Ecclesiastes Lesson Twenty-One: Ecclesiastes 12:1-14 – Aging, Death, and Conclusion
So remember your Creator in the days of your youth:
Before the days of adversity come,
and the years approach when you will say,
“I have no delight in them”;
2 before the sun and the light are darkened,
and the moon and the stars,
and the clouds return after the rain;
3 on the day when the guardians of the house tremble,
and the strong men stoop,
the women who grind cease because they are few,
and the ones who watch through the windows see dimly,
4 the doors at the street are shut
while the sound of the mill fades;
when one rises at the sound of a bird,
and all the daughters of song grow faint.
5 Also, they are afraid of heights and dangers on the road;
the almond tree blossoms,
the grasshopper loses its spring,
and the caper berry has no effect;
for man is headed to his eternal home,
and mourners will walk around in the street;
6 before the silver cord is snapped,
and the gold bowl is broken,
and the jar is shattered at the spring,
and the wheel is broken into the well;
7 and the dust returns to the earth as it once was,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
8 “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Everything is futile.”
9 In addition to the Teacher being a wise man, he constantly taught the people knowledge; he weighed, explored, and arranged many proverbs. 10 The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and write words of truth accurately. 11 The sayings of the wise are like goads, and those from masters of collections are like firmly embedded nails. The sayings are given by one Shepherd.
12 But beyond these, my son, be warned: there is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body. 13 When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is: fear God and keep His commands, because this is for all humanity. 14 For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil. (HCSB)
This will be the final lesson in our study of Ecclesiastes. I’ll be splitting this lesson into two parts.
- Our final season of life – verses 1-8.
- The conclusion: Fear God and obey Him – verses 9-14.
Our Final Season of Life
- Chapter twelve begins with the phrase, “Remember your Creator.” There are several things to consider with this simple phrase.
- It means much more than simply to “think about God.”
- It means to “pay attention to, consider with the intention of obeying.”
- It’s the author’s version of Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
- It becomes easy to neglect God when we are involved in the enjoyment and opportunities of our youth.
- Most of us understand that there will be dark and difficult days as we age. Therefore, we should make sure our spiritual foundation is strong as early in life as possible.
- When we’re young, our days are bright, and we often feel invincible. But, the days will come when the darkness gathers, and one storm after another comes.
- Verses two to seven should be viewed through metaphoric lenses.
- Verse two.
- This verse should be interpreted as talking about eyesight.
- Both the sun and the moon dim as our eyesight fades.
- It wouldn’t make sense to view this as literal rain, as the skies often clear after a rainstorm instead of things remaining dim.
- As we age, our eyesight gets worse.
- Verse three.
- The guardians of your house refer to our arms and hands; as we age, they begin to shake or tremble.
- The strong men are the major muscle groups, most likely referring to our legs, back, and shoulders.
- The grinders are our teeth. As we age, we lose our teeth, or they weaken.
- The windows once again refer to our vision.
- Verse four.
- The doors being shut refers to our hearing.
- When we’re younger, we often shut doors to exclude outside noises.
- As we age, we begin to lose our hearing.
- However, this brings up a cruel paradox of old age.
- We can’t hear as well as we used to.
- At the same time, we sleep so lightly that the slightest disturbance is enough to wake us up.
- The end of verse four could be referring to our hearing, or it could be a reference to our voice. As we age, our voice becomes shaky, and it weakens.
- Verse five.
- As we age and weaken, we become or intensify our fear of heights. Additionally, as our muscles weaken, we are more prone to falling as we walk down the street. Overall, it refers to a decline in our manliness.
- The almond tree blossoms is a direct reference to our hair becoming gray or white as we age.
- The reference to a grasshopper is a bit more obscure.
- As we age, our overall strength diminishes.
- It could be a reference to our joints or a shuffling walk.
- It could be a reference to impotence.
- Caper berries were an aphrodisiac in biblical times.
- As men age, these aphrodisiacs to enhance our desire no longer have any effect.
- The Targum, the spoken version of the Hebrew Bible, paraphrases this section to read, “You will cease from sexual intercourse.”
- The reference to man heading to his eternal home directly correlates to death. We’ll spend eternity either in God’s presence in heaven or eternally separated from God in hell.
- People will mourn our deaths as they walk down the street.
- Verse six.
- The items listed in the first part of the verse would only be available to wealthy people. The author is indicating that death is no respecter of persons.
- The second part of the verse is a reference to the water of life.
- Psalm 36:8-9 They are filled from the abundance of Your house; You let them drink from Your refreshing stream, 9 for with You is life’s fountain. In Your light we will see light.
- Revelation 21:6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give water as a gift to the thirsty from the spring of life.
- The jar is shattered.
- The wheel, the part that raises the bucket as water is drawn, is broken. The water of life is no longer being supplied.
- The machinery of life stops working.
- Death is suddenly upon us.
- Verse seven.
- Our bodies will decay once we die and will turn to dust.
- Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
- Genesis 3:19 You will eat bread by the sweat of your brow until you return to the ground, since you were taken from it. For you are dust, and you will return to dust.
- The spirit of life, given by God, leaves our body once we die.
- James 2:26a 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead.
- All life comes from God.
- Our bodies will decay once we die and will turn to dust.
