Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth. If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth, and if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie. He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good. Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity. Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, "I have no pleasure in them"; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low— they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets— before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity. - Ecclesiastes 11:1-12:‬8 ESV 

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Teachings and proverbs came in the last chapter. Today, the preacher brings his message to a close. If an artist was to display this, it would be an old man gathering his family to give his final lessons/message.

Lesson on Risk and reward

This first part of the passage is imagery about business transactions and trade. It is about sending ships out to trade with other nations. And it speaks of investing in a diverse number of things. This is to avoid complete loss. 

Then it switches to imagery about nature. It speaks of how it is hard to predict what will happen with weather. Waiting for the perfect circumstances is something that will never come. God knows all things, but for us there is much more mystery. We cannot see what will happen.

This is a call to live our lives not foolishly, but to take informed risks for the Lord. We are not to hoard and protect, but to multiply and invest. We are to make the most of every opportunity, spiritually, at work, etc. We are to avoid paralysis by analysis. We are frozen in analysis and never act. But we do need to avoid unspiritual decision making. We need to pray and seek out wisdom. But without waiting for Gideon's fleece, rather to step out in faith in God's promises, character, and word. 

Lesson on Rejoicing

For the preacher who is older with more life behind him than before him. He's over the hill so to speak. He says there will be dark days. His message is to enjoy life without being sinfully indulgent. So how does one become sinfully indulgent? When we look for more from the gifts than the ultimate giver, God. We cannot look to these good things as God replacements. 

How? We need to remove vexation from our hearts. Life is too short to hang onto grudges, bitterness, resentment. Holding onto bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. We need to bring these things to God and ask for His empowerment to forgive.

Lesson on Remembering

The preacher finishes with a description of old age and death. You start waking up at the quietest things. Your desire fails means that you have less motivation. 7pm starts to feel so late and you are so tried. Then finally, beautiful things fall apart. In life you will slowly begin to weaken, to slow down, and finally, to die. You cannot take anything with you. Remember your Creator in your youth. Before you grow old and before you are so locked down, reorder your life. Forget about the fleeting things that will not last. Instead focus on those things that will last forever and push hard for those things. Hold nothing back for the kingdom of God. The better preacher puts it this way:

Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel,  who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. - Mark 10:29‭-‬30 ESV 

So the dark days will come, but we will still be able to rejoice because the better days are yet to come. Whatever we invest in God's kingdom will not fail to bring an unimaginable return. When we close our eyes that final time here, we will open them to see Jesus and walk in that heavenly city in joy.