Remember Your Creator in Your Youth
12:1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; 2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, 3 in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, 4 and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low— 5 they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets— 6 before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, 7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 8 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.
Fear God and Keep His Commandments
9 Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. 10 The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.
11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. (ESV)
My friends, this is what it will all come down to. The moment we meet God. He will judge us. We should live every moment of every day in light of this future reality. This is what it means to fear God. I want to be ready for that moment I meet him more than anything else. I know that it will be a moment of profound awe and extreme joy. I can’t imagine to behold the glory of my Lord Jesus Christ! I hope you are there to experience it with me!
Bobby said it the best!!
We’ve got to be fearing God and keeping his commandments (v. 13)
But I’m also feeling what it has to say in v. 1
“Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”
This is basically saying that it’s better to start following God now, because later it’s going to be much harder to. (which I can definitely agree with–try evangelizing to old people, they’re not very accepting)
So as young people, we should all be laying down our lives for God now, because we don’t know if we’ll be able to do so later on, or even if we have a later on.
I thank God though for giving us a church that understands this, and consistently Bible thumps us until
-we- understand it. I’m pretty sure that I would’ve never changed had I not come here…and I’m very Glad for that!
As well as all it’s done in other’s lives….it’s just an awesome ministry and I’m very blessed to be a part of it! Love you guys!
God lavishes us, doesn’t He…? I agree, Jeremy. And we love you, too! :D
Praying for your family JW!
Way to be up early and in the Word! Best way to start your day.
ELLO… I read
I like verse 1,”Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them””
I like this verse because it talks about people claiming they have no pleasure in their years. I like this because it’s the opposite of what we should be doing. Our Joy shouldn’t be in the circumstances our joy should be the glory of GOD which eternal and all around amazing and perfect. If our Joy is in GOD who is eternal then we won’t mind our situation. It may not seem any good at all but in reality and eternity it is better to serve GOD than to have friends who you are close too. GOD is everything and I need to step it up in serving HIM and I need to have my Joy in him.
CYA
Remembering who God is, mmm good stuff. That is what I need to remember sometimes when I’m praying to Him. My full focus has to be on Him otherwise, why would God care about someone who doesn’t even give their full attention to them? I know He does anyways because God is just that amazingly loving, but really. It’s one reason why I start off my prayers with admiration because if I didn’t, like i do at school, then I forget about WHO I am praying to…my prayers aren’t serious enough when I’m praying at school, it needs to be complete focus all the time. It doesn’t help that there are people chattering on your left and right…BUT no excuse. No matter what the circumstances are, I need to be able to focus on Him the creator of all things. OH! :O That was just a wow moment…and waw! haha Maranatha. :)
The book has come to an end. And it ends with God’s judgment, just like our life. But it starts of with our youthfulness. Solomon writes, “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth”. I must meditate on that. Realizing that even though I’m young, I still need to remember where I came from, in other words, where are my true roots. If I claim to be born-again as a christian, then my roots are in the eternal and everlasting God. My life should be characterized in this way. Even when life seems to go from bad to worse, I must still be living my life like I’m a child of God.
Solomon ends with demanding that we keep God’s commands and fear Him. These two characteristics, in my mind, sum up the entire christian walk. If we do God’s commands and fear Him, then we are living under Jesus’ law: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”. I should do these things that Solomon commands because at one point in my life, I will be judged and will have to give an account for my whole life before a perfect and just God. If I meditate on that thought the whole day I know that I will start seeing a decline in my sin life. And even more, if I realize that I find my most joy in bringing God glory and that God is worth it, why would I even bother with sinning?
Awesome, Jonny!
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
This verse tells us that God is going to bring into judgment every secret thing, as well as our deeds. This is something that I sometimes forget about judgment. So often I get caught up with routinely doing good works on the outside, but I don’t always try to glorify God with my thoughts and motives. And those are SO important! The Pharisees were great people… on the outside. They were whitewashed tombs as Jesus said. They did everything right on the outside, but were dead on the inside. I know that the Lord will bring to light all of my motives and my thoughts, and He will hold me accountable to them. I need to be seeking to glorify God with EVERYTHING- including my thoughts and my motives. I am praying that the Lord would purify my thoughts, and that He would give me the power to everything for Him with a “here to serve” mentality!
12:1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;
It is so important to remember God when you are still young. So many people think that they will “get religion” when they get older. They want to live for themselves now when they are young. Solomon says the exact opposite. He says to remember God when you are young, before you get old. I want to live my life for God now! I can’t put it off until later. I don’t know if I will have later. I want to live for God with my whole being today!
