Realities of Life’s Closing Days

Transcript

GR 2138
Realities of Life’s Closing Days
11/03/2019
Ecclesiastes 12:1-8
Gil Rugh

We’re going to Ecclesiastes chapter 12 and Lord willing we will finish the Book of Ecclesiastes next Sunday. We’re coming to the close of this very practical letter of wisdom and living life in this world, which has its ups, and downs. Its good days and its bad days, and God’s intention is that we learn with the wisdom He gives how to navigate through all kinds of days and get the most out of every day so that our lives fulfill His purpose for us as we walk this earth. Chapter 11, verse 1 down through chapter 12, verse 8 form a unit and bring together in a concluding way, Solomon’s instructions that are given through the book. We’ve looked through chapter 11 and you’ll note those instructions in the first six verses reminded us that the repeated expression used four times in those six verses, “you do not know,” reminding us as we walk this earth of our limitations. Only God knows the future. He has planned the future, but we do not know. We do not know for sure what is coming, so wisdom involves wise planning that will help us avoid some of the pitfalls. He talked about those in chapter 10 of this instruction.

Now he reminds them to make wise decisions, in other words don’t put all your eggs in one basket, as we would say. We don’t have control over the weather and so on, so make decisions and take into account that there could be some difficult or bad days ahead. You can’t control that, but wisdom will help you make plans, so you’re not caught off guard or in an unexpected way. You’re reminded that God is sovereign in all this. He’s the One who is in control and used in verse 5, the example of the blowing of the wind and of a child formed in the womb and the bones forming. That’s the work of God. Then life is uncertain, but that should not keep you from making wise decisions. He moves on to put the two together in verse 8, “…if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all…” This is God’s intention as we’ve seen through this letter, constantly reminding that He intends us to enjoy life. God created Adam and Eve. He placed them on the earth He had created in the beautiful garden that He had made with the intention they live their lives enjoying God and His creation.

Now sin came into the picture, and that has brought bad days and unpleasant experiences. He said, “…if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all...” Make every day count, as we’ve seen through Ecclesiastes. But remember, and that word remember we’re going to see as we start chapter 12, and that’s used in the Hebrew Old Testament. It doesn’t mean just reminisce, but it means call to mind with the intent of acting on what you know. You’ve learned from your experiences, as Solomon talked about through this letter. As he put things to the test, as he tried things, he learned and developed wisdom. So, remember that there will be dark days and they will be many. Even as God’s people we enjoy good times, we enjoy bad times. Sin has brought the negative in as we would say it, the pain, the suffering, the unpleasantness, but it hasn’t wiped out all the joy that God intended for us when He created us. So, you have to keep your eyes open as you navigate this life.

Enjoy life but remember there will be dark days and there will be many, and that’s where we’re going in chapter 12. He’s going to bring us to the events that often precede death, old age and the dark days that can come with the declining years that culminate in our death, but remember the end of verse 8, “Everything that is to come will be futility.” It is brevity, it is a breath. The good days, the bad days, so don’t miss the joy of enjoying the days because they will be brief. And when you’re going through the dark days don’t despair; they too will be brief, because it’s a characteristic of this life that everything associated with it, including life itself, is but a breath. We would say it in more current language, here today, gone tomorrow, the passing of life, and that’s where he’s going to take us as we come into chapter 12.

He picks up in chapter 11, verse 9 with what will lead into chapter 12 directly when he says, “Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things.” Enjoy life, start young. Now remember that you start a life of wisdom when you come to recognize God, Who He is and your need for Him as your God, His salvation. And the beginning of wisdom, of knowledge, is the fear of the Lord, Proverbs chapter 1, Proverbs chapter 2. You begin by establishing a right relationship with the Lord, and then you move on in building your life. The sooner you start, the better. Now some of you did not come to know Christ until later in life, and you pick up in your walk with the Lord there, and that’s part of His plan for you.

