Forever Young
“Forever Young”
Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:8
Fathers want their children to have a good life. They want to pass on their wisdom concerning how to receive all life has to offer while avoiding many of the mistakes in their life. In 1966, Bob Dylan became a father to his eldest son, Jesse. As he thought of being a father to his son, he penned a lullaby, passing on the hope he had for his son to be happy and remain strong. He wrote the following, inspired by Aaron’s blessing in Numbers 6:
May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young
May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you
May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young
May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
May your song always be sung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young
I appreciate Dylan’s words as he shares the hopes for his son. I pray that my children will grow up to be righteous and grow up to be true. I pray that they would always know the truth, always be courageous, and always be strong. But I pray that they will also know that they will not be able to stay forever young. Life is like a breath on a cold morning, easily seen and then quickly gone.
Solomon is acting like a father to us, wanting us to have joy and hope. His hope for us is that we would not try to avoid death but rather embrace it. He wants us to live in the light of our mortality. I believe that he has written Ecclesiastes as an old man trying to share his wisdom with the young so they will not forsake the gift of life but receive it with joy. Solomon closes his discourse by encouraging his hearers to rejoice and to remember. I pray that we will heed his counsel.
Rejoice
Solomon focuses his attention at the close of his sermon to grab the ears of the young. I believe he focuses on the young as he closes because he knows he does not have to convince the old. They know his words are true. George Bernard Shaw was asked by a reporter once, “What, in your opinion, is the most beautiful thing in the world?” He responded by saying, “Youth is the beautiful thing in this world—and what a pity that it has to be wasted on children.” Most have condensed Shaw’s sentiment into a common phrase: “Youth is wasted on the young.” Solomon does not want the youth to take their youth for granted. In Ecclesiastes 11:7–10 he says:
Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity. Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.
Light is a reference to life. It is sweet and pleasant, or good and right, for the eyes to see the sun. Life is a gift. It is sweet, and it is our responsibility to savor the sweetness of the life that God gives. Even on our worst days there is good, for every cloud has a silver lining. Please note this is not merely helpful advice but a command. God commands his people to rejoice. Solomon writes, “So or Therefore.” As a result of the sweetness of life, rejoice. “So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all.”
I recently bought a softball glove for my daughter. I discovered the Amazon box in my garage yesterday morning and opened it up to see the glove wrapped in plastic. A burst of joy shot through my heart, as I was able to give the glove to my daughter and know she would rejoice in the gift. I left the glove in the plastic and placed it by her door to discover when she woke up. As a father, I gave a good gift to my daughter, and she received that gift with joy, for she was outside with that glove before the day was over. She rejoiced in the gift and caused joy to her father. What if she left the glove in the plastic and never opened it? I would have been sad because the gift was given for joy. No parent buys a gift for their children for it to go unused. Each day is like a gift wrapped in plastic. You can leave it unopened, or you can tear open the plastic and receive it with joy.
Life is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. Our Father gives us life as a gift to be received with joy. “So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity.” All that comes is a vapor, a mist, a breath. Life must be savored, for it will not last forever. Solomon wants us to rejoice in the sweetness of each day even when they are bittersweet, for sorrow and trouble will come to us all. We may say that life is bittersweet, but we have a choice to place the emphasis on the first or second part of the word. Is your BITTERsweet or is it bitterSWEET?
We are commanded to steward our joy. Solomon calls out to the young to rejoice in the gift of their strength and vitality. “Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment” (Ecclesiastes 11:9). Savor each and every day. Give yourself to joy. Do not waste your life on trinkets and television. Do not squander your youth with sloth and on screens. Love the Lord, care for the poor, spend time with your parents, laugh with your friends, listen to your grandparents tell you stories, read a classic, serve your church, learn an instrument, etc. Open the package of life each and every day. One day, God will hold us accountable for how we have stewarded our joy. Remember, this is a command. Rejoice!
