Keep God’s Word in Evil Times

Ecclesiastes 12:1-14 

1 Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth,
Before the difficult days come,
And the years draw near when you say,
"I have no pleasure in them":

2 While the sun and the light,
The moon and the stars,
Are not darkened,
And the clouds do not return after the rain;

3 In the day when the keepers of the house tremble,
And the strong men bow down;
When the grinders cease because they are few,
And those that look through the windows grow dim;

4 When the doors are shut in the streets,
And the sound of grinding is low;
When one rises up at the sound of a bird,
And all the daughters of music are brought low.

5 Also they are afraid of height,
And of terrors in the way;
When the almond tree blossoms,
The grasshopper is a burden,
And desire fails.
For man goes to his eternal home,
And the mourners go about the streets.

6 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed,
Or the golden bowl is broken,
Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain,
Or the wheel broken at the well.

7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was,
And the spirit will return to God who gave it.

8 "Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher,
"All is vanity."

9 And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and set in order many proverbs. 10 The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright—words of truth. 11 The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of 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.

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.

The conclusion of all the preacher Solomon wrote is summarized by calling us to keep God’s word in evil times (Galatians 1:4).  Especially when we come to Christ in the first years as new creations we should learn about Him and meditate on God through His word as our Creator and Savior to deliver us from the evil of our sinful fallen nature.  When the evil days of trial and adversity do overwhelm us, then we are prepared on the solid Rock as our foundation to walk on through it all.  This is why follow-up and discipleship are crucial parts of the gospel commission we are given as the invisible universal church.  We must know our God and our salvation for sanctification to endure these trials.  This means being rooted and grounded in the faith by the instruction and hope of the scriptures.  We can then remember our Lord in those times while the sun and stars still hang above us and are not yet removed at the final judgment when all falls down at His word of command (Ezekiel 32:8-9, Matthew 24:29).  Strong men will kneel to bow before the Lord as every knee will do, and work will cease as we behold His return.  People will hide in their houses with shut doors and music with gaiety will fall silent in the fear of the Lord.  Terror will overcome all remaining desires of life as all face eternity as our eternal home; which neighborhood will be the destination of each is the remaining question.  The answer then lies in serious consideration of God our Maker before death overtakes us (Hebrews 9:27-28) and we face the consequences of rejecting God’s Son (Psalm 2:12).  The dust of our created bodies will return to the created ground He formed us out of (Genesis 2:7, 3:19), and our spirits which were breathed by His will return to their owner also.  Yes, all is empty apart from the pursuit and knowledge of God our Lord according to His word.  The preacher was given godly wisdom to write these things for our instruction (Romans 15:4) as he thought about God and His word and the implications for living and dying.  These words of truth sometimes are as well placed nails like those of our Savior on the cross for our justification and atonement, and are given to us by the one Shepherd of our souls who leads and guides us to know and follow Him (1 Peter 2:25, John 10:4-5).  We should be admonished by the scriptures from need of our redemption in Genesis to the consummation of redemption in Revelation, and heed these words from Ecclesiastes.  Yes, the conclusion of all this is to fear our God and keep His word given to us, especially in light of this present evil age we find ourselves in.  That is our calling and task.  We do well to remember that we all are accountable to Him, saved for eternity or lost forever, and every thing we think is hidden and our own secret will be revealed when we stand before the great white throne of judgment (Matthew 12:36, Romans 2:16, 1 Corinthians 4:5, 2 Corinthians 5:10).  May we then live in light of eternity to please God in thanksgiving for His wonderfully indescribable grace!  We can learn from those teaching God's word, for the Shepherd Jesus Christ gives the gifts and wisdom to men to do so.  We should learn from these words, adjusting our lives no matter how long it takes or how weary we become.  But the bottom line is that we must fear God and follow Him and what He teaches us, doing all He says.  We each will answer to Him at the end, so let us do so with joy in the direction of our lives being conformed to Christ.  Amen and amen.