Ecclesiastes 12 reminds me of Mr. Keogh. He was our neighbor growing up, and for as long as I can remember he was the definition of an old man. He lived by himself, rarely had visitors and moved very slowly with his ever present cigar. In the last hour of his life, I helped move him to his kitchen table where he could look out at the water. Sometime, not much later, I was called by his visiting friend to find him sitting there lifeless. What was he thinking in those last moments? Here Solomon seems to be talking from his seat in the kitchen looking out at the water, “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth… before the days of trouble come“. He provides a vivid picture of the ravages of age, “before the sun and the light… grow dark… when the keepers of the house tremble… and the strong men stoop… the windows grow dim… the sound of grinding fades… all their songs grow faint“. It is impossible for me to think of him as ever having been young and filled with vitality. I only knew him as Solomon describes, “When…the grasshopper drags itself along and desire no longer is stirred“. Solomon’s point is clearly that we can get into a whole lot more trouble when we are young and full of desires. His simple caution to remember the Creator is a reminder that regrets can stay with us a very long time. “Then people go to their eternal home and mourners go about the streets“.
Solomon continues with urgency because he knows that death will come. “Remember Him before the silver cord is severed“. Will it come peacefully, or with a struggle? Perhaps you did not acknowledge God in your youth, but there is still time, “before the pitcher is shattered at the spring… and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it“. Perhaps as he looks around his empty house, pondering the years he strayed from God’s protection he is disgusted by what could have been. “Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!” I believe the apostle Paul understood the reaction of Solomon. Looking back at the his effort to be righteous in his own before receiving forgiveness in Christ, he wrote, “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord“. Are you searching for meaning?
Solomon concludes the chapter, the book and maybe his life with a brief summary. Is he thinking of his own obituary as he writes? “Not only was the Teacher wise… he also imparted knowledge to the people… He pondered… and set in order many proverbs… what he wrote was upright and true“. Next, he turns his thoughts to his family not by his side. “The words of the wise are like goads“. Wisdom can prod us toward excellence, but only if we hear it. He hopes his words will be “like firmly embedded nails“. And he adds, “Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them“. Listen to his final words before looking out at the water one last time, “Here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil“. Friend, will they find you in an old stained tee-shirt? Colossians 3:13 suggests another way to live and die, “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another… Forgive as the Lord forgave you“. Please don’t let your last thoughts be filled with regrets.