- Verse eight.
- The book ends with the same theme it began with: “Everything is futile.”
- Life without God is an empty life.
- When everything “under the sun” is considered, it does seem futile. However, when you surrender your life to Jesus, you realize life is fulfilling and has meaning.
- 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
- Verse two.
The Conclusion: Fear God and Obey Him
As we conclude our journey through Ecclesiastes, it might be good to remember a quote from an unknown source, “Life is like a school, except that sometimes you don’t know what the lessons are until you’ve failed the examination!”
God teaches primarily from His Word, but He also teaches through creation, history, and life experiences. Let’s look at some characteristics of God’s teaching through the eyes of the writer.
- His teaching is wise.
- His teaching is orderly.
- The author weighed his conclusions carefully and arranged them in an orderly fashion.
- His approach was scientific.
- His teaching is careful.
- He used acceptable words.
- This would draw the listener in instead of driving them away with coarse speech.
- At the same time, he never wavered from speaking the truth or making the message “socially acceptable.”
- Proverbs 8:6-11 Listen, for I speak of noble things, and what my lips say is right. 7 For my mouth tells the truth, and wickedness is detestable to my lips. 8 All the words of my mouth are righteous; none of them are deceptive or perverse. 9 All of them are clear to the perceptive, and right to those who discover knowledge. 10 Accept my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold. 11 For wisdom is better than jewels, and nothing desirable can compare with it.
- John 1:17 For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
- His teachings are inspired by God, given by the one Shepherd.
- Inspiration by the Holy Spirit is what enabled men to write the Word of God, complete and without error.
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
- 2 Peter 1:20-21 First of all, you should know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation, 21 because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
- They contained both goads and nails.
- The goads prod people to pay attention and to pursue the truth.
- The nails give them something on which to hang what they’ve learned.
- Good teaching requires both motivated students and teachers who can “nail things down” so the lessons make sense.
- If we aren’t careful, we could misinterpret verse twelve as a negative outlook on learning. However, that is not the case.
- It’s a warning not to go beyond what God teaches.
- There are thousands of “religious” books on various subjects. But, we must be careful that the ones we read are grounded on Scripture and not “feel good” books that contradict what Scripture teaches.
- Life is a school, and we must learn all we can. Our textbook is the Bible, and the Holy Spirit is our teacher.
- Psalm 119:97-104 How I love Your instruction! It is my meditation all day long. 98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are always with me. 99 I have more insight than all my teachers because Your decrees are my meditation. 100 I understand more than the elders because I obey Your precepts. 101 I have kept my feet from every evil path to follow Your word. 102 I have not turned from Your judgments, for You Yourself have instructed me. 103 How sweet Your word is to my taste—sweeter than honey in my mouth. 104 I gain understanding from Your precepts; therefore I hate every false way.
- John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit —the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.
- 2 Peter 3:18a But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
- We now reach the conclusion in verses thirteen and fourteen.
- It’s interesting to note that Ecclesiastes ends with the same conclusion found towards the beginning of Proverbs (1:7), “Fear God.”
- The fear of the Lord is an attitude of reverence and awe that His people show to Him because they love Him and respect His power and greatness.
- Those who fear the Lord learn and obey His Word.
- An unholy fear causes people to run from God, but a holy fear brings them into submission to God.
- When you fear God, you don’t need to fear anything else. When you don’t fear God, you fear everything else.
- Isaiah 8:13 You are to regard only the Lord of Hosts as holy. Only He should be feared; only He should be held in awe.
- Those who fear the Lord will keep His commands.
- All of us will face judgment in the future. This judgment results in two emotions.
- Those who don’t know God will live in fear of death. It doesn’t matter what they believe; death is something that will trouble them.
- Those who have surrendered to Jesus live in joy; even death can’t trouble them. They know their future is secure, and they will live in eternity with God.
- Everything that we do will be laid bare when we are judged. Nothing will remain hidden.
- Six times in Ecclesiastes, the author told us to enjoy life. However, at no time did he advise us to enjoy sin.
- The joys of the present depend on the security of the future.
- When we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ, we’ll find that life is indeed worth living.
- We’ll be satisfied no matter what happens to us.
- 1 John 5:12 The one who has the Son has life. The one who doesn’t have the Son of God does not have life.
- It’s interesting to note that Ecclesiastes ends with the same conclusion found towards the beginning of Proverbs (1:7), “Fear God.”
Applications
- Life is much shorter than we think, even for those of us who reach an old age. And the older you get, the faster time goes! Live your life for what’s important; don’t waste it chasing sin, whatever form it takes.
- As we age, we must accept that our bodies won’t function as well as they used to. As I move into my mid-60s, I am reminded daily that my runs aren’t as fast as they used to be, and I can’t run as far as when I was younger. I forget things. My body is not as flexible, and the aches and pains don’t go away as quickly. I’ve learned to let go and not worry about these changes. There’s still too much to live for, and if I let these changes discourage me, I’ll miss out on what’s left to enjoy!
- Look to Scripture first for the answers to life. Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms are not good sources for answers to life’s challenges and riddles. God’s Word is the only source of absolute truth.
- Each of us will face judgment one day. Are you ready? Place your faith in Jesus Christ, enjoy life, and have peace about eternity.