Remember Now Your Creator

Ecclesiastes 12

Seek God in Early Life
1 Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth,
Before the difficult days come,
And the years draw near when you say,
“I have no pleasure in them”:
2 While the sun and the light,
The moon and the stars,
Are not darkened,
And the clouds do not return after the rain;
3 In the day when the keepers of the house tremble,
And the strong men bow down;
When the grinders cease because they are few,
And those that look through the windows grow dim;
4 When the doors are shut in the streets,
And the sound of grinding is low;
When one rises up at the sound of a bird,
And all the daughters of music are brought low.
5 Also they are afraid of height,
And of terrors in the way;
When the almond tree blossoms,
The grasshopper is a burden,
And desire fails.
For man goes to his eternal home,
And the mourners go about the streets.
6 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed,
Or the golden bowl is broken,
Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain,
Or the wheel broken at the well.
7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was,
And the spirit will return to God who gave it.
8 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher,
“All is vanity.”

The Whole Duty of Man
9 And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and set in order many proverbs.
10 The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright—words of truth.
11 The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd.
12 And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh.
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
14 For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.

The Book of Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon, who was well-known for his great wisdom and wealth. Throughout his life, besides gaining knowledge and understanding, he also lived lavishly as he acquired plenty of money, real estate, power, fame, servants and women.

While he was younger, he followed the ways of his heart and did whatever his eyes looked upon. Every dream came true, and every desire was satisfied. But as he got older, he realized that life was like a vapor. Everything he pursued under the sun was like chasing after the wind.

As he was entering his years of darkness, he began to say that everything in life, including his childhood and youth days, was totally meaningless without God! He understood that for all the things he had lusted after and obtained, he had to come before God and receive judgment.

Ecclesiastes 11:7-10
7 Truly the light is sweet,
And it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun;
8 But if a man lives many years
And rejoices in them all,
Yet let him remember the days of darkness,
For they will be many.
All that is coming is vanity.
9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth,
And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth;
Walk in the ways of your heart,
And in the sight of your eyes;
But know that for all these
God will bring you into judgment.
10 Therefore remove sorrow from your heart,
And put away evil from your flesh,
For childhood and youth are vanity.

As he lamented that all the things of the world were not able to satisfy him as he entered into his final years, he wised up and looked up. He remembered the LORD!

Yes, everything he strove for in life under the sun was all vanity, but beyond the sun was another story! Without God, life was indeed meaningless. But with God, there was meaning and purpose in life!

This remarkably wise and wealthy man then gave us some great tips to live a life that would be meaningful and praiseworthy.

We are exhorted to remember our Creator while we are still young, before those dismal days and dark years come when we will say, “I don't enjoy life anymore.”

When we enter our final years, the light of the sun, the moon, and the stars will grow dim for us, and the rain clouds will never pass away. Our arms, now steady, will tremble. Our legs, now strong, will grow weak. Our teeth will be too few to chew our food. Our eyes will be too dim to see clearly. Our ears will be deaf to the noises coming from the streets. We will barely be able to hear the mill as it grinds. We will find it hard to listen to the music in the air.

We will wake up and lose our sleep even before the morning bird begins to sing. We will be afraid of great heights as our footsteps will become unsteady, and we will more vulnerable to hazards such as slips, trips and falls. Our hair will turn white. We will hardly be able to drag ourselves along to do things we used to do. We will not be able to hop here and there as we wish. All of our dreams and desires will be gone.

When we are approaching our final resting place and hour, there will be mourning in the streets. The silver chain will snap, and the golden lamp will fall and be broken. The rope at the well will break, and the water jar will be shattered. Our bodies will return to the dust of the earth, but our breath of life will go back to God, our Creator.

Ecclesiastes 3:20
All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust.

We are told by this wise preacher to carefully evaluate our life on earth. We will also live in vain if we live it without God. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

This famous philosopher was teaching the people whatever he had understood and learned from his studies. He had evaluated and tested what he had studied. Whatever words he was sharing are still relevant and practical today. His words of wisdom and exhortations are not only truthful, but also bring comfort and joy to those who are earnestly seeking God.

The sayings of the wise king are like the rods and staffs that shepherds use to guide and guard their sheep. These words will last long like firmly driven nails. They are inspired and given by our Lord, the One and Good Shepherd of all mankind.

We need to watch out for this: There is no end to writing book after book, and too much study will wear us out.

The conclusion of the whole matter is this: Have reverence for God, and obey His commandments, because this is all that we were created for. That's the whole duty of all mankind.

God is going to judge everything we do, whether good or bad, even things done in secret.

Thus, let us remember now our Creator in everything we do.

Written on: 9 July 2019