Ecclesiastes 11-12

Radiant Church, August 25, 2019 Mike Rydman Ecclesiastes 11-12 The End of the Matter Why do we ignore, devalue and even fear aging? Because we fear death. There is a logic to how the book of Ecclesiastes is written. Opening statement (1:1-11) The story of the Preacher’s quest for meaning in life (1:12-6:12) To help us live for God in this vain world, he showed the difference between wisdom and folly (7-11) Then he ends it by talking about death and dying (12:1-7) Before restating his primary theme – everything is vanity (12:8) Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth. Practical investment advice: diversify (don’t trust any one thing, other than Jesus, to be your functional savior) Ecclesiastes 11:3-4 If the clouds are full of rain, and they empty themselves on the earth, and if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie. He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. Don’t wait for perfect conditions, or the perfect job offer before going to work. Work diligently in spite of not knowing the future Ecclesiastes 11:5-6 As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. In the morning sow your seed, and at evening, withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good. Don’t be lazy. It’s okay to have a side hustle. Here then is the beginning of the conclusion, where Solomon sums everything up: Live joyously and responsibly in the fear of the Lord Ecclesiastes 11:7-8 Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity. Work did not come with the curse; work got cursed in the curse Ecclesiastes 11:9-10 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity. Enjoy being young, but don’t fear getting older “Pain” = sin Ecclesiastes 12:1-8 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;” “Remember also your Creator” = trust, obey, walk with Him. Teach your kids to do the same. Tons of money is spent on counseling and medications because of poor life choices Before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, Eyesight begins to fail, even glaucoma become a reality for some. Or it could refer to mental illness In the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, Hands and arms and legs begin to tremble and loose strength And the grinders cease because they are few, Teeth fall out And those who look through the windows are dimmed, and the doors on the street are shut – Eyesight and hearing begin to dim, and lips change because of the loss of teeth When the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, Ironically, while hearing is fading, older people still wake up too early because of a noise inside or outside the house And all the daughters of song are brought low – they are afraid also of what is high, and the terrors are in the way; Afraid of heights and afraid of falling, afraid of being jostled in a crowd The almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, The almond tree blossoms refer to gray hair, and then after the bloom you lose hair. The grasshopper dragging itself along is a picture of no longer being able to carry heavy loads and a loss of mobility And desire fails because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets – 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, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; all is vanity. Sexual desire decreases, in fact all appetites diminish in old age The rest of this bit refers to death finally happening. The silver cord and the vessels that hold water are broken – water is a sign of life The world is broken because of the curse God put on the earth in response to sin Ecclesiastes 12:9-12 Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth. The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. The “goads” prod us toward Jesus; the “nails firmly fixed” refer to timeless and trustworthy truth. The “Shepherd” here is God; Ecclesiastes is the very word of God To his own son, Solomon tells his son to be satisfied that all of this is God’s truth, and he shouldn’t go trying to find new or different truths from some other source. And the bit about too many books and too much study? 2 Timothy 3:7 Always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. There is no new wisdom to be found under the sun. God is the author and originator of all wisdom. He’s given us that wisdom in His Word. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. “Judgment” here is an appeal for and looking forward to God making everything right again We are under condemnation; all of us are But Galatians 3:13 tells us that Jesus, the wisdom of God, took on our curse And Jesus defeated death in His resurrection. That changes everything! If there is no God, then there is no Judge. If there is no Judge, then there will be no Final Judgment. If there is no Final Judgment, there is no ultimate meaning to life. Nothing matters. Jaroslav Pelikan said, “If Jesus is risen – then nothing else matters. And if Jesus is not risen – then nothing else matters.” Into this vain world, Jesus came. Like us, he suffered all of life’s futility and frustration. But Jesus did more. When the time was right, he took the judgment that we deserve by dying for our sins on the cross. His body returned to the dust, like the Preacher said. But on the third day he rose again, bringing life out of the grave. Because of Jesus, the decay of death is not the final word; aging is not the end Life is meaningful, because Jesus reconciles us to the Creator of life So the final message of Ecclesiastes is not that nothing matters, but that everything matters. Everything matters because everything in the universe is subject to the final verdict of a righteous God who knows every secret. When that judgment day comes, everyone who believes in Jesus will stand before the righteous Judge and look into the eyes of a loving Savior. Trusting and devoting ourselves to Jesus is what saves us from life’s vanities.