Ecclesiastes 12:1–8 “Remember Your Creator”

Ecclesiastes 12:1-8 NIV

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Resources for Family Worship (with Children)

• Discussion Questions for Children & Youth are located in the section after Explanation, Meditation, and Prayer (at the end of this email/blog).

Explanation:

The Teacher has now arrived at his conclusion. He rarely speaks in the imperative, but as he concludes, he gives a command: “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth” (v. 1). The Hebrew word zakor, translated as “remember,” presupposes affection for and responsibility toward the one who is remembered. Just as God “remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Exodus 2:24) and therefore called Moses, zakor leads to concrete action. Thus, to “remember your Creator” means to live in accordance with the Creator’s will.

At this point, the Teacher has entered the later years of his life. Looking back on his life, he regrets having wasted his youth. That is why he says, “in the days of your youth … remember.”

Verse 2 is a metaphor either for the day of death or for the day of judgment. In youth, it feels as though one will live forever, but time passes like an arrow, and one eventually reaches the threshold of death.

Verses 3–4 are metaphors describing the process of aging. The New Revised Translation explains these metaphors explicitly, but the Revised Version’s translation is better.

“In the day when the keepers of the house (arms) tremble, and the strong men (legs) stoop, when the grinders (teeth) cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows (eyes) grow dim; and the doors on the street (ears) are shut, when the sound of the grinding is low (decline of digestive function), and one rises at the sound of a bird (nervous weakness), and all the daughters of song grow faint (emotional numbness).”

As seen here, explaining the metaphors makes them easier to understand, but it weakens their rhetorical power. In verse 6 as well, the weakening of various bodily organs is expressed metaphorically. Every human being, when the time comes, grows old and comes to death (vv. 5, 7). When that time arrives, even if one wishes to live according to the Creator’s will, it is no longer possible. There is no time left, and there is no strength left. That is why the command is given: remember your Creator “in the days of your youth.”

The Teacher begins with the declaration, “Vanity of vanities, vanity of vanities! All is vanity” (1:2). He concludes with the same words (v. 8). This is one of the literary techniques used by the Hebrews, called inclusio, or an “envelope structure,” in which the beginning and the end mirror each other and are closely related.

Although the expression is the same, the emotional tone is quite different. In chapter 1, verse 2, it was a lament filled with skepticism and despair. In chapter 12, verse 8, one senses a calm acceptance of reality. Such is life. Denying that reality and struggling to change it proved futile. In the process, youth was wasted. Therefore, the Teacher urges us to treasure each day that is given and to strive to live according to the will of the Creator.

Meditation:

When Jesus was crucified, two criminals were crucified alongside Him, one on each side. One mocked and cursed Jesus, while the other rebuked him and pleaded with Jesus for salvation. Jesus said to that criminal, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

Regarding this story, someone once asked, “If a person can live a life full of sin and still go to heaven by repenting just a few hours before death, aren’t those who believed from childhood the ones who lose out? I’ll enjoy life as much as I want, and then when I’m old and weak, I’ll believe.”

This way of thinking assumes that believing in God is a loss. By worldly standards, one might say that is true. In fact, some people say, “I can’t believe it because I can’t give up what I enjoy,” while others say, “If I really believe, there’s too much I would have to give up.”

When someone who has lived without a sense of guilt comes to know God, they begin to understand what sin is, and fear of sin arises. That is why they hesitate to believe. But once a person is born again in Christ, they realize that what they once “enjoyed” was actually what had been “tormenting” them. In the past, they thought those things were the way to live a meaningful life, but after being born again, they see that those things were actually a way to waste their lives. The criminal who was beside Jesus had wasted his life right up until the moment of his death.

This is why the Teacher commands, “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth” (v. 1). He is saying, do not waste your entire life as I did, but acknowledge God as early as possible and live according to His will. Though it may seem like a loss by worldly standards, he realized that this is, in fact, the most blessed way to live.

Prayer:

Thank You, Lord, for letting us come to know You before it is too late. Thank You for redeeming the time that would otherwise be wasted in vain. In the coming new year as well, please redeem our time in You. Amen.

Discussion Questions for Children & Youth:

Key Point: Remembering God early in life is not a loss—it is a blessing. When we choose to walk with God now, God helps us use our time wisely and fills our lives with true joy and meaning, instead of regret later.

• For Preschool-Elementary:
  • Who made you and loved you from the very beginning?
  • What is one way you can remember God today?
  • When is a good time to follow God—now or later? Why do you think so?
    
• Youth:
  • Why do you think some people believe following God means “missing out”?
  • Jesus welcomed the criminal who turned to Him at the very end—what does that tell us about God’s grace?
  • What is one small choice you can make now to walk with God in your daily life (at school, home, or online)?