FAMOUS LAST WORDS

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Opening Prayer

Mighty God, I come to You as Lord, I acknowledge You as Son of God, and in Your strength I seek to live my life.

Read ECCLESIASTES 12:1–14

^[1] Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”- ^[2] before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain; ^[3] when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim; ^[4] when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when people rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint; ^[5] when people are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets; when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags itself along and desire no longer is stirred. Then people go to their eternal home and mourners go about the streets. ^[6] Remember him-before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well, ^[7] and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. ^[8] “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Everything is meaningless!” ^[9] Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. ^[10] The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true. ^[11] The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails-given by one shepherd. ^[12] Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body. ^[13] Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. ^[14] For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

Meditate

“The Teacher exhorts us to fear God, to have faith in his existence, to experience his grace, to stand in awe of his person, and to resolve to obey him. This is the secret of life” (Ray C. Stedman, 1917–1992).

Think Further

“I told you I was ill” is perhaps the best sentence ever requested on a gravestone. Last words matter. When you know you don’t have long left, you want to say what really is important. So the Teacher comes to the end of his sermon. What will he tell us as, hungry for the final word on wisdom, we prepare to take our leave of him? He will say just this: remember God—in your youth (1–3), while you still can (4), while you have the strength and independence (5), while you are alive (6). Remember your Maker. Know who God is. Honor him. Don’t wait for your deathbed to do business with God.

This, then, is the beginning of wisdom: to know God. Wisdom is not cold and objective, it is relational. As John will later tell us, the wisdom by which the world was made (Prov. 8:1,22–31) has a name, and it is Jesus (John 1:1–5). Jesus is the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24), and in Jesus it is possible for God’s wisdom—his very nature—to flow through you.

This, Paul tells us in Ephesians 3:10, is God’s open secret, his plan from the very beginning. God has always wanted his wisdom to shine through people. The Teacher was one of those, along the way, who has caught a glimpse of this. He saw something of God’s wisdom; he understood God’s longing to see that wisdom forming and transforming our lives. Only in Jesus does the ultimate expression become possible. Only in Jesus can we at last enter fully into the Teacher’s final admonition—to fear God and obey his commands (13). What human effort could never fully attain, Christ makes possible. God will shine through us, and the world will see his wisdom.

Apply

How has your faith affected the way you have lived your life? Affected your view of aging? Your view of death?

Closing prayer

“Wisdom is the goal I seek; God, You are the treasure I set my sights on” (Gerard Kelly).

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