ECCLESIASTES 11 – 12

Given the opportunity, what helpful advice would you want to tell those who come behind you???  Solomon continues with his advice and closed Ecclesiastes with The Solution to Life’s Emptiness – Fear God!! 

(Read both chapters from the Living Bible – a Paraphrase, Not a translation!)

Solomon began the book with the question:  “Is life worth living?”  His first conclusions as he investigated “life under the sun”:  No, life is NOT worth living…there is monotony of life, vanity of wisdom, futility of wealth and the certainty of death. 

However, being a wise man, he reviewed his arguments and this time He brought God into the midst of his considerations.  He then realized that life was not monotonous, but filled with challenging situations from God, each in its own time and each for its own purpose.  He leaned that wealth could be enjoyed and employed to the glory of God.  Tho Man’s wisdom could not explain everything, he concluded that it was better to follow God’s wisdom than practice man’s folly.  He concluded that there was no way to escape death, but that it should motivate us to enjoy life now and make the most of the opportunities that God gives us.

As we close with Chapters 11 and 12, we consider Solomon’s arguments, conclusions and practical admonition for us to heed:

1.     Life is an Adventure…Live by Faith v. 1-16  He uses two activities to illustrate his point…the merchant sending out his ships v. 1-2 and the farmer sowing his seed v. 3-6.  In both situations, the merchant and the farmer must have faith.  The ships might hit a reef, meet a storm, meet pirates or cargo be lost.  The farmer might face bad weather, blight or insects to destroy the crop and his labor might be in vain.  However, if either the merchant or the farmer were to wait for perfect conditions, they would never get anything done.  Life has risk in it and we must face it with faith. 

Man is ignorant of the future, but we must not allow our ignorance to make us fearful and we become careless or paralyzed.  Not knowing should make us more careful in what we plan and what we do. 

He is admonishing “Send cargo on 7 or 8 ships because some of them are bound to bring back a good return on the investment.  You might say it this way, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

DISCIPLESHIP:  INVESTING YOUR LIFE IN OTHERS...DIFFERENT RESULTS...his RESULTS.  Are you investing your life in someone else or several someone elses???  Be alert to your Timothys and your Pauls in life.  Begin with your children!!!!

The Jews farmed on rocky soil and were very dependent on the early and latter rains.  Nature is unpredictable…so the farmer is at the mercy of nature.  From these verses we can get the message:  The past (the tree) cannot be changed, but the present (the clouds) is available to us and we must seize each opportunity. 

v. 4 BUT don’t wait around for the perfect circumstances!!! 

Life is an adventure and often we must launch out by faith even when the circumstances seem adverse. 

 

v.6 Therefore use each day wisely…get us early and sow your seed and work hard until evening.  Do the job at hand and “redeem the time”  E ph 5:15-17….trusting God to bless at least some of the tasks you have accomplished. 

 

Life is an adventure of faith and each of us invest today in that which will pay dividends tomorrow.  Sow various kinds of seeds in different soils, trusting God for the harvest. 

 

2.    Life is a Gift…Enjoy it  11:7 – 12:8

Solomon repeats … accept life as a gift and learn to enjoy all that God shares with us.  It requires three things:

REJOICE V. 7-9  Young…take advantage of the days of youth before the days of darkness would arrive.  He is making the point that youth is the time for enjoyment before the problems of old age start to be revealed. 

“I don’t go out much now, because my parents won’t let me – Mother Nature and Father Time!”

He is reminding young people to enjoy the special pleasure that belong to youth and can never be experienced again in quite the same way.  Solomon is not speaking of hearts and eyes leading into sin…God will bring you into judgment.  The young person who enjoys life in the will of God will have nothing to worry about when the Lord returns. 

REMOVE V. 10  Privileges must be balanced by personal responsibilities.  Put anxiety out of your heart and evil away from your flesh.  The best way to have a happy adult life and a contented old age is to get a good start early in life and avoid the things that will bring trouble later on.  Young people who take care of their minds and bodies avoid the destructive sins of the flesh, and build good habits of health and holiness have a better chance for happy adult years than those who sow their wild oats and pray for a crop failure.

 

The precious years of youth pass so quickly and we must not waste our opportunities for preparing for the future. Youth is the time of dawning and before we know it, the sun will start to set.  Make the most of your dawning years because you will never see them again.  Charles Spurgeon said, “Youthful sins lay a foundation for aged sorrows!”

REMEMBER  12:1-8  Meaning…”pay attention to, consider with the intention of obeying.”  It is easy to neglect the LORD when you are caught up in the enjoyments and opportunities of youth. 

These verses give an imaginative description of old age and death.  It is a picture of a house that is falling apart and finally turns to dust. 

Keepers of the house – your arms and hands tremble.

Strong men – your legs, knees and shoulders weaken and you walk bent over.  Grinders- you start to lose your teeth.  Windows – your vision begins to deteriorate.  Doors - either your hearing starts to fail, or you close your mouth because you have lost your teeth.  Grinding – you can’t chew your food or your ears can’t pick up the sounds outdoors.  Rise up – you wake up with the birds early each morning, and wish you could sleep longer.

Music – You voice starts to quaver and weaken.  Afraid – You are terrified of heights and afraid of falling while you walk down the street.  Almond tree – If you have any hair left, it turns white, like almond blossoms.  Grasshopper – You just drag yourself along, like a grasshopper at the close of the summer season.  Desire – you lose your appetite or perhaps your sexual desire.  Long home – you go to your eternal (long) home and people mourn your death. 

 

When the machinery of life stops working, the water of life stops flowing.  The heart stops pumping, the blood stops circulating and death has come.  The spirit leaves the body and the body begins to decay and eventually it turns to dust. 

Solomon is closing where he began emphasizing the emptiness of life without God.  When you look at life “under the sun” everything does seem vain; but when you know Jesus Christ as your Savior “your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”  I Cor. 15:58.

 

3.   Life is a school…Learn your lessons v. 9-12  Sometimes we miss the lessons until we fail the examination.  God teaches us from His Word as well as creation, history and various experiences of life. 

Solomon’s teaching was wise, orderly and he was careful in his teaching.  He always used upright words of truth.  The Preacher claimed that his words were INSPIRED…given by God. V. 11  Good teaching requires both prodding so we’ll pay attention and pursue truth…and nails that give us something on which to hang what we have learned.  You and I must be motivated to study and learn under other whose lessons make sense as they nail down things.  Solomon injects an important warning in v. 12…don’t permit man’s books to rob you of God’s wisdom.  Don’t test God’s truth by the many books written by men, test their books by the truth of God’s Word. 

Our textbook is the Bible, and the Holy Spirit is our Teacher.  Others may teach us but the Holy Spirit longs to teach us personally from His Word.  Psa. 119:97-104. 

 

4.   Life is a Stewardship…Fear God  12:13-14

We do not own our lives…we are stewards of our lives and one day we must give an account to God of what we have done with HIS gift.  Three obligations of having this gift:

*Fear God v. 13  Oswald Chambers “The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else; whereas, if you do not fear God, you fear everything else. 

*Keep His commandments v. 13The fear of the LORD must result in obedient living. 

*Prepare for final judgment v. 14 Man may seem to get away with sin, but their sins will eventually be exposed and judged righteously.  Those who have not trusted the Lord Jesus Christ will be doomed forever. 

Six times Solomon told us to enjoy life while we can, but at no time did he advise us to enjoy sin.  If you know the LORD then your sins have already been judged on the cross. “there is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus. 

Is life worth living?  Yes, if you are truly alive through faith in Jesus Christ.  Then you can be satisfied no matter what God may permit to come into your life.  I John 5:12…