Daily Devotional Monday 12th February 2024
by William Moody
Ecclesiastes 12
Remember Your Creator in Your Youth
12:1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; 2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, 3 in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, 4 and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low—5 they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along,1 and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets—6 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, 7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 8 Vanity2 of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.
Fear God and Keep His Commandments
9 Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. 10 The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.
11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.3 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with4 every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Footnotes
[1] 12:5
Or is a burden
[2] 12:8The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (three times in this verse); see note on 1:2
[3] 12:13Or the duty of all mankind
[4] 12:14Or into the judgment on (ESV)
We come to the climax of the book which is to remember your Creator (v1). This should be done straight away and for the young in their youth before evil days come. These evil days are described in verses 2-5 as days of great anguish and fear which coincide with other teaching about the last days of the world.
The snapping of the silver cord, the breaking of the golden bowl, the shattering of the pitcher and the breaking of the wheel (v6) are all pictures of life ending. When a person does their dust goes tot eh ground and their spirit returns to God for the judgment (v7).
This is why remembering our Creator early is so important. All in this world is meaning less (v8) compared with knowing God and being right with Him. Nothing in life compares to the assurance of having salvation, yet how many people there are who place so many things before having salvation.
The book ends with a summary of what the preacher in Ecclesiastes was seeking to do (v9-14). All the wisdom of this book comes from one Shepherd (v1) and He is the one we must trust.
The book can be summed up in the final two verses when we’re told to fear God, to keep His commandments as we will all face judgment when all secrets will be revealed (v13-14). As we finish this book, do you fear God, do you seek to live in obedience to His will, are you ready for the judgment?
copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.