Ecclesiastes 12:1-8 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Ecclesiastes 12:1-8. Let’s go!
Ecclesiastes 12:1-2 (NIV)
1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”–
2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain;
On verses 1-2: This seven verse poem begins and ends with the same phrase: “Remember your Creator”. We’ll look at what that phrase means in verse 6. Sandwiched in between each time this phrase occurs, Qohelet uses vivid imagery to describe the onslaught of old age and death. First, he describes old age and death as “the days of trouble”, as years when it is harder to enjoy life (v1). Then he describes old age and death like a gathering storm (v2). As one pastor observes, it’s like Qohelet is using apocalyptic imagery to describe the end of the world, except in this case it is the end of one aging person’s world.
Ecclesiastes 12:3 (NIV)
3 when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim;
On verse 3: To paraphrase, when the hands tremble, when the legs (or perhaps shoulders?) stoop, when the molars fall out and the eyes grow weak…
Ecclesiastes 12:4 (NIV)
4 when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when men rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint;
On verse 4: …when the ears don’t work as they should…
Ecclesiastes 12:5a (NIV)
5 when men are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets;…
On verse 5a: …when we become more timid, tentative and fragile…
Ecclesiastes 12:5b (NIV)
5…when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags himself along and desire no longer is stirred…
On verse 5b: …when the hair turns white and when sexual desire declines…
Ecclesiastes 12:5c (NIV)
5…Then man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about the streets.
On verse 5c: …after all this physical deterioration, that’s when the person in their old age transitions into eternity and others mourn their loss.
Ecclesiastes 12:6-7 (NIV)
6 Remember him–before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well,
7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
On verses 6-7: The “silver cord”, the “golden bowl”, the pitcher at the spring and the wheel at the well – all of these are metaphors for youthfulness. Qohelet says to remember the Creator before one’s youthfulness is completely gone.
What does it mean to “remember your Creator” (v1, 5, 6)? I like how Pastor Eugene Peterson’s The Message paraphrase puts it: to remember your Creator means to honour and enjoy Him. It means to live life in light of your Creator, with a reverent and trusting awareness of who He is.
Ecclesiastes 12:8 (NIV)
8 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Everything is meaningless!”
On verse 8: Qohelet’s final words at the end of Ecclesiastes echo his first words at the beginning.
What can we learn from this? Cherish your youth and your health while you still have them. Honour and enjoy God too.
Father, I pray that I would cherish the youth and health You have given me, while also remembering You. Thank You that You are the God who satisfies our desires with good things so that our youth is renewed like the eagle’s (Psalm 103). Thank You that You can renew our youth. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
