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Easy Reading Edition March 17-2312

READ FOR THIS WEEK’S STUDY: Ecclesiastes 11.

MEMORY VERSE: “You don’t [do not] know the path the wind takes. Youdon’t [do not] know how a baby is made inside its mother. So you can’t[cannot] understand how God works either. He made everything”(Ecclesiastes 11:5, NIrV).

THE EARLY GREEKS BELIEVED IN FATE.1 The gods decided each person’sfate beforehand, and that was it. The best example of this is in Homer’s Iliad. Thegreat Trojan soldier Hector was talking with his wife. She had been begging himnot to go back to battle, because she feared he would surely die. He said, “Noman will hurl [throw] me down to Death, against my fate. And fate? No man alivehas escaped it, neither brave man nor coward.”—Iliad, trans. Robert Fagles(New York: Penguin Books, 1990), p. 212.

But that is not what the Bible teaches. We are not helpless to cold fate. Wehave only one pre-decided end: eternal2 life with Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:1-11). God’s plan was for all of us to find salvation in Him. That is why Jesus’ deathwas for the whole world. No one is left out.

That we all are not saved shows that our fate is not sealed beforehand. Ourfuture is open. We have choices to make. Our choices will decide our future end.This week we look at more of Solomon’s wisdom about the choices we have asfree humans who are sometimes swept up in events3 beyond our control. Maybethe events are not in our hands, but our responses to these events often are.

SABBATH—MARCH 17

The Way (Path) of the Wind

1fate—pre-decided future end; doom.2eternal—forever; without beginning or end; lasting forever.3events—things that happen.

Lesson 12 The Way (Path) of the Wind

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CASTING (GIVING AWAY) YOURBREAD (Ecclesiastes 11:1)

Ecclesiastes 11:1 has been a puz-zle to many Bible students for hun-dreds of years. What does it mean to“cast your bread upon the waters”?Different interpretations have beenoffered. The long-time favorite inter-pretation says that this verse deals withcharity.This makes sense, because theOld Testament puts an important focuson helping the poor and the needy.“Anyone who gives freely will beblessed. That’s [that is] because heshares his food [bread] with those whoare poor” (Proverbs 22:9, NIrV). “Shareyour food with hungry people. Providehomeless people with a place to stay.Give naked people clothes to wear.Provide for the needs of your own fam-ily” (Isaiah 58:7, NIrV).

Ecclesiastes is full of useful wis-dom. So it would be strange if Solo-mon had not said something abouthelping others.

Compare4 Deuteronomy 15:7-11with Ecclesiastes 11:1.

Now read Ecclesiastes 11:2. Thisverse says what verse 1 says; weshould help people who need it.There is so much need everywhere.We all should do as much as we can,because who knows what evil shall

come. So we should be ready to helpwhen the chance arises. This is aChristian principle.5

What is your attitude6 towardthose who are poorer and moreneedy than you? How willing areyou to share whatever you havewith those less fortunate?

CLOUDS, RAIN, AND FATE(Ecclesiastes 11:3, 4)

There are many different interpre-tations of Ecclesiastes 11:3, 4. If weread these verses just for what theysay, Solomon is talking about theforces of nature. If a cloud gets full ofrain, it pours out on the earth. If a treefalls, then where it falls is where itrests. What is the point?

MONDAY—MARCH 19

SUNDAY—MARCH 18

Open your hands. Give freely(Deuteronomy 15:8).

4compare—show how things are the same.5principle—a basic rule of life.6attitude—how a person thinks and feels toward God, other people, or things.

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Lesson 12 The Way (Path) of the Wind

What is in Ecclesiastes 11:4 thatcould help us better understandwhat is going on in verse 3?

Ecclesiastes 11:3 is talking aboutrain. Sometimes, too, in a rainstormthere is wind. Sometimes that windknocks over trees. All these are forcesmuch greater and stronger thanhumans are. If we today are often atthe mercy7 of nature, how much moreso back then? Solomon’s point couldbe about how we deal with events andthings that are beyond our control. Wecannot control nature. So what can wedo about it? Just stand there andwatch? Let nature control us? Or dowe trust in God and in His love for us?Do we try to be faithful to our jobs andduties, no matter if there are thingsthat we cannot control?

(PIX #46)

What are some things that we allface that are totally beyond ourcontrol?

There are many forces greater thanus. But nothing in this world is greaterthan God. He upholds all things by Hispower (Hebrews 1:3). Are any of theforces you mentioned in your answerabove beyond God’s power? So it isimportant to remember that over andbeyond them all is God. He is ourCreator, who loves us and cares forus. We are not left to blind chance orcold fate. Storms may come. The windmay blow. There seems to be nothingwe can do about these events. But wecan remain faithful to God, no matterwhat happens.

What is Jesus saying in Matthew6:25-34 that fits in with Ecclesiastes11:3, 4? What is He saying thatcould give you hope to trust inGod’s love no matter what situationyou are in?

(PIX #47)

7mercy—kindness we do not deserve.

We can do nothing about nature. So let ustrust God and His love.

Why should we worry about clothes(Matthew 6:28-34)?

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THE WAY (PATH) OF THE WIND(Ecclesiastes 11:5)

Ecclesiastes 11:5 fits right in withthe interpretation we gave to Eccle-siastes 11:3, 4. As humans, we just donot know many things. Everything—from the way of the wind and otherparts of the physical world to thegrowth of a baby in the womb—is filledwith wonder and mystery. (The wordfor “wind” is the same word for “Spirit.”This could add another idea to themeaning of Ecclesiastes 11:5.) Eventoday, with all we know about thegrowth of a baby in the womb, there isstill so much beyond our knowledge.

