Ecclesiastes 12 Conclusion

[seekeroftruth]

Ecclesiastes 12:1 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.​

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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.[a]
“Everything is meaningless!”​

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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.​

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

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

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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.​

a. Ecclesiastes 12:8 Or the leader of the assembly; also in verses 9 and 10
b. Ecclesiastes 12:11 Or Shepherd

Grasshoppers, silver cords, and gold bowls are an odd assortment to have in one poem. Then there is the question of the meaning of "one shepherd". So here goes... the first commentary comes from the easy English site.

The grasshopper is an insect that jumps. It is usually very active. But it may be cold or it may have an injury. Then it drags itself along. This may describe the slow, stiff way that an old person walks. Another translation is ‘the grasshopper insect becomes a heavy load’. This would mean that old people cannot carry even light things. And an old person loses interest in many things. That person may start to think that even his great desires have become unimportant.​

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All people die. They go to a permanent place. And the people who weep for them may be their family and friends. Or they may be the people who have a special job. The dead person’s family paid people to weep at a funeral. ‘They walk along the streets.’ Perhaps this means that these people are looking for a job. They are waiting for an opportunity to do their work at a funeral.​

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These words make us think about the end of things. They refer to death. Silver and gold are precious metals. So our lives are precious. A basin or anything may hang from a silver chain. But it will suffer great damage if the chain breaks suddenly. Someone may make a jar out of wet material from the ground. They use heat to make it hard. But this kind of jar can break into many pieces. If the jar hits against something, it may break. If someone drops it, it will break. A person’s life is also weak, and it ends quickly. People pull up water in a bucket from a well. A wheel with a thick string round it helps them. But if the wheel breaks, the bucket may fall into the well. Then nobody would be able to get water. The water here refers to our life. So this idea is a way to describe the end of our life.​

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Farmers used sharp sticks to make their animals move. And then the animals went in the right direction. In the same way, the Teacher’s words should encourage people to act. He wants them to act in the right way. He collected these wise words so that they would remain in people’s minds. He wanted people to remember the words for a long time. The words should be like nails that remain firm in wood. The person who looks after sheep is called the ‘shepherd’. The Teacher is probably referring to God. King David wrote about God who was his Shepherd (Psalm 23:1). And he called God the ‘Shepherd of the Israelites’ (Psalm 80:1). So the Teacher’s words have authority because God gave these words to him. And the Teacher made every effort to write down the words in the best way. ​

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This is from bible-studys.org.

Verses 1-7 Describe old age and are actually addressed to the youth. The gradual darkening of the heavenly bodies represents declining vitality and joy. The approaching clouds represent the storms of old age. The keepers of the house are the arms; the strong men are the legs; the grinders are the teeth; and those that look out of the windows are the eyes. Growing old is further compared to the decline of a great estate.​

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The almond tree is a reference to the white hair of old age; the crippled grasshopper pictures the halting gait of the elderly; and desire that fails many be the loss of sexual desire. Finally, life itself in all its preciousness is cut off. Death is pictured as the irreversible shattering of a golden bowl when cut from the end of a silver cord and the similar smashing of a pitcher or wheel. After death, the spirit returns to God for judgment and the body returns to dust.​

Old age is a secret. No one wants to know about all the poopy stuff that happens when a body gets old. I'm 68.... turning 69 in October. I walk with a limp now....my hips ache. I fall down every now and then.... poor equilibrium. My eyes are driving me crazy... a few months ago I started seeing floaters.... and at times a blur gets in the line of site. My neck is killing me.... arthritis..... and old injuries [car wreck] make it painful to lift my head. I could go on and on and on..... but the storms of old age.... well for those of us lucky enough to get this age.... are real and more old people should talk about them. Instead.... we "suck it up" and endure. These verses cause me to want to warn all the kids.... take care of your bodies now while you can.

I guess the reason we can't discuss how the body ages is all wrapped around the decline of the sex drive. Well it's in the Bible..... "the desire is no longer stirred".... that's the sex drive buckos. I can totally understand why the preachers don't want to tell teenagers that one day their sex drive will ebb. If a kid thinks they are going to loose something.... they do have a tendency to eat it all up before it's gone.

Solomon is one who should understand the "sex drive". He had 700 wives and 300 concubines [only 4 kids].... it's a wonder he had time to consider anything with that many women to care for.

One thing for sure.... all human bodies wear out...... they die. Pay attention..... enjoy moving your head from side to side painlessly while you still can.... enjoy long walks on the beach before your hips start singing with pain....... stand up straight before your body begins to forget the maneuver and begins its slump.

I agree with the commentaries that say the book of Ecclesiastes is about "Life without God is utterly meaningless". God gave us the ability to love. God gave us the ability to mourn. God gave us the ability to choose. God gave us bodies that wear out..... and then He offered us eternal life..... rejuvenation of the heavenly type.

So.... my friend who said this book is about "Man isn't God"..... well I guess it's proven by the death of man.... if man was god... he would let himself have arthritis or dementia. So she might have a point.

So now another book is completed.... I have to say... I am happy to be done with this book.... spelling Ecclesiastes is not as easy as it looks.