Great comment, Meisha.
Your right on Meisha this is another one of Satan’s lies for young people. See you at small groups!
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Solomon has spent much time writing in the book of Ecclesiastes about vanity and how things of this earth are only sought after in vain. Here he concludes it all. He sums everything up with two things, that man should fear the Lord and obey his commands, “for this is the whole duty of man.” And after saying this, Solomon reminds that when we each stand before God in judgment, he will bring out every single thing we have done while in the flesh, whether we thought it was secret, and whether it was good or bad. With this in mind, it should only be further motivation to fear God and obey his commands, that you can stand before him having lived all out for him in obedience seeking to make war against sin.
I need to not let my mind get distracted by all of the vanities of this world. Instead, I must seek out what really matters. I need to first live with a fear of the Lord at all times. I need to honor and revere his name as I cringe at his awesome power, his holiness, and the judgment he will bring. And I need to obey the commandments that he has left for all of us. God has already left direction for my life; I just need to choose to follow after his ways in obedience. I want to stand before God as best as I can. Not that I will be fully perfect, like a pure glass of distilled water, but that I have kept it as pure as I can in living with obedience and daily making war against sin!
This is what it all comes down to! The end of the world and God pouring out his wrath upon the earth.
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil
Thanks to God’s grace and his grace alone I can go thorough this life knowing that I am ready and that I will be with Jesus some day. But from this verse, I need to make sure that I have such a high view of God and that I fear him more than anything else. I need to be evangelizing like crazy because…hey, its almost 2012! But Jesus could come back any minute and I need to make sure I’m ready, as well as the people around me.
I really like how in your comment you pointed out how we should always be ready for Christs coming!!! :)
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
I thought this was a really great way to close up Ecclesiastes!! What I always need to put above everything else is my fear for God. That should come first. And if I am truly fearing God, I will keep his commandments and be striving to live a holy life. I also like how the verse says “this is the whole duty of man”. My life should be completely centered around bringing God glory!! I am going to bring him glory by fearing him and following his commandments. Why do I need to fear him and keep his commandments? Judgement! God is going to judge the whole earth one day so I need to make sure that I am taking every opportunity to live for Christ and rep his name!
Arg, facebook logging in still isn’t working! Is anyone elses faulty??
11 The words of the wise are lik eogads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these.
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
I especially like verse 13. There should never be a moment when we live for us. We’re not here to please ourselves, but to please God and be His light in this world of darkness. But, being human and being tempted by Satan causes us to wander and start thinking about ourselves and our happiness. But really, there is no need! If we are serving others, God will look fondly on that and will make sure we have all that we need in this life. I pray that I will remember this today, and all this week. As a matter of fact, the rest of the school year! I want people to remember me for my Christian attitudes.
Ecc 12:1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;
And you thought homework and school are a drag… Just keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and His return and you’ll be able to deal with everything this world piles on you. And then it will all be fixed: for those in Christ, paradise; for those not repentant trusting in there own power, the hell they never even conceived of will torture them forever.
10 The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.
I chose this verse because there are a lot of people out there trying to convince us and buy is in with ‘words of delight’ But what is really cool about this verse is that it talks about the preacher looking for words of delight but writes words of truth. This is one of the things that makes CBC and True North awesome is that the pastors are all teaching straight from God’s word and not trying to change it so it sounds more appealing.
But we also need to make sure that as christians we know the truth and that we aren’t deceived. Plus, when out evangelizing, we want to make sure that we are telling everybody the truth, not stuff like ‘God will make you wealthy, healthy and happy.’ So I pray that I would be dwelling in God’s word constantly to know that the truth and that His laws would be dwelling in me.
Amen.
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
We are told to fear God in more than one place..we are also told to keep His commandments in more than one place…I really if it is possible..RESPECT these two verses. They have everything we are told to do, wrapped into them…as well as a warning that God will bring each and every one of our deeds into judgement on Judgement Day. There’s no escaping Judgement Day..there’s only escaping the results, and the only way to do that is by following God and all of His commands.
Good morning!!!
I like verse 14
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
This tells us that we are in God’s mercy. Now is the time to repent of the little sins that we forget about a lot because one day it will be brought before the Lord our God where He is to judge us. Repent now and we will be forgiven. The forgiveness of Christ is an awesome thing. You can actually feel the weight lifted off your shoulders. There are not many feelings better than being truly forgiven by the supreme power of the universe. GOD!
