Cast Your Bread Upon the Waters for After Many Days You Will Find It Again

Question

What is the meaning of "Cast your staff of life upon the waters" in Ecclesiastes 11:1?

Respond

Ecclesiastes 11:1 says, "Bandage your breadstuff upon the waters, for you will discover information technology later many days" (ESV). This maxim has led to a variety of interpretations, some improve than others. Nosotros volition take a look at a couple of them in this article.

I view is that the education to "bandage your bread upon the waters" has to do with international commerce. The principle is that, if you invest your "staff of life" or "grain" wisely, in a wide enough market, you will garner a return. A couple of Bible translations bring out this meaning:
"Send your grain beyond the sea; after many days you may receive a return" (NIV).
"Invest your money in foreign merchandise, and one of these days you volition make a turn a profit" (GNT).

The problem with seeing this verse as advice on international trade is that the context doesn't much support it. I of the themes of Ecclesiastes is that financial proceeds is "vanity" (see Ecclesiastes 5:10–17), then why would the author, Solomon, virtually the finish of the book, be giving advice on how to plow a profit?

Another view is that the didactics to "bandage your bread upon the waters" is a metaphor for beingness generous, fifty-fifty if a return seems unlikely. A couple translations emphasize this meaning:
"Be generous, and someday you will be rewarded" (CEV).
"Practice good wherever you go. Subsequently a while, the practiced you practice will come dorsum to you" (ERV).

This 2d, metaphorical view is probably more in line with the intent of the verse. Casting bread or sowing seed on h2o seems to be an practise in futility. Only you don't know what the actual results will be, says Solomon; in religion be generous, and in organized religion expect a render somewhere downward the road. This accords with Proverbs 11:18, "The 1 who sows righteousness reaps a sure advantage"; and Galatians half-dozen:9, "Let the states not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

Carrying that interpretation forrard, we look at Ecclesiastes 11:1–2 together:
"Ship your grain beyond the sea;
afterwards many days you may receive a render.
Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight;
you practise not know what disaster may come upon the land."

The passage every bit a whole communicates the principle of doing equally much good as y'all tin can, knowing two things: the results are in God's hands, and you don't know when you yourself will exist in need of someone else'due south generosity.

The volume of Ecclesiastes is unique in the Hebrew Scriptures. It is the merely book that overtly philosophizes. Specifically, Ecclesiastes is a volume of applied philosophy—it is based on observation and experience, not on strained, esoteric ideas.

The topic in Ecclesiastes eleven:1–6 is not how h2o affects breadstuff. It is nigh how our goodness affects the world. The bread and water are used every bit imagery. The "bread," which by metonymy is best understood to be the seed of the bread (its grain), represents our goodness, and the rest of the passage encourages us to be undeterred in our "sowing." We must "cast our staff of life"—we must liberally extend our goodness, even when it doesn't seem to be doing any good (cf. Matthew v:44 and Luke 14:thirteen–fourteen).

We should note that Ecclesiastes 11:ane is non a holy algorithm that says if you practise X in the Y way then Z will happen. Rather, Solomon gives us a precept and a prescription. It is non a formula like those used in laboratories that necessarily yield the aforementioned results time after time. Sowing goodness comes nether the realm of social scientific discipline.

Solomon is offer good communication based on his observations. But since people are involved—and since people are volitional creatures—the maxim cannot guarantee a positive consequence in every case. This "no guarantees" aspect of benignancy is shown by the phrase "upon the waters." Nosotros cast our bread out into the world, and nosotros but cannot know if every seed will find a identify to grow. What we exercise know is that a significant number of seeds will grow. We should not get hung up on the fact that some of the seeds volition not thrive (cf. Marker four:3–20).

Casting breadstuff upon the waters evokes the police of sowing and reaping. The seed in this example is one'southward acts of goodness. There will exist a harvest in heaven, if not in this world. Only the point Solomon makes is more that we should sow goodness in lodge to reap a future harvest; the idea is for us to become people who will do good for goodness' sake, irrespective of the harvest.

Ecclesiastes 11:one–half-dozen can reasonably mean, "Sow seeds of goodness every day, even when information technology doesn't make sense to do so. In due season you lot will reap a reward. Exist diligent about sowing goodness, and accept no excuses! Then goodness will become a function of who you lot are, not just a thing that you do, and the world will be a amend place because of it."

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This folio last updated: January 4, 2022

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