Ecclesiastes 12
Chuck Smith on Ecclesiastes 12
Verse by verse, taught on Sunday nights: the C2000 series, 1979 to 1985, and the C3000 series, 1985 to 1999. Permission granted by The Word For Today.
Sunday Nights, 1979 to 1985 (C2000)
Verse 1
Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth (12:1),
It is interesting that most conversions are made during the teenage years. Seven-eighths of every decision for Jesus Christ is made while in your teenage years. That's why it's an important injunction, "Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth."
while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when you shall say, I have no pleasure in them (12:1);
Don't wait until you get old to serve the Lord, to give your life to Jesus Christ. Commit your life while you're young, before those evil days come and you say, "Oh man, life has no more pleasure." And so we have now an interesting sort of graphic description of the aged person.
Verse 2
While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain (12:2):
As you get older you start putting stronger lightbulbs in the socket. My first awareness of my need for glasses is when the light wasn't bright enough and I had to get a brighter light in order to read. And somehow the lights go dimmer as you get older. The muscles of your eyes don't contract as they should in the adjustment of the pupil and all. And so you need more light in order to read. So remember. You see, I'm in the other end of the stick now when the years draw nigh.
Verse 3
In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble (12:3),
That's when you begin to get the palsied shakes of the old age; your knees and your legs begin to shake. You walk sort of shakily. It's hard to have a smooth script as you're writing, you know, you can. "Keepers of the house are trembling."
and the strong men shall bow themselves (12:3),
You begin to hunch over your back. The grinders are your teeth.
and the grinders cease because they are few (12:3),
Of course, in those days they didn't have the spare sets.
and those that look out of the windows be darkened (12:3),
Again, the reference to the eyes, the windows of your body, the eye, and you begin to become blind.
Verse 4
And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low (12:4);
Your hearing gets bad, and the singing, "Yeah, what?" It's a great life to look forward to, isn't it? You start waking up early in the morning, the first song of the bird. You don't sleep so long anymore. You don't need so much sleep.
Verse 5
And when they shall be afraid of that which is high (12:5),
You start getting these fears.
and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper will be a burden (12:5),
Oh, there's a grasshopper, what shall I do?
I was visiting a while back in one of the retirement homes, one of our members, and as I was going to leave, as I got to the elevator, I was on the seventeenth floor, and when I got to the elevator this little old lady came running up to me. She says, "Help, help, help!" And I said, "What's the matter, Ma'am?" And she said, "There's a man; he came right into my room. I didn't invite him; he came right into my room. And he's still there in my room and I can't get him out." And I said, "Well, I'll get him out for you, Ma'am, you know." She was a little old lady so I figured it must be a little old man, you know. I could have handled that. So I went back to her room with her and we went into her room and here I was ready to assume my authority and order the guy out. What are you doing in this room uninvited? And looked around I said, "Well, Ma'am, I don't see anybody here." She said, "Well, he came flying right in that window there. And he landed right there in the sink. And was just staring at me for a while, you know."
Even a grasshopper can become a burden. Or a fly.
Verses 5–8
your desire shall fail: because man goes to his long home, and the mourners will be in the streets: Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel be broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity (12:5-8).
You've come to the end of the road, man. This is it. The mourners are out in the street. The pitcher's been broken at the fountain. It's all over. And what is life? Vanity, vanity. Your body is gone back to dust. Spirit's gone back to God who gave it. And it was just one vast emptiness.
That's life apart from God. And if you live apart from God, you will experience the same thing. You can't escape it. There is no real meaning in life apart from God, apart from serving God. There is nothing worthwhile. Vanity, vanity, all is emptiness.
Verses 9–12
And moreover, because the [assembler] Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. The [assembler or] Preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even the words of truth. The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of the assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making of many books there is no end; and much study is weariness of the flesh (12:9-12).
I used to have that in my room when I was in school.
Verse 13
Now let's hear the conclusion of the whole matter (12:13):
This is it.
Verses 13–14
Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it is good, or whether it is evil (12:13-14).
This is it. The best way to live is just to fear God, keep His commandments. Because one day God is going to bring every work into judgment, even the secret things whether good or evil.
Shall we stand.
I pray that the Lord will give you a closer walk with Him. That you begin to understand life from the divine perspective. That you'll experience much more than the emptiness of life after the flesh under the sun but will begin to experience the rich fulfillment of life in the Son after the Spirit. And so may God lead you by His Spirit into that full, rich life that He wants you to know and to experience in Jesus Christ. And may you begin to experience that which Jesus said was life more abundantly that He had come to bring to you. So may the hand of the Lord be upon your life this week. And may you walk with Him in love. In Jesus' name.
Sunday Nights, 1985 to 1999 (C3000)
Verse 1
REMEMBER now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; (12:1).
He’s saying, while you are young, to remember your Creator, serve God and take advantage of your youth in serving your Lord.
Evil is not the sense of wicked evil but just that in the days of older age when you just can’t get around as easy as you used to get around. Those days when you wake up and you ache all over and say, “Oh my. My aching body”. The days in which you have no pleasure in them anymore. It’s not you wake up excited saying, “Oh man I wonder how the surf us today” but it’s when it is hard to roll out of bed and you stand up rather slowly and you feel the cricks and pops.
Verse 2
While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: (12:2).
