1 The Creator is to be remembered in due time. 8 The preacher’s care to edify. 13 The fear of God is the chief antidote of vanity.
Remember Your Creator in Your Youth
Ecc 12:1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”—
1. Remember now. Literally, “and remember,” or “also remember,” connecting ch. 12 with ch. 11, particularly with ch. 11:9. The word translated “now” is the one commonly translated “and” and does not have time value, as the English word “now” generally does.
Creator. In Hebrew the participle of the verb “create,” as in Gen. 1:1, is used. It points to God as the Designer and Creator of the universe. Here, in Hebrew, the word is plural in form, as is the word “God” in Gen. 1:1 (see on Gen. 1:1, 26, 27).
Youth. See on ch. 11:9. In early manhood a person is physically at maximum vigor; then, certainly, if ever, the vital forces of life should be devoted to God and used to His glory.
Evil days. That is, of feeble old age, in contrast with the vigorous, hopeful days of the prime of life. Old age brings infirmities and disabilities, and its days are “evil” in the sense of being burdened with misery and vexation.
No pleasure. The word translated “pleasure” is placed at the end of the sentence for emphasis. When the desires, incentives, and hopes of abounding youth have gone, there is then little of enthusiasm in a man’s life.
Compare the experience of Barzillai (2 Sam. 19:34, 37).
Ecc 12:2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain; The highly figurative imagery of vs. 2–6 has been variously interpreted. Many commentators, both Jewish and Christian, have explained this sequence as a description of the depleted physical powers of the sunset years of life, and the separate figures as referring to anatomical details of the body.
There can be no doubt that Solomon, with superb literally skill, here describes old age and death, as specifically stated in vs. 1, 5, 7. The meaning of the allegory as a whole is clear—to “remember” one’s Creator before the approach of old age, and to devote one’s life to pursuits appropriate to such a concept of duty and destiny.
This is, of course, the theme of the entire book. Solomon, fortunately, did “remember” his Creator toward the close of a long life devoted to the forgetting of God and the pursuit of folly, all of which he so vividly describes throughout this book.
Looking back over the wasted years of his own life, Solomon would gladly encourage others to avoid the disappointments that had been his during the time of his erst-while vain pursuit of happiness. But when it comes to the interpretation of the details of the allegory it is well to exercise caution, in view of the fact that the Scriptures do not provide a clear explanation of the symbols used.
Any interpretation can reflect no more than the opinion of the one giving it. That set forth in the following comment on vs. 2–6 is only suggestive.
The sun. The fading luminaries of heaven are here used to illustrate the “evil days” of v. 1, the approach of old age. Some commentators make the application to failing eyesight. Jewish commentators have gone to extreme lengths in the application of details, making the “sun” represent the forehead, “light” the nose, the “moon” the soul, and the “stars” the cheeks.
Clouds return. Here Jewish commentators see that eyesight, enfeebled by much weeping in a time of trouble, is meant. It is preferable to take this figure as a general word picture of advancing age, with its dulling of the natural faculties.
Ecc 12:3 when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim.
Keepers of the house. This figure is probably used in the broad sense to picture the decay of the body. Some Jewish commentators apply the expression to the flanks and ribs; others apply it to the hands and arms.
Strong men. Literally, “men of strength” or “men of efficiency.” The usual application is to the legs and thighs. Others think of the knees and the feet, or of the spinal column.
Bow themselves. Better, “shall become crooked” (see chs. 1:15; 7:13, where, the same Hebrew verb is used).
Grinders cease. The word “grinders” is feminine, and refers to the women of the household who do the grinding (see Ex. 11:5; Matt. 24:41). Some commentators see here a reference to the teeth (see Jer. 25:10).
Few. The few “grinders”—perhaps the few old and decayed teeth left—do poor work and are unable to provide the “flour” needed to sustain life.
Those that look. A feminine form referring to the women of an Eastern home, who do not appear a great deal in public and who often peer through the lattice windows of their dwellings (see on Gen. 18:10; see also Judges 5:28; 2 Sam. 6:16).
Darkened. A figure transferring the picture of the women looking out of the lattice windows, to dim eyesight (see Gen. 27:1; cf. Deut. 34:7).
Ecc 12:4 when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when people rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint;
The doors. In the Hebrew this word is a dual form, and thus refers to the two leaves of one door. Jewish commentators refer this figure to the pores of the body, for example, or to the two lips of the mouth. The voice. Usually considered a figure for the sleeplessness of old age, as of an elderly person being awakened by the first chirping of a bird at earliest dawn.
