It is no wonder that as we come to the close of our study in Ecclesiastes, we are asked to stop and ponder the question of what really matters. Throughout the book, the preacher has pointed out to us the futility of life, riches, wisdom, pride. He called it all vanity of vanity, vapors in the wind that are here but a fleeting moment and then gone. Perhaps of all the earthly teachers, he was the best of all the best. Gifted by God with human wisdom beyond all others, he had seen the value of all that God had created and yet the utter despair of trying to fill the spiritual void with any of these things. Life is a wondrous adventure; but only when one stands in a right relationship with the creator of it all.
What really matters is our view of God himself. Do we stand in awe of His Righteousness and Glory? Until we see all this stuff surrounding us through His eyes, we can never grasp life at all. We cannot hold fast to His Abiding, Steadfast Joy when the storms of life come crashing in, if we are not anchored in Him.
Perhaps that is why, Solomon admonishes us all to grasp hold tightly to God while we are still in our youth. In chapter 12 he points out that he does this
What Really Matters, Before All is Said and Done.
Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth,
Before the [a]difficult days come,
And the years draw near when you say,
“I have no pleasure in them” Ecclesiastes 12:1
Old age is just around the corner. The youth often believe there is time left. Time to turn to God, to get their life in order, and time to fix whatever may be broken. Another day to fulfill and finish all their hearts desire. But, alas, as Solomon points out, tomorrow may not come or may be so filled with sorrows that one cannot see God clearly. There is a time appointed to each. The Spirit of God will not always strive with one’s heart. There comes a day, when ones response of no to His call becomes the last time one hears His voice. For with each refusal, the heart hardens, sight dims, and ears deafen to His voice.
A DESCRIPTION OF AGING (Ecclesiastes 12: 1-5 AMP)
12 Remember [earnestly] also your Creator [that you are not your own, but His property now] in the days of your youth, before the evil days come or the years draw near when you will say [of physical pleasures], I have no enjoyment in them—
2 Before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened [sight is impaired], and the clouds [of depression] return after the rain [of tears];
3 In the day when the keepers of the house [the hands and the arms] tremble, and the strong men [the feet and the knees] bow themselves, and the grinders [the molar teeth] cease because they are few, and those who look out of the windows [the eyes] are darkened;
4 When the doors [the lips] are shut in the streets and the sound of the grinding [of the teeth] is low, and one rises up at the voice of a bird and the crowing of a cock, and all the daughters of music [the voice and the ear] are brought low;
5 Also when [the old] are afraid of danger from that which is high, and fears are in the way, and the almond tree [their white hair] blooms, and the grasshopper [a little thing] is a burden, and desire and appetite fail, because man goes to his everlasting home and the mourners go about the streets or marketplaces.
How much harder to come to know and accept Christ as Savior once all spark of life fades.
Do not boast about tomorrow,
For you do not know what a day may bring forth. Proverbs 27:1
“You do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. James 4:14
What Really Matters Before One Dies
6 [Remember your Creator earnestly now] before the silver cord [of life] is snapped apart, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern [and the whole circulatory system of the blood ceases to function];
7 Then shall the dust [out of which God made man’s body] return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return to God Who gave it.
8 Vapor of vapors and futility of futilities, says the Preacher. All is futility (emptiness, falsity, vainglory, and transitoriness)! Ecclesiastes 12 (AMP)
How to learn what really matters:
9 And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and set[c] in order many proverbs. 10 The Preacher sought to find [d]acceptable words; and what was written was upright—words of truth. 11 The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of [e]scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd. 12 And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh.
Although he suggested that much study is wearisome to the flesh and many books are written, he still advises us to read the word of God. Note, he said “the words of scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd”. This certainly does not refer to all who call themselves scholars; but it does refer to those whom God chose to write His inspired words that comprise our Bible. It may also include the words of teachers and preachers who are truly surrendered to teaching only the truth of God’s word. Certainly, the Shepherd is Jesus (whom had not come on the scene yet) for He is the Word as noted in the entire 1st chapter of John.
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4: 12
15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and [b]idle babblings, for they will [c]increase to more ungodliness. 2 Timothy 2:15
To Conclude: What Really Matters
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
14 For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 12)
What does it mean to fear God?
12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your [a]good?
Normally, we do not think of fear as part of love; but is it not a part of true love? If I truly love someone would there not be that fear of disappointing the object of my love? After all, truly love places their concerns above one’s own. I never wanted to see the sadness in my Father’s eyes. Nor do I want to see the sadness in God’s eyes because I failed to trust Him or believe Him as I should. Love demands my willingness to lay aside all else for Him.
“Got Questions website” provides this answer
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. ..
Believers are not to be scared of God. We have no reason to be scared of Him. And we have His promise that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39). We have His promise that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Fearing God means having such a reverence for Him that it has a great impact on the way we live our lives. The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His discipline, and worshiping Him in awe. [1]
Therefore
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4
DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD?
If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you to go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link. There is nothing more important than this; because He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.
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©Effie Darlene Barba, 2021
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. Furthermore, I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned except for my own books. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Credits
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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[1] https://www.gotquestions.org/fear-God.html