Never stop doing good
Text Ecclesiastes 10.12-11.16 Time 18/09/05 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church
It is often rather difficult when we are reading the Bible to be sure quite how one part fits with another. As we study the Bible, however, we find that there are certain patterns and a number of principles can be established that guide us in our understanding.
One of the features of many writings in the Old Testament is the use of what are called inclusios. These are words or phrases that occur at the beginning and ending of a section. In fact often as you look at a passage you will see a carefully organized pattern of matching sections. Now we are currently studying Ecclesiastes 9:10-11:6. We looked last week at 9:10-10:11 and this week I want to look at the rest of the section.
Now these verses cover many different points and it may be difficult to see quite what ties them together. However, you notice that the section begins (9:10) with the words Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom. Now if you go down to 11:6 you see that it says Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well. Now the words are not identical but the command is pretty much the same. The reason given is in both cases our ignorance. You may also notice that there are other correspondences. For example 9:12/11:5 (ignorance) – 9:11/11:3,4 (providence). I haven’t been able to work it out completely but the pivot is probably between 10:15 and 16. The important thing to see is that whereas last week we began with the point Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might and then explored that, this time we are heading towards Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle.
Last week we made a series of points fleshing out in what way we should do what we do with all our might
1. We should do so keeping in mind God’s sometimes surprising providences (The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favour to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all)
2. Also our general ignorance especially about when we will die
3. Then there is his story illustrating the public’s general scorn and amnesia with regard to wisdom
4. There is also foolishness’s disproportionate influence in this world
5. Wisdom has power to strengthen but it has many limitations
6. Finally, keep in mind the need for a balanced approach (Whoever digs a pit may fall into it; whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake. Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them; whoever splits logs may be endangered by them); the wisdom of thorough preparation (If the axe is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success.) and the dangers of procrastination (If a snake bites before it is charmed, there is no profit for the charmer.)
Now this week we will be doing something similar although we will be coming at things from a slightly different angle. We will use four headings
1. Actions speak louder than words
1. Wise words are kind words
In Chapter 4 Solomon has a great deal to say about the wise and the foolish. In 12a he says Words from a wise man’s mouth are gracious. As one writer says, we never go very far reading about wisdom before the subject of how we use our tongues comes up. If you are wise, you will take care how you speak. What you say will be gracious, pleasant and kind. There is something attractive about wise speech. By commending action, doing things with all your might, Solomon is not about to speak against words altogether. Endeavour always to speak graciously.
2. But some people are all talk
The full verse is Words from a wise man’s mouth are gracious but a fool is consumed by his own lips. There is such a thing as favourable speech but there is also harmful speech and the fool is one who is all talk and no action. 13, 14 At the beginning his words are folly; at the end they are wicked madness – and the fool multiplies words.
1 There is something destructive about the fool’s words a fool is consumed by his own lips. Unlike the wise man, the fool speaks not in a way that builds up and edifies but one that tears down and consumes. You remember how James calls the tongue a fire. That fire destroys people’s reputations and in the end burns up the fool himself. Think of the way a fool will lie and lie and in the end he says something that incriminates him and he is found out.
2 There is something unreasonable about the fool’s words. At the beginning his words are folly. If you listen to what a fool is saying you will see how unreasonable and stupid he is. It can sound pretty impressive if you don’t know any better but it’s not.
3 There is something wild about the fool’s words at the end they are wicked madness and the fool multiplies words. The fool doesn’t know when to stop. On and on and on he goes causing more and more problems. He makes great boasts but he never does anything. Oh what dangers there are in letting our tongues run away with us. Do you know Bunyan’s Mr Talkative in Pilgrim's Progress? He was all talk and ended up in hell. Words can be a great blessing to others but we must act not merely talk. Are you all talk and no action?
2. Avoid indolence, incompetence, immaturity, indulgence and idleness
It is difficult to be sure how what comes next should be taken. The note is again sounded, however, that we are ignorant. No-one knows what is coming - who can tell him what will happen after him? Even a wise person has to admit his ignorance. Indeed, it is part of wisdom to do so. Nevertheless, just because we do not know certain things that is no excuse for simply sitting down and doing nothing or not trying to do something. Rather we need to get ourselves organised.
1. Avoid indolence and incompetence
Verse 15 A fool’s work wearies him; he does not know the way to town. There are some people who have a distaste for all hard work. Sometimes it is because they are very intelligent and because some things come easy to them they want everything to be like that. For whatever reason, if we have a disinclination towards hard work we need to turn from it. We need to be ready to work hard and serve the Lord in whatever way he requires of us.
Some are simply incompetent. They do not know the way to town as it were. It is well signposted but they get lost anyway. Again there are some who find the simplest things difficult. Their mind is really not on the job in hand. Such a person needs to buy a map or to walk out the route for himself until he does know it. There can be no excuses. Is your incompetence letting you down? Get it sorted out.
