If the clouds are full, they will pour out rain upon the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie. If the clouds are full of rainThe imagery of clouds full of rain speaks to the certainty of natural processes. In Hebrew, the word for "clouds" is "עָבִים" (avim), which often symbolizes divine provision and judgment. The fullness of the clouds suggests an inevitability, much like the certainty of God's promises and the natural order He established. This phrase encourages believers to trust in God's timing and provision, knowing that just as rain is inevitable when clouds are full, so is the fulfillment of God's will. they will empty themselves upon the earth
This phrase highlights the natural consequence of the clouds' fullness. The Hebrew verb "רָקַק" (raqaq) implies a pouring out or emptying, which can be seen as a metaphor for the outpouring of God's blessings or judgments. It serves as a reminder that actions and conditions have consequences, and that God's creation operates under His sovereign design. For the believer, this is a call to live in alignment with God's principles, understanding that what is sown will eventually be reaped. and if a tree falls to the south or to the north
The falling of a tree is a metaphor for the finality and permanence of certain events in life. In Hebrew, "עֵץ" (etz) for "tree" often symbolizes strength and life. The direction of the fall, whether to the south or north, suggests that some outcomes are beyond human control, much like the divine will. This phrase encourages believers to accept the sovereignty of God in life's circumstances, trusting that He directs the course of events according to His perfect wisdom. in the place where it falls, there it will lie
This concluding phrase emphasizes the permanence and unchangeability of certain outcomes. The Hebrew word "מָקוֹם" (maqom) for "place" signifies a fixed position or situation. Once a tree falls, its position is set, much like the finality of God's judgment or the consequences of one's actions. For the believer, this serves as a sobering reminder to live wisely and righteously, knowing that some decisions and actions have lasting effects that cannot be altered. Persons / Places / Events 1. Solomon- Traditionally considered the author of Ecclesiastes, Solomon was the son of King David and known for his wisdom. Ecclesiastes is part of the wisdom literature in the Bible. 2. Israel- The setting for much of Solomon's life and reign, Israel is the nation where these teachings were likely shared and recorded. 3. Nature- The verse uses natural phenomena (clouds, rain, trees) to illustrate spiritual truths, reflecting the agrarian context of ancient Israel. Teaching Points Certainty of God's DesignJust as clouds full of rain will inevitably pour out, God's plans and purposes are certain and will come to pass. Trust in His divine timing and sovereignty. Acceptance of Life's UncertaintiesThe falling of a tree and its resting place symbolize life's unpredictability. Accept that some events are beyond human control and rest in God's wisdom. Preparation and ReadinessJust as one prepares for rain when clouds are full, be spiritually prepared for the outcomes of life's events, trusting in God's provision and guidance. Sowing and ReapingThe natural order reflects spiritual truths; what is sown will be reaped. Live righteously, knowing that actions have consequences. Contentment in God's PlanEmbrace contentment with where God places you, much like the tree that lies where it falls. Seek peace in His purpose for your life. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the imagery of clouds and rain in Ecclesiastes 11:3 help us understand the certainty of God's plans in our lives? 2. In what ways can we prepare ourselves spiritually for the "rain" or outcomes that God has planned for us? 3. How does the concept of a tree falling and lying in its place challenge us to accept the things we cannot change? 4. What other scriptures reinforce the idea of God's sovereignty over nature and life events, and how do they encourage us to trust Him? 5. How can we find contentment and peace in the place where God has "placed" us, much like the tree that lies where it falls? Connections to Other Scriptures Job 37:11-13- This passage also speaks of clouds and rain, emphasizing God's control over nature, which parallels the inevitability and divine orchestration seen in Ecclesiastes 11:3. Matthew 5:45- Jesus speaks of God sending rain on the just and unjust, highlighting the impartiality and certainty of God's provision and judgment, similar to the inevitability of rain from full clouds. Proverbs 16:9- This verse speaks to the plans of man versus the direction of the Lord, akin to the certainty of a tree lying where it falls, emphasizing divine sovereignty. People SolomonPlaces JerusalemTopics Clouds, Empty, Fall, Falleth, Falls, Full, Lie, Lies, North, Pour, Rain, South, Themselves, Thick, Towards, Tree, Whatever, Wherever, WhetherDictionary of Bible Themes Ecclesiastes 11:3 4293 water
4842 north
4844 rain Ecclesiastes 11:3-4 4805 clouds Ecclesiastes 11:3-5 4854 weather, God's sovereignty Library A New Years Sermon to the Young
'Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.... Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.'--ECCLES. xi. 9; xii. 1. This strange, and in some places perplexing Book of Ecclesiastes, is intended to …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureSowing in the Wind, Reaping under Clouds
"He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap."--Ecclesiastes 11:4. SOW when the time comes, whatever wind blows. Reap when the times comes, whatever clouds are in the sky. There are, however, qualifying proverbs, which must influence our actions. We are not to discard prudence in the choice of the time for our work. "To every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven." It is well to sow when the weather is propitious. It is wise …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 38: 1892 Of Confession and Self-Examination
Of Confession and Self-examination Self-examination should always precede Confession, and in the nature and manner of it should be conformable to the state of the soul: the business of those that are advanced to the degree of which we now treat, is to lay their whole souls open before God, who will not fail to enlighten them, and enable them to see the peculiar nature of their faults. This examination, however, should be peaceful and tranquil, and we should depend on God for the discovery and knowledge …
Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of Prayer Curiosity a Temptation to Sin.
"Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away."--Proverbs iv. 14, 15. The chief cause of the wickedness which is every where seen in the world, and in which, alas! each of us has more or less his share, is our curiosity to have some fellowship with darkness, some experience of sin, to know what the pleasures of sin are like. I believe it is even thought unmanly by many persons (though they may not like to say …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII 1872-1874. Letter from Rev. A. M. W. Christopher --Letter from Gulf of St. Lawrence-Mrs. Birt's Sheltering Home, Liverpool --Letter to Mrs. Merry --Letter from Canada --Miss
Letter from Rev. A. M. W. Christopher--Letter from Gulf of St. Lawrence-Mrs. Birt's Sheltering Home, Liverpool--Letter to Mrs. Merry--Letter from Canada--Miss Macpherson's return to England-- Letter of cheer for Dr. Barnardo--Removal to Hackney Home. Though human praise is not sought, we cannot but feel peculiar pleasure in giving the following testimony from a servant of the Lord so much revered as the Rev, A. M. W. Christopher of Oxford:-- "Of all the works of Christian benevolence which the great …
Clara M. S. Lowe—God's Answers How the Slothful and the Hasty are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 16.) Differently to be admonished are the slothful and the hasty. For the former are to be persuaded not to lose, by putting it off, the good they have to do; but the latter are to be admonished lest, while they forestall the time of good deeds by inconsiderate haste, they change their meritorious character. To the slothful therefore it is to be intimated, that often, when we will not do at the right time what we can, before long, when we will, we cannot. For the very indolence of …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great Jesus Attends the First Passover of his Ministry.
(Jerusalem, April 9, a.d. 27.) Subdivision A. Jesus Cleanses the Temple. ^D John II. 13-25. ^d 13 And the passover of the Jews was at hand [We get our information as to the length of our Lord's ministry from John's Gospel. He groups his narrative around six Jewish festivals: 1, He here mentions the first passover; 2, another feast, which we take to have been also a passover (v. 1); 3, another passover (vi. 4); 4, the feast of tabernacles (vii. 2); 5, dedication (x. 22); 6, passover (xi. 55). This …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel How those are to be Admonished who Decline the Office of Preaching Out of Too Great Humility, and those who Seize on it with Precipitate Haste.
(Admonition 26.) Differently to be admonished are those who, though able to preach worthily, are afraid by reason of excessive humility, and those whom imperfection or age forbids to preach, and yet precipitancy impells. For those who, though able to preach with profit, still shrink back through excessive humility are to be admonished to gather from consideration of a lesser matter how faulty they are in a greater one. For, if they were to hide from their indigent neighbours money which they possessed …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great Jeremiah, a Lesson for the Disappointed.
"Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord."--Jeremiah i. 8. The Prophets were ever ungratefully treated by the Israelites, they were resisted, their warnings neglected, their good services forgotten. But there was this difference between the earlier and the later Prophets; the earlier lived and died in honour among their people,--in outward honour; though hated and thwarted by the wicked, they were exalted to high places, and ruled in the congregation. …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII The Wrath of God
What does every sin deserve? God's wrath and curse, both in this life, and in that which is to come. Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.' Matt 25: 41. Man having sinned, is like a favourite turned out of the king's favour, and deserves the wrath and curse of God. He deserves God's curse. Gal 3: 10. As when Christ cursed the fig-tree, it withered; so, when God curses any, he withers in his soul. Matt 21: 19. God's curse blasts wherever it comes. He deserves also God's wrath, which is …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments Ecclesiastes
It is not surprising that the book of Ecclesiastes had a struggle to maintain its place in the canon, and it was probably only its reputed Solomonic authorship and the last two verses of the book that permanently secured its position at the synod of Jamnia in 90 A.D. The Jewish scholars of the first century A.D. were struck by the manner in which it contradicted itself: e.g., "I praised the dead more than the living," iv. 2, "A living dog is better than a dead lion," ix. 4; but they were still more …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Ecclesiastes 11:3 NIVEcclesiastes 11:3 NLTEcclesiastes 11:3 ESVEcclesiastes 11:3 NASBEcclesiastes 11:3 KJV
Ecclesiastes 11:3 Commentaries
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