Ep 479 – Ecclesiastes 12:1-8

There is one irrefutable fact about life: It ends in death. And, in his old age, Solomon was keenly aware of that painful reality. The older he got, the closer he came to the end. And old age has a way of causing us to reminisce about the way things used to be or could have been. In Ecclesiastes 12:1-8, Solomon continues to address his words to young people. He wants them to know what he has learned from his years of life lived under the sun. He is a man who has accomplished much but is in the final stages of his life's journey. And while he has little to look forward to, he has much to look back on and he wants those he leaves behind to learn from his mistakes. He wants them to understand that one day they will be where he is. They too will one day face death. They will be forced to experience the effects of the aging process, as their physical capacities and mental faculties slowly diminish. So, what advice does Solomon have to offer those whom will be leaving behind? Remember your Creator. And do it while you're young. In other words, don't live your life without an awareness that it is God who gave you life to begin with. He is the giver of life and, ultimately, He is the one who determines the length of our lives. It would seem that Solomon is once again expressing the sentiment, "Don't do as I did." He had forgotten his Creator in his youth. Somewhere along the way, he had made the focus of his life anything and everything but God. He had wasted his youth on the vain and futile pursuit of worldly pleasures and temporal gains. But if he had it all to over, he would put God in His proper place: At the center of his life.