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Commentary on Ecclesiastes 11 verses 1–6
Solomon had often, in this book, pressed it upon rich people to take the comfort of their riches themselves; here he presses it upon them to do good to others with them and to abound in liberality to the poor, which will, another day, abound to their account. Observe,
I. How the duty itself is recommended to us, Ecc 11:1. 1. Cast thy bread upon the waters, 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 (Isa 32:20), because as he sows so he must reap, Gal 6:7. We read of the harvest of the river, Isa 23:3. Waters, in scripture, are put for multitudes (Rev 16:5), and there are multitudes of poor (we do not want 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, Isa 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."
2."Give a portion to seven and also to eight, that is, be free and liberal in works of charity." (1.) "Give much if thou hast much to give, not a pittance, but a portion, not a bit or two, but a mess, a meal; give a large dole, not a paltry one; give good measure (Luk 6:38); be generous in giving, as those were when, on festival days, they sent portions to those for whom nothing was prepared (Neh 8:10), worthy portions." (2.) "Give to many, to seven, and also to eight; if thou meet with seven objects of charity, give to them all, and then, if thou meet with an eighth, give to that, and if with eight more, give to them all too. Excuse not thyself with the good thou hast done from the good thou hast further to do, but hold on, and mend. In hard times, when the number of the poor increases, let thy charity be proportionably enlarged." God is rich in mercy to all, to us, though unworthy; he gives liberally, and upbraids not with former gifts, and we must be merciful as our heavenly Father is.
II. The reasons with which it is pressed upon us. Consider,
1.Our reward for well-doing is very certain. "Though thou cast it upon the waters, and it seem lost, thou thinkest thou hast given thy good word with it and art likely never to hear of it again, yet thou shalt find it after many days, as the husbandman finds his seed again in a plentiful harvest and the merchant his venture in a rich return. It is not lost, but well laid out, and well laid up; it brings in full interest in the present gifts of God's providence, and graces and comforts of his Spirit; and the principal is sure, laid up in heaven, for it is lent to the Lord." Seneca, a heathen, could say, Nihil magis possidere me credam, quam bene donata - I possess nothing so completely as that which I have given away. Hochabeo quodcunque dedi; hae sunt divitiae certae in quacunque sortis humanae levitate - Whatever I have imparted I still possess; these riches remain with me through all the vicissitudes of life. "Thou shalt find it, perhaps not quickly, but after many days; the return may be slow, but it is sure and will be so much the more plentiful." Wheat, the most valuable grain, lies longest in the ground. Long voyages make the best returns.
2.Our opportunity for well-doing is very uncertain: "Thou knowest not what evil may be upon the earth, which may deprive thee of thy estate, and put thee out of a capacity to do good, and therefore, while thou hast wherewithal, be liberal with it, improve the present season, as the husbandman in sowing his ground, before the frost comes." We have reason to expect evil upon the earth, for we are born to trouble; what the evil may be we know not, but that we may be ready for it, whatever it is, it is our wisdom, in the day of prosperity, to be in good, to be doing good. Many make use of this as an argument against giving to the poor, because they know not what hard times may come when they may want themselves; whereas we should therefore the rather be charitable, that, when evil days come, we may have the comfort of having done good while we were able; we would then hope to find mercy both with God and man, and therefore should now show mercy. If by charity we trust God with what we have, we put it into good hands against bad times.
III. How he obviates the objections which might be made against this duty and the excuses of the uncharitable.
1.Some will say that what they have is their own and they have it for their own use, and will ask, Why should we cast it thus upon the waters? Why should I take my bread, and my flesh, and give it to I know not whom? So Nabal pleaded, Sa1 25:11. "Look up, man, and consider how soon thou wouldest be starved in a barren ground, if the clouds over thy head should plead thus, that they have their waters for themselves; but thou seest, when they are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth, to make it fruitful, till they are wearied and spent with watering it, Job 37:11. Are the heavens thus bountiful to the poor earth, that is so far below them, and wilt thou grudge thy bounty to thy poor brother, who is bone of thy bone? Or thus: some will say, Though we give but little to the poor, yet, thank God, we have as charitable a heart as any." Nay, says Solomon, if the clouds be full of rain, they will empty themselves; if there be charity in the heart, it will show itself, Jam 2:15, Jam 2:16. He that draws out his soul to the hungry will reach forth his hand to them, as he has ability.
2.Some will say that their sphere of usefulness is low and narrow; they cannot do the good that they see others can, who are in more public stations, and therefore they will sit still and do nothing. Nay, says he, in the place where the tree falls, or happens to be, there it shall be, for the benefit of those to whom it belongs; every man must labour to be a blessing to that place, whatever it is, where the providence of God casts him; wherever we are we may find good work to do if we have but hearts to do it. Or thus: some will say, "Many present themselves as objects of charity who are unworthy, and I do not know whom it is fit to give it to." "Trouble not thyself about that" (says Solomon); "give as discreetly as thou canst, and then be satisfied that, though the person should prove undeserving of thy charity, yet, if thou give it with an honest heart, thou shalt not lose thy reward; which way soever the charity is directed, north or south, thine shall be the benefit of it." This is commonly applied to death; therefore let us do good, and, as good trees, bring forth the fruits of righteousness, because death will shortly come and cut us down, and we shall then be determined to an unchangeable state of happiness or misery according to what was done in the body. As the tree falls at death, so it is likely to lie to all eternity.
