Dear Ones:
There is great wisdom in the book of Ecclesiastes…a wisdom that is born out of deep and hard experience, even anguish of mind and heart. But it is a wisdom that gives great hope and certainty, and the means for seeing that hope realized.
“Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.” (Ecc. 11:1) One of the changeless laws of the harvest is that, if we sow, we shall reap. It is also true that we reap that which we sow. There are many commentaries on this verse in Ecclesiastes, and likewise, there are many interpretations. But there is a message of hope and certainty in the words, for it declares to us that as we are led to give, to minister, and specifically, to spread the Word of God, there will be a “return on the investment.” There will be fruit, there will be blessing, there will be a definite, definable result, which corresponds to the type of “bread” that is cast, but also, the nature of the result, and the amount.
In verse 6, we read: “In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.” Here we have another illustration concerning the laws of the harvest. But this time, we are dealing not only with the act of “casting,” or “sowing,” we are dealing with the consistency of the action. There is a discipline of faith being exerted here. When Jesus was a boy of twelve years old, he was “lost” by his parents, who eventually found him in the temple discussing spiritual matters with the “doctors” of the law, “…hearing them, and asking them questions.” (Luke 2:47) When asked by His parents about His absence, and their concern, He replied: “…knew ye not that I MUST be about My Father’s business?” (v.49) Here is Christ, as a twelve-year-old boy, fully engaged in His Father’s business…and this would remain so on earth, until He is taken up after the resurrection. This is ever so clear when we read of His daily ministry…always in the business of His Father, sowing morning and evening, directed by the Spirit, with the certainty of many coming to a saving knowledge of Him.
The whole testimony of Scripture declares that when God speaks (sows the Word…), that there is a result, sooner of later, and it WILL be realized. Isaiah 54 declares: “…it (the Word of His mouth) will NOT return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please.” There is certainty and hope in this truth. And so it is, as we “cast our bread upon the waters…,” and as we “sow” in faith His word, morning and evening, that He WILL work, and accomplish His purposes and will for His glory.
Many years ago when we were preaching in the open air in a market in France, we could not see all the folk who were listening to the message. A year later, in the village, after opening up a coffee bar/shop to receive young people, a young lady come in and told us that she had been hiding behind a truck the year before in the market where we were preaching. She came to saving faith in Christ as a result, and we knew nothing of it until that day. The point is this. We may not “see” fully the fruit, the result of “casting bread, ” or “sowing the seed,” but when it is in faith, and in the will of God, there WILL be a harvest, a result. It is the law of the harvest, and this, because of the faithfulness of God.
Father, give us grace not to be weary in well-doing. Enable us to so walk with Thee by the Spirit, that we shall always be ready to give an answer for the hope within us. And grant us grace to be faithful, to be about our Father’s business, ever sowing morning and evening, in faith, believing Thee to glorify Thy name by the word, the bread and the seed, cast forth and sown. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad