Ecclesiastes 11 Study Notes

11:1-6 This section focuses on making sound investments. It may seem odd that the Bible has such teachings, but much of Proverbs is concerned with advice on how to avoid poverty by prudent action. Most of us need a certain degree of prosperity in order to have a good life, and the advice here is valuable for both ancient and modern readers.

11:1-2 These verses deal with financial investment, not charity. The phrase bread on the surface of the water refers to investing in overseas trading ventures (1Kg 9:26-27). The phrase after many days you may find it refers to an eventual return on the investment, and the phrase to seven or even to eight refers to diversifying one’s investments.

11:3-5 These verses expand on the reason that a person must diversify his investments. No one knows what will happen, so it is best to be ready for anything. Verse 3 essentially states that there are some signs that indicate what will happen in the future. Dark clouds do not guarantee—but they suggest—that a storm is coming. Certain trends are likely to remain the same. A fallen tree almost certainly will stay where it is. On the other hand, a person can be too concerned with looking for indications of what will happen. Verse 4 says that people who will not commit until they are absolutely certain of success never do anything. Verse 5 tells us that we know little about the processes that govern the world. Understanding all about the weather or the formation of a fetus is beyond us. Thus, we should not demand infallible information about the future before making any investments.

11:6 A final word of advice on achieving prosperity: work hard in the hopes that at least one of your ventures will succeed.

11:7-12:7 Ecclesiastes is primarily concerned with making us understand that we are mortal, that our days are few, that all our works will fade away, and that we should govern our lives accordingly. In this, the last major passage of Ecclesiastes, the book reviews its essential conclusions about how we should spend the time we have. Essentially, the conclusion is twofold: enjoy your days under the sun and fear God.

11:7-8 In the Bible, light is often associated with life and darkness is associated with death. Light is beautiful, but the main point of light is sweet is that it is good to be alive. The assertion that the days of darkness . . . will be many does not deny the concept of an afterlife, nor does it specifically allude to an interim period between death and bodily resurrection. It is simply a way of saying that life is short but death is long. Enjoy these days because they are few and pass quickly.

11:9-10 In these verses two pieces of advice are in tension with each other. The first is that we should enjoy life and the second is that we should fear God. The danger is that some people will try to enjoy life by doing things that are offensive to God. Whoever does such things destroys himself and loses both happiness and God. On the other hand, those who have the wrong kind of fear of God believe that anything that makes people happy must be bad; thus, they deprive themselves of legitimate joys. A young person is specifically addressed because the elderly, as described in 12:1-7, are already in the grip of death; the capacity to enjoy life has to a degree already passed them by.