3.Some will object the many discouragements they have met with in their charity. They have been reproached for it as proud and pharisaical; they have but little to give, and they shall be despised if they do not give as others do; they know not but their children may come to want it, and they had better lay it up for them; they have taxes to pay and purchases to make; they know not what use will be made of their charity, nor what construction will be put upon it; these, and a hundred such objections, he answers, in one word (Ecc 11:4): He that observes the wind shall not sow, which signifies doing good; and he that regards the clouds shall not reap, which signifies getting good. If we stand thus magnifying every little difficulty and making the worst of it, starting objections and fancying hardship and danger where there is none, we shall never go on, much less go through with our work, nor make any thing of it. If the husbandman should decline, or leave off, sowing for the sake of every flying cloud, and reaping for the sake of every blast of wind, he would make but an ill account of his husbandry at the year's end. the duties of religion are as necessary as sowing and reaping, and will turn as much to our own advantage. The discouragements we meet with in these duties are but as winds and clouds, which will do us no harm, and which those that put on a little courage and resolution will despise and easily break through. Note, Those that will be deterred and driven off by small and seeming difficulties from great and real duties will never bring any thing to pass in religion, for there will always arise some wind, some cloud or other, at least in our imagination, to discourage us. Winds and clouds are in God's hands, are designed to try us, and our Christianity obliges us to endure hardness.
4.Some will say, "We do not see in which way what we expend in charity should ever be made up to us; we do not find ourselves ever the richer; why should we depend upon the general promise of a blessing on the charitable, unless we saw which way to expect the operation of it?" To this he answers, "Thou knowest not the work of God, nor is it fit thou shouldst. Thou mayest be sure he will make good his word of promise, though he does not tell thee how, or which way, and though he works in a way by himself, according to the counsels of his unsearchable wisdom. He will work, and none shall hinder; but then he will work and none shall direct or prescribe to him. The blessing shall work insensibly but irresistibly. God's work shall certainly agree with his word, whether we see it or no." Our ignorance of the work of God he shows, in two instances: - (1.) We know not what is the way of the Spirit, of the wind (so some), we know not whence it comes, or whither it goes, or when it will turn; yet the seamen lie ready waiting for it, till it turns about in favour of them; so we must do our duty, in expectation of the time appointed for the blessing. Or it may be understood of the human soul; we know that God made us, and gave us these souls, but how they entered into these bodies, are united to them, animate them, and operate upon them, we know not; the soul is a mystery to itself, no marvel then that the work of God is so to us. (2.) We know not how the bones are fashioned in the womb of her that is with child. We cannot describe the manner either of the formation of the body or of its information with a soul; both, we know, are the work of God, and we acquiesce in his work, but cannot, in either, trace the process of the operation. We doubt not of the birth of the child that is conceived, though we know not how it is formed; nor need we doubt of the performance of the promise, though we perceive not how things work towards it. And we may well trust God to provide for us that which is convenient, without our anxious disquieting cares, and therein to recompense us for our charity, since it was without any knowledge or forecast of ours that our bodies were curiously wrought in secret and our souls found the way into them; and so the argument is the same, and urged to the same intent, with that of our Saviour (Mat 6:25), The life, the living soul that God has given us, is more than meat; the body, that God has made us, is more than raiment; let him therefore that has done the greater for us be cheerfully depended upon to do the less.
5.Some say, "We have been charitable, have given a great deal to the poor, and never yet saw any return for it; many days are past, and we have not found it again," to which he answers (Ecc 11:6), "Yet go on, proceed and persevere in well-doing; let slip no opportunity. In the morning sow thy seed upon the objects of charity that offer themselves early, and in the evening do not withhold thy hand, under pretence that thou art weary; as thou hast opportunity, be doing good, some way or other, all the day long, as the husbandman follows his seedness from morning till night. In the morning of youth lay out thyself to do good; give out of the little thou hast to begin the world with; and in the evening of old age yield not to the common temptation old people are in to be penurious; even then withhold not thy hand, and think not to excuse thyself from charitable works by purposing to make a charitable will, but do good to the last, for thou knowest not which work of charity and piety shall prosper, both as to others and as to thyself, this or that, but hast reason to hope that both shall be alike good. Be not weary of well-doing, for in due season, in God's time and that is the best time, you shall reap," Gal 6:9. This is applicable to spiritual charity, our pious endeavours for the good of the souls of others; let us continue them, for, though we have long laboured in vain, we may at length see the success of them. Let ministers, in the days of their seedness, sow both morning and evening; for who can tell which shall prosper?
"As you do not know what is the way of the
spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even
so you know not the works of God who makes all.
