#949 Ecclesiastes 12 False Hope

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; 2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, 3 in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, 4 and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low— 5 they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets— 6 before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, 7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 8 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.

Fear God and Keep His Commandments

9 Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. 10 The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.

11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. Ecclesiastes 12 ESV

Ecclesiastes 12

1-8 After all these considerations under the sun, the old is now taking the youth back to what really matters.

It is the royal physician’s antidote against the particular diseases of youth, the love of mirth, and the indulgence of sensual pleasures, the vanity which childhood and youth are subject to; to prevent and cure this, remember thy Creator. Here is, (1.) A great duty pressed upon us, to remember God as our creator, not only to remember that God is our Creator, that he made us and not we ourselves, and is therefore our rightful Lord and owner, but we must engage ourselves to him with the considerations which his being our Creator lay us under, and pay him the honour and duty which we owe him as our Creator. Remember thy Creators; the word is plural, as it is Job. 35:10 , Where is God my Makers? For God said, Let us make man, us, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. - Matthew Henry

14 Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; cast aside the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!” 16 The people replied, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods!… Joshua 24: 14-16

The preacher/philosopher points much to the vanity of holding dear what is fading. Youth passes and men, myself most notably, put off for tomorrow the things of God, the important decisions, for the time of old age, a time not promised to anyone. Since youth to us is glory, we are depressed when it's strength is gone. I have watched many women lament their youth, get face lifts, breast implants, trying to fix the idol that is withering. Men are just as bad, they live in their youth, and as they sit at the bar with their pint in hand, they all tell the stories of what should have been. They were all going to be famous athletes or rock stars, but then something happened, life was unfair to them. This is promised, if you live you will get old, store up your treasure elsewhere.

   It is the greatest absurdity and ingratitude imaginable to give the cream and flower of our days to the devil, and reserve the bran, and refuse, and dregs of them for God; this is offering the torn, and the lame, and the sick for sacrifice; and, besides, old age being thus clogged with infirmities, it is the greatest folly imaginable to put off that needful work till then, which requires the best of our strength, when our faculties are in their prime, and especially to make the work more difficult by a longer continuance in sin, and, laying up treasures of guilt in the conscience, to add to the burdens of age and make them much heavier - Matthew Henry

9-10 Perception is not reality, wanting something to be true does not make it so, and so the preacher give what he knows to be true, that which is the representation of what actually is, and happened, and will be. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. We can say many things, and the more words we use does not guarantee a greater value, make the exposition understandable. What God has said is of ultimate value to be understood. His word is His integrity.

…15 From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.… 2 Timothy 3: 15-17

1 Of David. I give You thanks with all my heart; before the gods I sing Your praises. 2 I will bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your loving devotion and Your faithfulness; You have exalted Your name and Your word above all else. 3 On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.… Psalm 138: 1-3

11-12 Goads and nails, a goad is pastoral reference for a rural or shepherding people; it is a sharpened stick that you use to drive cattle. The words, he is telling us, are to provoke us, to wake us up, change our direction, get our attention. Like something nailed, they are fixed, not to be moved, and we should beware of anything outside of these. Everything must be brought into the light of God's word, tested by that fire. You can find a host of books out there, of ideas, and many jump upon the bandwagon of self help, copy and paste attached to a well known name, but it is vanity when compared to the Word of God.

13-14 The end of the matter - All will stand before a righteous judge one day.

…21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes. 22 Furthermore, the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son, 23 so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.… John 5: 21-23