Theological Commentary: Click Here
The beginning
portion of Ecclesiastes 12 gives us a couple of metaphors. “Cast your bread on the waters,” it says. For those of us who are a little too literal,
this doesn’t make sense. When you put
bread on water, it gets soggy and gross.
But that’s not the image we’re going for. In ancient cultures, seeds were sometimes sown
into flooded plains. As the waters receded,
the seeds would be well hydrated, and many would take root in the ground. The crops would grow and there would be a
harvest.
What,
therefore, does this expression mean? Sometimes
to get a harvest we need to be willing to let go of control. Quite often in life we simply need to be
generous and loving to the people around us, not knowing if it will be noticed,
recognized, or even take root! We spread
the seed of God’s love not knowing were it will grow and produce a harvest.
We then move
into an exhortation to share with seven or eight people. There isn’t any particular magic about seven
or eight people. It is simply an
acknowledgement that we need a community of support. The likelihood of seven or eight people all
losing resources at the same time is far less than the likelihood of one or two
losing access to resources. If we can
create a modest network of support, we’ll will be better insulated from
unforeseen circumstances. In other
words, if we share with others in their need, we will be more likely to be able
to navigate our own lean years.
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