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Daily Devotions

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 
Day 
Day 159

"In the morning sow your seed"

Text: Ecclesiastes 11:6

HARD WORK AND DILIGENCE

What makes a person successful in life? Many were superstitious and so some turned to soothsayers for advice. Solomon’s advice was just simply hard work and diligence.

“In the morning sow your seed,
And in the evening do not withhold your hand;
For you do not know which will prosper,
Either this or that,
Or whether both alike will be good.”
Ecclesiastes 11:6

1. “In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand”

a) Morning and evening

i) One has to work hard, from morning to evening.

ii) One has to do this diligently and faithfully.

b) Sowing seed

i) It is not easy to be a farmer.

ii) The work of sowing seed in the ancient days was to do it by hand.

iii) One may start in the morning and in the evening, the work may not be done yet.

iv) Hence, the word of encouragement is not to “withhold your hand”.

2. “For you do not know which will prosper, either this or that”

a) Given limited knowledge, one does not know which crop would prosper.

b) The farmer ought to try planting more than one type of seed.

c) Based on limited knowledge, he would have to experiment.

d) He would then learn from his experience for the next season.

e) He would have to take some risks in the planting of the seed.

f) Hard work and diligence would help immensely.

3. “Or whether both alike will be good”

a) It is possible that at least one crop would be good.

b) It is also possible for both crops to turn out successfully.

In any case, hard work and diligence will go a long way!