This week, we delve into chapter 11 of Ecclesiastes. This semester has undoubtedly been a transformative and thought-provoking journey through the depths of this timeless book of wisdom. As we reflect tonight, I want to share a few insights that have stood out to me.

“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.” Ecclesiastes 11:1-4

You may read this and start scratching your head for some time to try and figure this out.  I think we can safely say that the author is making a couple of valid points here: 

1) We just don't know how to tell the future! As we've seen in past weeks, there is a lot of uncertainty about life. We may pretend like we are certain about things, but we are only lying to ourselves and others. We just don't know so very much! And we have so little control over life as well. While this is true, many of us still put our plans into our calendar and assume all will go well. 

Then the uncertainty continues in verse 5:

“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.” Ecclesiastes 11:5

Our understanding of the world has grown exponentially, revealing knowledge that would have astounded people even just a decade ago—knowledge that might have seemed like pure magic to them. Yet, despite these advancements, as Qoheleth reminds us, the mysteries of God remain untouched by human comprehension. His ways are far beyond ours, unfathomable and wondrous. Consider the miracle of life itself: the way a baby develops in the womb is astonishing, even in an age of advanced imaging and scanning technologies. And still, we remain unable to grasp the profound mystery of how “the spirit comes to the bones in the womb.”

While our best scientists try to figure out how things work, God still can create something out of nothing. We will never do that. God answering Job in a jaw dropping monologue that I think gets close to the same meaning:

“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that a flood of waters may cover you? Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go and say to you, ‘Here we are’? Who has put wisdom in the inward parts or given understanding to the mind?” Job 38:34-36

To be continued…