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OceanSide church of Christ
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Ecclesiastes 11:2 – Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.
Thought: Here we find another very practical thought from the pen of the Preacher. His advice is to diversify. Man should never cast his wealth into just one basket. He should divide his wealth among seven, perhaps eight, investments. Why should this be done? Solomon says: “…for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.” The world is constantly in flux. The markets are always changing. In diversity, there is safety. One or two are profitable and offset the losses of others. Overall, a person has a constant increase in wealth instead of losing it all in one investment.
Matthew 25:27
Commentary:
1. Defined: (diverse) of a different, kind, form, variety
2. Adage: Do not put all of your eggs into one basket.
3. “Give a portion to seven, and also to eight.
1. Investing
2. Friends
3. Job skills
4. Hobbies
5. Knowledge
6. Opportunities
1. You only have one friend, and he betrays you.
2. You only have one company in which you invest, and it goes bankrupt.
3. You only have one set of job skills, and your company lets you go.
4. You only have one hobby, and you get hurt and can’t do that hobby any more.
Ecclesiastes 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.
Thought: Two views of this verse present themselves. First, the writer could be referring to the providence of God in our lives. Clouds empty themselves by raining on the earth. Trees fall from time to time. We cannot predict these events. We cannot control them. We must be ready to deal with them. Second, the writer could be referring to us in using these figures. If we are full, we should empty ourselves on the earth, giving liberally to others. Too, we are like the trees. We will eventually fall. We will die in the direction we lead our lives. Once we die, “there it shall be.”
Psalm 65:9-13
Commentary:
A. Solomon states two plain, simple facts that all individuals have seen during their lifetimes.
1. When clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth.
2. When a tree falls, regardless of what direction it falls, “there it shall be.”
B. There have been two views presented regarding this verse.
1. The first view looks at the verse in view of the providence of God.
a. There will be days when it rains. There will be days when trees fall.
b. We cannot predict these events. We certainly cannot control them.
c. Thus, we need to be ready to deal with the events that life brings our way.
2. The second view sees our lives in these two figures.
a. Just as a cloud gets full and rains upon the earth, so we should empty
ourselves upon the earth.
1) Our knowledge can be emptied.
2) Our talents can be emptied.
3) Our wealth can be emptied.
4) Our good works can be emptied.
5) Our kindness can be emptied.
6) Our encouragement can be emptied.
b. Men are like trees.
1) They can fall at any time and in any direction we lead our lives.
2) Once we die, “there it shall be.”
3) Once we die, we can say of our lives: “There it is.” There is no more to be
written.
Ecclesiastes 11:4 – He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.
Thought: Have you ever seen a person who has to wait until “just the right time” to do something. He seems to always have an excuse for not acting. This is not right. That is not right. We need more of this. We need less of that. Day after day passes and nothing happens. Those who are waiting “for just the right time” will never be successful in life. They will not sow. They will not reap. The winds and the clouds will always be their excuse.
Proverbs 20:4
Commentary:
A. This is a verse about excuse-making.
B. Two excuses are noted:
1. A man will not sow seed because it is too windy.
a. Seed was often scattered by the sower.
b. If it were extremely windy, some of the seed could be caught in the wind and be
wasted.
c. The sower could easily use this as an excuse to not sow his seed.
2. A man might not get out in the field to reap because of the threat of rain.
a. “I will get out in the field. It will rain. I will get bogged down and not be able to
get my equipment out.
b. This man will not reap because he thinks it is going to rain.
C. Lessons:
1. There are always excuses that can be found as to why we cannot do things.
2. Excuses are the tool of the lazy and slothful (Prov. 20:4).
The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold…
3. There are many who are always trying to find “just the right time” to do something.
4. Whether we are using an excuse, or, whether we are seeking just the right time, we will not sow, and we will not reap.
a. Proverbs 13:4
The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.
b. Proverbs 20:4
The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.
Ecclesiastes 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.
Thought: Man likes to believe that he is very smart. It is true that we have learned much and have advanced greatly from the knowledge we have obtained. Sometimes, however, we tend to forget that we are not that smart. Our knowledge versus what still can be discovered and learned is just a drop in the bucket. This is especially true when it comes to our knowledge of the works of God. Before we confront God or contend with God, we need to be reminded of how much we do not know.
Isaiah 40:28
Commentary:
A. Any time we read the word “spirit” in the Biblical text, we must ask ourselves a question: “To which spirit is the writer referring?” man’s spirit? the Holy Spirit? an attitude of heart?
B. Here, it appears that Solomon is referring to man’s spirit because the discussion that follows has reference to the bones of a child growing in the womb of the mother.
C. We do not know the way of the spirit.
1. Man lives because his spirit inhabits his body. Without it, he would be dead (Jam. 2:26).
2. How does the spirit enter into the body of man?
3. Man will never know the answer to that question because God forms the spirit of man within him (Zech. 12:1).
D. How do the bones of a child develop from merely two cells into a full skeleton upon which the entire body will be attached? Again, man doesn’t have the answer to that question.
E. Solomon then makes his real point: “Even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.”
1. Man likes to believe that he is extremely smart.
2. Man has achieved some wonderful feats within the realm of science in the past.
3. But, there is SO much man does not know.
a. A new study shows it would take 200,000 years for a spaceship traveling at the speed of
light to go across the entire galaxy.
b. “As of 2023, 24.9% of the global seafloor had been mapped with modern high-
resolution technology (multibeam sonar systems), usually mounted to ships, that can
reveal the seafloor in greater detail. While almost 50% of the seafloor beneath U.S.
waters had been mapped to these modern standards, the nation’s seafloor is larger than
the land area of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the five territories combined.
Thus, there’s still a significant amount of seafloor left to be mapped at high resolution”
c. “Scientists estimate there may be between 700,000 and 1 million species in the ocean
(mostly animals and excluding most microorganisms, of which there are millions).
Roughly two-thirds of these species, possibly more, have yet to be discovered or
officially described, with almost 2,000 new species accepted by the scientific community
each year” (Ibid.).
4. Before we confront God or contend with God, we need to be reminded of how much we do not know.