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
God is so good to us, that He even gives us a DESIRE for this duty of ours to keep His commandments and fear Him. And it’s invigorating to experience God’s power and love in the midst of choosing Him over sin. It’s an incredible wave of exhileration in the Holy Spirit when you zoom out (“telescope, not microscope!”) in the middle of a tempting situation, see it for and call it what it is, and then choose Jesus Christ in obedience. And He grows our heart to WANT to please Him and live ALL OUT for Him.
I marvel over His love and goodness. The sinner that I am–not ONLY did He CLAIM me for Himself, which already-in and of itself-is enough to compel me to pledge my lifelong allegiance to Him…He could just as easily have left it at saving me. But He DOESN’T stop there. He pours on the love, grace, and mercy CONTINUALLY. And this, in turn, lends me to being in a place of even deeper faith, conviction, and obedience, to live a life that jives with His commands. It compels me to search His Word–not for loopholes, as I did prior to being saved. But to know my God, and to know what pleases Him and what He commands of me. To see His perspective so that I can give Him full glory with and in my life, learning and exercising service and love, so that I might be included in His Grand Plan of Salvation for all of His chosen, whose names are in His Book Of Life.
Facedown. In pure worship and submission.
He is my Everything, and my everything is His.
Once again Stacy, Couldn’t have said it better myself..
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Like Bobby said earlier.. “this is what it all comes down to!”
God will bring every deed into judgement..AMEN!
We have such a just , devine, perfect, holy, holy,holy God. I am so blessed that I am not one of the LOST people of this world trying to figure out WHY AM I HERE< WHAT IS THE POINT.. because of Gods goodness, he has opened His word to me, we are here to serve Him, to make Him shine. To be disciples and share the truth. Actually reminds me of some lyrics of a Mercy Me song..
this is not my home
(this is not my space)
this is not my style
(this is notmy place)
Can't get comfortable
(cant get settled in)
simply dont belong
(cant get used to this)
But im here right now
(i can hear you say)
make the most of Me
(this wont go to waste)
If Im out of my mind
(yeah its all for Christ)
if Im making sense
(then get it right)
every moment is a chance
to let your light break through
SPREAD THE WORD!!! Pray for the unsaved.
Xo
S
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
As Ray Burke would say, “That about sums it up!” The bottom line of the Christian life is to fear God and obey His commands! Genuine, saving faith always has good works that follow salvation and last until that person goes to heaven. I pray daily for God to help me spend time in His Word and for Him to recall to my mind what I read all day long so that I can obey it. I try to think of one practical way to obey God each day after I read His Word. One of God’s greatest commands to us is to make disciples. Today I have the opportunity to share the gospel with someone who is new to Compass so I am going to seize the day and do it! Thank you God, for helping me live out the good works that you prepared in advance for me to do once I was saved!
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil
At the end of it all, Solomon realizes that all is vanity. Youth, wealth, wisdom, and toil have no meaning. Man’s sole responsibility on this earth is the fear the Lord, obey his commands, and live ready for judgment day. I need to be prepared. When I arrive before the Lord, I want to give my account joyfully, knowing that I have lived my life in obedience. Lord, may I long for this day and live ready for your return.
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil
Solomon, the wisest man on earth, experienced and tested everything he could find…trying to find the meaning of life and the secret to happiness. This (verses 13 and 14) was his conclusion. The only thing that matters in life and that isn’t “vanity of vanities” is fearing God and keeping His commandments. God gave Solomon his wisdom and God has given us this conclusion in the Bible I am thankful to have! Today I will focus on fearing God and keeping His commandments. I want to please Him!
Great Comment! Yes, fearing God is a big deal and definitely something every christian should strive for!!! :)
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
This verse brings fear to me and I start to think of all the little sins I have done in the past and what I may do in the future. I start to think of all the people that will be surrounding me and I get scared. I need to live each day knowing that God is watching me and that I need to obey Him.
Maranatha
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
This is it folks nothing else matter. You have heard it from Solomon himself. After living every worldly desire and passion out he sums it all up by saying the only thing that matters is to fear God and keep his commandments. There is no secret to that. What really hit me was to I think what hit me was all the “stuff” I get bogged down with on this earth. And realize it is all vanity. It is worthless, the big house, better clothes, a job, money….if its from the world its useless. If we are living for this life and not for God than nothing we do will count. It makes me sad for the world around us who think that this life is what it is all about if only they could read Ecc, and realize that even the wisest man on earth in the end points his life to God. When ever I read Ecc I am always thankful that God included it in the bible. It helps us stop in the midst of everything and remember that this world and all it has is nothing compared to the glory that is to be revealed when Christ returns. Priceless truth that will never change applicable then and today. May we go out and live for the glory of God fearing him and obeying his commands!