God set his love on Israel by making them his own people. And as he delivered them from the Egyptians and brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, he gave them commands and covenant responsibilities as his people. Deuteronomy 28-30 lays out the blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience. One of the reasons God gives for bringing Israel into captivity is that they did not steward their lives with joy and gladness of heart. Deuteronomy 28:47–48 states, “Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you.” Derek Kidner writes, “This was the nerve the serpent had touched in Eden, to make even Paradise appear an insult.” Adam and Eve did not rejoice in God’s gift of Eden. Israel did not rejoice in God’s gift of the promised land. Do you rejoice in God’s gift of life? Do you see all that the Lord has given you, or is the serpent deceiving you to see all your blessings from a good Father as an insult? An easy question to answer would be “Are you grateful for what God has given you?” Gratitude is the root of joy, just as ingratitude is the root of bitterness. Romans 1:21 says, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” Beloved, steward your joy, for one day God will bring all these things into judgment.
One of the ways we are encouraged to rejoice in the days of our lives is to remove vexation or anxiety from our hearts. Ecclesiastes 11:10 declares, “Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.” As one scholar notes, “The Preacher advises us to eliminate the bad things in life that trouble our bodies and our souls. A ‘vexation’ is any problem that causes us worry and concern, that ‘angers, grieves or irritates.’ It is ‘the bitterness provoked by a hard and disappointing world.’ ”[1] In a hard and disappointing world, the list is long on what may cause worry and concern. But whatever comes, we know that God is in control. Solomon has made this point over and over again. We cannot control the future. We do not know what will come in our lives, so rejoice in the day the Lord has given.
How much of our life is wasted by worrying over that which we cannot control? Our worrying may be rooted in a lack of faith in God. Matthew 6:25-34 says:
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (ESV)
Young people today are often overwhelmed with vexation and anxiety. Solomon and Jesus would both say remove anxiety and vexation from your heart, for life is too short to worry over that which you cannot control. We show our trust with our joy. When we rejoice and are grateful for what we have, we remove vexation and anxiety from our heart. Do not let Satan rob you of your joy and cause you to waste your youth with worry, for life is a mist, a vapor, and a breath.
We are not commanded only to rejoice but also to remember.
Remember
Age and wisdom are gifts from God. Aging, however, is one of the toughest realities of life. I believe Solomon is an old man while he is writing these words. I believe he understands the challenge of aging and loss that comes with it, so he wants to leave his legacy on those who are coming after him. My dear senior saints, give the autumn of your life to help young people remember their Creator. Share your wisdom and your life with the youth. Young people, honor our seniors. Listen to their counsel. Invite them into your life. They have wisdom that we cannot experience in our youth. Their wisdom may help us reshape our youth and make the most out of life. Ecclesiastes is written by an old man with many regrets who wants his children and grandchildren to be spared from his regrets by living in wisdom as they remember their Creator in the days of their youth. The two key words in this section are “remember” and “before.” We must remember before it is too late. “Remember” is given in verse one and “before” is given in 1, 2, and 6. Although we read “Remember your Creator” only in verse one, it is implied to go before every “before” throughout the paragraph. Ecclesiastes 12:1–8 continues:
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”; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, 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, 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— 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— 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, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.
Solomon uses the word “Creator” intentionally here to bring our minds’ attention to the gift of life. We are creatures, and he is our Creator. He has given us life, and because of sin, God’s good creation will be undone in the “uncreating” of life as we age. We see here a powerful depiction of the aging process which will one day happen to us all. As my good friend Max Phillips says, “Anything will wear out after 90 years!”
Solomon pictures the aging process as a house falling apart. The “keepers of the house” symbolize the hands once strong and vibrant which now tremble and lose their ability to take care of the body. The “strong men” are legs which are no longer able to bear the weight causing a stooped body. The “grinders” are teeth which are all but gone. The “windows” are eyes that are dimmed, leaving people without the ability to drive or read. The “doors” are ears that are shut up, affecting one’s ability to talk and fellowship with friends and family. The “sound of grinding is low,” implying that the old are removed from work and business of life. They cannot sleep in and rise early at the sound of the birds chirping. “All the daughters of song are brought low,” as people lose the power of their voice and possibly even the ability to talk. They are afraid of falling, as one fall could lead to a rapid decline. The “almond tree blossoms” is how one’s hair goes grey or white. The “desire falls” either refers to the lack of desire for sex or appetite for food. All these are signs that one is close to death and their eternal home.
