Take Risks Boldly but Wisely!

Gene Moore JR.

Sermon • Submitted 7 years ago

0 ratings

· 8 views

Notes

Transcript

Sermon Tone Analysis

Emotion

Language

Social

View more →

Take Risks Boldly but Wisely!

(NRSV)

11 :1 Send out your bread upon the waters,

for after many days you will get it back.

2 Divide your means seven ways, or even eight,

for you do not know what disaster may happen on earth.

3 When clouds are full,

they empty rain on the earth;

whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,

in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.

4 Whoever observes the wind will not sow;

and whoever regards the clouds will not reap.

5 Just as you do not know how the breath comes to the bones in the mother’s womb, so you do not know the work of God, who makes everything.

6 In the morning sow your seed, and at evening do not let your hands be idle; for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

(Message Bible)

11 1 Be generous: Invest in acts of charity.

Charity yields high returns.

2 Don’t hoard your goods; spread them around.

Be a blessing to others. This could be your last night.

3–4 When the clouds are full of water, it rains.

When the wind blows down a tree, it lies where it falls.

Don’t sit there watching the wind. Do your own work.

Don’t stare at the clouds. Get on with your life.

5 Just as you’ll never understand

the mystery of life forming in a pregnant woman,

So you’ll never understand

the mystery at work in all that God does.

6 Go to work in the morning

and stick to it until evening without watching the clock.

You never know from moment to moment

how your work will turn out in the end.

Introduction

We fail to act because of our lack of knowledge and other uncertainties. For example, when farmers are not sure that they can sell their crop that year, they may let the land lie fallow. When business people are not certain they can turn a profit, they may back out of a deal. When we do not know that our work will be successful, we tend to do nothing.

Preaching Christ from Ecclesiastes: Foundations for Expository Sermons Sermon Exposition

The Israelites whom the Teacher addressed found themselves in the same predicament. The nation had undergone major upheavals. The small agricultural country had become the bridge for international trade between Egypt and Asia/Europe. Some Israelites had tried their hand at the trading business and lost. In chapter 5 the Teacher describes people who lost their riches in what he calls “a bad venture.” He writes, “As they came from their mother’s womb, so they shall go again, naked as they came; they shall take nothing for their toil, which they may carry away with their hands” (5:14–15). Seeing some people lose everything in a bad venture was enough for others not to risk anything at all. One never knows what might happen. So they hoarded their possessions. But that was neither safe nor wise. In concluding his book, the Teacher offers two major admonitions on how to live in a world with many uncertainties. The first admonition is found in our text and has to do with our work and possessions.

The Big Idea: The first admonition is found in our text and has to do with our work and possessions.

Verse 1, “Send out your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will get it back.” That seems like a risky thing to do. Take a loaf of Aunt Millie’s Multi-Grain Bread and send it out upon the waters. What would happen? It would soon become waterlogged and sink. You’d never see that loaf of bread again!

But, of course, we should not think of Aunt Millie’s bread but of the bread they baked back then. “What is envisioned is a pita, a thin, flat and probably hard disc that will float at least briefly on the current, until it is carried out of sight.” “Send out your bread upon the waters”; put it in the river and let it float around the bend. But as with Aunt Millie’s bread, you will never see it again!

Yet the Teacher says, “Send out your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will get it back.” He cannot possibly mean that you will literally get your bread back. What he is saying is, Do something risky, like sending out your bread upon the waters. Do something so risky that a return seems impossible. The bread will be carried downstream. It will sink. You’ll never see it again. But be bold! Step out in faith! Do something risky, “for after many days you will get it back.”

What does the Teacher have in mind? Many commentators now think of the sea trade. That was a risky business, especially in those days. The journeys were long and hazardous. And the owners had no idea how their ships and goods were faring. Many shipwrecks dot the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. The Bible tells us that King Solomon had a fleet of ships that would return with their gold, silver, and ivory once every three years (). With the maritime trade in mind, “Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return.” Dare to take a risk! Be bold! We would say, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

The Teacher wants us to take risks but not foolish ones. So he cautions in verse 2, “Divide your means seven ways, or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may happen on earth.” Don’t put all your goods on a single ship, “for you do not know what disaster may happen.” If that ship should sink in a storm, you would be bankrupt. “Divide your means seven ways, or even eight.” That means, divide your goods over a large number of ships. If one ship sinks, you will still have most of your possessions. Today we would say, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket!” Diversify your investments. But do dare to take risks. Be bold!

In the parable of the talents Jesus offers similar advice. The rich owner went on a journey. Before he left, he gave one of his servants five talents of money, another two talents, and a third one talent. The first servant immediately started to trade with his money and before long made five more talents. The second also worked hard with his money and made another two talents. But the third was afraid. He was afraid to risk his master’s money. With so many unknowns, he could easily lose it. So he dug a hole in the ground and hid the money. His master’s money was safe. Now he could not lose it. It seemed like a prudent thing to do. When the master returned home, he rewarded the first two servants for their hard work. But he rebuked the third one. He called him a “wicked and lazy servant” and “worthless.” And he punished him severely (). Jesus’ point is that we must work diligently in and for the kingdom of God. And in doing so, we must dare to take a risk with what God has entrusted to us. We must dare to step out in faith.

