Useful Bible Studies > Ecclesiastes Commentary > chapter 11

God’s work astonishes us

Ecclesiastes 11:5

It is easy to understand the nature of people’s work. Their work is weak, and their best efforts do not achieve much (Ecclesiastes 2:20-23). People do many of these things publicly; everyone can see their true nature (Ecclesiastes 1:14).

But the work of God is different, and it astonishes us. Before a baby is born, God creates its body. We do not see how God does this work inside the mother’s body (Psalm 139:14-16). We only see the wonderful results of his work.

If our efforts are like a weak breath, God’s work is like the most powerful wind (see Acts 2:2). We do not see where such winds come from (Job 38:22-24). We may not understand how God causes them to blow. But we feel the power of the wind.

Although people’s work is so weak, the results of foolish behaviour are terrible (Ecclesiastes 10:5-11). So, the results of God’s great work in this world must be more powerful than anything that we can imagine. But we do not see his work, and we cannot understand it. We only see the effects in our world; we do not know God’s plan.

But if we want to know God’s plan, we will find it in the Bible (Ephesians 3:2-11). His plan is that people can be born again into a new kind of relationship with him (John 3:7; John 1:12-13). Then, like a powerful wind, God’s Spirit will work in them and through them (John 3:6, John 3:8). We cannot understand this by our human minds (John 3:9-10). But God has made it possible because of Christ’s death (John 3:16-17). When people serve God in the power of the Holy Spirit, they are not weak. Instead, they are doing God’s work (Galatians 6:8-9).

Next part: Can our work succeed? (Ecclesiastes 11:6)

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