Ecclesiastes 12 - The Danger of "Someday" Religion

The good things you do are far from being meaningless... they have eternal significance.

Bible.com

Ecclesiastes 12 (NIV)

12 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”—

² before the sun and the light

and the moon and the stars grow dark,

and the clouds return after the rain;

³ when the keepers of the house tremble,

and the strong men stoop,

when the grinders cease because they are few,

and those looking through the windows grow dim;

⁴ when the doors to the street are closed

and the sound of grinding fades;

when people rise up at the sound of birds,

but all their songs grow faint;

⁵ when people are afraid of heights

and of dangers in the streets;

when the almond tree blossoms

and the grasshopper drags itself along

and desire no longer is stirred.

Then people go to their eternal home

and mourners go about the streets.

⁶ Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,

and the golden bowl is broken;

before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,

and the wheel broken at the well,

⁷ and the dust returns to the ground it came from,

and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

⁸ “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. 

“Everything is meaningless!”

⁹ Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. ¹⁰ The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.

¹¹ The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd. ¹² Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.

Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.

¹³ Now all has been heard;

here is the conclusion of the matter:

Fear God and keep his commandments,

for this is the duty of all mankind.

¹⁴ For God will bring every deed into judgment,

including every hidden thing,

whether it is good or evil.

Heidelberg Catechism

Q&A 62

Q. Why can’t the good we do make us right with God, or at least help make us right with him?

A. Because the righteousness

which can pass God’s scrutiny

must be entirely perfect

and must in every way measure up to the divine law.

Even the very best we do in this life

is imperfect

and stained with sin.

Q&A 63

Q. How can you say that the good we do doesn’t earn anything when God promises to reward it in this life and the next?

A. This reward is not earned;

it is a gift of grace.

Summary

This final chapter of Ecclesiastes begins with a warning to 'Someday Christians' - people who are neither ignorant of Christianity's basic tenants nor hostile to them. They're people who just kind of set their faith off to the side in favor of pursuing other endeavors first. They'll get around to solidifying their faith 'someday.'

Our Teacher gives the opposite advice, instructing you to remember your Creator before the days of trouble come. Indeed, none of us really know how many 'somedays' we even have left, and even those whose days stretch out for nine or even ten decades often find no pleasure in life's final stage. When that darkness comes, and even the strong men stoop and those looking through the windows grow dim, God often seems farther away than ever.

Finally, the day comes where your dust returns to the ground it came from, and your spirit returns to the God who gave it. Will you be ready for that reunion? While countless stories exist of death bed conversions, they are relatively rare. The Teacher implores you not to stake eternity on the hopes that you'll have time for a quick 'come to Jesus' moment when your 'someday' shows up.

Our Teacher closes out his lesson with the same famous words that he began with: everything is meaningless. But as we've seen throughout this week, the Teacher isn't a pessimist proclaiming that all is pointless. Quite the opposite in fact. The NIV picked the word meaningless to translate the Hebrew word hěʹ·věl, which literally means smoke or mist. Maybe a good paraphrase would be fluff.

So what the Teacher tells us here is that you'll never fully grasp the worldly fluff that temps you to put off the solid reality of remembering your Creator in the days of your youth.

  Dig Deeper  

The Teacher, having finished his lesson, gives way to a narrator who writes a short postscript. He begins by complementing the Teacher's ability to impart knowledge by finding just the right words which are upright and true.

He then compares the Teacher's words to goads - sharp sticks used to guide animals. These words we've read these past couple of days have been anything but pleasant, but as Sean O'Donnell writes, "Without the pain, there is no gain; without the prodding, we would walk in the wrong direction or down a perilous path. This is true of Ecclesiastes. Has it pricked your conscience? Driven you to repentance? Pushed you forward in faith? If so, God’s goad has been for your good."

The final teachings of Ecclesiastes are among its most valuable. After all has been heard in this twelve chapter search for meaning, it gives the conclusion of the matter, and it's quite simple:

Fear God

and keep His commands.

This shouldn't surprise us a bit, since we've been reminded throughout our study of the Old Testament of God's purpose in creating man: to work and keep [literally: to serve/worship God and maintain holiness] (Genesis 2:15). So the way to find true meaning and enjoyment in this otherwise meaningless and broken world is to just do what God created you to do.

The book ends on what some might think is an ominous reminder, that God will bring every deed into judgment. And it should be ominous if you're putting off repentance until 'someday'! But it's not just the hidden and evil things we do that will be judged, but the good things as well.

This means that the good things you do in gratitude for your salvation in Christ are far from meaningless, for they have eternal significance.

AAA Prayer (About)

• ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who enables those who fear Him and keep His commands to find true meaning and enjoyment;

• ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will remember your Creator now and not wait for 'someday';

  ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

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