Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:1-7,13
GOD GIVES US HIS WISDOM BECAUSE OF HIS LOVE
WARNING TO THE YOUTH
9 Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood.
A. The word "rejoice" is in the form of a command or in this case perhaps a warning.
1. God expects us to enjoy our life when we are young.
2. We ought to always make the best of our days
" This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it" Ps 118:24.
3. If we trust the Lord, we should enjoy today and not worry about tomorrow.
" Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each
day has enough trouble of its own. " Matt 6:34
4. God says; REJOICE because of His LOVE for us.
B. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things.
(We have a heart and eyes because of His Love for us)
1. Our rejoicing is expected to be according to commands of God.
2. God does not give us a license to do anything we want to do.
3. We have the ability to do what we want to do.
a. However we will be judged by what we do.
b. Choose GOOD!
Verse 10. "So, remove grief and anger from your heart and put away pain from your
body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting."
(Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.)
A. We must remember that your young life does not last forever.
1. It is slipping away, one day at a time.
2. Life is too short for petty stuff.
B. Some mental pain can be avoided.
1. Trouble in the heart comes from what we focus on.
2. We can resolve not to be angry.
3. We can resolve not to be jealous or envious of anyone.
4. We can resolve to be content with what we have and who we are.
C. We can make up our minds not to be involve in things that are not pleasing to God.
1. If we live according to the desires of the flesh we will make decisions that in the
end causes pain and distress.
2. If we live according to God's commands we will live a more peaceful and joyful life.
D. Our youthful years will come to an end.
1. Decisions we make while we are young will affect us when we are old.
2. Fun and games soon come to an end and we are left the pains of living and earning
the means to live.
V. 12:1.( 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;)
A. This emphasizes the need for strong and consistent discipline of our children.
1. When they leave home and venture on their own, they will have a solid foundation to
fall back on.
2. They will have the fear of the Lord to restrain them from wrong doing.
B. When we honor God with our life, we develop a lifestyle based on His commands.
1.A lifestyle based on the commands of God is most profitable and enjoyable in the
long term.
2 Many of the things we did when we were young, we find no pleasure in now that we
are mature adults.
a. So much time was wasted in foolish and useless activities when we were young that
we can't undo and sometimes can't recover from.
3. A lifestyle based on God's commands endears God to Us.
1. Jesus said" If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask what you want and it
will be done for you"
4. God is our creator. He owns us, therefore we owe Him honor and obedience.
OLD AGE DEFINED
V.12:2. "While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the
clouds return after the rain."
A. The "Sun" represents prosperity in our youth.
1. "Darkness" represents pain and trouble in our old age.
2. The "clouds after the rain" represent more trouble to come.
B. While we are youthful and opportunities present themselves, we must take advantage
of them.
1. When we are old the opportunities dry up and the resources to handle trouble dry up
too.
2. When we are young, the body is strong, the mind is strong and doors of opportunity
are open.
3. But when you get old, the body is weak, the mind is weak and the doors of
opportunity close.
THE DECAY OF THE BODY
V.12:3. "In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves"
A. "The keepers of the house" represents the head, arms and legs which become weaken
with old age.
1. The phrase " strong men shall bow" represents the stooping man because the legs
have become weaken and bent.
2. As we get old there will come a time when the head shakes, and the arms are to
weak to defend ourselves.
a. The legs become too weak to support us and carry our weight.
B. "And the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows
be darkened."
1. The "grinders" represent the teeth which become weaken and unable to the job
they were designed to do.
a. It was not too long ago false teeth replaced the natural teeth as they decayed and had
to be removed.
b. Today we have dental implants.
2. "Those that look out of windows" represent the eyes and ears.
a. Today eye problems can be corrected with eye glasses and surgery.
b. Today, hearing can be improved with hearing aids.
3. Although modern medicine can repair and replace organs in the body, it cannot stop
the deterioration of the body which continues to worsen the older we get.
a. Modern medicine cannot stop or reverse the natural process of aging.
