We all at some point question what life is about. This daily devotional looks at what Solomon found in his search.
Nuggets
- God calls us to restore our relationship with Him.
- Coming to salvation early in life is best.
- Solomon described life a couple of different ways in these verses.
- This life is in preparation for our lives in eternity.
Devotions in The Meaning of Life series
The Book of Ecclesiastes is Solomon’s search for the meaning of life. We’ve come to the final chapter. What did he find?
Let's Put It into Context
Here is a running list of what we’ve discussed previously.
Life Is about Salvation
“So remember your Creator in the days of your youth: Before the days of adversity come, and the years approach when you will say, ‘I have no delight in them’” (Ecc. 12: 1 CSB)
God calls us to restore our relationship with Him.
Solomon sounded like he put all of his search together and came up with the right answer. “So remember your Creator in the days of your youth …” (Ecc. 12: 1 CSB) is talking about salvation.
- Salvation is the gift of life through the deliverance from condemnation and sin to acceptance and holiness and changes us from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive.
- Sins are actions by humans that disobey God and break one of His reasonable, holy, and righteous laws and commandments, goes against a purpose He has for us, or follows Satan’s promptings.
- Holiness is the transcendent excellence of His nature that includes elements of purity, dedication, and commitment that lead to being set apart. Purity means possessing God’s moral character, having eliminated the stain of sin.
- Spiritual death is the spiritual separation from God that occurred as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin. The spiritually alive are those who have ABCDed, so they are no longer separated from God.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Glossary
But what does it mean remember? We’ve talked before how God wants us to remember the past.
Glossary
How can we remember Someone we don’t know? If this is prior to salvation, it seems a little odd that He would want us to reminisce about something we haven’t experience yet.
Well, we can know God through His nature. “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship” (Ps. 19: 1 NLT).
But maybe we do have other things to muse on. Whale said that we owe all to God — our life and our health — as He created us. The Christian Observer brought up how He provides for us.
Resource
If we think about all of that, we can see that God didn’t create us and leave us to fend for ourselves. He is a hands-on God.
Let’s look at it this way, too. Youth is a fun time of exploring who we are. My Springfield Mom and I talked about kids going off to college for the first time. They get to make choices on their own.
The pull of the world will be great. Young disciples will have to stay strong or they might get pulled away.
Then they will have to remember their Heavenly Father and come back to Him.
Life Is about Youth
Coming to salvation early in life is best.
When we first read this passage, we might think that the only time we can be saved is when we are teenagers. That isn’t what it means.
God can call us to salvation when we are as young as five. Or we can be senior citizens. God will call us when we are searching for Him and more willing to accept His gift of salvation.
We sometimes question when a child comes forward for salvation. We look, as Mudge said, on childhood as a time for enjoyment.
What is there not to enjoy in salvation? We have a relationship with our Heavenly Father. We are pursuing good. We no longer have the guilt of sin.
Resource
Burrell said what Solomon was talking about here was serving God. He thought that the best time to start serving God was when we are in our youth.
It is about piety. Piety is defined as the persistent application of moral virtues to our lives because of our supreme love for God.
It is to our advantage that we come to salvation when we are younger. It helps when we are thrown into the trials of life — when “… the days of adversity …” (Ecc. 12: 1 CSB) come. Plus, even the young are not guaranteed a long life.
Booth pointed out that, when we are younger, asking Jesus to be our Savior helps build our character. The younger we are, the easier it is to form good habits.
That is important because our character is who we are. Our character is our thoughts, feelings, and actions all added together.
Booth wrote, “At the centre of character there is always a governing principle.” If the governing principle is at the center of character, we have to make a choice as to whether it will be good or evil. That choice will form our character.
Resource
Life Described by Variety
“before the sun and the light are darkened, and the moon and the stars, and the clouds return after the rain; on the day when the guardians of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, the women who grind grain cease because they are few, and the ones who watch through the windows see dimly the doors at the street are shut while the sound of the mill fades; when one rises at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song grow faint” (Ecc. 12: 2-4 CSB)
Solomon described life a couple of different ways in these verses.