Daring to take a risk does not apply only to sea trade, of course. We need to take risks in many areas of life. Students spend many years in college and university preparing for their life’s work. They take the risk that there may not be a job opening in their chosen field when they are ready. Writers spend many years working on a book. They take the risk that their work may not be published or that it may not be well received. We take risks when we buy a house, when we travel, when we try different foods, when we select a surgeon. We take a risk even when we give money to the poor.

In chapter 4:1 the Teacher observed “all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun. Look, the tears of the oppressed—with no one to comfort them!” Is there no one to comfort the oppressed? Is there no one to help the poor? Could the Teacher imply in our text that we ought to take a risk also in giving money to the poor?

In the Middle Ages, commentators often understood the words, “Send out your bread upon the waters” as, Give bread to the oppressed! Give alms to the poor! That’s taking a real risk. From a secular perspective giving to the poor looks like money down the drain. We don’t know what the poor will do with the money. Moreover, we’ll never see that money again. But the Teacher assures us, “For after many days you will get it back.” It will bear fruit. It will come back to you.

Scholars have found a similar proverb in Egyptian wisdom literature. It reads like this: “Do a good deed and throw it in the water; when it dries you will find it.” It may look like the good deed has disappeared in the water, but when the water dries up you will find it again.

One commentator calls the imagery of “sending out your bread upon the waters” “an image of liberality.” This demand for liberality would be confirmed in verse 2, which says literally, “Give a portion to seven, or even eight.” Give a portion of your possessions to seven or even to eight people. Seven is the number of perfection, of completeness. In giving money to the poor, go completeness one better! Liberally spread your wealth around! “Give a portion to seven, or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may happen on earth.”

Given the possibility of a disaster, our instincts are “to hoard in anticipation of scarcity.” But verse 2 encourages us not to hang on to our possessions so tightly. The Teacher earlier exclaimed, “The lover of money will not be satisfied with money, nor the lover of wealth, with gain” (5:10; cf. 4:7–8; 5:13–17). Jesus also said, “One’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions” (). Possessions cannot buy happiness. Possessions are to be used to help those in need. So verse 2 suggests that we ought to give liberally to the poor while we have possessions to give, “for you do not know what disaster may happen.” That’s taking a big risk. It requires stepping out in faith with the assurance of verse 1 that “after many days you will get it back.”

How will we get back what we give to the poor? says, “Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor.” puts it this way, “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and will be repaid in full.” In Deuteronomy God says, “Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake” (). Jesus says similarly, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back” ().20

Jesus even urges us to give liberally when there is no chance that people can repay us. He says, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” ().

“Send out your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will get it back.” Dare to take a risk!

In verses 3 and 4 the Teacher expands on this theme. He has just said in verse 2 that we “do not know what disaster may happen on earth.” But there are some things we do know. He points us to some of the regularities, the certainties, we can observe in nature. Verse 3, “When clouds are full, they empty rain on the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.”

“When clouds are full, they empty rain on the earth.” Clouds were meaningful signals, especially in Palestine. When the heavy clouds blew in from the Mediterranean, people knew that the rainy season was upon them. “When clouds are full, they empty rain on the earth.” We observe this all the time; there are no exceptions. It’s a law of nature we can observe and count on.

A second example, “Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.” Picture a forest. A tree falls in that forest. The tree could fall to the south or to the north, or to the east or to the west—it doesn’t matter. The point is: “In the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.” It’s another law of nature. A fallen tree is not going to get up. A fallen tree is not going to move into a different direction from where it fell. This happens all the time; there are no exceptions. It’s a law of nature we can count on. So there are some things we can know by observing nature. There are some certainties.

But we can demand more certainty than is good for us. The Teacher states in verse 4, “Whoever observes the wind will not sow; and whoever regards the clouds will not reap.” Farmers prefer ideal weather for sowing and for reaping. Even today farmers carefully study the clouds and watch the weather channel. In ancient Palestine the best time to sow was when there was little or no wind. This allowed farmers to scatter the seed evenly over their fields. But if they waited and waited for perfect weather, they might never sow. At some point they needed to take the risk.

When it came time to harvest, the perfect weather would be sunny—not a cloud in the sky. Rain would spoil the harvest. So farmers would study the clouds and weigh the chances of rain. But if they waited for perfect weather, they might never reap. At some point they needed to take the risk.

This principle of risk taking applies not only to farmers, of course. Merchants have to take risks; homemakers have to take risks; students have to take risks. We all have to take risks. “The overly cautious individual is destined to fail, for optimal conditions may not materialize.” Therefore, even though we can never be certain that our timing is perfect, we ought not to let the unknown paralyze us. Rather, we ought to use every opportunity to do our work boldly. “Those who don’t try, never succeed.”

