WISDOM IN IGNORANCE
Opening Prayer
Father in Heaven, thank you for the hope that is mine because of Christ—not just for today and tomorrow, but for eternity.
Read ECCLESIASTES 10:12 – 11:10
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
12 Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious,
but fools are consumed by their own lips.
13 At the beginning their words are folly;
at the end they are wicked madness—
14 and fools multiply words.
No one knows what is coming—
who can tell someone else what will happen after them?
15 The toil of fools wearies them;
they do not know the way to town.
16 Woe to the land whose king was a servant[a]
and whose princes feast in the morning.
17 Blessed is the land whose king is of noble birth
and whose princes eat at a proper time—
for strength and not for drunkenness.
18 Through laziness, the rafters sag;
because of idle hands, the house leaks.
19 A feast is made for laughter,
wine makes life merry,
and money is the answer for everything.
20 Do not revile the king even in your thoughts,
or curse the rich in your bedroom,
because a bird in the sky may carry your words,
and a bird on the wing may report what you say.
Invest in Many Ventures
11 Ship your grain across the sea;
after many days you may receive a return.
2 Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight;
you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.
3 If clouds are full of water,
they pour rain on the earth.
Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,
in the place where it falls, there it will lie.
4 Whoever watches the wind will not plant;
whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.
5 As you do not know the path of the wind,
or how the body is formed[b] 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 at evening let your hands not be idle,
for you do not know which will succeed,
whether this or that,
or whether both will do equally well.
Remember Your Creator While Young
7 Light is sweet,
and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.
8 However many years anyone may live,
let them enjoy them all.
But let them remember the days of darkness,
for there will be many.
Everything to come is meaningless.
9 You who are young, be happy while you are young,
and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.
Follow the ways of your heart
and whatever your eyes see,
but know that for all these things
God will bring you into judgment.
10 So then, banish anxiety from your heart
and cast off the troubles of your body,
for youth and vigor are meaningless.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 10:16 Or king is a child
- Ecclesiastes 11:5 Or know how life (or the spirit) / enters the body being formed
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
‘There’s no discouragement / shall make him once relent / his first avowed intent / to be a pilgrim.’1
The Teacher now considers another issue with the human experience. Verse 14 tells us, ‘No one knows what is coming.’ We are all ignorant of what is going to happen in our lives and in the wider world around us. We can make plans for our future, but none of us really knows what is going to happen. The Teacher’s response to this difficult truth is twofold. First, he shifts into the style of the book of Proverbs in verses 15–20. He states five proverbs that commend good, prudent, and wise living. Second, he appears to advocate that the best response to uncertainty is to diversify your investments (11:1–6). If you cannot know what is going to happen, the sensible thing to do is not to put all your eggs into one basket. His reflections are a humble reminder of our own ignorance and inability in comparison to the comprehension of God. Verse 5 has particular resonance in a society that likes to try to predict the weather and that can create images of a baby growing in the womb: despite these advances, weather forecasts are often mistaken, and we don’t know exactly how the body is formed in the womb. Our knowledge is limited, our ignorance extensive.
In acknowledging our limitations, we can seek the wisdom of the One who does understand these things. That is why wisdom in the Bible is always related to God. It is through that relationship that we are given the heart and perspective of our loving Father to influence our decisions for good. The state of the world is exceptionally uncertain at the moment. Through our faith we can receive not just hope amid that uncertainty but also wisdom on how to act within it. In humility we can find wisdom in our ignorance.
Apply
Reflect on your hopes for the future. Where is there uncertainty in those hopes? Pray for God’s wisdom to help you as you face the future.
Closing prayer
Faithful God, thank you for the Light of the World. Help me to live with joy in him and to share the hope that is mine with others.
1 John Bunyan, ‘He who would valiant be’, 1684
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