I remember sharing the gospel with a very elderly woman, I think she was 92, in a nursing home. I was asked to visit her when I was a pastor in my former pastorate. I went in and shared the gospel with her, and the Lord had prepared her heart and she trusted the Lord right there. She prayed, “Oh Lord, I’m a sinner!” And when she got done praying, she said to me, “You have to tell people not to wait until they’re ninety to trust the Lord.” I never forgot that because that’s good advice. That’s Solomon’s advice. Rejoice young man in your childhood, start young to follow your desires. You don’t get paralyzed, “Well, I don’t know if I can…” Do it if this is an interest and desire you have. Now it’s not a hedonistic or a selfish pursuit because remember God will bring you into judgment for all these things. So, it’s a life lived with His wisdom, but don’t be afraid to move on and take advantage of the day; because every day that goes by is a day that won’t come back.

“So, remove grief and anger from your heart and put away pain from your body…” You don’t dwell on these things, like yesterday was a bad day, yesterday was a day of… Let it go! You ruin today and miss the joy of today because you’re stuck in yesterday or last week. And some people have a lifetime of past they’re stuck in. The reminder, “…because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting (but a breath).” The same word that’s translated “futility” at the end of verse 8. So, we start chapter 12 and what will he do? He’ll pick up with remember. “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth…” So, you see how he’s picked up what he was talking about in verses 9 and 10 specifically, in the days of youth, being a young person, a young adult, and those years of life where you have the greatest energy and so on. Don’t waste them, use them wisely. And interesting, “rejoice in them,” but remember your Creator.

Now let me pick up three key words here. We noted the three key expressions in the first six verses of chapter 11, “you do not know.” Now in verses 1 to 6 of chapter 12, three times he will use the word “before.” “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come…” Verse 2 “…before the sun and the light…” and so on “…are darkened.” Down in verse 6, “Remember Him before the silver cord is broken…” and so on. Don’t wait until trouble, difficulty, and then walk with wisdom and you’ll be prepared for those days. Establish a life patterned after walking with the LORD and that’s where he picks up with chapter 12, verse 1.

I have to say one more thing that I think is interesting with Solomon. In Hebrew, the first seven verses are all one long sentence. One commentator noted that if you read this one long sentence encompassing verses 1 to 7 and if you read it aloud, you would be out of breath by the end. That’s just like Solomon because what’s his next statement in verse 8, “Breath of breaths…” “…all is a breath!” So, even as you read this overview of life from youth to old age and death, and if you read it out loud, you’re out of breath and you’re out of life. That’s what life is like, it is a passing breath, don’t miss any day don’t waste the days.

Get started walking with the LORD early. So, chapter 12 verse 1, “Remember…” And there’s that word I talked about that was up in verse 8 of chapter 11. In Hebrew that meant, you bring it to mind, so you can act upon it. You’ve been learning and you just call these things to mind and you “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth…” Your Creator, it takes us back to Genesis 1 and 2. Remember these are Jews that Solomon is writing to. Some Evangelical commentators said that he uses the word Creator here because he’s not writing to Jews or he would have used the word Yahweh, which is the covenant name of God with Israel, so that he’s just writing to people generally. That’s not true of any of the Old Testament. These are the oracles of God given to the Jews. It’s one of the special, unique blessings, they have. He’s telling these Jews it would take them back to Genesis, the opening chapters in their bible, chapters 1 and 2 as we have it.

“Remember your Creator in the days of your youth…” You ought to start out early with your focus on God. Remember, the beginning of knowledge and wisdom is the fear of the LORD. He’s the Creator. He made you, He knows you, and we have that song, “He knows my name.” He knows everything about you, He’s the One who created you. He’s the One to be honored and obeyed, and He’s the One Who can direct your life exactly as it should be. So, you make your decisions and you act in light of He is my Creator, He’s my God. Remember the Creator created Adam and Eve to walk with Him in the garden, in the cool of the evening. So, we’re going back there now for the spiritual relationship, you must have. That’s why we begin early, and put the children, the young people in classes with people that care about them, that are committed to teaching the word to them, and build it into their young lives. Pray for them, so that they will come to know the Creator as their Savior, the God they love and serve, and they can walk with wisdom beginning at a very early age.

