David Bahn – Reflections

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These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Ecclesiastes 11-12, 1 Kings 10, Psalm 149.

Ecclesiastes 12:1-7

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.

Not long ago I visited a Classical Christian School. It was an enlightening experience. The occasion was the “graduation” of a member of our church from kindergarten to first grade. The children recited various Bible passages from memory. These were not one or two verses; they were several verse passages. Who knew that the art of memorization had not passed away!

I was reminded of this by the opening of this passage: Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth. It’s never too early to learn about God. It’s never too early to learn that he is the Creator of the world and everything in it. It’s never too early to begin hiding God’s word in our hearts so that we have a sound footing and a well-formed foundation for our faith.

The rest of that verse has, also, an edge of warning: before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them.”

That makes me think of my mother who died 10 years ago. She was 93 years old and for the last 8 years or so of her life wondered why God had not taken her to heaven. We would tell her that she had a purpose and that God had work for her to do. But her days had grown darker, life was more difficult and her world had grown smaller. She was in skilled nursing for the last year or so of her life. We were happy for her when her time in this veil of tears came to an end. She stepped from darkness into the marvelous light of God’s grace. It was a relief for her and for those who loved her – even though it was a loss.

The Preacher – who has been weaving together all this wisdom throughout Ecclesiastes – tells us in one image after another that time eventually runs out. The silver cord will be snapped. The golden bowl will be broken. The dust will return to the earth. And then comes a glimmer of light: “the spirit returns to God who gave it.”

I suspect we do not think often enough about God in our early years, or about death until it begins to loom larger on the horizon. But those who have been instructed in God’s Word and promises can face those final hours with hope and confidence. For we have a champion who has tasted death for us, conquered the grave for us, and promises that when we return to him, we will discover something far more substantial and enduring than vanity and meaninglessness.

Ours is a hope that lives beyond the grave – a hope fit to be remembered from our earliest days until we breathe our last.

Click on the graphic below for the Bible Project overview of the book of Ecclesiastes.