Ecclesiastes 11 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Ecclesiastes 11 Short Summary:

Solomon continues his proverbs discussing the principles of generosity and trusting God through the unknown. At the end of the chapter, he encourages young men to enjoy their youth but ultimately declares youth to be just another vanity.

Ecclesiastes 11 Bible Study

ECCLESIASTES CHAPTER SUMMARIES

• Ecclesiastes 1 - Solomon declares that life on earth is vanity. Earthly pursuits are largely meaningless. Men are born and men die in the endless cycle of the earth’s spinning. History is forgotten and repeated generation after generation.

• Ecclesiastes 2 - Solomon tested the offerings of the world and found them empty. Physical pleasure, wine, laughter, entertainment, accomplishing things, riches, making a name for himself, they were all vanity. Solomon discussed the fate of the wicked vs. the foolish, and lamented the short-term value of hard work.

• Ecclesiastes 3 - The cycle of the earth repeats continually, and everything happens at its appointed time according to God’s design. God created mankind with knowledge of eternity, although much of His work is still hidden from them. Injustice is prevalent on the earth, but a time for judgment is approaching.

• Ecclesiastes 4 - In Ecclesiastes 4, Solomon expands on his reasons for calling all of life “vanity.” Life is oppressive, and the weak are victims of the powerful. There is vanity in hard work and in laziness. Companionship is preferable to solitude, even high-achieving solitude. Fame and power are fleeting.

• Ecclesiastes 5 - Solomon continues his discussion on vanity, bringing up at least 3 areas of life where vanity is observable. Solomon saw vanity in the way some people worshipped, when they offered empty words and promises to God. He goes on to describe the vanity of greed and the vanity of wealth.

• Ecclesiastes 6 - Solomon contemplates the vanity of a life of riches, wealth, and honor when the possessor never gets to enjoy them. Solomon warns men that their life’s work could all be meaningless, because nobody knows what will happen to their work after they die.

• Ecclesiastes 7 - Solomon concludes that wisdom is a benefit to men living “under the sun.” It can give a man advantages on earth, but that man will also have to come to grips with the reality that all of life is meaningless. Wisdom can be pursued, but it will never be fully grasped.

• Ecclesiastes 8 - Ecclesiastes 8 begins by describing a man of wisdom. A wise man obeys his king and knows the inevitability of death. Solomon lamented injustice on the earth, how some men who deserve punishment are blessed and visa-versa. He declared God’s ways to mysterious to find out.

• Ecclesiastes 9 - Solomon was frustrated by the seeming randomness of life’s events. It wasn’t clear to him why God allowed similar events to befall the righteous and the wicked. At the end of the chapter, he described the value of wisdom using a story about a poor wise man who saved a small city.

• Ecclesiastes 10 - Solomon continues his discussion on the value of wisdom, contrasting it with the destructive power of folly. He councils his readers to avoid the lifestyle of a fool and to embrace the benefits that wisdom can bring to their lives.

• Ecclesiastes 11 - Solomon continues his proverbs discussing the principles of generosity and trusting God through the unknown. At the end of the chapter, he encourages young men to enjoy their youth but ultimately declares youth to be just another vanity.

AUTHOR:

• Ecclesiastes was almost certainly written by Solomon (Ecc 1:1), the son of David, the 3rd king of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah.

• His palace and the Temple of God were located in Jerusalem.

• Solomon became king in approximately 1015 B.C and reigned for 40 years.

OUTLINE:

• GENEROSITY AND TRUST IN GOD (11:1-6):

  • The meaning of verse 1 is a subject of debate, but many believe it refers to generosity. Seeds do not usually grow if thrown into water, just as a person who gives to a poor man doesn’t expect a return, but Solomon counseled that one way or another the generous person would be paid back, either by men or by God.

  • Verse 2 follows this theme of generosity. Solomon’s advice was to give generously, because there is no way of knowing the future. It may be that disaster will strike, and you’ll need someone to be generous to you.

  • Solomon’s next piece of advice related to the limits of human analysis and mankind’s inability to understand God’s work.

  • A farmer who is overly concerned about the wind will never sow his field. A farmer who is overly concerned about the rain will never harvest his field.

  • At some point, a person must learn to trust God and do what is necessary, even if the conditions aren’t perfect.

  • Very often, God blesses our actions even though they weren’t perfect by human analysis.

  • God’s ways are mysterious. No one knows how the spirit enters the body of a baby in its mother’s womb, “so you do not know the work of God who makes everything” (11:5).

• A RETURN TO VANITY (11:7-10):

  • Solomon concluded this section reemphasizing his premise that all of life is vanity.

  • He told men to enjoy their days of light under the sun, because days of darkness will come that turn all to vanity.

  • He encouraged young men to enjoy their youth, but he found no deep significance in youth, stating, “youth and the dawn of life is vanity” (11:10).

APPLICATION

• In my experience, Solomon’s words in verse 6 are very accurate.

• Ecc 11:6 - “In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.”

• Many of the things I thought would succeed flopped, and many of the things I thought would be mediocre God has caused to flourish.

• You can’t always predict how God will use you, or in what ways He will make you effective.

• It’s not for us to determine how God uses us. The servants don’t determine how the master will use them.

• Give yourself to God with a flexible heart and ask Him to bless your work where He wishes.