It is God’s will that’s being done under the sun, so people walking apart from the will of God, who have not entered a relationship with Him are constantly banging their head against the wall. It’s just life. He’s sovereign. He knows you. Come back to chapter 3. We don’t have time to go through all that’s in this book, but look in chapter 3, verse 1, “There is an appointed for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven…” That’s wisdom. I realize God is sovereign, He’s in control. I want to bring that back to my mind. That gives me stability and I do that in the best of times, so when the worst of times come I’m reminded. I reflect, “Yes God, You’re in control.” You come down to verse 11, of chapter 3. “He has made everything appropriate in its time.” At the end of the verse, this is “…the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.” He is the Creator. He is sovereign. Verse 14, “I know that everything God does will remain forever…” At the end of verse 14, “…God has so worked that men should fear Him.” I recognize who He is. I submit to who He is. I bow before Him. I want to take wisdom from Him.

Come over to, chapter 7, verse 13. “Consider the work of God, for who is able to straighten what He has bent? In the day of prosperity be happy…” This is where we are, as he draws this to a conclusion in chapter 12. “…but in the day of adversity consider--God has made the one as well as the other so that man will not discover anything that will be after him.” I realize this is the life God has created for me, this is the day He’s appointed for me to live, this day with His wisdom, to honor Him. But you know, that doesn’t mean I get paralyzed. I don’t know what to do, I’m not sure that this is the will of God or that’s… But sometimes we want to have thought put into it, but we get paralyzed by our thought. We analyze it to death. Proceed, He said. Follow your desires, your interests. God made you. Now that’s within the confines of recognizing His sovereignty over my life, and I will give an account to Him for the days of my life, but don’t let these days go by. I’m accountable for this day. Well, I wasted it! Start with the wisdom and build it early. Build it as consistently as you can.

Now there are other passages but come back to chapter 12. You get to the closing part of a book of instruction like this, and there are many things you could go back and review, because he is building on some of those things, again and again. “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, ‘I have no delight in them’…” With the passing of the days of your life, and you move on from youth, and soon the older years come, and they can be more difficult. Things can happen along the way that bring added difficulties and there’ll be many of those difficult dark days. They tend to pile up as you get toward the end of your life. That’s where he’s taking us. Begin to walk with your Creator, and in submission and obedience to Him, with that wisdom, day by day and the earlier, the better.

That’s what we want to do with our children, even as we train them. We want them to learn early and avoid some of the pitfalls and be prepared to handle some of the pressures of life here. “Remember…before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, ‘I have no delight in them’…” There will come times when as the physical problems pile up toward the end of our life until we get to the point where it’s hard to appreciate these days. There are days like verse 2, which are saying the same thing. “…before…” There’s our word “before” again. Sometimes we wait until we’re in trouble and dark days are here, and then we want to try to figure out what to do. Wisdom is when you develop the pattern of life in walking in fellowship with the Lord and sensitivity to His will, using His wisdom that you move into those dark days and that doesn’t mean they’re not dark days.

I want to say something as we move into this. God intends us even as His people as we walk this earth to feel the weight of the consequences of sin and the seriousness of sin, so we experience that in our everyday life even as the unbeliever does, and that includes our physical death. We’ll get to talk about that, but sometimes we as believers think we ought to minimize. They’re real! God intends us to recognize that. Remember He wrote through Paul in Romans 8. Our body groans in this physical body. We groan, and the whole creation groans, so Paul was a groaner. Believers are groaners, the whole creation groans. Why? The curse of sin has not been lifted. Now the penalty for us has been lifted and the power has been broken and these things we want to minimize it, but the fact is, God still has us here and He’s instructing us. It’s His intention that we’re going to experience death if Jesus Christ does not come.

