Preparing for Everything

Introduction

“Are you prepared for retirement?”

Those 5 words strike fear in the heart of many 55-year olds. But when we look at Ecclesiastes 11, Solomon is asking a somewhat similar question.

You could call it Solomon’s Retirement Strategy. And it has practical advice, but it goes much deeper than we might expect.

You might even call it “How to Be Old and Happy.” But if you’ve never thought about this kind of thing, don’t tune out, because the key to both is trusting God and making wise choices now. Part of that is knowing the difference between wise and foolish risks.

ILLUST: Stop worrying and throw yourself into it (note Ropes course)

We miss out on a lot of good things because we misunderstand the risks and forget that God knows what we don’t.

Solomon’s strategy is all about

3 points and a conclusion

I. Prepare for hard times by taking wise risks and giving generously (vv1-2)

<<READ vv1-2>>

Two-part investment strategy. And in typical Solomon fashion, it’s another riddle-proverb. How can you throw bread in the water and then find it? <<pause>>

The brilliance of the proverb is that you can draw more than one good principle from it. For example:

Some point to 1 Kings 10, where we find out that Solomon had a fleet of ships that came home only once every 3 years, but they came back full of wealth. So “Cast your bread upon the waters” would be a metaphor for risky but potentially lucrative investment, like sea trade. Cast it on the water, but not all in one place - divide it up as much as you wisely can. The principle is, Take wise risks, even if they’ll take a long time to pan out, but make sure to diversify.

Others say that it’s about the wisdom of generosity. I’d summarize it as “giving widely is giving wisely.” So even if it seems like you’re practically throwing it away, like bread into a lake, the principle is, Be generous as broadly as you can, so that when disaster strikes, you’ll have plenty of folks who will care for you, too.

The third interpretation stems from the chapter’s focus on what we don’t know. We aren’t as smart as we think we are, and we don’t always know how things are going to turn out. Sometimes, a crazy thought hits you, like throwing your bread in the water, and the crazier part is that sometimes it pans out.

Wise people sometimes do things everyone else laughs at, not because every bad idea is actually good, but because sometimes we don’t know which ideas are good. But wise people don’t take every strange opportunity, either.

So, they say, the principle is, Don’t be afraid to try something crazy, but don’t put all your eggs in the crazy basket.

And you know what? I think Solomon was wise enough to come up with a proverb that could mean all three of those on purpose. Especially because this isn’t just man’s wisdom; it’s God-breathed wisdom.

Put them all together: Take wise risks, be generous, and sometimes it’s wise to try something a little crazy, as long as you diversify. That’s good advice in any economy.

In the parable of the shrewd manager, Jesus says,

Luke 16:9 ESV

9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

Verses 3-6 elaborate, and our second point:

II. Prepare for the unknown by making the most of your opportunities (vv3-6)

<<READ 3-6>>

Now, he moves from trade to agriculture, and in verses 3-4, he turns the coin over so we can see tails. The folly of being overly risk-averse is that it doesn’t eliminate risk. It just guarantees a particular kind of disaster.

The guy who waits for perfect conditions will never start. And then you’ll have no bread because you were afraid of the rain.

Verse 3 is brilliant, because it says so much more than it seems. <<READ v3>>

Worrying about whether a tree is going to fall won’t make it fall north but land south. Don’t sit at home thinking, “Boy, if the tree falls on the house, I hope it doesn’t!”

And notice that both scenarios in verse 3 are IFS.

Dark clouds rolling down from Estes might mean storms for Greeley, or it might mean storms for Kersey. So stop acting like "ifs” and “maybes” are knowledge and certainty.

I almost called this sermon, “stop stopping and start starting.”

The world is full of mysteries, even in the things we know well, so embrace the fact that you don’t know what’s going to happen, and make the most of your opportunities. Look at verses 5-6.

Moms have felt the proof that God puts the spirit in the child in the womb when your baby wakes up and does somersaults in the womb. The rest of us have to settle for the still amazing experience of feeling a baby kick right there. (indicate palm)

But I remember the first ultrasound we ever saw, the whole “3D ultrasound” thing was pretty new. This was around 2006, and they recorded the 3D part onto a VHS tape. We still have a VHS tape player just in case we want to go watch it. The other kids didn’t get a VHS tape, but with all 3 of them, we heard the heartbeat. Watched them move, kick, yawn. We saw that they were living, growing, precious.