V.12.4. "And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low"
A. The older we get, the more our travel outside the house is limited.
1. The more we recognize how vulnerable we are to outside forces.
2. We take extra precautions to secure our safety
B. The older we are the more we understand the need to have God on our side.
C. "And he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be
brought low."
1. The older we get, the more we are burdened by the problems of today and tomorrow.
a. Therefore we do not sleep soundly as we did when we were carefree.
b. Because we do not sleep soundly, small noises that once went unnoticed awaken
us.
2. The hearing impaired do not enjoy music as those who hear well.
a. In our old age we do not enjoy the same music as we did in our youth.
b. As we mature in the Lord our taste for music should be more spiritual.
V.12:5. Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the
way,
A. The older we get the more we realize how fragile our bones are and therefore the
less risk we are willing to take.
1. The fear of high places is real, because broken bones don't heal fast.
2. Our activities are limited by our fears and rightly so.
3. It is a wise person who recognizes a problem and avoids it.
B. "And the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire
shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets."
1. One sure sign of aging is the graying of the hair.
a. An almond tree in full bloom is a mass of whiteness.
b. The older we get the more grey hair appears on our heads.
2. Another sure sign of aging is we become slower in our movements.
a. Our joints become stiff and sometimes painful.
b. Just as the aging grasshopper can no longer hop long distances, so does the stride
of man become slower and more cautious.
3. The older we get the more we look forward to a retirement from our labors.
a. We prepare a "will" for the event of our death.
b. We purchase a plot for our final resting place.
c. We set our finances in order to live on a fixed income.
d. We get more serious about our faith in God.
DEATH; THE END OF LIFE ON THIS EARTH
V.12:6. "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."
A. Life on this earth begins and end with the Father.
1. Solomon may be referring to life with two terms; light and water.
2. The golden bowl is a lamp held by a silver cord.
a. Solomon describes life as precious in terms of silver and gold.
b. If the silver cord is loosed or the golden bold is broken, the light is extinguished
and life ends.
3. The picture is lowered into a well, the fountain and filled with water the source of
life.
a. If the picture is broken life end because it is cut off from the source.
B. Those who believe in Jesus are never cut off from the source of life.
a. Life will end on this earth, but it begins new in Heaven.
1) Paul said "Absent from the body, present with Lord."
2) John 3:16, state that whoever believes in Jesus shall not parish but have life
forever.
V.12:7 "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto
God who gave it."
A. Man is composed of three parts; a body, soul and a spirit.
1. The body is temple for the soul and the spirit.
a. Genesis 2:7 states: "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
b. 1 Corinthians 6:19 states: " Do you not know that your body is a temple of the
Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? "
c. 2 Corinthians 6:16 states: "For we are the temple of the living God. As God has
said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and
they will be my people."
B. At death on this earth, the body goes back to the ground, but the spirit lives on.
1. If we believe in Christ, we will never be separated from Him
2. Man has two choices, life with Christ in heaven or life in hell.
THE BEST ADVICE
V.12:13. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his
commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."
A. Man is owned by God, made responsible to God and is given this responsibility:
1. Fear God
a. Man is required to worship and obey the Lord.
b. We must know that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
2. Keep His commandments.
a. Jesus gave us two commandments which is the sum of all commandments.
b. Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind.'
c. This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love
your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two
commandments." Matt 22:37-38
You know, it is because of God's great Love for us that He designed the body so that it
gets old and deteriorates. And we die.
God's grand design is that we spend eternity in heaven with Him. We have to die to get to heaven.
All that God does is because of His GREAT LOVE FOR US.
I say to you, REJOICE, GOD LOVES YOU.
This lesson is posted on my Facebook page and on my blog called "Good News God's Word". http://GoodNewsRevMitc.blogspot.com
Your comments and questions are welcomed.
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