I have no friendship with death. Death to this day is an enemy, not a friend. By one man, sin came into the world and death by sin. I have no friendship with sin. Why would I have friendship with death? Without sin, there would be no death. Sometimes Christians get the idea that we shouldn’t feel sad. Death is an enemy even when one who loves the Lord, who I’m close to dies. I wish it didn’t happen. I know where they’re going, but there’s pain in death. God’s not taking that out. He told the Thessalonians we don’t grieve as those who have no hope. He doesn’t say we don’t grieve, but we’re not hopeless in our grief. The reality of life is what He is bringing out here, so what verse 2 says, “…before the sun and the light, the moon and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain…”

He’s talking about those dark days. We would talk about them as He has talked about them, and “...they will be many.” Chapter 11, verse 8, enjoy all the days but “…remember the days of darkness, for they will be many.” But everything that comes is brief, but a breath. So, what happens here, “…the sun and the light, the moon and the stars are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain...” The sun’s gone and weeping endures for the night, joy comes in the morning. But as I walk this life, you get toward the close of life and the troublesome closing time. It seems like it’s one cloudy day after another. Solomon has this very beautiful, picturesque way to draw us through the declining years of life. It reminds me of the Book of the Song of Solomon. Where in a very picturesque, poetic way he depicts the erotic aspect of marriage and life. In my last hour of class I said the erratic aspect of marriage life, but I mean erotic. The sensual, sexual time and he does it in such a picturesque, beautiful way. That’s what he does here with death. He takes and pictures it as almost like an old house and things associated with it falling down. Some of you ride through the country, and you’ll see this old house and the color. It’s dilapidated, the roofs falling in, and you say what? That was probably quite a place in its day! That’s sort of the picture you’re going to get. You’re going to leave youth now and this helps remind us that it’s passing, it’s a breath. Take advantage of every day before the dark days come. And what are they like? So, he begins that picture.

Verse 3, “…in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and mighty men stoop…” Each of these have something to say. “…the watchmen of the house tremble...” I think he’s talking here about our arms and our hands. They’re the watchmen of the house and in the sense, you do everything with them, you go to work, you use your hands, even if you just type all day. They would plant and then you make food with them and you bring the food to your mouth. They’re like the watchmen, they’re out front, so to speak, that’s the picture. What happens? “…the watchmen of the house tremble…”

I’ve gathered a number of old books from seventeen, eighteen hundred and so on, and I like to just delve into reading some of them. I like it when they’ve been written in the front. People write their name and you can tell some of them are with those that pen and ink they would use, and it’s very flowing. You can tell that’s a person somewhat in the prime of life who wrote there. Some of them are very shaky, and you say that person must have been quite old. And it is today, and you know often that we get the shakes as we get older. It gets harder as things come in. Now any of these things can happen at any stage of life because it’s characteristic to bring dark days at all times, but age tends to pile them up and it becomes more characteristic. It’s just natural. My dad was an artist and he made his living at the steel mill, but on the side, he did artwork. He designed the Christmas card for U.S. Steel that U.S. Steel used universally. He did that for years, but as he got older something of that steadiness was gone, just one of the characteristics of life.

And you’ll note on some of these things as we’ve gotten older, and in God’s grace, we live in a day where we have things that help. You can push back the impact of some of them, but all it does is pile up at the end, because death is coming in and we’re not making any progress. In one sense because seventy years and if you get to eighty these things will become more evident. We’re about where the Psalmist was when he wrote seventy maybe eighty, but I’m glad for the day in which we live and the help we have, so, “…the watchmen of the house tremble, and mighty men stoop…” I think this is probably referring to the legs and the back. You know, I’m pretending now (laughter). It’s just the way we get, and you can feel it coming. You watch the younger people when they come to a flight of steps, and they take them two at a time. I’m happy to get the rail and take them one at a time. This is what happens, “…the mighty men stoop…” You know that’s where your strength is, in those legs that you have strength in, that can get down, and you can get back up. As you get older, you get down, and then you look for something to grab onto to push you up. It’s just life at that stage.

