Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:8

“Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes, but know that God will judge your motives and actions. Banish emotional stress from your mind. and put away pain from your body; for youth and the prime of life are fleeting.”

“So remember your Creator in the days of your youth – before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; before the sun and the light of the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds disappear after the rain; when those who keep watch over the house begin to tremble, and the virile men begin to stoop over, and the grinders begin to cease because they grow few, and those who look through the windows grow dim, and the doors along the street are shut; when the sound of the grinding mill grows low, and one is awakened by the sound of a bird, and all their songs grow faint, and they are afraid of heights and the dangers in the street; the almond blossoms grow white, and the grasshopper drags itself along, and the caper berry shrivels up – because man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about in the streets – before the silver cord is removed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the well, or the water wheel is broken at the cistern – and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the life’s breath returns to God who gave it. “Absolutely futile!” laments the Teacher, “All of these things are futile!””

‭‭ ‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭11‬:‭9‬-‭12:8

Rejoice while you are young. Follow impulses of your heart. But know that God will bring you into judgment.

The point is not that following your impulses is necessarily bad. The point is that while doing whatever you want, realize that all you think and do will be evaluated by a holy and righteous God. There are boundaries and moral standards. 

Banish or remove vexation/emotional stress from your heart. Remove pain from your body. Youth/being young is a passing thing. Enjoy it while you can.

Remember God! Meaning obeying Him and acknowledging His Lordship.

Nerd moment: Verses 1-7 are one really long sentence. It’s actually that way in Hebrew, too. 

Difficult days probably refers to physical difficulty: injury, pain, suffering. He’s been talking about youth the whole time.

So many metaphors for old age in this passage: Clouds disappear after rain, because rain forms the clouds. We like clouds, they’re pretty. They make beautiful sunsets. But once “life” happens—the rain and the storms—there’s no more clouds. 

Those who used to be strong and bold. In old age, they become scared and timid. Strong men are now bent.

Grinders: Women who would go to the mill and grind corn or wheat into flour. So there are fewer of them. But what this is really talking about is teeth. The word also refers to molar that grind food and as those become fewer, less grinding takes place.

Those who look through windows: Failing eyesight. 

Awake by the sound of a bird and when the mill grows low. They can’t get a full night’s sleep because every little sound wakes them up.

All the daughters of song are brought low, really means “all their songs grow faint.” Musical songs during youth or even the ability to hear songs that are sung. Loss of hearing.

Don’t want to go outside

Almond blossoms go from pink to white when ripe: also a symbol of white hair

Grasshopper becomes its own burden

Desire fails—actually refers to a special berry, this has something to do with sexuality, but I didn’t do too much research here. 

Eternal home: Grave for the body; sheol for the soul. Place for dead souls. Now we know that when you die, if you have believed in Jesus, your soul is present with Him. You will get a new body at the final resurrection. Ecclesiastes isn’t concerned with that. All of that wasn’t revealed, yet. Everyone is going to die and decay, and that’s his point.

Dust returns to earth, and life’s breath returns to God who gave it. 

So what should we do? Remember God while you’re young. Enjoy your youth. 

vv. 13-14. Fear God and Keep his commandments. He will hold us accountable. He is the sovereign lawgiver. What’s the point of life? Is it to get rich? Is it to build an empire? Is it to work 80 hour work weeks? Is it to have 300 friends or followers or likes or shares on social media? 

If you think so, then reread this book. Go read Proverbs. Enjoy your life. Enjoy your youth. Because even that is vanity. It’s fading.

But there are things that you can do now that you won’t be able to do in the future. Will you do them? There are ideas and passions and dreams that you can do now that you’ll forget 10/15 years from now. How can you fulfill them? And I’m talking for God’s kingdom. Other stuff is fine, too, but I’m focused on this right now.

Remember your Creator in your youth.

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

“The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem: “Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher, “Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!” What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth? A generation comes and a generation goes, but the earth remains the same through the ages. The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries away to a place from which it rises again. The wind goes to the south and circles around to the north; round and round the wind goes and on its rounds it returns. All the streams flow into the sea, but the sea is not full, and to the place where the streams flow, there they will flow again. All this monotony is tiresome; no one can bear to describe it: The eye is never satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear ever content with hearing. What exists now is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing truly new on earth. Is there anything about which someone can say, “Look at this! It is new!”? It was already done long ago, before our time. No one remembers the former events, nor will anyone remember the events that are yet to happen; they will not be remembered by the future generations.”

