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The Scriptorium

Remember…

Ecclesiastes 12.1

1Remember 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…”

The Story: In this final chapter Solomon presses his point with vigor, urging his son to think ahead and consider carefully the days to come, so that he does not squander the precious years of his youth. The word, “remember”, is significant. In Hebrew it carries the idea of “pay attention to” or “fulfill your responsibilities with respect to” and not just “keep in mind.” No one can expect to know a full, contented, and peaceable old age who, when he arrives there, has only a squandered youth to remember. Paying attention to God now, in all the daily details of life, will bring the wisdom needed for the present, and the sense of satisfaction and a “job well done” for the latter years of life.

The Structure: Solomon’s mention of God as Creator, rather than as the Almighty or Lord, seems to be of some importance. By referring to God in this way he calls Rehoboam to go back to the beginning, to the days when God made men upright (Eccl. 7.29), and to configure his life according to the original purposes and intents of the divine economy. In our day the idea of God as Creator has all but been eradicated from common parlance. In His place, chance, matter, and time have been substituted as the origin and defining direction of all things. Is it any wonder that our day is characterized more by uncertainty, violence, oppression, and despair than by the good and upright plans of the Lord?

Meditate on the idea of God as Creator. Review Genesis 1 and 2, if necessary. How might “remembering” God as your Creator expand and deepen your understanding of what it means to follow Jesus?


Each week’s studies in our Scriptorium column are available in a free PDF form, suitable for personal or group use. For this week’s study, “Remember to Fear the Lord: Ecclesiastes 12,” simply click here.

 

T. M. Moore

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved

 

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
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