And just like Solomon knew 3000 years ago, we see the proof there on the screen that they were already them, spirit and bone together in the womb.

But we still don’t know how God unites spirit and bone.

Something less amazing but no less mysterious is economics. Go read the Wall Street Journal every day, get advanced degrees in finance. Build an impressive fortune, and then watch the smartest hedge fund managers get outperformed by an index fund.

Verse 6 reminds us that since we don’t know how things will pan out, and they’re all in God’s hands, we should work wisely.

That includes working the whole day, and taking every wise opportunity we can, as we saw in vv1-2

APPLY:

Elections, recessions, weird market changes, inflation, etc. are out of your control. Ppl fond of saying a storm is coming. A storm has always been coming. Don’t let it stop you from wise behavior both in work/business and in the Kingdom

The best way to prepare for the unknown is to know God, who knows what’s coming. And actually, as practical as Solomon’s advice might be, Jesus gave even more practical advice in two parables, one about wise generosity and one about sowing seed.

Shrewd manager:

Luke 16:9 ESV

9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

And in the Parable of the Sower, Jesus gives us a picture of what it looks like to make the most of opportunities to sow the Word of God.

Mark 4:3–9 ESV

3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” 9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

<<explain - seed is the Word of God>>

See, God knows where the good soil is, but you don’t.

If you’re waiting for the perfect time to tell others about salvation through faith in Christ, you’ll never say a word. But if you cast the Word far and wide, without worrying about what you don’t know, God may surprise you when the shoots break through the good soil.

Paul in Col 4 asks the Colossian Christians,

Colossians 4:3–4 ESV

3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

And then he says to them,

Colossians 4:5–6 ESV

5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Sow the Word:

At the breakfast table, at the dinner table; in small ways, in big ways;

w/ family; w/ friends; w/ coworkers; catch an Uber; get your hair cut; with five words or five hundred;

“You do not know” - even if you think you do! Pray for God’s wisdom & open your mouth

III. Prepare for everything by remembering God (vv7-10)

Throughout Ecclesiastes, Solomon has aimed his wisdom at the problems of vanity, toil, and death under the sun. Without God, it was all just so many puffs of air under a baking sun.

But notice what happens to the sun if we live under God’s promises.

<<READ vv7-10>>

Based on verse 7, I thought about naming this sermon “Solomon’s Sunny Summary” as a sort of play on the title of our first sermon in the series, “Solomon’s Submarine.”

“Pleasant” - final טוב before the final verse of the book. He’s been trying to figure out what is good for mankind under the sun since chapter 2, when he tried to recreate what God had made in Eden, and found that it was all vanity.

But each time he dove into despair, he surfaced and pointed us back to God’s promises.

Ecclesiastes 2:24–25 ESV

24 There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, 25 for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?

And in

Ecclesiastes 3:11–13 ESV

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.

Chapter 5 says that it is good, it is טוב, to rejoice in God and His gifts; and that rejoicing is only possible for those who fear God according to chapter 7:18 and 8:12. It’s so important, Solomon says it twice: Do you want to know what’s good for you? Start with the fear of God.

Scripture tells us that to fear the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. To fear Him is to know Him as LORD; to know that we are sinners, and poor in spirit; our only hope is that another has paid our debts. And everyone who calls upon His name will know Him not only as LORD, but also as savior.

And suddenly, light becomes sweet. It is miserable to live under the sun; but it is pleasant, it is טוב, it is good, for the eyes to see the sun with wisdom, to see it as God does, as a gift, to rejoice in.

How different from the misery of the man in chapter 5 who loved money, who kept riches to his own hurt and lost it all in a bad venture, and he never had anything but riches. And he never tasted food for what it actually was, and never saw the sun for what it really was, because he didn’t know God. Even under the sun, Ecc 5:17 says he “eats in darkness and much vexation and sickness and anger.”

Look again at verse 7 <<READ>>. That word translated “sweet” is not very common. It only occurs 11 times in the Old Testament, two of which are here in Ecclesiastes. But it also pops up in:

Psalm 19:9–10 ESV

9 the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.