12:1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”
Before I became a Christian. Freshmen year I went to some parties where there was beer and some bad things were happening at where I was at. I was there and so were some of my basketball teammates, and some of the popular girls. After I became a Christian I really didn’t hang out with them and I didn’t go to another high school party like that ever again. I feared God, it’s great to look back on. When you are tempted and think how fun it’ll be. You are so into the moment, that you forget the bad feeling after you experience it. You’re like a kid at disneyland, you’re so excited to be there. It’s the greatest thing, but when it’s over. You begin to cry and you’ll be more sad then you were happy. Victory over temptation will be remembered.
This chapter is a reminder that in all things I need to fear God and obey Him in all circumstances. When life is good, I need to be obedient, and when life feels bad, I need to be obedient. God doesn’t ignore me when His way is all good, so I need to obey and respect and fear Him in all that I do! Glory be to God!!! :]
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. FEAR God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
______________________________________
I really like this. Everything in the bible is so bold and just moving. This verse is saying we need to fear God with everything we do! Interesting because today I was reading about “Fearing God” and Here are a few key points i found very bold…
-The FEAR of consequences may keep us from committing the outward acts of murder and adultery, but only love will keep us from committing murder or adultery in our hearts.
-We often think when proper motives fail, it is “better” to be checked by the fear of God’s discipline than to go ahead with our sin. This should not be our motive.
So what does it exactly mean to fear God???
For the unbeliever, the fear of God is the fear of the judgment of God and eternal death, which is eternal separation from God (Luke 12:5; Hebrews 10:31). For the believer, the fear of God is something much different. The believer’s fear is reverence of God. Hebrews 12:28-29 is a good description of this: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ’God is a consuming fire.’” This reverence and awe is exactly what the fear of God means for Christians. This is the motivating factor for us to surrender to the Creator of the Universe.
I’m praying for Maranatha!
What really catches my eye is verse 11 – 11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.
God’s words shape us and carve us just as goads are used to direct an animal. I wish that I did not need goads, but I must stay committed to the reality that I must continually open God’s Word in order for it to direct me and keep me on God’s path of righteousness.
Praise him that he cares enough that he has given his word so I might be shaped and carve….. day by day.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
This verse show me that I need to living for christ 24/7 because there will be a judgement for everything that I do. How cool would it be if christ just says well done good and faithful servant. That is want I want to strive for and I need to think before I act.
Great Comment Jeff!
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
This is a good verse because i is o true that no matter what we do, it will no be hidden from God. It is important to remember that God sees everything
I love the fact that Solomon is considered the richest & wisest man who ever lived, & he COULD rattle off so much pseudo-philosophical rhetoric, yet he states it simply & forcefully: “fear God & keep his commands…for this is the whole duty of man.” Such simple, yet such profound advice from the wisest man to have lived! It sounds REALLY familiar!:)
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
In the end we will be judged, I will be judged. If I want to go to Heaven I need to fear the Lord and obey his commandments. This verse says that it should be my whole duty, everything that I am. He will be judging me on everything I have done, good and evil, and I need to do what He says and so that I can see Him in the heaven. If I do not I will be judged accordingly and will not go to heaven, that would be more than just a bummer, it would be terrifying and I would not live, I would literally die. That is why I need to do everything not in my power but God’s power to do His will.
11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these.
Though many people in our society claim to have the secrets to success, God’s word is the only wisdom that will keep us firmly standing in Christ and lead to true joy and peace. All other ideas about how we should live our life are false and will simply lead us to misery and death (blunt but true). If I want to be nailed down so that I’m not blown wherever the wind tries to take me, it’s important that I listen to–and heed–the words of the wise, given by one Shepard. That lion out there who’s waiting to devour me will start by attacking my thoughts and ideas. I need to cling to God’s truth and guard my heart and mind against all other teachings.
This chapter reminded me that we will be judged and held accountable for what we do here and now. It is so much better to surrender our lives over to God now because our life could end at any given moment. This makes me eager to get out there and share with others the gospel!
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man
This is what we are here for! God created us to be His people, to follow Him and for us to be under Him. Us trying to fight that purpose is foolish and pointless. This will only end in self-destruction. I need to be afraid of God’s wrath and power and I need to follow what He tells me to do and avoid what He tells me to avoid. My entire life needs to be completely devoted to God, because He created me for that purpose!
