1 Cast your bread upon the waters,
for after many days you will find it again.
2 Divide your portion among seven, or even eight,
for you do not know what disaster may befall the land.

3 If the clouds are full,
they will pour out rain upon the earth;
whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,
in the place where it falls, there it will lie.
4 He who watches the wind will fail to sow,
and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap.

5 As you do not know the path of the wind,
or how the bones are formed in a mother’s womb,
so you cannot understand the work of God,
the Maker of all things.
6 Sow your seed in the morning,
and do not rest your hands in the evening,
for you do not know which will succeed,
whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.

7 Light is sweet,
and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.
8 So if a man lives many years,
let him rejoice in them all.
But let him remember the days of darkness,
for they will be many.
Everything to come is futile.

9 Rejoice, O young man, while you are young,
and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth.
Walk in the ways of your heart
and in the sight of your eyes,
but know that for all these things
God will bring you to judgment.
10 So banish sorrow from your heart,
and cast off pain from your body,
for youth and vigor are fleeting.

REFLECTIONS

Written by James Davidson

Why do we live in a disaster-prone world? It’s because we live in a world under God’s curse due to human rebellion. As the Teacher says, we do not know what disaster may befall us next. Who saw the current war in the Middle East coming and the subsequent spike in fuel prices? Why does God send a flood in one area and drought in another? Why does one tree fall south into an open field and another fall north on to a house? There is so much about this world that we do not know and cannot understand, let alone control.

So how are we to live in such a world? The Teacher says there’s no point watching the wind or observing the clouds anxiously trying to predict where the next disaster will come from. That is beyond us and will only lead to neglecting to provide for ourselves. Rather we should work hard and work cleverly to provide for ourselves, so that we will have enough if some disaster does strike – like escalating fuel prices.

We should also “cast our bread upon the waters” – that is, we should be generous with any surplus we have, so that others will have enough if disaster strikes them. God has been generous to us in his Son; we should be generous to others so that they can be prepared for whatever disaster is yet to come.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James is one of our Assistant Ministers.