Here is a point worth remembering:If there is so much about God’s workwe do not understand, how muchmore of His work of salvation can wenot understand? We can see in naturehow deep God’s creative power andgenius is. The simplest things are filled with mysteries science cannotexplain. So we should not be surprised that there are parts of God’s salvationwork we cannot understand. (ReadRomans 11:33-36.)

How does Isaiah 55:6-13 relate toEcclesiastes 11:5?

God’s ways are not our ways. Histhoughts are not our thoughts. But wecan at least know that His thoughts tous are “thoughts of peace, and not ofevil, to give [us] an expected end”(Jeremiah 29:11). And that expectedend is eternal life in a new heaven

and a new earth. It will be a life with-out suffering, Satan, loss, and death.That is the promised end, the endJesus has in mind for each of uswhen He died on the cross.

List the ways you have seen thatGod’s thoughts toward you arethoughts of peace. Praise andthank Him now for what He hasdone for you.

LIGHT AND DARKNESS(Ecclesiastes 11:7, 8)

All through the Bible, we see thesymbolism of light and darkness asbeing different from each other. Lightmeans being good, and darknessmeans bad.

What do the following versesteach us about the difference be-tween light and darkness? Isaiah5:20; Luke 11:34; Acts 26:18; Ro-mans 13:12; Ephesians 5:8; 1 Thes-salonians 5:5; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 John1:5.

(PIX #48)

WEDNESDAY—MARCH 21

TUESDAY—MARCH 20

Turn from darkness to light. Jesus is theLight (Acts 26:18).

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Lesson 12 The Way (Path) of the Wind

Darkness is the absence of light. Ifyou stood in a totally dark room andwere asked “What do you see?,” youwould answer “Nothing.” Or you wouldsay, “I see total darkness.”

What message is Solomon givingabout light and darkness in Eccle-siastes 11:7, 8?

God is the Giver of light, truth, good-ness, joy, and hope. Darkness is theabsence of these things. In darknesscome lies, evil, suffering, and hope-lessness. Solomon is saying that how-ever God has blessed your life, therealways will be days of darkness, pain,suffering, and hopelessness. PerhapsSolomon’s message simply is “Do notbe too sure.Things might be going welltoday. But who knows what tomorrowwill bring?” We should not worry. Weshould be praising God and thankingHim for all the good things we have,because we do not know what evil willcome up.

What has made the differencebetween your days of light and daysof darkness? What caused the daysof darkness? What useful thingscan you do to help yourself live inthe light that comes from God?

WHILE YOU ARE STILL YOUNG(Ecclesiastes 11:9, 10)

What is Solomon saying in

Ecclesiastes 11:9, 10?

Is God taking away with one handwhat He offers to us with another?Have a good time, but just rememberthat God is going to judge you for it in the end? An old-time rabbi8 saidthese verses are like a child beingtold, “You might as well sin now, be-cause you are going to be punishedfor everything anyway.”

Of course, as the rabbi knew, that isnot the point of Ecclesiastes 11:9, 10.The point seems to be that life is a giftfrom God. Because it is from God, it issomething good. He created us toenjoy our lives, to enjoy our bodiesand the things He made. When weare young, we have energy, power,ambition, and hope, so we are toenjoy ourselves.

But we also can “enjoy” ourselvesthrough “the pleasures of sin for aseason” (Hebrew 11:25). Or we canenjoy ourselves in the Lord. Forexample, we can enjoy the gifts Godhas given us in the way He plans forus to enjoy them. But so often, youngpeople can easily be led to use thesegifts from God for ungodly purposesor reasons (see Proverbs 7). One daythey will have to answer to God injudgment for their actions.

How does Ecclesiastes 11:10help us understand what Solomonis saying in verse 9?

Again, keep in mind all of the Bible.What Solomon is saying is, Enjoy the

THURSDAY—MARCH 22

8rabbi—a Jewish religious teacher.

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gifts God has given you. But enjoythem as blessings, not as sin. Justremember to use good judgment,because one day your childhood andyouth, even your life itself, will beover. Then you will have to answer forall you have done.

ADDITIONAL STUDY: Ellen G. White,Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 272; vol. 6, pp. 271, 272; WelfareMinistry [Work], pp. 178–187.

“Remember that you will neverreach a higher standard9 than youyourself set. Then set your mark high.Step by step, climb the whole length ofthe ladder of growth. It may mean self-denial or sacrifice. But do not let it stopyou. Fate has not woven its websabout any human so strongly that heor she needs to remain helpless anduncertain. Problems and difficultiesshould make us more determined (set)to overcome them. The breaking downof one barrier will give greater abilityand courage to go forward. Continuefirmly in the right direction, and difficul-ties will be your helpers, not yourblocks.”—Adapted from Ellen G.White,Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 331, 332.

(PIX #49)

“Some people do not have strongcharacter. They are like putty and canbe pressed into any shape.They haveno strength, and are of no use in theworld. This weakness must be over-come. There is a strength about trueChristian character which cannot be influenced or overcome by difficultsituations. People must have spiritualstrength and honesty. They must notbe flattered, influenced, bribed, orscared.”—Adapted from Ellen G.White, Testimonies for the Church,vol. 5, p. 297.

FRIDAY—MARCH 23

9standard—level of conduct.

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Lesson 12 The Way (Path) of the Wind

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• What is your church doing to helpthose who are very poor? What morecan you do to help?

• As a class, talk about some eventsin your own community or nation thatare out of your control but that stillbother all of you. How have you eachreacted to these events? How has the

church reacted? What can you do tohelp others learn to deal better withthings they cannot control?

• George Bernard Shaw, a famousBritish writer, once joked, “Youth iswasted on the young.” What can youdo as a class to help your young peo-ple avoid making wrong decisions?What useful things can you do to leadthem in the right direction?

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