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
This verse stood out to me because its so straight forward and so true! Ive noticed that sometimes christians forget why we are here on this earth. The reason we christians are here is to spread the news of God to as many people possible. I know its hard to not get caught up in the things of this world, but God could come back at any moment, and we need to live everyday like our last. A good way to put this into our daily lives is to act like you knew the world was ending tomorrow so when you went to wherever you go and spread the gospel like crazy. If we live our lives with this in mind we most certainly wont regret it when were in heaven with the people we told!!! :D
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
This definitely stood out to me because its not something I think about as much as I should. God sees and knows everything! He is the ultimate judge and will judge according to everything I have done, good and bad. Its kind of scary in a way because it should motivate me to always be doing what I know is right and what will be pleasing to God. I need to be more alert and aware of my actions to make sure they are honoring and pleasing to the Lord! I pray that my actions will glorify him and that I will grow more and more in my walk with God by being obedient to him! God is so worthy of everything of me and I need to give him my absolute best! I want to praise the Lord and give thanks under all circumstances because everything I am and do, is because of God!
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. FEAR God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
These two verses are so important to every Christians life. Its so imporant for us to fear God, because we will then keep His commandments. Its crazy to think that after we become a Christian, everything we didnt do to please God that we could of, we will be judged for. Every little thing we do, and that seems so insane. I really understood the importance of my life as a Christian yesterday as I was talking to this kid about happiness and purpose in life. I know my number one purpose is to tell others about Christ and to do his commandments everyday of my life. I need to start out each day thinking that, and I will be succesfull.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
This is a very scary thing to think about. Every good and bad thing we’ve ever done, thought, or said, God will judge us for. God is awesome and needs to be feared. I pray that I would remember that the almighty God will one day judge me for everything I have ever done and that that will cause me to fear him and stop sinning.
good chapter
I agree! We’ll talk more about it at Small groups tomorrow! :)
Josh which part was your favorite?
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
How scary is that!?Okay, so this can go two ways (one good and one not so good). This verse totally encourages me to do good for the glory of God, not for my glory!so its encouraging because I want all of my deeds to be good and for the Lord! The flip side of this is that every wrong thing ive done will be judged. I know that Ill think of myself as sooo stupid for every sin ive committed!having that mindset, i know that i want to stop sinning!i want to be more like Christ each day. I want to live blameless for God!
Maranatha!
Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
This relates back to the theme of that if we truly love and fear God, we will keep his commandments. Judgement Day will be scary, and I need to keep this verse in mind because God sees everything. I am especially aware of the decisions I make when I am among non-Christians, because I want to stand strong for Christ and not fall into temptation. Some people become lazy and don’t keep practicing trying to do good, and therefore fall away from Christ. I pray that I will have spiritual protection and never grow lazy like that, yet always have a mindset of judgement and a fear of God.
12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Ok, all of these stood out to me. I need to remember that “studies” are the point of life. God is my purpose for living. I need to glorify Him everyday in everything I do. I should always be living for Him, not for myself. Increasing my prayer time will tie me closer with God and what his will is for me. I need to remember to fear God. He is great above all things. Fearing God=my duty:) I am encouraged to fear God when I think about how he will judge everything I do, think and say. God deserves all my praise. Every breath I take is a gift from God so I should use to to glorify Him:)
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
GOd knows all and he sees all and on the day of judgement he is going to show us everything that we did and he will wither judge us or rewatd us for it
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
Although Solomon had what seemed to be a perfect life full of wealth, material possessions, pleasure, and luxury, at the end he remarks that the only thing that matters is fearing the Lord and keeping His commandments. Too many times I hear people think that this relationship/person will finally make them happy or when they get into this college or this job but my source of contentment should lay in God :)
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
I love love love this chapter!!! It says straight out to fear God and keep his commandments. For that is what God wants us to do and by doing so we will one day be with our awesome God! And on that day he will judge every single one of us based off of both our evil and good. This was an amazing chapter about when God is going to come back, and it made me realize he is coming back soon!
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
Fearing God can be powerful in fighting sin! Would I really sin if I knew that God was watching me right then and there? I don’t think so. I definitely need to be setting my mindset that God is watching and he is coming back soon to judge everything we do, whether good or bad.