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭11‬ ‭NET‬‬

What are some of the most valuable things that you own? Now beyond physical items, what is valuable or precious to you, that without it, life would never be the same? Why do people often become frustrated, angry, or discouraged, and even depressed when these things are taken away from them?

What are some the most valuable things that when taken away life seems absolutely miserable? 

I was in college, and everyone usually must take a beginner psychology class. One of the only things I remember are the stages of life, and how people generally think during those phases. The older people are usually battling with whether they can leave a legacy or whether the decisions they made add up to a colossal failure. Why? Because they’re out of time. It makes sense. But why else would many of the elderly tend toward discouragement? There’s no purpose. 

Ecclesiastes commands us to continue eating and drinking, for life is meaningless. There is very little joy presented in the book. God is only mentioned a handful of times. People tend to shy away from it.

Vv. 1-2 give a general overview of the book. Authorship of the book is debated. I highly recommend the Bible project video of this book, which makes clear that there’s an author/narrator and then “the teacher” who is explaining all this philosophy.

V. 2: When he says, “Vanity of vanities,” that kind of sounds like other phrases all throughout the Bible. Where one word is repeated but in the plural form, right? Holy of holies. King of kings. Lord of Lords. It means, everything is absolutely vain or utterly futile. 

Now what does vain mean? Here, the literal sense refers to the wind. Or like your breath. It’s there and then it’s gone. How valuable or predictable or stable is something like that? What in life is futile or vain? Health? Possessions? Friendships? 

Now there are several places in the Bible, where even the context suggests that “all” does not mean all. This is one of those places, because later in the book, the author is going to talk about some things that are valuable and profitable. Can you think of some things that are not worthless?

Sovereign work of God (3:1-4:3)

Fearing God (2:26; 3:14-15; 11:9-12:1, 9, 13-14)

Enjoying life as a righteous person under the blessing of God is not “futile” (2:24-26; 11:9-10)

But by and large, everything as it relates to this earth and this world is here one day and gone the next. So what’s the point of existence? 

Now he’s not saying we should all just not exist. He’s telling the world, I’ve been around for a long time, and there’s nothing here that resembles any sort of purpose. Live accordingly. It’s our job to figure out what that means.  

Now who absolutely loves routine? Vacation is fun and all, but it ruins your schedule, your habits? Or there are people that have never looked at a planner or calendar in their life.

The author is going to use these endless cycles of our schedule and of nature to make a point that what we do is meaningless. 

READ V. 3. Seriously, what profit is there in working? (Money, self-esteem, providing for family) But at the end of the day, or at the end of life, what has really been accomplished? After all the tests are taken, all the homework completed, all the jobs completed, what impact has been made? Look at v. 4. For all of our efforts and achievements and accolades, guess what? Another generation is going to come after us and another one after them. And the only thing that lasts is the earth. He uses that word “toil” on purpose. It seems like that’s the only thing we really receive. The point of this passage is that all things are on a routine, and it’s monotonous for ages. There is no rest, regardless of the generation. And worse, people’s opinions and perspectives may change, but the world is just going to keep going. All is worthless.

How’s that for a little joy in your heart?

But he’s not done. Look at vv. 5-9. He uses nature to support his point. READ 5-9. He says that the sun “hurries” or pants, gasping for breath. The sun is working hard to get to the next spot. And for what? To do the same cycle over and over again, and what does he accomplish? Wearing himself out. He never really changes anything.

Wind is locked in a never-ending circular cycle. 

Rivers and streams are always flowing into the oceans and seas. This isn’t necessarily talking about the process of evaporation. It’s just noticing that these rivers never stop, and nothing new is accomplished.

Then we reach vv. 10-11. READ. Is there really nothing new under the sun? This does not deny man’s creativity or ability to invent, only the ultimate wonder of the achievement. Going to the moon and “discovering” America are the “same thing.” Different places. Different vehicles. Same essential action. Every new gadget and gizmo is just an update of what’s been done. Better form of communication. It’s nothing new. 

And verse 11 says that when you think something is stunning, it’s because you forget what already happened. And whatever you do that’s so amazing will be forgotten, too. So it’s ok. 

Can you ever relate to this author? Do you ever feel like you’re on an endless cycle with no off ramp? Like there’s no purpose to what you’re doing? He would probably say that you’re right. And there is none. 

So what is not futile? What isn’t a waste of effort? How can your labor not be in vain?

1 Corinthians 15:58 provides a clue, but maybe we should just sit and think about this for a second. Chew on it.

1:12-2:26

5:1-7

5:8-6:12