- As a storm
- As an abandoned palace
- Burrell then wrote, “… then there is a reference to “the seven evil days” of spring in the Orient, which are thought particularly dangerous to the aged …”
- As a lamp, fountain, and cistern.
Resource
Solomon’s discourse told us several things. All of us will die once. We won’t get out of that.
However, there is something after this lifetime. We will live throughout eternity. It just depends where we will be taking up residence.
Mankind will have to suffer the consequences for our choices for eternity. Since we are responsible beings, we cannot get around paying the price when we choose an evil act.
But we start paying the consequences here. Burrell wrote, “Reverent obedience to God is the only method of having a life that shall be worth living.” When we have God as the center of our character, obedience is much easier.
Life Is about the End
“Also, they are afraid of heights and dangers on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper loses its spring, and the caper berry has no effect; for the mere mortal is headed to his eternal home, and mourners will walk around in the street; before the silver cord is snapped, and the gold bowl is broken, and the jar is shattered at the spring, and the wheel is broken into the well; and the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. ‘Absolute futility,’ says the Teacher. ‘Everything is futile’” (Ecc. 12: 5-8 CSB)
This life is in preparation for our lives in eternity.
Talmage explained that the almond tree blooms in January in Palestine. He wrote, “It breathes its life into that winter month as a promise of God sometimes lightens up and sweetens the coldness and desolation of a sorrowing spirit.”
Resource
I love what Young said. He wrote, “He does not enter it [eternity] by a sudden leap or bound, but he is, as on a journey, continuously progressing nearer and nearer to it. This is life — a constant home-going.”
Resource
What Young is talking about is living our lives so that we can get to eternity. It is a journey — a journey down the Sanctification Road.
- Sanctification is the transformation of mind, body, and soul, which begins with regeneration, gradually changes our nature through the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and ends with perfected state of spiritual wholeness or completeness.
- Regeneration is being changed from spiritually dead to spiritually alive and the internal requickening in us that God brings about through the work of the Holy Spirit to give us new character.
- The perfected state indicates the combination of the spiritual graces which, when all are present, form spiritual wholeness or completeness.
- Spiritual graces are worldly morals that have been submitted to God to further His kingdom instead of enhancing this world.
Glossary
When we realize there is a spiritual nature, we can be assured that God is real. That is what gives us the strength to not fear death.
Scott told us why we can believe that the soul is immortal. Since our souls are spiritual, they can make endless improvements. He reminded us that, since we are made in the image of God, we are all predisposed to be religious.
Resource
Glossary
We know through Scriptures that Heaven is real. We know that we immediately go to Heaven or hell upon death.
Still, after 12 chapters, Solomon still says it is futile. “‘Absolute futility,’ says the Teacher. ‘Everything is futile’” (Ecc. 12: 5-8 CSB)
Solomon couldn’t look beyond himself to truly make Sovereign God his #1 priority in life. So, he did fail in life. It was obvious why he would say it is futile.
Worldview people would probably say Solomon had it all. He was a king, so he had wealth, position, and prestige.
That isn’t enough for happiness. Happiness comes from God.
Making the Connections
Young nicely summed up what we should do. He wrote, “Live obediently unto God in this world that you may live joyfully with God in the next world.”
Resource
How Do We Apply This?
- Find a disciple who can mentor us. It is important we do this while we are young, but we will never quit learning. We can still do this when we are older. If we don’t want to consider it a mentor situation, we can have an accountability partner.
- Seek God. Do all the steps — hear it, read it, study it, meditate on it, and memorize it.
- Look for God in everything — in nature and events. We will see, then, that He never leaves us.
- Christian Observer wrote, “We must keep a strict watch over our hearts and our conduct.”
- Thank God for what He has done and hope for the future.
Resource
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).
Life is about restoring our relationships with God. He calls us to do that. It is our choice to follow Him.
Father God. We want to follow You. We admit our sins, believe on Jesus as our Savior, and confess you as Sovereign God. We look forward to spending eternity with You. Amen.
What do you think?
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