably.
3. Keep sowing your seed. - Ecclesiastes 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."
- Obviously, some seed will be carried away by the wind, while other seed takes root and grows.
- The admonition here is to keep on sowing, no matter what may come. Many Christians sow for a while and then quit. Notice the words of Paul as he admonished the Corinthian believers to keep on sowing, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." (Galatians 6:9) This is one of those "if" verses. In order to reap, we must not faint when sowing. We reap "if" we do not faint.
- Often, God's people become disenchanted with sowing when they do not see an immediate result. A seed must first be put into the ground; then it must germinate; then it must mature; then, and only then, can it be harvested. Unwilling to admit impatience, many Christians quit before this process is completed.
- Note the words of Psalm 126:5-6, "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." There is a promise here that reaping comes after sowing is done. The words are "...shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." God's people doubt when the reaping is not immediate. God encouraged His people to keep on sowing so that the harvest could be fully realized.
Conclusion: Solomon sowed some bad seed and got back a bad harvest. During that time, he neglected to sow good and didn't receive a harvest of good. Now, he looks back over a life wasted outside the will of God and says in order to avoid an empty life, keep sowing the seed.
If you have sown bad seed, the harvest will come; but if you have stopped sowing bad seed, the harvest will be cut short. If you do not want a bad harvest, stop sowing bad seed now. Start sowing good seed, keep casting your bread upon the waters; for in due season, you will reap if you faint not.