The Final Piece - Ecclesiastes 12
Read: Ecclesiastes 12
Listen: A Song - “Vapor” by The Liturgists
Listen: A Meditation – “Vapor Meditation” by The Liturgists
We have finally reached the end of our journey. For the past few months, we have explored all the ups and downs in Ecclesiastes, much like our lives are filled with highs and lows. My own life has had its share of lows recently, and when I arrived at the final chapters of Ecclesiastes, I could only shake my head. God knows better than me what I need, and what I need is to remember who God is and what He has done in my life.
At the beginning of Ecclesiastes 12, we are told to “remember [our] Creator.” To remember is to recall someone or something, to be mindful of them again, to “preserve [them] unforgotten” (Etymonline). Throughout their history, the Israelites are repeatedly told to “not forget” or to “remember” God and all He had done for them. In Deuteronomy 6, the Israelites are told, “…be careful not to forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. Fear the LORD your God, worship him, and take your oaths in his name” (6:12-13). At this point in their story, the Israelites are on the brink of entering the Promised Land. They have endured decades of wandering in the desert and will soon enter a land of bounty. If only they do not forget the Lord their God.
Most of the remembering that the Israelites are called to do is about their lives as slaves in Egypt and how God redeemed them. Is this not the same type of remembering we should also be doing? In Romans, Paul wrote, “But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were handed over, and having been set free from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness” (6:17-18). We too are born into the bondage of sin, but everything changes when we believe in Jesus Christ. Paul also writes:
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over him. (Rom. 6:6-9)
In Ecclesiastes, death is the great equalizer that makes life an absurdity, utterly meaningless. However, that is merely one side of the coin. In one commentary I read, the authors said, “…the reality of death can render life meaningless or incredibly meaningful” (Akin and Akin). Death without Christ is meaningless; life without Christ is meaningless. Death is inevitable for us humans living in a fallen world. But Jesus…Jesus is the one who makes all the difference. He makes meaning out of the futility of our lives.
The end of Ecclesiastes finally answers the Preacher's question from chapter 1: what makes life meaningful when it all seems so futile? Ecclesiastes 12:13 tells us, “…fear God and keep his commands…” Our relationship with God is what makes the difference in our lives. The Preacher in Ecclesiastes could not fathom the lengths God would go to ensure we could have a relationship with Him. John 1:14 describes just this moment: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Our response to the God who took on human form is what changes the directory of our lives. How will we respond to Him? With fear? Showing Him awe, reverence, and worship? Or will we act like we are the gods of our own lives? From fearing God comes obeying God. As we are transformed more and more into the image of Christ, through the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, we can love and obey Him more all the time.
Whatever we decide about a relationship with God, we are reminded in the final verse of Ecclesiastes, “For God will bring every act to judgement, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil” (12:14). Everything we think, say, and do will come before God. Nothing will escape His notice or judgement. In the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Akin and Akin quote religious scholar Jaroslav Pelikan, who said, “If Christ is risen – then nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen – then nothing else matters.” At the end of the day, all that matters is Christ – Christ crucified, Christ risen, Christ alive again.
So, we are left with the same question as the Preacher. What makes our lives meaningful? We’ve learned the answer and filled in the last piece of the puzzle. It’s now up to us to decide how we will answer that question.
