“Remember your Creator in the days of your youth.” As I sit here reading this first line of chapter 12 in the book of Ecclesiastes, I wonder how many of you reading this article would consider yourselves to be classified as “youth”? I suppose the concept of youth is relative; and yet those of us who are “older” know a little something about youth and how fleeting it is. “Yesterday I was young and now I am old,” says the poet.

This opening line reminds me about what David said in Psalm 95:7, “Today when you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts ….”  In other words, don’t wait, pay attention to His words today! I mentioned in our last article that this chapter was quite unique to the book in which it is found. It is a poetic allegory given so as to open our eyes to the brevity of life. “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, ‘I find no pleasure in them.’” (Verse 1) I just returned from a visit to my oldest sister who is becoming crippled up with arthritis – she finds no pleasure in the days ahead of her. But she still has the opportunity to “Remember her Creator.”
 
Let us take a verse by verse look at this poetic allegory. Verse 2: “(Remember your Creator) before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark and the clouds return after the rain.” - The days of carefree cheerfulness and prosperity see their decline for the elderly and even the sun does not come out after a shower. Verse 3: “When the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop.” – The keepers of the house might mean the hands and arms. They are no longer strong and they even tremble a little. “When the grinders cease because they are few” – perhaps a reference to the end of a full set of teeth (they had no false teeth in Solomon’s day). “And those looking through the windows grow dim” – no cataract surgery in those days either!
Verse 4: “When the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades” – without wheel chairs and walkers, access to the out of doors became difficult. The duty of grinding the grain was given to the more youthful of society. “When men rise up at the sound of birds but all their songs grow faint” – The older I get, the harder it is to sleep late in the morning and without my hearing aids, I miss some of the bird songs. Verse 5: “When men are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets” – I use to enjoy roofing houses; alas no more! “When the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags himself along and desire no longer is stirred” – Quite possibly, the almond tree blossoming refers to one’s hair turning gray and silver; the grasshopper is no longer spry.  And “desire”? Well, as one gets older, the less it is stirred (enough said?)!!

This is a beautiful picture of the wearing down of the human body. My pulling it apart for explanation has in ways diminished its effect. Read it in full for yourself from your bible. It is here that we finally see the outcome of this aging process; “Then man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about the streets. Remember Him before the silver cord is severed or the golden bowl is broken.”

More on this beautiful piece of poetry in our next article. The conclusion of the matter is just around the corner.

We’ve been looking at the book of Ecclesiastes and considering the phrase, “under the sun.” Solomon uses it 29 times in this short book. We have ascertained that he uses this phrase as an expression to point out our fleshly existence here in this world.

In chapter 4:1 we read, “Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place “under the sun.” If there is one thing I know, it is that God is not an oppressor. He is a giver and a giver of good things. I believe we established this in a previous article. No, it is man who is shown to be the oppressor. Solomon goes on to say in verse 4, “And I saw that all labor and all achievement which springs from man’s envy of his neighbor is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”  The use of this phrase actually sets the parameters for how we should look at this book. It becomes the lens though which we see Solomon’s lessons for us. Let’s consider chapter 2:17-23; five times in these 7 verses we read the phrase “under the sun.”

Solomon starts off saying, “So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after wind. … I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun … all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun is also meaningless … My heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun.  What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun?” At one level it sounds almost depressing; as though Solomon were about to have a breakdown.

But then in verses 24-26 we are told the real message of this book and we dare not miss it. “A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without Him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the man who pleases Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness…” So now we are shown the difference. Do things, under the sun – meaningless!! Do things to please God – priceless!!

Without God in one’s life we are given this stark picture of a man striving under the sun for no real reason. Solomon was perhaps the richest man in the world – ever! He had it all. (See Eccl. 2:4-11 for a deliberation of what he amassed.)

If we had the time and space, we might go through this book of wisdom, verse by verse but for now, let us go beyond the use of this phrase “under the sun” and consider the last two chapters – for in them is the really good news. (Yes, there are some good lessons though out the book: chapter 5 – stand in awe of God; chapter 7 – the wisdom of having a good name.) Chapter 11 tells us to cast our bread upon the water and give portions to the needy; sow our seeds in the morning; enjoy the creation around us and take joy in our living; be happy and follow the way of our hearts, banish anxiety.

Chapter 12 is quite unique and we should take some time to look at it in our next article. In it we are given a beautiful poem of wisdom and finally are told the conclusion of the matter – good news.