In verse 5 the Teacher comes back to what we don’t know: “Just as you do not know how the breath comes to the bones in the mother’s womb, so you do not know the work of God, who makes everything.” In ancient times they didn’t have a clue how life develops in a mother’s womb. The Psalmist exclaims, “My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth” (). Even with great advances in medical knowledge, we today do not really know how life comes into being.

“So,” and this is the point, “so you do not know the work of God, who makes everything.” We don’t know the work of God. We don’t know what God will do next. We don’t know his plans for the future. We live with a great deal of uncertainty.

But there is one thing that we do know, and that is that God “makes everything.” Nothing in this world is outside his control. The storms that sink ships on the sea, the clouds that rain on the earth, the trees that fall in the forest, the winds that blow, the crops that grow, the life-breath for babies—God makes everything! That knowledge provides us with stability in an uncertain world. The fact that God makes everything can give us the courage to do our work faithfully. The fact that God makes everything can give us the boldness to take some risks. We need not wait for absolute certainty before we act. We need not be so uptight. God makes everything. So we can send out our bread upon the waters, knowing that after many days we will get it back.

In verse 6 the Teacher again urges us to use every opportunity to work boldly but wisely. “In the morning sow your seed, and at evening do not let your hands be idle; for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.” Think of the risk farmers take when they sow their seed. They could eat this seed to satisfy their hunger. That would be a sure bet. But instead of eating the seed they bury it in the ground. Now they have nothing—unless they get a good harvest. So they sow in hope, but they cannot be certain of getting a good crop. There may be too much rain, or too little. There may be hail or a plague of locusts. What should people do when they don’t know the odds of success?

Some people do not sow, as we saw in verse 4, and therefore will not reap. Others wait too long to reap, and therefore waste a crop. These people are not willing to take the risk necessary for successful sowing and reaping. But the Teacher advises: Precisely because of the uncertainty, precisely because you do not know, you ought to use every opportunity to work. “You do not know which will prosper, this or that.” Perhaps the seed you sow in the morning will prosper. Perhaps what you sow in the evening will lead to a good crop. Perhaps both sowings will prosper. Precisely because you do not know, you ought to cover all your bases. Sow your seed both in the morning and in the evening. Use every opportunity to work boldly!

The Teacher says that we do not know: verse 2, “you do not know what disaster may happen”; verse 5, “you do not know how the breath comes to the bones in the mother’s womb,” and “you do not know the work of God,” and verse 6, “you do not know which will prosper, this or that.” We live in a world with many uncertainties because we “do not know.” How should we live in such a precarious world? The Teacher admonishes: Since we do not know what God will prosper, use every opportunity to work boldly but wisely!

Jesus offers similar advice. He tells his hearers the parable of the sower. “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up …” (). The sower knew, of course, that some of the seed might be eaten by birds, but he risked it anyway. He sowed the seed liberally, not knowing which seed would prosper. Some seed was indeed eaten by birds; some sprouted quickly but was scorched by the hot sun; some young plants were choked by thorns. A lot of uncertainty and failure. But the sower sowed anyway. In the midst of much uncertainty, he knew that some of the seed would prosper. So he sowed liberally and boldly.

Jesus intended his parable to be understood at a deeper level than the literal sowing of seed. He explained that the seed is “the word of the kingdom” (). We are to sow the word of the kingdom liberally because we don’t know when or where God will prosper it. So Jesus commands his disciples to be his “witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria [Samaria of all places], and to the ends of the earth” ().

Conclusion

Sometimes we may be discouraged by all the uncertainties. Sometimes we may be discouraged by our lack of success. It is not easy to live with uncertainties. Especially in our culture, it is not easy to live with our “not knowing.” It seems better to play it safe. As a result we may miss God-given opportunities. This passage urges us: precisely because of the uncertainties, precisely because you don’t know what God will prosper, use every opportunity to work boldly but wisely. And entrust the results to the hands of almighty God, who through Jesus Christ is our Father in heaven. He’ll take care of us.

Sidney Greidanus, Preaching Christ from Ecclesiastes: Foundations for Expository Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010), 269–270.

Preaching Christ from Ecclesiastes: Foundations for Expository Sermons Sermon Exposition

But, of course, we should not think of Aunt Millie’s bread but of the bread they baked back then. “What is envisioned is a pita, a thin, flat and probably hard disc that will float at least briefly on the current, until it is carried out of sight.”12 “Send out your bread upon the waters”; put it in the river and let it float around the bend. But as with Aunt Millie’s bread, you will never see it again!

Preaching Christ from Ecclesiastes: Foundations for Expository Sermons Sermon Exposition

But, of course, we should not think of Aunt Millie’s bread but of the bread they baked back then. “What is envisioned is a pita, a thin, flat and probably hard disc that will float at least briefly on the current, until it is carried out of sight.”12 “Send out your bread upon the waters”; put it in the river and let it float around the bend. But as with Aunt Millie’s bread, you will never see it again!

Sidney Greidanus, Preaching Christ from Ecclesiastes: Foundations for Expository Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010), 267–268.

Related Media

Related Sermons