God’s Word is sweeter than honey. And

Psalm 34:8 ESV

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

APPLY: So, stop for a moment. Have you tasted that the LORD is good and taken refuge in Him for salvation in Jesus Christ? If not, you’ve never seen the sun for what it is. You’ve never experienced the sweetness of light. Ever.

And the crazy part is that we are so backwards in our thinking that until the sweetness of God’s grace shines on us, we’re afraid to give up the darkness, the distress or vexation, the pain of life without Him.

Instead of reckoning with God now and rejoicing in all our years, many people waste their youth thinking they need to “sow their wild oats” first. But that’s a lie from hell, designed by Satan.

We’re afraid to risk losing the stuff that’s killing us. But I have seen what it looks like to live in the sweetness of salvation for 70, 80, 90 years. And it is better and wiser than waiting.

So:

Conclusion: Learning to Smile in Both Directions

Verses 8-10 draw this out for us. He says, rejoice in all your years but remember what’s coming. Rejoice in your youth but know that God will bring you into judgment.

Enjoyment without regard for the future is folly. But the answer is not despair; the answer is to reckon with God now.

If God gives you many years, you can rejoice in them all without God, but it won’t be the kind of joy you were built for. It will be a cheap knock-off of real joy.

And Solomon reminds us that if we live many years, “the days of darkness will be many.” Just like summer gives way to fall, good seasons give way to bad.

ILLUST: Last year, we had many days of darkness with that brownish orange wildfire haze. Even the summer wasn’t as bright as it should be. If we put verses 1-6 into practice, we do what we can to prepare for the days of darkness, not knowing when they might come. That way, we can rejoice in God’s provision when things go badly.

The darkness Solomon has in mind becomes more clear in chapter 12, when he talks about the clouds blotting out the stars. We’re talking about the kind of storm that wipes stuff out. But just like the Bible also uses darkness as a metaphor for the Day of the Lord, Solomon makes it clear in verse 9 - he’s talking about the Day of Judgment.

Earlier, Solomon focused on what we don’t know - we don’t know what disaster might happen; we don’t know how God breathes a spirit into a child in the womb; we don’t know God’s works; we don’t know which things we do will prosper. But in verse 9 he says, “Know that God’s judgment is coming.”

The young man who fails to remember all this will end up like the miser who lost his fortune and ate in the dark, with vexation (distress/frustration) and sickness all his days.

So, he says, rejoice the way you were built to rejoice.

If you want to be happy in old age, you have to learn to smile in both directions. The blessed old man or old woman looks back at a life lived for Jesus, at wise risks taken for the Kingdom and the days he exulted in God’s sunshine, the days she saw God provide even when disaster struck.

The days of darkness were many, but they were just a puff of air, vanity, and God got them through them.

The blessed old saint remembers how God used them in the lives of others, sowing the seed of the Kingdom and watching God give the growth. And in the later days, when they start wearing those glaucoma sunglasses that cover up half your face, and light is sweet but it’s also harder to see, they can smile back on the days of their youth.

But the blessed old saint can smile as they look forward, too. The certainty of God’s judgment produces no vexation for the one who knows the truth that for those who belong to Jesus,

Colossians 2:13–14 ESV

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Brothers and sisters, if you belong to Jesus, your sins have already been judged and condemned and punished in the death of Jesus, your debt has been paid, and you are forgiven. And the blessed old saint, trusting in Christ, can smile as they consider what awaits them at the judgment. It is peace that awaits them.

Romans 5:1 ESV

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Here in Solomon’s Sunny Summary, he’s saying to us, “Don’t wait! Get right with God now! It’s worth it! You’ll be prepared for everything that comes.”

ILLUST: And I have proof. Some of you are fortunate enough to have known a godly parent or grandparent and watched them face their final days with peace that comes from knowing God personally.

But most of you have not been at as many deathbeds or funerals as me. Don’t feel bad for me! What I can tell you is that the old saint dies best.

Psalm 116:15 ESV

15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

The holiness of God blazes like the sun in the presence of a brother or sister who looks their children in the face and says, “I can’t wait to see my savior.”

Old saints die best.

And it’s not the young believers who miss out if they sow for God instead of for themselves. They’re the ones who are prepared for everything.