“…the grinding ones stand idle because they are few…” You just have to read it, but it’s so picturesque. It’s our teeth, they fall out! Now we live in a great day. Modern dentistry helps us to preserve the teeth we have and when you lose one, you can get an implant. I often think when I read something like this of George Washington and reading how much trouble he had, and this happened at a younger age with his wooden false teeth. Now how would you like to try to get by and around, and have dinner with your wooden false teeth? I can’t even imagine it. But you lost your teeth, you didn’t have the advances we have, and the care that we have, and some people’s teeth are better than others are. I don’t think Marilyn ever had a cavity. She had her first cavity when she was like forty-five or forty-seven. She just had good teeth. I think I started getting cavities when I was two (laughter). I wouldn’t have had any teeth, I’d have lost all mine at thirty. I’m glad for modern dentistry and you know you get a lot of benefits. Now we have things that deaden it. When I was in grade school, I had to walk myself to the dentist and my mother would say, “Now you can tell him that if it’s going to be very bad, he can give you Novocain. Other than that, no!” Because they couldn’t afford to pay for it regularly. So, I went there and (grinding noises) it was terrible! Now you go to a dentist, flop back in a comfortable chair. Ah, you feel anything? Not a thing. Well, I’m done. Oh, that was great! (Laughter) In the old days, they lost their teeth. We live in a day where some of these things are retarded. All that means is, you’ll die with better teeth. Did you ever go to a coffin, and somebody’s got a big smile on their face? No! I mean it doesn’t matter. All right, “…the grinding ones stand idle because they are few…” They just don’t have enough teeth.

All right, “…and those who look through the windows grow dim…” They’re the windows, our eyes. What happens with age and again we live in a great day. I can thank the Lord for it. You can have cataract surgery. You know in Solomon’s day they didn’t have cataract surgery. You know what happened? You just progressively lost your sight. Remember Eli sitting on the stoop? His eyes were set. He was elderly. What do they do? You just lost your sight and other eye afflictions of one kind or another that now we can fix, and some of it we can’t. People can still lose their sight, but by and large, it’s nothing like what it would have been. But it is a characteristic of getting old.

Aren’t you glad you came? Something to look forward to. “…and the doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low…” This verse just shows something of Solomon’s ability and insight to put things together. “…the doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low.” You don’t hear what’s going on. It’s our ears. You don’t hear like you used to hear. What did…what’d you say? Um, would you repeat that? We can lose our hearing and then he says on the other, where he puts the balance, “…and one will arise at the sound of the bird…” And it can be a characteristic of old age, not that I know, but I’m married to one elderly woman. You don’t hear well, and she’s got good hearing. I’m the one with bad hearing, but little sounds wake you up. You can’t make sense of a conversation, but you try to sleep, and the littlest thing seems to wake you up. And he said it goes together with old age in the way Solomon puts that in there. That you can’t hear what’s going on outside, but a little sound wakes you up. You’d like to just be able to sleep through the night, “…and all the daughters of song will sing softly.” Again, you just can’t make it out like you did.

I had coffee not too long ago with a man I know. He doesn’t attend church here but he’s even older than I am. We are in this coffee shop, two old men both with hearing aids and he says to me, (Loudly) “You know, I don’t feel any older than I was when I was fifty.” And I said, “Well, you could have told me that three tones down!” But he says, (loudly) “My brain’s just as good as it was.” And I answer back, “Well, hey, I think we’re getting—what’d you say?” So soon he’s telling me and I’m telling him back, (loudly) “Yeah, I enjoyed that too. I thought it was good.” And he says to me, “Yeah, this is good. I don’t feel any older.” I said to him, used his name, I said to him, “Look around this coffee shop, see all these young people sitting here? You think they’re looking at these two old men screaming at each other, thinking they just look so young?” You know the reality of it is, you lose some of your hearing.