Daughters of music. The organs of speech and song, the vocal cords—perhaps a reference to the cracked and feeble voice of an elderly person.
Ecc 12:5 when people are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets; when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags itself along and desire no longer is stirred. Then people go to their eternal home and mourners go about the streets.
An elderly person must often watch each step most carefully. The aged also often fear a public highway. Their bones are brittle, are consequently easily broken by a fall or any other accident, and heal slowly if at all.
Also, shortness of breath and stiffness of body make climbing any elevation a strenuous exertion. Flourish. That is, “blossom.” The almond was the earliest Palestinian tree to bloom. The figure here has been applied to the gray hair of old age or to baldness. The profuse white blossoms of the almond tree may have reminded Solomon of the hoary head of an aged person.
The grasshopper. Perhaps a symbol of smallness or insignificance (see Num. 13:33; Isa. 40:22). Elderly people often feel very trivial things to be great burdens.
Desire no longer stirred. Literally, “the caper berry shall become ineffective.” The caper berry was supposed to possess an aphrodisiac quality (see on Gen. 30:14). The translators here use “desire” as a euphemism for “sexual desire.”
Go to their eternal home. Compare Job 20:21; Luke 16:9. The mourners. See 2 Sam. 3:31; Jer. 22:10, 18. 6.
Silver cord. The “cord” is a large, stout cord or rope (see the same Hebrew word as translated in 2 Sam. 17:13; 1 Kings 20:32). Silver may, perhaps, be figurative of that which a man values. Here it may refer to life itself, man’s greatest treasure.
Interpretations that apply the “silver cord” and the “golden bowl” to the spinal cord and the brain, while appealing from a literary point of view, and possibly what Solomon had in mind when he wrote, lack a clear Scriptural basis (see on Eccl. 12:2).
Be loosed. Or, “be snapped asunder.” The picture here may be of a large hanging lamp suspended on a cord of silver strands. The cord snaps, the lamp crashes to the floor. The first part of v. 6 reads literally, “Until when not shall be snapped asunder the cord of silver.”
The pitcher. For centuries Eastern women have gone to the village well with earthenware pots (see Gen. 24:14, 15; John 4:7, 28; etc.). The picture here is of an earthenware waterpot being smashed into fragments (see Lev. 6:28; 15:12).
In the East the village well generally has a wooden wheel or a wooden fork. Each villager brings his own rope and waterpot. Constant use and climatic conditions finally cause the wheel to disintegrate and collapse. Here the fountain, or well, no doubt is a figure of life (see Ps. 36:9; cf. John 4:10; 7:37). The various figures of v. 6 all represent death.
Ecc 12:7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
That is, at the time of death (see vs. 1, 5, 6).
The dust. That is, the physical part of man (see Gen. 2:7). As it was. The physical part of man decays and returns to the elements from which it came.
In death, man is said to “sleep in the dust” (Job 7:21; cf. ch. 17:16; 20:11; 21:26). In the resurrection those who now “sleep” in the dust of the earth will live again (see Dan. 12:2; John 11:11–13, 23–26; 1 Thess. 4:13–17).
The spirit. Heb. ruach, “breath,” “wind,” “spirit” (see on Num. 5:14). Ruach is translated “breath” of the body 33 times, as in Eze. 37:5; “wind” 117 times, as in Gen. 8:1; “spirit” 76 times, in the sense of vitality (Judges 15:19), “courage” (Joshua 2:11), temper, or “anger” (Judges 8:3), and in reference to the disposition (Isa. 54:6).
Ruach is also used to describe the living principle in men and animals 25 times, as in Ps. 146:4; the seat of the emotions 3 times, as in 1 Sam. 1:15; the “mind” 9 times, as in Eze. 11:5; will or volition, or “heart” (2 Chron. 29:31) 3 times; moral character 16 times, as in Eze. 11:19; and of the Spirit of God 94 times, as in Isa. 63:10.
In not one of the 379 instances of its use throughout the OT does ruach denote an intelligent entity capable of existence apart from a physical body, so far as man is concerned, and it must therefore be clear that such a concept is without basis so far as the teachings of the Scriptures themselves are concerned (see also on Gen. 2:7; 35:18; Num. 5:14; Eccl. 3:19–21; cf. on Num. 5:2; 9:6).
That which here returns to God is simply the life principle imparted by God to both man and beast (see on Eccl. 3:19–21, where ruach is translated “breath”).
Ecc 12:8 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Everything is meaningless!”
The preacher. See on ch. 1:1.
Fear God and Keep His Commandments
Ecc 12:9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs.
