Lord’s Day, Vol. 7 No. 31

Remember Thy Creator

Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

 Solomon is the writer of this book. He writes in his old age as a personal testimony to teach the futility of worldly ambitions and desires in life apart from God to posterity.

In short, a godless life doesn’t satisfy the human soul as our Lord Jesus says in Mark 8:36-37 “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” The word “Ecclesiastes” simply means “Preacher”, one who had gathered wisdom to speak about life.

 

(1) The Reality (v1c cf. 2-7)

– when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them…

We ought to live our lives profitably, by remembering our Creator who gives us life and sustains our life, before life loses its strength and we sit in regret of a wasted life. Solomon paints for us the reality of the end of a man’s life.

He becomes weak, his teeth are few, eating becomes a burden. The eyes grow dim, slowly loses its strength.  Soon, he needs a “magnifying glass”. His hands and feet grow weak, and they tremble. He suffers from insomnia. The voice is crackling and unsteady, and singing a song is out of the question, developing acrophobia (fear of height), views from tall buildings, or plane rides can be terrifying. He is afraid to go out alone, or to go out at night, the blossoming almond tree is generally taken to picture the white hair, first in rich profusion, then falling to the ground. The grasshopper is a burden, that is, even the lightest objects are too heavy for the old person to carry (v5). Desire fails in the sense that natural appetites diminish or cease altogether. Food no longer has flavour or zest, and other basic drives fizzles out. This degenerative process takes place because man is going to his long-lasting home of death and the grave, and soon his funeral procession will be moving down the street (v6-7).

 

(2) The Reasoning (v1b)

– while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh…

The advice is to remember our Creator 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. He speaks of the brevity of life. How we all must die. None can escape – Ecclesiastes 12:7-8 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. 8Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all isvanity. The word “vanity” means “vapour” or “breath”, fleeting, quickly disappearing.

This world’s ambitions, desires and pursuits, Solomon concluded give no real satisfaction to the soul for when we breathe our last breath, that’s it, we leave behind the fruits of all our labour. We cannot bring with us. Hence, he is teaching this concept that anything we do that is of real value must be eternal. What is of value must be able to last. The truth is that this worldly life and its pursuits, like a vapour, like the morning dew, evaporate in no time when the sun is up, when this life is over. He described as life “under the sun”. If death ends everything, he is right to conclude that he “hated life” in Eccl. 2:17. What difference does it make anyway!

Solomon revealed at the end of this book that death is not the end – “hear the conclusion of the whole matter, Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man for God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it begood, or whether it beevil”.

Solomon revealed that after death is God’s judgment. Only when we know our Creator, Jesus Christ, can we be delivered from the judgment to come. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for our sins and rose again from the dead conquering sin and death on our behalf. We are promised eternal life with God in heaven after we die when we repent of our sins and come to Jesus for salvation, escaping the judgment of hell fire after we die.

Solomon tells us that every man perish one day. Whether we are wise or foolish, we have to die, in other portions he mentioned whether wealthy or poor, man or animal all have to die. Then what is the difference? Is there any difference? No, there is no difference by the standards of this world’s wisdom. If there is no wisdom that conquers the problem of death, this earthly life is a big disappointment. But there is hope. In Jesus Christ, man can escape the judgment of God after he dies when he puts his trust in Jesus, he escapes the judgment of God to come!

 

(3) The Resolve (1a)

– Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth…

 We should remember our Creator… before the sunset time of life. The word “youth” refers to life while we still have strength to live it. The aspiration of every young person should be that which is expressed in the following lines:

 

Lord, in the fullness of my might,

I would for Thee be strong;

While runneth o’er each dear delight,

To Thee should soar my song.

 

I would not give the world my heart,

And then profess Thy love;

would not feel my strength depart,

And then Thy service prove.

 

I would not with swift winged zeal

On the world’s errands go:

And labour up the heav’nly hill

With weary feet and slow.

 

O not for Thee my weak desires,

My poorer baser part!

O not for Thee my fading fires,

The ashes of my heart.

 

O choose me in my golden time,

In my dear joys have part!

For Thee the glory of my prime

The fullness of my heart.

 

— Thomas H. Gill

 

If we have not made right with our Creator, let us not delay. Come to Jesus today! For the Christian, we are asked to evaluate how we are living our lines. Whether our life will bring heavenly reward when we meet Jesus in heaven or will be suffer loss because we have chosen to live for the world. Let us evaluate our value system and live remembering our Creator. Amen.

 

Yours loving,

Pastor Lek Aik Wee