Verse 5, “Furthermore, men are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road…” In other words, fear multiplies and some of you have had to deal with this with your parents. You notice when I talk about old people I talk about them, but you know it comes with old age. I remembered as I realized I wasn’t as young as I was, I used to love to swim, go to the pool every day, all day. The ritual of summer was to go get burnt to a crisp, get these big blisters on you, break them with a needle, and then once you got to where you could endure the sun, do the diving boards and all that. So, one time I had the kids in the van. I’m going to show them what it’s like. We were at a lake and they had like a 25-foot platform. I’ll show them what old dad can do, and I climb up the ladder to that platform. It takes forever. I get up there and I look down, and it dawned on me. What am I doing up here?! (Laughter) This makes no sense! Now I’ve got a choice, my pride can drive me off the end, be a dead idiot, or I can swallow my pride and return the way I came. I had developed a little wisdom. Move off the ladder, I’m coming down! (Laughter) By then everybody in the park knew. What happened? You’re afraid of things you weren’t afraid of, and you don’t adjust well. They’re afraid of what’s going to happen. What’s this? You try to comfort your elderly parents, with that’ll be all right and there won’t be a problem. You know it’s hard to settle them down. Things they are afraid of, they weren’t before. You drive behind somebody and they’re going 22 and the speed limit is 45. Of course, I’m patient. I have white hair. I look at them and say, that’s nice. I can’t wait for a broken line here, but you know they’re afraid. They’re timid about it, you know it just comes. It might come earlier, for some it might come later. You see these things are starting to build, they’re not the same for everyone, but when they all come together, deterioration is building in.

(More laughter throughout) “…the almond tree blossoms…” Do you know what happens when the almond trees’ blossoms come out? They’re white. There’s a picture of the almond tree blossoming. Just look around, we have white hair. It just comes with the passing of age. “…the grasshopper drags himself along…” I can see video clips just of that on the internet showing me. Here’s the state Gil’s in. Life is more difficult because things aren’t easy. You’re more careful. Some old people even fall down steps. You just go along slowly. You know, Solomon has a sense of humor; you’ve got to love the guy. “…and the caperberry is ineffective.” You know what the caperberry is? It’s the Viagra of the day. It was a sexual stimulant, but he had gotten to the age where it won’t work. I was sitting at my desk laughing. Solomon’s got a thousand women in his harem, waiting. The caperberry doesn’t work, it’s over. So, the next statement, “For man goes to his eternal home…” I just love that he saved that until the end.

“…For man goes to his eternal home while mourners go about in the street.” See what happens, these things build up. So, what has he done? He’s talked about taking advantage of every stage of life. But the further along we get in life where the penalty for sin is death, we still live under that physical penalty and these problems of life that we experience along the way, those many dark days begin to pile up and they become more difficult to deal with. Life is harder. You don’t recover as well or as quickly. A young person is running by full speed, falls, they roll a couple of times, they get up, and keep going. When you get older, you’re walking slowly, and fall, and it can be a serious thing. It is just things have built up, and the body is dying, and God intends us to feel the weight of the consequences of sin. He doesn’t take that away when you become a believer, not that I bear it in the wrong sense but thank You Lord, for Your grace that has rescued me.

You know the relief that’ll come from this body of death? It’s a dying body, we’re just at different stages along the way. But that’s not a cause of despair because God put us here for a purpose. Sometimes I think, oh boy, I can’t wait until this life’s over and gone. I understand this is God’s purpose for each one of us here today, and if we don’t do with today what He intends, we will someday stand before Him to give an account. “…man goes to his eternal home…” Now remember what Solomon has been talking about, he’s been talking about life under the sun. I don’t think he’s talking about heaven or those future things. In fact, it was interesting for me to read because I didn’t remember this. I was probably taught it in my Hebrew class, but I’ve forgotten. This expression, “eternal home,” beth olam is what Jews to this day call their cemetery. Eternal home in the sense that Solomon has been talking about, it is the end of this physical life.

Everything that will be done during my physical life comes to a dead halt when I die, and we’re put in the grave. That body is no longer useful, it does nothing. You can embalm it and set it in a chair, but it still can’t do anything. That’s the point. So, I think that’s what he is talking about, that’s where he’s gone. We’ll see more of that in a moment. “…mourners go about in the street.” That’s the process, so you see he’s focused here. It’s all about this life, the brevity of this life and it comes to an end, and it can often unexpectantly come to an end. Some people die young. My younger brother died at 52. He didn’t experience some of these declining things, but he couldn’t escape death. You can live to be much older and some people seem to do well into advancing years, but by and large, this is the rule as the Psalmist says. Seventy years, maybe eighty but they’ll be filled with difficulties.

