Heritage Reformed Baptist Mission
ECCLESIASTES
Chapter 12
Ecclesiastes 12:1-14
v. 1 - The admonition/advice/counsel contained in the first 7 verses of this chapter, though addressed to youth, is valuable for even those of us in old age. We might call this "The Geriatric Chapter."
- "Remember" = not only leave off the things described in v. 10 of Chapter 11, but be aware of the One who created you, realizing He owns you, body and soul, and be grateful for the fact that He is God, loving, kind, longsuffering, forbearing, forgiving, the Great Creator of life and all that is necessary to sustain it
- "now" = in old age as well as youth, keep God always/continually in grateful remembrance - cf. Isaiah 26:3
- "Creator" = Heb = Creators, implying Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all involved in the creation - cf. Genesis 1:26a
- "evil days" = old age when there are afflictions, disease, weakness of body, etc.
- "no pleasure" = not in God, but in the physical and mental senses
v. 2 - "sun . . . light . . . moon . . . stars . . . darkened" = weakening or loss of intellectual ability, memory, and understanding, as well as the loss of whatever physical beauty youth afforded
- "clouds . . . after . . . rain" = affliction follows affliction
v. 3 - "house" = body; "keepers" = hands and arms palsied; "strong men" = legs and thighs weakened; "grinders" = teeth few; "those that look" = eyes dimmed
v. 4 - "doors" = lips; "sound of grinding" = chewing; "rise up . . . bird" = up with the chickens; "daughters of musick" = organs that make and receive sound = voice and ears
v. 5 - "afraid . . . high" = climbing hills, stairs, etc.; "fears . . . in the way" = possibility of falling or meeting some danger with which unable to deal due to weakness; "almond . . . flourish" = hair turning gray and turning loose; "grasshopper (locust) . . . burden" = lightest things difficult to carry; "desire" = Heb = "caper-berry" (a spice) used to stimulate appetite but has no effect in old age; "long home" = eternity
v. 6 - A description of what happens in the body at death
- "silver cord" = spinal column with all its nerves; "golden bowl" = brain; "fountain" = heart; "pitcher" = right ventricle which transmits blood to the several parts of the body; "wheel" = left ventricle which resembles a cistern as it receives and holds the blood for a moment between pulsations
v. 7 - Death removes the body from on the earth to in the earth where it decays and returns to the dust from which God created it - cf. Genesis 2:7a
- Death separates the spirit from the body from which it returns to God who breathed it into existence (cf. Genesis 2:7b) to be judged and assigned to eternal bliss or eternal torment
v. 8 - This is the text/theme with which the Preacher began this sermon (cf. Ecclesiastes 1:2) and is here repeated after having been proven in the body of the message, following especially his vivid description of old age and death
- It is a theme which the Preacher personally experienced when he turned away from God; and which he readily acknowledges, having repented of his backsliding
- It is a theme every true penitent sees and understands with the realization that the things of this world contribute absolutely nothing to a proper relationship with God
v. 9 - The Preacher, being the wisest merely human being who ever lived, used his wisdom to learn of many things and shared what he learned by the wisdom God gave him with the people, both orally and in writing; every Christian, having the wisdom of God in the Person of Jesus Christ, ought to do the same
v. 10 - The Preacher made diligent effort to find just the right words to speak and write to people in language they could understand, but without compromising the truth
v. 11 - "words . . . as goads" = truth pricks the inner-most being bringing conviction
- "nails fastened" = firmly planted in the mind and memory
- "masters of assemblies" = preachers; teachers
- "one shepherd" = God, who is Truth and speaks nothing else
v. 12 - "by these" = wise men and their words, namely, men inspired by God who wrote the Scriptures; the total of all other books are not to be compared with those
- The Scriptures are not to be forsaken in favor of other books, nor are they to be judged by what other books say about them; rather, all other books are to be judged by the Scriptures
v. 13 - The solution to the vanity of life = trust and obey God in the Lord Jesus Christ for that is what constitutes man complete as God created him to be - cf. Colossians 2:10a
v. 14 - "shall bring" = judgment is inevitable; it cannot be avoided or prevented
- The future judgment will prove the vanity of seeking happiness and contentment in the things of this world, and should serve as an incentive to turn to God now for there will be no opportunity to turn then