He gives some interesting figures of speech for some of the problems that a person experiences as the body begins to wear out. The keepers of the house are your arms, your hands.
Verse 3
In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, (12:3).
You notice how when people get older they begin to tremble. I’ve noticed that my writing is beginning to get trembling. I used to think it was funny when my aunt would write to me in trembling script but it’s catching up with me now.
and the strong men shall bow themselves, (12:3).
They begin to sort of hunch over.
and the grinders [teeth] cease because they are few, (12:3).
You are getting in bad shape now. No more steaks or corn.
and those that look out of the windows [eyes] be darkened, (12:3).
You can’t see so well.
Verse 4
And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low; (12:4).
You can’t hear very well, “say it again”. You wake up; you don’t sleep soundly all night long anymore. You wake up with the birds in the morning.
Verse 5
Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, (12:5).
Stand up on a chair, no way it’s too high up there.
and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, (12:5).
You look out and a grasshopper is a burden to you.
and desire shall fail: (12:5).
It used to be that surfing was important to me. If someone asks me if I had been surfing lately, “no it’s been years”. The desire has failed. Things don’t mean the same to you as you get older. Stuff that you used to say, “Let’s go for it” now you say, “Are you sure you want to go for it?”
because man goeth to his long home, (12:5).
“Going home, going home”.
and the mourners go about the streets: (12:5).
One day you go home. They lay you in the ground and the mourners go about the streets.
Verse 6
Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern (12:6).
The wheel was the thing that they would use to put the rope down to pull the water out of the cistern. The pitchers are broken at the mouth, the golden bowl, silver court, and a picturesque speech concerning death.
Verse 7
Then shall the dust [body] return to the earth as it was: (12:7).
“Dust thou art” God said, “and to dust you shall return”. He’s speaking of the body of man, not speaking of the soul. As Longfellow put it so well,
“Tell me not in mournful numbers. Life is but an empty dream for the soul is dead to slumbers. Things are not what they seem. Life is real and life is earnest and the earnest and the grave is not thy bowl. Thus thou art to dust returneth was not spoken of the soul.”
Spoken of my body it goes back to dust.
and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it (12:7).
The body goes downward into the earth but my spirit soars upward to God who gave me life.
Here he is, end of the road. He’s about ready to go back to dust and leave this life. How does he see it?
Verse 8
Vanity of vanities, [emptiness of emptiness] saith the preacher, all is vanity [emptiness] (12:8).
So true of a life that is apart from Jesus Christ. It ends up empty and unfulfilling, unsatisfying and frustrating.
Verse 9
And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs (12:9).
As we pointed out there were some three thousand proverbs, he was wise. He set things out in order so that you could understand. He set them in a way that made them attractive and teachable.
Verses 10–11
The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth. The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd (12:10-11).
The goad was a thing they used to use that had a nail at the end of a stick when they were plowing with the oxen. If the oxen was getting lazy they would take this stick with a nail on it and hit him in the flank, they’d goad him and he would get moving again. The Lord, when he apprehended Paul on the road to Damascus said, “It’s been hard for you to kick against brick”. There is one thing that you don’t want to do when you are being goaded is to kick against it. That thing will really hit you then. Paul has been kicking against the goads. Some of you have been kicking against the goads and you find that you are the one that hurts and you are the one who suffers when you kick against the goads.
The wisdom is set out in ways that sort of challenge you and catch your attention. That was the purpose of setting them out in proverbs, to capture your attention, to be a goad, to be a challenge to you.
The masters of assemblies, the masters were the teachers. They called Jesus Master. They were the teachers in the assemblies but there is only one real shepherd and that’s the Lord. That is what he is saying here, to stimulate you to think, and to get you thinking. Yet there is one shepherd.
Verse 12
And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh (12:12).
All of you that are in college say, “Amen”. Much study does make one weary. I remember that in the books that I inherited in school, you inherit it from the class above you being used by others. I remember one of my Latin books in Santa Ana High School had written in it, “Latin is a language as dead as dead can be. First it killed the Romans and now it’s killing me”. It just about killed me too. Another history book that I had, had written in it, “The more you learn the more you know. The more you know the more you forget. The more you forget the less you know. So what’s the use of learning?” That’s pretty much what Solomon is saying here. Much learning is weariness to the flesh, much study.
Verse 13
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man (12:13).
This is why you exist. This is the purpose for life. God created you that you might fellowship with him, living in fellowship with him, standing in reverence of God and in awe of God. The idea of fearing is worshipful fear or reverence of God. In the worship of God and in the awe of his greatness of heart is to fear God and keep his commandments.
Verse 14
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil (12:14).
Someday you are going to stand before the eternal God and all of the things that you have done will be brought, whether they be good or evil, unless you are a child of God and the evil is all erased. I love that. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus”. He’s erased the negative aspect of my account, taking away my sin. This is the whole duty of man. One day you will stand before man so fear God and keep his commandments.
May the Lord bless you this week and prosper you in all that you do for him. May we follow the exhortations of sowing the seeds, of fearing God, of keeping his commandments, doing the work of the Lord and trusting God for the fruit that will come, committing to those things in the end.
So go out this week and sow seed, cast your bread upon the waters, give to seven or to eight, take advantage of the opportunities that you have now in knowing God and in serving God. For you younger ones remember the Creator in the days of your youth. Give your youth to him, the strength of your youth to serve him. You’ll never be sorry.