That’s what Solomon has laid out. So, verse 6, “Remember Him…” and you’ll note, that’s in italics because like they did in verse 5, they’ve started a new sentence since this is one long sentence, so they picked up the remember from verse 1. The beginning word “Remember” is repeated here, like before, so this is where he calls us back. He walked you through old age, now the best preparation for that is walking wisely in the early days, walking with wisdom each day until you get there. Do that before all options are gone because we’re at death now. Death has occurred at the end of verse 5, “…man goes to his eternal home…”and to the grave, as far as the physical body is concerned, and his activity on this earth under the sun is finished. I know the resurrection is there, but Solomon is not talking about any of that. It’s about this life on earth under the sun. “Remember Him before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed…” Well, he uses each of these things again, and they are the things that might be around and associated with a home. Each of them when they’re broken or crushed, they’re no longer of use. Each of these four images, I think picture the body in its death.

It’s a reminder that, no matter who you are, what you do, take advantage of the days that you have because when death comes, your part is over. You will accomplish nothing else. One writer put it picturesquely, you will have taken your last walk, you will have eaten your last dinner, you will have given your last kiss, it’s over. And all they can do is mourn and weep for those who are left, but they can’t bring you back. And as time goes by, as we’ve seen in Ecclesiastes, they need to get on with their life because you’re not coming back. In some sense, sometimes in bringing life to an end, it’s a relief. You see an elderly parent suffering and you know their body is decrepit, their mind is not functioning. They know the Lord and you’re just anxious for them to go, but it’s still painful to have them go. Now if they could stay and be in full health, I’d rather have them here. So, you see death is just because the impact of sin has come to the point that death is the only real alternative. That’s the picture in those four things. All four items are useful and valuable in life, but when they are ruined, their usefulness is gone. When they put your body in the grave, your usefulness is gone. Everything you’re going to do and accomplish in this life is over.

“…then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.” You see the beauty of how Solomon has laid this out. He started out in verse 1, “Remember your Creator...” Where does that take you back? Genesis 1 and 2, God took the dust of the earth at the beginning of Genesis 2, and He made it into a man, then out of the side part of the man, He made woman. Then because of sin in chapter 3, God pronounced judgment. You were made from the dust, you will return to the dust. That’s what he says, from the dust “…then the dust will return to the earth…” “Remember your Creator…” And you go back to those early days, they are reflecting on them to remind us that life is short, it’s going to end in death. I know the possibilities of the Lord’s return, but for the most part up till this day, death is the reality. You’ll return to dust “…and the spirit will return to God who gave it.” Now an initial reading of this, you might think the spirit that probably means we’re going to heaven, but I think in the context of which Solomon is talking about, he’s talking about your life. The Creator who breathed life into you now takes that life back because remember, Solomon has only been concerned with life under the sun, life on the earth. When your life is removed you are dead. I think he’s talking about the word spirit here, ruach, that can sometimes mean breath, you may have that in your margin. The word for spirit is different than the word hebel that means breath, but it sometimes means spirit and that’s a good translation. But I think he’s talking about the life that animates the body.

Come back to chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes. Look at verse 18, “I said to myself concerning the sons of men, ‘God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but beasts.’” Now man, as we talked about that we did see this, is different than the animals, but there is a way in which we are alike. “For the one fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath…” That’s what he is talking about there, the same spirit in the sense of life. “And there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is a breath.” And then he uses that word hebel, but still you see the comparison. We’re talking about life on the earth and as far as living on this earth, a dog and a man both dies. The beast dies, the man dies. The man dies, his body deteriorates and goes back to dust, and the beast dies, and his body deteriorates, and we’re alike. Now you don’t want to build your theology of man on just that, but life under the sun is like that.

