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Ecclesiastes 12_1-7 Sermon 15.pdf

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Remember: In Your Youth, Before the Days of Trouble (12:1–2)

• Solomon’s direct wisdom for youth: Remember your Creator early.
• Meaning of "remember":
  • Recognizing God’s rightful claim.
  • Consistently referencing God in daily decisions.
  • Loyalty and responsiveness to God's Word.
  • Intentional alignment of life to honor God's truth.
• Urgency before old age and regret:
  • "Evil days" as times of sorrow, hardship, and difficulty.
• Practical counsel to postpone hardship:
  • Keep learning: Lifelong growth in wisdom (Prov. 10:14, 1:5; 2 Pet. 3:18).
  • Don’t sweat small stuff: Patience and discretion (Prov. 16:32, 19:11; 1 Pet. 5:7).
  • Don’t grow into worry: Trust God daily (Matt. 6:34; Phil. 4:6).
  • Enjoy simple living: Contentment over ambition (Prov. 15:16; 1 Tim. 6:6; Heb. 13:5).
  • Keep something to look forward to: Maintain hope (Prov. 13:12; Titus 2:13).
  • Try to stay healthy, acknowledge limits: Physical health under God’s control (1 Tim. 4:8; Prov. 27:1).
  • Don’t live judgmentally: Humility and grace toward others (Phil. 4:5; Gal. 6:1; Eph. 4:32).
  • Surround yourself with good companions: Wise relationships uplift life (Prov. 13:20, 27:17).
  • Laugh often: Joy is healing (Prov. 17:22).
• Imagery of urgency: Sun, moon, stars dimming reflect fading vitality.

The Poetic Descent into Old Age (Ecclesiastes 12:3–5)

• Aging portrayed as a declining house:
  • Strength and stability fade; vibrant views dim.
  • World grows quieter, doors close, sleep disturbed.
  • Joyful music fades to silence.
• Increased vulnerability:
  • Ordinary tasks cause fear and anxiety.
  • Almond tree blossoms symbolize white hair and declining vigor.
  • Small burdens overwhelm; ambition wanes.
  • Mourning signals life’s end approaching.
• Solomon’s poetic message: Remember God before old age inevitably arrives.

Death Comes and the Soul Returns (12:6–7)

• Metaphors of sudden finality:
  • Silver cord snaps, golden bowl breaks: life ends suddenly and irreversibly.
  • Urgency to enjoy life with God before the end.
• Plain conclusion:
  • Dust returns to earth; spirit returns to God.
  • Echoes Genesis 2:7, 3:19: life as fleeting, fragile.
• Ecclesiastes focuses on earthly reality:
  • Material and immaterial cease to exist together.
  • Enjoy life's gifts, recognizing life as God-given.

A Second View: A Prophetic Reading from the Rabbinical Perspective

• Prophetic interpretation of Ecclesiastes 12:1–7:
  • Decline symbolizes Israel’s spiritual darkness and judgment.
  • Imagery symbolically represents national decline:
    • Darkened celestial bodies: loss of prophets, kings, wisdom.
    • Trembling house: collapse of Israel's institutions.
    • Shut doors and silence: loss of divine communication, joy, worship.
    • Mourners: national judgment and exile.
  • Verse 7: Withdrawal of God’s spirit, reversing creation’s gift.
• Layered meaning: personal aging and national eschatological warning.

Conclusion

• Ecclesiastes’ central themes affirmed:
  • Vanity, toil, fleeting pleasures, unavoidable death.