“Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.”
Ecclesiastes 11:1
There’s an old song by the Gather Vocal Band called, “Bread Upon The Waters” that I’ve always been fond of, and it comes from our passage today. The song describes Christian generosity. The song says, “Don't get discouraged keep on giving, soon it will come back to you.”[1] meaning that your generosity will be rewarded. You may be rewarded here on earth or God may provide your reward when you get to heaven, but either way you will be rewarded.
King Solomon originally wrote about this in a time in his life when he had regrets due to sin that had insidiously crept into his life. He was trying to provide wise counsel from the vast wisdom that God gave him. Unfortunately for Solomon, wisdom doesn’t change our sin nature. Solomon said we should “cast” which in Hebrew is “šal·laḥ” which means to cast away or forsake, according to Strong’s.[2] The passage talks about casting your seeds [bread] upon a wet field and then reaping a harvest. Solomon was asking us to give without thought of getting anything in return. Just trust in the promise of God that you will be rewarded.
The song, “Bread Upon The Waters” goes on to quote a portion of Luke 6:38 in the chorus, “Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over.” This passage describes the rewards you will receive for giving generously. The full verse in Luke 6:38 states, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” In this passage we also see that our generosity will be rewarded by other people rewarding us, but we should never expect it. We should only expect rewards in heaven, because that is the ultimate promise from God, as it pertains to rewards. Give and don’t expect anything in return while you’re here on earth.
This giving is not referring only to financial giving, but also giving of time, talent and the ultimate giving of sharing the word of God with others – sharing the Gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ. We, as Christians, should consider all we have when we give. The world is all about the acquisition of money and things. Our Christian worldview should be – what we can give away. I’m not saying to give beyond your means, just share what you can. If you can’t spare money, give your talents or your time, and if that is beyond your means or abilities, share the Gospel – win souls to Christ. You can do that from a bed in a nursing home. If you can’t do anything other than pray and share the Gospel, give it generously – it’s the giving that matters.
[1] "Bread Upon The Water - Gaither Vocal Band," SongLyrics.com, accessed February 10, 2018, http://www.songlyrics.com/gaither-vocal-band/bread-upon-the-water-lyrics/.
[2] "Strong's Exhaustive Concordance: Hebrew 7971. שָׁלַח (shalach) -- to Send." Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages. Accessed February 10, 2018. http://biblehub.com/strongs/hebrew/7971.htm.
[3] "Bread Upon The Waters," Global Partners in Christian Education, 2016, https://globalpartnersinchristianeducation.weebly.com/index.html.
2. "short title."