"Just as you do
not know the way of the spirit and of the soul entering a child, and are
unknowing of the types of bone and veins in the stomach of a pregnant
woman. It is hard to know how the human
body is formed from the simplest elements into the many varied forms and limbs,
and from the very same seed, one makes soft our hair, another makes our bones
hard; one connects the veins, another links the nerves together. Thus you cannot know the work of God, who has
made all things. From this he teaches
that the variety of things in the world must not be feared, and you must not
fear the winds and the clouds, which as we have mentioned above must be
judged. But although the sower ought to
reap in the course of his career, he ought to save the outcome for the
judgement of the Lord. " "
Yet his work is not known, because even those who preach him venerate his impenetrable judgments. They therefore both know him whom they preach, and yet do not know his works: because they know by grace him by whom they were made, but cannot comprehend his judgments that are wrought by him above their understanding.
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SUMMARY
Ecclesiastes 11:5 offers a profound meditation on the limits of human understanding, drawing a compelling parallel between our inability to comprehend natural, unseen phenomena—like the invisible path of the wind or the miraculous, hidden formation of life in the womb—and our even greater incapacity to fully grasp the vast, intricate, and sovereign works of God. The verse serves as a powerful reminder of divine omnipotence and the call for humility and trust in the face of God's incomprehensible wisdom and activity in the world.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Ecclesiastes 11:5 masterfully employs Analogy and Simile to convey its central message. The verse explicitly draws a comparison using the structure "As... even so," linking two natural, observable yet profoundly mysterious phenomena (the invisible path of the wind and the hidden miracle of fetal development) to the unsearchable "works of God." This rhetorical strategy makes the abstract concept of God's incomprehensibility tangible by grounding it in common human experience and the undeniable limits of human knowledge. Furthermore, an implied Rhetorical Question underpins the verse: "If you cannot understand these basic, yet complex, natural processes, how can you expect to understand the infinite works of the Creator of all?" This subtly challenges human presumption and underscores the vast chasm between finite human understanding and infinite divine wisdom. The cumulative effect of these examples also creates a sense of Hyperbole or extreme emphasis, highlighting the utter unknowability of God's comprehensive and sovereign work.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Ecclesiastes 11:5 profoundly shapes our understanding of divine sovereignty and human humility. It teaches that God's ways are not only higher than ours but often entirely beyond our grasp, challenging any notion of human autonomy or comprehensive understanding. This theological truth calls us to a posture of faith and trust, recognizing that the same God who intricately forms life in the womb and directs the unseen wind is also orchestrating the grand tapestry of history and our individual lives. It is a powerful antidote to intellectual arrogance, reminding us that true wisdom begins with acknowledging the limits of our knowledge and submitting to the infinite wisdom of the Creator.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
This verse serves as a vital anchor in a world that often prizes knowledge and control above all else. It liberates us from the burden of needing to understand everything, inviting us instead to embrace the profound mystery of God's providence. In practical terms, it encourages us to act diligently and faithfully in our callings, sowing seeds of goodness and effort, even when the outcomes are uncertain or the path ahead is unclear. We are called to cultivate a spirit of humility, recognizing that our finite minds cannot fully comprehend the infinite wisdom of God. This humility, in turn, fosters a deeper trust in His sovereign hand, allowing us to rest in the assurance that the One who "maketh all" is working all things for His ultimate purposes, even when we cannot discern His methods or foresee the results. It reminds us that our deepest peace is found not in knowing all the answers, but in knowing the One who holds all the answers and orchestrates all things for His glory and our good.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does this verse imply that God's works are completely unknowable, or just beyond our full comprehension?
Answer: Ecclesiastes 11:5 implies that God's works are beyond our full or exhaustive comprehension, not that they are entirely unknowable. The verse draws a parallel with natural phenomena that we observe but cannot fully explain or control (like the wind or fetal development). Similarly, while we can discern aspects of God's character and purposes through His revelation (e.g., in Scripture and creation), His ultimate plans and intricate methods remain mysterious to our finite minds. It's a call to humility and trust, acknowledging that God operates on a level far beyond human understanding, as powerfully articulated in Romans 11:33.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Ecclesiastes 11:5, with its emphasis on the inscrutable "works of God who maketh all," finds its ultimate Christ-centered fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ, who is Himself the visible manifestation of the invisible God and the very agent through whom all things were made. While the Old Testament highlights God's mysterious ways and unsearchable wisdom, the New Testament reveals that these mysteries are ultimately unveiled and embodied in Christ. The profound mystery of how "the bones do grow in the womb" points forward to the miraculous incarnation, where the Son of God, the very Word through whom "all things were made" (John 1:3), took on human flesh within the womb of Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35). This act, utterly beyond human comprehension or natural explanation, demonstrates God's sovereign power to bring forth life and salvation in ways that defy all human expectation. Furthermore, the "works of God" that we cannot fully know are perfectly embodied in Christ's redemptive work—His life, death, and resurrection—which, though historically verifiable, remains a profound spiritual mystery understood only through faith. In Christ, the incomprehensible God has made Himself known, for "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9), and His ultimate work of reconciling all things to Himself through the cross (Colossians 1:20) is the greatest of all His "works" which, though we cannot fully grasp its infinite depths, we are called to embrace by faith.