Not only would the fear of God cause me not to sin, but it would spur me on to righteousness! Would I really not evangelize to this person, or read my Bible, or pray, or encourage someone if I knew God was there, wanting me to do just that? Of course not! I would do it because I fear the Lord and do not want to waste even a second for his glory.
I loved Ecclesiastes and the Old Testament! Keep it coming! God is good!
“8 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.”
The theme that earthly things are meaningless and are just vanities was a consistent theme throughout Ecclesiastes and the phrase “all is vanity” was repeated throughout almost every chapter. Every motivation, every “good deed”, and every thing on earth is meaningless without the holy God involved. The second wisest guy to ever live, Solomon, was trying to pound something into the readers head: stop looking and working for the things of the world, and find satisfaction in God instead. Jesus instructed us in Matthew 6 to store up treasures in heaven, not on earth because the things on earth will be destroyed.
I’ve been relating to Asaph’s condition in Psalm 73 when he saw the world around him looking great, feeling great, and doing just great, but then he realized that without God in their life, without Him behind every motivation and providing true satifaction, he knew that God would cast them on to slippery ground and make them fall to ruin. I’ve been looking at the kids at my school who satisfy themselves with the things of the world and I am led to think “their life is so much easier” but then I realize that they need to repent from lives of sin and trust God otherwise he will be the one who will send them to hell.
From Ecclesiastes, I’ve learned one really crucial thing, without God being the fuel to our motivation to do everything, it’s meaningless. And this satisfaction that comes from being fueled by God’s Word and by his Holy Spirit is A LOT better than any minimal and temporary satisfaction the world can give. I need to find all of my satisfaction in God alone and reach out to the lost souls at my school with the Gospel so that they also can join me in heaven to meet the Creator!
Great Comment! Without us doing everything for Jesus, our lives would be useless! Its great to know that we have Heaven to look forward to and a great God to serve! :)
Great Comment PJ! I love the depth with which you thought out what this verse is saying and what the theme of Ecclesiastes is communicating to all of us!
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
Christ’s burden is so light. Fearing God and actually having enough faith to keep His commandments seems so hard yet it is so rewarding and so easy. Without Christ one’s burden is immeasurable. Lord, let me keep your commandments.
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
HA like Mr. Cox said, it amazes me how the powerful, abundantly wise Solomon ends a book with a simple commandment. This entire time it all led up to God’s glory. Satisfaction comes from the Lord and nothing else. TO GOD BE THE GLORY!! :D
11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.
Wisdom is such an important thing to have, and it is clear that God thinks highly of wise people. In my Bible, it says that goads are “long, pointed sticks used for prodding and guiding oxen”. It is describing the words of wise people to be goads, as well as nails that are firmly set. This is basically saying that I should definitely be listening to wise people in my life, as their words and knowledge along with what I read in the Bible will guide me and help me to remain firm in my faith. Some really common people in my life that are wiser than I are my parents as well as my pastors, Bobby and Ben. I need to be taking what all of these people say and applying it to my life, not just deciding whether or not I like it and think its a good thing. They know much more than I do, and the Bible is clear that words of the wise are very important for keeping ourselves steadfast in our faith!
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Maranatha! Jesus Christ is coming back soon and we need to be ready. Our job as Christians is do obey God’s commands. Every little thing we disobeyed him in, every temptation we have fallen into will be judged. I want to make sure that when i come before the Lord i have lived my whole life fulfilling his commands, and living sold out for him
yeah hi. that was just a lovely comment. i just thought id tell you that you are really spiritually amazing and that i miss you and that i get texting back thursday!@#$%^&* so were talking on the phone tomorrow kay cool. i love this comment <3 and i love you missy! jiehqrujnwdkbfheiqudjlnwkbeg bye
12:1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”
This is a great verse. This is now. We are the youth, and we are being told to not waste these years. Will we look back on them and wish we had done more, or will we be happy with our service for the LORD. I want to live my high school life with no regrets.
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
Plain and simple as that.
I need to always remember this verse and remember even when times are tough to always keep God’s commandment because this is whats most pleasing to Him, and is my sole duty on this earth.
Also, is any one else having a problem with connecting facebook and SOTD? Or is it just me?
12:1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;
While I realize that in saying “remember” here, it means don’t just indulge yourself in any and every way when you are enticed to do so, it also stuck out to me as *literally* meaning, “Remember God.” As foolish as it may seem, so often I become engrossed and focused on other things that I neglect to “remember” the Creator of all things, to think about Him and what He would have me do. This verse is specifically addressing us “youths,” high-schoolers! It is at this most critical time of our lives that we need be focused on God the most. The past is gone forever and tomorrow is uncertain, but TODAY we can make a difference. TODAY is all we have, and pretty soon it will be gone! Lord, please give me a heart that is focused on You, “remembering” You *today,* not regretting over the past or worrying about the future, but instead *trusting*, and having peace in You today. Please let my life, and this summer especially, as it will be so easy to be distracted, be one that truly shines Your light as I rely on and follow You!