2. Avoid immaturity and indulgence
Verses 16, 17 Woe to you, O land whose king was a servant and whose princes feast in the morning. Blessed are you, O land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat at a proper time - for strength and not for drunkenness. Here we see a situation where a country is going to rack and ruin. Why? In one case it is because the person on the throne has not been trained up for the task. He lacks maturity. Sometimes this can be the problem with someone who is unwilling to work hard. Certain jobs are for those who are up to it. If we try and press ourselves into something beyond our capabilities then it will not work. Parkinson’s Law speaks of everyone rising to their own level of incompetence. Better that we work hard and successfully at some lowly job that we can handle than that we take on something and then make a mess of it.
Others are simply indulgent. Instead of hard work they throw themselves into every indulgence. It’s a constant round of parties and festivities. This is not how it should be. Is that what is letting you down? Is that why you are not more competent in the Lord’s service?
3. Avoid idleness
Verse 18 If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the house leaks. Here is a house with sagging rafters and a leaky roof. Why? Because the owner is too lazy to do anything about fixing it. How many problems, how many things not done just because people are too lazy?
3. Be practical and respectful
Two further cautions come in verses 19, 20. Again there is some dispute over their meaning.
1 Be practical
19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for everything. It sounds a strange verse to be in the Bible. Some are convinced it must be the sentiment of an unbeliever or spoken with heavy sarcasm. It is much more likely that this is simply Solomon getting us to face up to reality once again. You can imagine some people getting hold of verses like this Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle and really pushing for the most active and vigorous sort of Christian program imaginable. Great plans could be hatched for leafleting the whole of London, etc. When people come back to you and say ‘Yes, but who’s going to pay for all this?’ you dismiss them as unspiritual and lacking in vision. But no, says Solomon, we must be practical about things. He gives two examples and then his third over-arching point.
- A feast is made for laughter. That is the point of a feast. It is to be enjoyed
- Similarly wine makes life merry. That is a fact of life, as it were.
- But money is the answer for everything. Without money there will be no feast and no wine either. Some people would describe such an attitude as unspiritual but Solomon would not agree. We need to be practical about things. Be diligent but be practical. My own attitude as a youngster was quite impractical in many ways – "let's give all the church's money away for missionary work". That’s one of the great things about William Carey. Yes, a real dreamer with his ideas for bringing the gospel to India but very practical too. Being zealous for God is not a matter of being impractical.
Verse 20 Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say. Here is a warning too against being disrespectful. Again, Carey is a model. Perhaps you know how for very many years he spoke to other ministers about the needs of the heathen and was largely ignored. There is the story of the man who said to him ‘when God decides to save the heathen he will do so without your help or mine’. It is probably not accurate but it sums up the sort of attitudes that did exist. In such a situation it is easy to show disrespect for those who are holding things back. Here we are warned not to say anything even in the privacy of our own rooms against such people. We should be full of respect. Again I have to confess my own lack of it as a youngster. Christ always gave respect where respect was due
4. Be enterprising whatever happens
1. Be enterprising despite your ignorance
6:1, 2 Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again. Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land. This verse makes you think of throwing bread on a pond for ducks perhaps. You may think of doling out portions to people around a table. It is much more likely that we are thinking of trading ships here, something Solomon knew all about. Whatever we do we must enter into with an enterprising attitude. A certain amount of risk taking is involved. You knock people’s doors to tell them about Jesus. They may be nasty to you but you will see results eventually it may be. You want to pass on the good news to others. Don’t stick to just one or two. Give to many. Whatever you do, do it with this spirit, a generous open-hearted and hopeful one.
2. Do not make providence an excuse for inactivity
6:3, 4 If clouds are full of water, they pour rain upon the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there will it lie. Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. Think first of a gathering storm. You see the rain clouds gather and then down comes the rain. Then think of a very strong wind. It is so strong it brings down a tree. Where that tree lands, it lands. Now if you think to yourself ‘I want to plant my seeds where the trees will not fall’ and so you try and figure out which way one might fall in a storm then you will never get around to sowing. Or if at harvest time you keep looking at the clouds and thinking it’s no good harvesting now as it might rain after I have started then you may never get the harvest in! God’s providence must not be made an excuse for inactivity, for not doing anything. If you say we can’t try and plant a church here it might not work, it might never be planted. If you say we may not be able to afford to pay a pastor so we can’t go ahead with trying – you may never get one. It’s no good thinking ‘I won’t speak to him/her they might not be converted’.
3. Recognise life’s mystery but still be active in doing good
Verse 5 follows on As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. Yes, we are in tremendous ignorance as we have said several times. As competent as weather forecasters are, they cannot get it exactly right. We cannot be sure which way the wind will be blowing tomorrow. We now have photographs of babies in the womb and we understand better than ever what happens but we don’t understand it. In a similar way we cannot predict the work of the Spirit or who will be born again when or how.
And so Solomon exhorts (6) Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well. We have no way of knowing such things. We do not simply then forget about doing anything. Rather we pray and we witness and we work with all our might at sharing the truth and in everything else we do we work with great fervour knowing that we are entirely in God’s hands.
