The Wonder of Life

Ecclesiastes 11:5 As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.

It was interesting to note that the other main translations I use all assume the “spirit” to be a reference to the wind. Frankly, I’m not sure that is the case. The baby that grows in the womb is a being of flesh and spirit. I tend to think he is referencing our lack of understanding as to how the wholeness of each human being comes together. We certainly understand much more today about the physical formation of the body of flesh, but we still have no understanding of how the spirit is joined to that body of flesh. It is all a miraculous work of the Creator, God Almighty.

Again, the emphasis is on the truth that there is much that is beyond our understanding or our ability to control in life. The wise will be in awe of their Creator and will realize that they will never be able to understand Him or think like Him. If we could, He would no longer be God.

Psalms 33:8 “Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.”

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Ecclesiastes 11:6 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.

This verse seems to be another warning against idle hands. Don’t be content with just doing enough to get by, prepare for unknown contingencies. It could be that the extra work you put in will provide for the failure of your initial investment of time and energy. Or—it could be that the extra work results in a bonus harvest. At any rate, by avoiding idleness, you deprive the enemy of an opportunity to draw you into sin.

Ecclesiastes 11:7-8 ¶ Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun: But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.

Well, these verses took a while to process. Solomon is declaring that a long life is something to rejoice about. It was a reference to the “days of darkness” that “shall be” that jumped out at me. We know that in life we will all experience times of sorrow and trouble, but this reference is to future darkness. One of the choices for “remember” was to “think on.” In other words, this life isn’t all there is. I found some verses in Job that seem to apply here.

Job 10:20-22 “Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.”

The Hebrew for “darkness” is the same in both sections of scripture and makes reference to “the dark, death, and ignorance.” Solomon recognizes that the days of our “life after death” will be many compared to our present life. He seemed, however, to be clueless as to the potential for personal fulfillment in the afterlife.

The last statement is confusing. Maybe it is just a reference to ignorance as to what awaits one in the afterlife. Maybe it is a statement of understanding that your eternal destiny is sealed at the moment of death. I really don’t know.