Summation Of Man’s Responsibility

Ecclesiastes 12:1-14

“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; While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low; Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, 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: 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.  Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” (Ecclesiastes 12:1-7)

Many young people think being a Christian is for old people.  Solomon says the time to serve the Lord is while you are still young enough to do something worthwhile, before it gets to the point where you cannot enjoy life.   Serve him while you can still enjoy the brightness of the sun or the moon and are not always depressed, feeling like the trouble just never ends. 

If he lives that long, one day the young person will reach a point where his hands begin to tremble and his legs can hardly support his weight.   His teeth will fall out or break, making it hard to eat, and cataracts or other eye problems will make it difficult to see.   His hearing will deteriorate so that he can hardly hear the noises of everyday life, while hearing other sounds so loudly they cause a moment of panic even though he can barely follow a conversation or hear music.  As they age, they become less sure of their balance and strength, and even a couple of stairs become a frightening affair.  Fear becomes a constant companion, and hair turns white like almond blossoms.  Weights they didn’t even think about become heavy burdens because he is nearing his entrance into eternity.  It is just a matter of time before he loses muscular control, or his mind goes.  Heart valves may stop functioning so there is not enough blood flow, or the heart may just stop. 

Since we don’t know when the time will come that we will be unable to serve God, the time to turn to him is while we are young and we are still able.  If we wait, we may never get another chance to turn, or we may be unable to do anything when we do.

“Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.  And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.  The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.” (Ecclesiastes 12:8-10)

Realizing how temporary everything man does is, Solomon says it is vain to think we can really change the world.   All we can do is effect temporary changes for the benefit of ourselves and those around us.  Because he was wise enough to understand that he couldn’t effect those changes permanently, he spent the time to teach the people what they would need to know to obtain the best life possible.  He tried to put that wisdom in the form of short, easily learned and remembered statements or proverbs that they could teach their children.   The teachings were the result of observation and had been tested and were expressed in the clearest and most precise words he could find to avoid misunderstanding.

 

“The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.  And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” (Ecclesiastes 12:11-12)

The proverbs and teaching of wise men are like a stick used to direct a team of oxen, or like a peg for hanging weights on for weighing things, that are passed from one shepherd to another to be sure they get the same weight.  In addition there are an endless supply of writings by other men, from which we can learn but understand that we will never know it all, and trying to will be frustrating and exhausting. 

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.  For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

What it all boils down to is that man’s whole responsibility is to fear (respect) God enough to keep his commandments.  Revelation 4:11 states, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”  Like everything else, mankind was created to please God.  If a man does not, he has failed, and when he is judged for what he has done his life will be meaningless.  The judgment will not just be of the public things, but of every secret thing he has done.  Matthew 12:36 makes it clear it will not only be the physical actions but even the things we thought about and said.  “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”