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
This is what it all comes down to!
Our duty: Fear God and Keep his commandments. It is written very clearly what Christians need to do. Because I fear God, I keep his commandments. I want everything I do to revolve around GOD and bring him glory. One thing I want to focus on are my priorities in life and making sure I give GOD all my time, not wasting it on meaningless things instead.
Hm, Facebook login isn’t working… oh well.
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
This is really an important thing to remember. Everything we do, whether in secret or in front of others, we will one day be judged by the Lord for. His day is coming soon… and we should be fearful of the judgment that He brings upon unrepentant sinners! There are times when I’m really struggling with sin that I have to remember the fear of the Lord, that it is “the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). If I don’t fear His judgment, then the chance I’m going to give in to sin is considerably greater.
I read…
Verse 14…”For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. ”
In dealing with sin, this verse is key. Reminding yourself that you will face the judgment of God is essential to fearing Him. I pray that we would all recognize that God knows everything, even our trespasses and that we would be repenting according to that knowledge.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Wow pretty powerful verse and very intimidating. The thought that “God will bring every deed into judgment,” is something to fear. God commands us to fear Him. If we fear His wrath, we end up following in His footsteps on a straight path that leads to Him. We tend to avoid temptation or flee from sin when we are afraid of punishment.
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Yes fearing the lordd and keeping the commands is really a big deal. Most peopl would ask why should we fear the Lord. Well yes God is good and all the time God is good.But, he also deciceds where we go after our life here on earth. On judgement day he will go ober every single bad deed we have ever done. I know big deal. Alsp I know it will not be one of those nice ones as well. The good thing is Gos forgives us, And we can reoent of our sins. For Jesus died on the cross for us when didnt even deserve it. Hope this helps.
10 The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.
Way too many people stop at the first part of this verse. Christianity today has become all about not interfering with your lifestyle; instead, it should be your lifestyle. We are blessed at True North to have Pastors that are not afraid to preach what the Word says. While many sermons are full of words of delight and encouragement, some are indeed hard and convicting. This kind of preaching is a blessing, but it is our responsibility to take it and run with it! I need to make sure that I take every message to heart, paying special attention to points that convict me, in order to live blamelessly and bring glory to the Lord!
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
The day that we stand in front of God is coming quickly. Like a “thief in the night” he will snatch us up with him in heaven. Its a scary thought to know that every second could be our last. But, its also encouraging that we can know that no matter what we will be eternally with God in heaven. It’s soooo crucial that we keep living for God, because although it may seem like a long time now, it is nothing when compared to the eternal time in heaven. Noone likes suffering, but everyone either faces it for a short time on earth, or in hell for eternity. Clearly we’d rather suffer short term!! SO, lets get out there and make more disciples!!!
Couldn’t agree more! :D
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
I love these verses. In 13, it says all has been heard. God included everything in the Bible that is necessary to know about the Christian life. Everything is told in this book and in general, we must fear the Lord and keep his commands! That is our ultimate goal as Christians- to keep standing by following in jesus’ footsteps and also to make disciples of all nations. Judgement will be a scary day and i hope there is not a lot to say. God will bring up every good and bad deed. He will bring up the good deeds we did for Him and reward us. He will also bring up the secret, bad, sinful deeds of the flesh and judge us for them. I need to live a life that is willing to do good deeds for God and to put others before myself!
” 7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”
We started from dust, and we will end in dust. In the beginning, when God made Adam, from dust and His breath, so we will die that way. We are made up of mere dust, and will return into that same form. And it is the spirit of God that is in us; nothing more, and nothing less. That is what I believe this verse is saying.
“14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”
So I don’t know how to say this lightly, but when this Day comes, it will be a very scary, convicting and nerveracking day. We will sit in front of our Maker and Creator, and keep held accountable for EVERY single action, thought, and sin we committed. Wether it be good or bad, God’s still writing every single one down. I don’t know about you, but sitting face to face with the Lord who made me and gave me Salvation and breath and life will be a very speechless day. To sit there and be held ACCOUNTABLE, leaves me even more speechless. BUT! At the same time, when you think about it, we’re ARRRRE going to be face to face with Him. Like it IS coming. The Day. The Day when He will reign down, and take His Sons and Daughters up into Heaven with Him. When the Day comes . . . that will be a Glorious one . . . NO DOUBT!!!! :D
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
We Know God’s truth and we need to live it out. Reading through ecclesiastes has showed me nothing comes in comparison with God. we won’t have true joy unless were right with God in our lives and living for him. And putting him number one all the time.
