Passage: Ecclesiastes 11-12
The Big Idea
Ecclesiastes has been an interrogation of life under the sun: lots of problems, few solutions, with God left out of the equation. In the last two chapters, Solomon ends almost more confused than he started. But a final voice points us to “one Shepherd.” Solomon gave us a thorough diagnosis. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, gives us hope.
Under the Sun
The perspective of this book has been consistent: under the sun. Unless we look above the sun for answers, it’s all in vain. Solomon didn’t have that perspective. We do.
Work Hard, but It’s Out of Your Hands (Ecclesiastes 11:1-8)
- Cast your bread on the waters (Ecclesiastes 11:1). Picture a shipping venture: invest, and you’ll see a return after many days.
- Give a portion to seven, or even eight (Ecclesiastes 11:2). Generosity is good, because you don’t know what trouble is coming.
- Clouds full of rain empty themselves; a fallen tree lies where it falls (Ecclesiastes 11:3). There’s cause and effect in life.
- Whoever watches the wind won’t sow (Ecclesiastes 11:4). But there’s a limit to analysis. You’ll never act if you wait for perfect conditions.
- You don’t know how bones grow in the womb, or the works of God (Ecclesiastes 11:5). You can’t know everything.
- Sow in the morning and keep working in the evening (Ecclesiastes 11:6). You don’t know which will prosper. Sowing seed is more about trust than certainty. No matter how hard you work, the outcome is out of your hands.
- Light is sweet, but remember the dark days, for they will be many (Ecclesiastes 11:7-8). And Solomon admits again: all that’s coming is vanity.
Solomon’s Conclusion: Seek God While You’re Young
Rejoice, young man (Ecclesiastes 11:9-10)
Enjoy your youth and follow your heart, but know God will bring you into judgment. Remove sorrow from your heart and put away evil, because youth is fleeting.
Maybe the whole “under the sun” premise is wrong? Maybe it’s not about finding pleasure under the sun after all? It seems Solomon is ending more confused than he started.
Remember your Creator (Ecclesiastes 12:1)
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come.
A childlike faith is the most valuable way to live. Jesus agrees: unless you become like little children, you won’t enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like a child is the greatest in the kingdom (Matthew 18:2-4).
A poem about growing old (Ecclesiastes 12:2-5)
Solomon describes aging in poetic pictures:
- The keepers of the house tremble: shaky hands.
- The strong men bow: weak legs.
- The grinders cease because they are few: missing teeth.
- Those who look through the windows grow dim: failing eyes.
- You rise at the sound of a bird: you can’t sleep in anymore.
- The daughters of music are brought low: hearing fades.
- Afraid of heights and dangers in the street.
- The almond tree blossoms: white hair.
- The grasshopper drags itself along: even small burdens feel heavy.
- Desire fails.
Then we go to our eternal home, and the mourners walk the streets.
Before it’s too late (Ecclesiastes 12:6-8)
Remember Him before the silver cord snaps and the golden bowl breaks, before the pitcher shatters at the spring. The dust returns to the earth, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
And Solomon’s final word under the sun: “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 12:8). It’s all difficult, unknowable and cursed. I wish someone could help me more.
A Final Voice: One Shepherd (Ecclesiastes 12:9-11)
Then someone, maybe one of Solomon’s students, gives a great response. The Preacher was wise, taught the people, and set in order many proverbs. He searched for the right words and wrote what was upright and true.
The words of the wise are like goads and well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd (Ecclesiastes 12:11).
- Goads push us in the right direction.
- Nails secure us to the truth.
But to find the truth and the right direction, we need a Shepherd. And that Shepherd is Jesus.
God’s Heart for Shepherds
In Ezekiel 34, God rebukes the shepherds of Israel who fed themselves instead of the flock (Ezekiel 34:1-2). The leaders were selfish and didn’t care for the people.
So God takes responsibility Himself. He promises that He Himself will search for His sheep and seek them out (Ezekiel 34:11-12). He will feed them, give them rest, seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick (Ezekiel 34:15-16).
Then He promises to set one Shepherd over them, “My servant David” (Ezekiel 34:23-24). Not the old David, who had died centuries earlier, but the coming Son of David, the Messiah. God Himself will be the Good Shepherd.
Jesus, the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-18)
Jesus says:
- The shepherd enters by the door, calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. They know his voice (John 10:2-4).
- He is the door. Anyone who enters through Him will be saved and will find pasture (John 10:9).
- The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. Jesus came so we could have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10).
- He is the good shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:11).
- The hired hand runs when the wolf comes, because he doesn’t care about the sheep. The Good Shepherd knows His sheep and is known by them (John 10:12-14).
- He has other sheep, too, and there will be one flock and one Shepherd (John 10:16).
- No one takes His life from Him; He lays it down and takes it up again (John 10:17-18).
The Good Shepherd is all about selfless sacrifice: giving the sheep what they need and protecting them at His own cost. Jesus is the one Shepherd. The One Solomon needed and couldn’t see. The One we need. Without Him, life under the sun really is vanity.
Rest for the Weary (Ecclesiastes 12:12)
Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body. Solomon tried to know it all, and it took a toll on him. Jesus is there when we’re tired. He gives rest (Matthew 11:28-30).
The Conclusion of the Whole Matter (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)
Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing.
Under the Old Covenant, that sounds like a crushing burden. But in the New Covenant, it becomes an invitation. A relationship with God is the only thing that will ever really matter.
- Make Him number one.
- Follow His Word, and Jesus is the Word (John 1:1).
- Be a Jesus follower, from the heart.
And what is His commandment? That we believe in His Son and love one another (1 John 3:23). God knows everything. He knows His sheep, and His sheep know Him.
Grace Takeaway
Solomon’s diagnosis is honest: life under the sun is vanity. But there is one Shepherd who came from above the sun, laid down His life for His sheep, and took it up again. Read Psalm 23 slowly. The Lord is your Shepherd. You shall not want.