All this is a reminder that if you don’t do what you should on each day, your life will be gone, and you won’t have the opportunity. Why did God put you here? He could have made you a spirit in heaven, but He didn’t. He made angels like that, but He created us and put us on this earth, and He expects us to live our days. Even though sin is here and shortens those days, live them wisely. So, I think it’s the same thing he’s talking about in verse 21. “Who knows that the breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth?” As far as life on the earth is concerned, it’s the same for both, it’s over. And that’s what Ecclesiastes has been about. That’s where he’s brought us to. Come back to chapter 12, verse 8, and this wraps up the book. We’ll have a conclusion in verses 9 to 14, but the substance of the book brings us to where we began. “‘Breath of breaths,’ says the Preacher, ‘all is but a breath!’” It’s temporary, it’s all brief, it’s all passing. It’s not all vain or vanity, it’s not all meaningless.

Everyday has a purpose. God has made everything appropriate, beautiful in its time. A time to be born, a time to die, and on we went through chapter 3. This is where we started chapter 1 of Ecclesiastes, verse 2. The English bible has it, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!” Wait a minute, it’s better to say, “Breath of breaths, all is but a breath!” What’s the point? This is a very valuable life you live on this earth. God created us for it. Now sin has brought the painful, the dark days into life. Sometimes it gets to the point as Solomon acknowledged early in these instructions, times when I said, I wish I had never been born, like Job. And we remember we looked at that, but it’s all brief and it’s all a part of the appointment of God for us. He’s made everything appropriate in its time. He appoints the time and He appoints the events for the time.

That means everyday is a day I am responsible for, I will be accountable for, and part of that is the commands He’s given to rejoice and enjoy every day, so it’s interesting. I can be just as much in disobedience to God when I’m complaining about a dark day as when I’m not rejoicing in a good day. I’m to be living this life out under His sovereignty. He created me. He created me to enjoy life. Remember, He created life, He created it to be enjoyed, and the enjoyment is found first in a relationship with Him. Something of that enjoyment was broken for Adam and Eve when they sinned. They no longer looked forward to walking with God in the cool of the evening, but they ran and hid from Him. What a merciful gracious God He is! He tells us to enjoy life, but to live wisely. This is a creation under the curse of sin, and you are still living under that curse even as a believer, but you can walk in fellowship with Him and navigate and maneuver that life with wisdom.

The question comes, do you fear the Lord? You know there’s practical advice here that would be good for anyone, but the reality of living a life of wisdom begins with a relationship with the Lord. It doesn’t have anything to do with you were just raised in this church, if you’ve had Christian parents, if you try to do good. Have you ever entered a relationship with the living God, the Creator of all? That happens through faith in the provision He made in Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” He’ll overcome the power of death with life. Right now when you’ve come to trust in Christ and entered into that relationship with God, you walk with Him under His care. You have His wisdom provided for you, and you navigate life and you experience many of the same things the unbeliever does. You get sick, you have pain of a variety of kinds. Dark days come, but you understand, and you live. Lord, I know it’s a brief time and You’ll bring me through. Days of joy come and Lord, I want to enjoy them to the fullest, but I want to remember these will be brief and that’s a good reason to enjoy them. Thank you, Lord, for everything You do, everything You’ve prepared for me, for every day. May we with wisdom make every day count.

Let’s pray together. Thank you, Lord, for the riches of Your word. You are a God of great grace, great love, and mercy, and You are the God of wisdom. True wisdom comes from You. The beginning of wisdom and knowledge for us, is when we begin to fear You, bow before You, claim You as our God, claim Your salvation by faith as a provision for ourselves. Lord, what a blessing it is to enter into a relationship with You and begin to walk with wisdom through this difficult life, but Lord a life that You’ve provided much joy. May we enjoy every day that You have provided, and may we navigate through the days of darkness, never forgetting this life is just a breath. A breath, nothing but a breath, it’s temporary. But it’s valuable, it’s of great importance. We give You praise, in Christ’s name. Amen.

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