12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
The liberal education system of today puts a huge emphasis on the concept of knowledge. Without it, the system figures Americans would be ignorant and racist; knowledge is probably one of the character traits in elementary school or something. But knowledge as knowledge isnt always so useful. You can have knowledge about anything that exists in the universe, but the things you have knowledge about could be wholly unimportant.
I think that this is a great verse because it reminds me that there is an infinite amount of things we can learn in this world, and though knowledge has always been a desire of mine, a lot of the world’s knowledge ultimately has no value. Nothing has value unless it is founded upon the wisdom of God’s Word. I have spent what seems like many years studying and studying, but in the end there is a danger of it all meaning absolutely nothing. I pray that I would not just spend hours and hours learning to learn but that I would instead be completely focused on serving my LORD Jesus Christ. I thank God for the knowledge He has revealed to me, and I know that I will probably be able to understand most everything I want to in Heaven. In the meantime though, LORD please help me not to waste my little time on earth studying and studying what will ultimately have little importance in my life; please help me to be fully devoted to bringing you glory and seek to make use of what you have given me for your glory rather than pursue my own selfish interests.
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil
I like how the second half of ch 13 puts it. Our whole purpose in life here on earth is for od, and sometimes that can be hard to focus on Him when we get distracted by all the things going on. I want to make sure that the business of life and all of the things going on do not interfer with my focus on God and His will only
>13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and
>keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
>14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every
>secret thing, whether good or evil.
The culmination of Ecclesiastes. It can get a bit depressing when the wisest man on earth says repeatedly that “all is vanity.” But here we have his ultimate conclusion — fear God and keep His commandments! This is our purpose, mission, assignment, duty, lot in life. Frankly, I’m excited. It’s very exciting to be a part of something so huge and majestic and significant. He’s going to judge the world in righteousness — he’ll do what’s right! Not what we think is right, but what actually is right.
This is what our lives need to be all about, fearing God and keeping His commandments. I love how Solomon after seeing everything under the sun concludes this. It is awesome to think how the Bible penetrates every culture and time because the end is the same. Fear the Lord and keep His commandments…it struck me that He does not say to love God–but 1 John clearly reminds us that our love for the Lord will be manifested in our actions. Deeds do not get us saved but we have been saved so that we will obey. These last two verses are great reminders of my focus and what I want for my future. Whatever God’s specific will is for my future it will include fearing Him and keeping His commands.
The ending of this chapter was really good!!! It just tells us what our duty in this life is and that is to follow Gods commandments!!! This is our calling in life and what we need to be doing and why do we need to be doing this because we are going to be judged in the end of all things whether good or bad and also for the things done in secret!!
yeeeee
Ecclesiastes 12
What amazing poetry here in verses 1-9.
Fear God and Keep His Commandments. This heading is critical to the Christian faith. We must have a biblical fear of God. Without a fear of God it is impossible to keep His commands. So many young people misplace their fear in the wrong place. There greatest fear is of their peers and how they perceive them. How can you fear God when you are so busy trying to impress your peers. So many students are living their lives solely to impress their friends and be accepted. Our life will be judged one day and it will not be our peers who will do the judging. We will be judged by the living God who has authority over all created things. I pray that our students will not misplace their fear in the things of this world. Verses 13-14 are the perfect summation for this chapter.
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
This life is full of vanity but a life lived for the Lord with fear and obedience is eternally rewarding.
Pray for Revival X
11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
I like these two verses because they stress the importance of God’s Word. If i could only read one book it would be the Bible. In fact, it would be a blessing if that were the only book i was allowed to read. The books in my college classes give me headaches. Especially those anti-God Biological Anthropolgy books. I pray the kids in my class can be made aware of the importance of the Bible and Jesus Christ. Solomon’s warns us to beware of anything beyond the teachings of the Bible. So beware True Norther’s make sure you know God’s word. Because those college professors will be seeking to fill your mind with the lies of Satan. It’s a lion feeding frenzy on most college campuses. Be very scared, read the Bible everyday and pray 3 times a day.