NOTES for Ecc 11:1-10
What remains for a person in a life where meaning cannot be obtained and God's providence cannot be found? As it appears, all that remains is simply to live, to live as though this meaning exists and God's providence still somehow, by ways unknown to human beings, acts in the world while remaining hidden from people. No one knows his fate, nor does he know how circumstances will unfold or how affairs will go, but this is not a reason for a passive stance in life (vv. 3-5). It is impossible to foresee everything, but it is important to do everything possible so that the task set before one may be accomplished (vv. 1-2).
The wisdom of life to which Ecclesiastes came turned out, in essence, to be quite simple and understandable: you do not know the will of God or the ways of providence, so do everything to achieve success and leave the rest to God (v. 6). Such a worldview bears little resemblance to the fiery faith of the prophets or the confident calm of the sages, but this is not surprising: we are speaking of the worldview of a person who understands that the world cannot be changed, and that righteousness and wisdom are valued in it too little for anyone to hope for their triumph. Nothing can be guaranteed, but it is important to do everything possible. And of course one must never miss an occasion to rejoice when God gives a person such an opportunity: after all, joyful days in life are far fewer than sorrowful ones, so it would be a pity to miss even one of those joyful days (vv. 7-8).
Of course, joy must not be such that the person rejoicing forgets God, but as it appears, for Ecclesiastes the fear of God, remembrance of judgment, and joy are compatible things (vv. 9-10), perhaps because the joy he speaks of is inseparable from the joy a person experiences in God's presence.