Ecclesiastes 11

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Romans 11:33-36
• Hymn — Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise (#38)
• Prayer of Invocation
• Psalm Reading — Psalm 29
• Hymn — How Firm a Foundation (#94)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Sermon
• Hymn — Trust and Obey (#672)
• Benediction

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Sermon Title: Wisdom in a Dark World

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 11

I. Wisdom Is Resourcefulness in an Uncertain World

(Ecclesiastes 11:1-6)

A. Cast your bread upon the waters — invest what you have (Ecclesiastes 11:1)

1. Bread and waters symbolize possessions and trade routes
2. Give a portion to seven or eight — be resourceful against unknown disaster (Ecclesiastes 11:2)

B. Do not be paralyzed by what you cannot control (Ecclesiastes 11:3-4)

1. Creation moves in cyclical patterns — work with them, not against them
2. He who watches the wind will never sow; he who regards the clouds will never reap
3. Parallel: the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 — the servant who buried his talent out of fear was judged

C. Use the gifts God has given you in their proper season (Ecclesiastes 11:5-6)

1. As you do not know how the spirit comes to the bones in the womb, you do not know God's work
2. Sow in the morning and do not withhold your hand in the evening — you do not know which will prosper
3. Parallel: Matthew 6:34 — do not be anxious about tomorrow; sufficient for the day is its own trouble

II. Wisdom Is Light in a Dark World

(Ecclesiastes 11:7-8)

A. Light and sun symbolize life — rejoice in many years, but remember the days of darkness will be many (Ecclesiastes 11:8)

B. Throughout chapter 11, Solomon balances the good with the bad to give a proper understanding of how to enjoy life

1. Don't enjoy life ignorant of the sorrows that come — don't have ignorant joy, have wise joy
2. Ignorant joy avoids all reminders of death and decay; it demands constant entertainment (Pascal: the king needs a jester so he need never contemplate his own mortality)
3. Wise joy contemplates the reality of darkness and death, and so receives each day as a gift

C. Youth is wasted on the young — the young assume life will last forever and fail to stop and smell the roses

1. A fallen world is not a place of uninterrupted happiness; death and decay are sad and depressing
2. Don't foolishly avoid the depressing nature of a fallen world — embrace it, and rejoice in the day the Lord has made

III. Wisdom Is Purposefulness in an Aimless World

(Ecclesiastes 11:9-10)

A. Rejoice, young man, in your youth — but know that God will bring you into judgment (Ecclesiastes 11:9)

1. Enjoy health, vitality, and sharpness in youth — but with your eye on God, not on self
2. Don't live by YOLO — seeking to satisfy every passion and appetite apart from God

B. Remove vexation and put away evil from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity (Ecclesiastes 11:10)

1. The Hebrew word for "pain" also means "evil" — a play on words: the life of pain is the life wedded to evil
2. Satisfying the flesh in youth brings great pain — mental, spiritual, and physical
3. Derek Kidner: Joy was created to dance with goodness, not alone

C. Christ is the supreme example of the good life under the sun

1. He invested his resources and time wisely — teaching crowds, feeding them, withdrawing to pray
2. He enjoyed life — attending festivals, turning water to wine, fellowshipping — yet was never ignorant of darkness
3. He wept at a friend's grave, was righteously indignant in the temple, sweated drops of blood at Gethsemane, and cried out from the cross (Hebrews 12:2)
4. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of God
5. Conformity to Christ — purposeful, cross-bearing, aim fixed on the Father — is the good life under the sun
6. His eyes were always on the Father; Pilate's threats meant nothing — and in Christ, the Father will say, Well done, good and faithful servant