Knowledge. The word order in the Hebrew places emphasis on “knowledge.” “The people” for whom Solomon wrote were of the educated classes. Set in order. Or, “arranged” (see 1 Kings 4:32).
Ecc 12:10 The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.
The author endeavored to give the treatise that literary polish that would recommend it to those for whom it was particularly written—those who consider themselves wise in the things of this world.
Upright. His endeavor to achieve a pleasing literary form had not, however, led him to compromise truth.
Ecc 12:11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd.
Goads. Used to prod, to stimulate to action, to get results. It may be painful to be prodded, but prodding often secures results that would not otherwise be achieved. See Heb. 12:11.
Embedded nails. Nails or stakes well driven are hard to pull out (see Isa. 22:23). Points well made, ideas thoroughly taught, remain in the mind and are not easily lost.
The word translated “firmly” commonly means “to plant,” figuratively, “to establish.” The word translated “masters” is here used idiomatically to denote superiority of quality and organization. The entire phrase might well be rendered, “a masterful collection [of wise sayings],” or simply “a choice anthology,” and the second member of the poetic parallelism, “like nails firmly driven are the choice anthologies of one shepherd.”
“The Preacher” thus refers to the counsel he has given as a goad for prodding men to follow a wise course of action, and as nails firmly driven, that the counsel not be forgotten.
Ecc 12:12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.
Many books. Solomon may have been thinking of books made to glorify their authors or those concerning whom they were written rather than with the purpose of transmitting practical wisdom. How little of what has been written is truly worth reading! Solomon had no doubt read all the “books” he could find, perhaps including the rather extensive Canaanite literature of his day and on Judges 1:11) and the wisdom literature of Egypt, already famous in his time (see 1 Kings 4:30).
Much study entered into for its own sake, as an end in itself, study of the kind Solomon devoted so much of his life to, proved futile. It was impractical and therefore meaningless, vanity. Only when study becomes a means to an end greater than itself can it avoid becoming a “weariness of the flesh.”
When the Author of all truth is recognized as “the beginning of wisdom” (Ps. 111:10), and study becomes a means of seeking to think His thoughts after Him, in order that our lives may conform to the divine purpose that gave us being, then study becomes a thrilling pleasure.
The philosophical speculations of pagan writers have nothing to contribute to Christian thinking.
Ecc 12:13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.
Fear God. See on Deut. 4:10; 6:2; Luke 1:50; see also Rev. 14:6, 7.
Commandments. See Ps. 78:1–7. Heb. miṣwah, a common word for all God’s requirements, including, to be sure, the moral law.
Miṣwah and torah, “law” (see on Num. 19:14), are, for practical purposes, used synonymously.
Duty of all mankind. The last clause of v. 13 reads, literally, “for this is for every man.” The word “this” obviously refers to the preceding statement about fearing God and keeping His commandments. The words “duty of” are not in the Hebrew, and the word translated “whole” is attached to the word for “man.”
The same Hebrew construction is rendered “every man” in chs. 3:13; 5:19. Solomon here thinks of the recognition of God and obedience to His wise requirements as the supreme objective of life. Paul states the same truth in Acts 17:24–31; Rom. 1:20–23 (see James 2:10–12).
It is man’s duty, his destiny, to obey God, and in so doing he will find supreme happiness. Whatever his lot may be, whether cast in adversity or prosperity, it remains his duty to yield loving obedience to his Maker.
Ecc 12:14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
Words as well as deeds will be judged (Matt. 12:36, 37). But God requires even more—in his very thoughts man is to be obedient (see 2 Cor. 10:5; see on Matt. 5:22, 28; etc.).
Every hidden thing. Men may think to conceal their words and deeds from other men, but “all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (Heb. 4:13).
Even the thoughts of our hearts are subject to His scrutiny (1 Sam. 16:7; Ps. 7:9; Jer. 17:10; cf. Acts 1:24; Heb. 4:12). God reads the secret motives of our hearts; He knows how much of the light of truth has penetrated the darkness of our hearts, and for every ray He will hold us accountable (see Rom. 2:16; 1 Cor. 4:5).
In the great day of final reckoning it is those who have done the will of God who will enter the kingdom (Matt. 77:21–27). To profess allegiance to God and at the same time disobey even one requirement His wisdom and love may lay upon us is to deny the reality of that allegiance (see John 15:10; 1 John 2:3–6).
To do less is to worship God in vain (see Mark 7:7–9), for in that great day every man will be rewarded “according to his works” (Matt. 16:27; cf. Rev. 22:12).