Aging is the hard reality of life. Aging reminds us that we are not the Creator but mere creatures. We must remember our Creator before the silver cord is snapped or the golden bowl is broken or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain or the wheel is broken at the cistern. We must remember our Creator before death, for we are dust and to dust we shall return. We have a limited time to use our hands, ears, and eyes. We must embrace life as a creature before our Creator. Do not waste your youth, but use it for the glory of God. There is a time for every matter under heaven. While you have strength, use it for the glory of God.
As I meditated on this passage this week, I was moved to tears several times as I thought of my dear friends facing the reality of a crumbling house. I have wept when I have thought of those who can no longer hear or those caring for an aging parent battling dementia or those whose body is riddled with cancer. As I write this, my own grandmother who is 97 years old is slowly fading into eternity. Life is a mist, a vapor, and a breath. Let us remember our Creator in the days of our youth and rejoice in all the years God gives us.
Renew
It is easy for the prospect of aging and death to discourage and frustrate us. Solomon does not want us to despair but to delight in what we have and to whom we belong. We must remember our Creator in the days of our youth. John 1:1-3 declares, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was no anything made that was made.” Colossians 1:15 states, “Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” When we remember our Creator, we remember Jesus Christ, our Savior. Jesus came to rescue us from death and to give us hope for eternal life.
Our Creator is not about death, but life! In their ingratitude for all God’s gifts in the Garden, Adam and Eve sinned against God, bringing death into the world. We face death because we are sinners. Our hands tremble and our legs stoop because we feel the effects of sin in a fallen world. Our aging bodies daily remind us of our coming death where we will stand in judgment before God. We remember our Creator, Jesus Christ, who came to us to take death on our behalf. Jesus lived in perfect obedience to the Father and died for all sinners on the cross who would repent of their sins and trust in his saving work of redemption. Jesus not only died for sinners, but he was also raised from the dead for them. Jesus began the work of New Creation, overcoming sin and death in his death, burial, and resurrection. Now, for everyone who turns from their sin to Christ, they are a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold the new has come.” When we remember our Creator, Jesus Christ, and put our faith in him, we will overcome death and experience life everlasting.
For those of you who have not yet remembered your Creator and trusted in Christ as Savior, do you see how our aging bodies will inevitably fail? Do you see how aging is the uncreating of life? We all are headed to the grave and then will stand before God in judgment. What will be your hope then? In judgment, one of two things will happen: we will either be commended to eternal life or condemned to eternal death. On that day, the only hope for eternal life will be that in life we remembered our Creator, Jesus Christ, and trusted in the saving work of the gospel. If you do not have Christ, the Creator, you will experience death forever. But heed the words of Solomon, “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,” before it is too late. You can experience life today by repenting of your sins and trusting in Jesus Christ, the Creator, as your Savior. Believe that he died for you. Believe that he was raised from the dead for you. Believe in his sacrifice on your behalf and be saved.
Beloved, we must not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison…For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home (our body) is destroyed, we have a building from God…For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling…we are always of good courage..(for)..We know that while we are home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. We are of good courage for one day we will be away from this earthly body and finally at home with the Lord.
In this life, we cannot stay forever young. Our bodies will age and inevitably fail. But one day, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, this perishable body will put on the imperishable, this mortal body will put on immortality and we shall exclaim, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death where is your victory? O death where is your sting?” Thanks be to God who has swallowed up death in victory through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Every act of rejoicing in God’s gifts, every act of gratitude for his blessings, every act of remembering his kindness renews our strength and our inner man as we wait for the blessed day of the appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Rejoice and remember your Creator in the days of your youth as well as in the days of your aging. Isaiah 40:28–31 reminds us that:
The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
May your heart always be joyful. May your salvation song always be sung. May you stay in Christ and be forever young.
[1] Ryken, P. G. (2010). Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p. 266). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.