Shabbat Shalom! Today we are going to read the last chapter of the book of Kohelet, the book of Ecclesiastes, the word of King Shlomo, Melech Yisrael, the King of Israel, which he wrote in order to instruct our people, the people of Israel, about 3,000 years ago. Shlomo, that is King Solomon, is called Kohelet in this book of Ecclesiastes. The Hebrew word Kohelet comes from the root word Kahal, to gather together the assembly, and he was assembling the people of Israel, and he was giving them instruction in order to help them to live for God, even in a world that is filled with vanity. "Vanity, vanity of vanities," he began the whole book, "Hevel havalim," says the preacher.

The preacher, Kohelet, realized that in this world in which we live in, there is much evil, there is much sin, there is vanity. Everything is empty here for mankind if he or she do not turn their hearts to God. And because of God, we are able to live in a vain world and serve Him here in this world. So we are reading the 12th chapter, there are 14 verses, so please follow me in the reading of the scripture. And so he began in verse 1. And he says, "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.

While the sun or the light or the moon or the stars be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain. In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders shall cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened. And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low. Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and the desire shall fail, because man goes to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets." "Oever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, then shall the dust return to the earth, as it was, and the Spirit shall return unto God who gave it." "Vanity." "Vanity of vanities says the preacher, all is vanity, and moreover, because the preacher was wise." "He still taught the people knowledge, yea he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs." "The preacher sought to find out acceptable words, and that which was written was upright even words of truth." "The words of the wise are as goads and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd." "And further, by this my son be admonished, of making many books, there is no end, and much study is wariness of the flesh." "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter.

"Fear God, fear God, and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of men, for God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil." "And that's the end of Ecclesiastes, Kohelet, the writings of Shlomo HaMelech, the king of Israel." "These are the last words that he wrote, before you might say he shut the book, and he concluded with the word of the Lord to our nation Israel, some 3,000 years ago." "To remind you, beloved brothers and sisters, that Shlomo wrote three books." "When he was young, he wrote Shir Hashirim, the songs of Solomon." "When he was a bit older, he wrote the books

of Mishlei, the book of Proverbs." "And when he became an older man, after he made many mistakes in his life, he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes, in Hebrew we call it Kohelet." "And as he writes these books, by divine inspiration, the words that the Lord used him to give to our people of old Israel, and to you and I today." "He really is speaking the mind of the Lord, seeking to help us to walk here in this world." "I don't have to tell you that it's so true what he began to say here in the first chapter." "The words of the preacher, the son of David, king in Yerushalayim." "Vanity of vanity, says the preacher."

"Vanity of vanity, all his vanity." "What prophet has a man of all his labor which he taketh under the sun?" "Obviously in Hebrew, takhat ha-shemesh." "It's speaking about the events and the things that happen here, not in heaven, but here on earth." "Under the sun, where fallen creation is here." "Where sinners live, where you and I live by nature." "He looked around and he tried everything in life." "And he found out that without God, setting God aside, everything is empty, is vain." "Is that which will end at the end and will not give blessing to the one who follow after vanity." "But at the same time, because this earth is filled with vanity under the

sun, all is vanity." "The believer, the people of Israel historically, the believers today, the true believers in the living God." "Should seek to live for God in spite of the fact that everything here under the sun is vanity." "For the people of God, to whom he wrote Israel, were called to be a chosen generation." "A nation to be a testimony, a light to the nations of the world." "In Hebrew we call it Or Lagoyim." "Light unto the Gentiles." "The believers in Yeshua, the Messiah, were also called to be light in this world." "We are called to preach the message of the gospel." "To share with people about the fact that the Messiah has come." "To

live a life that is honorable to the Lord." "And this book of Ecclesiastes, of Kohelet, is essential for us." "It's not only for Israel historically, but it is for us who claim to believe that Yeshua is the Messiah." "The Messiah, that Jesus is the anointed one, the Mashiach and the Savior of this world." "So he's drawing to the end of his writing." "And he's now in the 12th chapter." "Begin, I want you to see how it is so interesting." "Because he does not want us to forget God in our life." "You notice what he says to Israel?" "But in verse 1, Zechor." "In Hebrew, the word Zechor is mentioned many, many, many times in the

Tanakh." "Zechor" means "remember." "Remember that you were slaves once in Egypt." "Remember the Shabbat day to keep it holy." "Exodus chapter 20." "How God has led you for many years when he brought you into the promised land." "Remember Israel." "Don't forget who God is and what he has done for you." "Remember what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians." "Remember that in time past you were Gentiles in this world without hope." "Not having part with the covenant that God had made with the people of Israel." "But now, because of the Messiah Yeshua, you have been brought in and you are part of the company of redeemed people." "Remember, don't forget that." "He said to Timothy

in the book of 2 Timothy," "Remember Yeshua the Messiah of the seed of David." "Zerah, David." "Don't forget Yeshua the Messiah." "Don't think that because you have been part of the nation of Israel." "Don't you think because you are part of the assembly of the living God that you can carry on your life without your responsibility here in this world." "Because there is something that's going to happen to all humanity." "And here is what he is dealing with in this 12th chapter." "You and I are not going to live here under the sun forever." "Time will pass by and we will leave this scene and pass away." "And so, Shlomo HaMelech, King Solomon, is charging

Israel." "And he began," "notice as I read verse 1," "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth." "Now, first of all, notice he used the word Creator." "In Hebrew it's very interesting.

It's a plurality." "In other words, right here, and there always has been a conflict about this." "Jewish teachers believe that it is a plurality of excellence." "The Jewish people do not accept the fact that God is existing and consisting in his triunity." "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." "And that's why you often find that no, no, we don't believe that Yeshua is the Messiah." "We don't believe that he is divine." "Therefore, we don't accept the fact that he was born of the virgin Miriam." "And that he is sinless and undefiled, and that he is separate from sinners." "No, no, no.

We Jewish people believe in one God." "Here, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one." "Shma Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad." "But that one, that word Echad in Hebrew is a compound unity." "It's not a yachid, it is not a distinct unit, but it is Echad." "Ah Yisrael, here O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is a compound unity." "The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit." "And this is important to understand." "And so there are many deliberations over this verse by many scholars." "Whether it is Jewish scholars or Christians or believers in Yeshua scholars." "Many kind of debate over this question." "But we know that in the Godhead, the Father and the

Son are co-equal." "The Holy Spirit is co-equal." "We do not have only one person in the Godhead." "We have three persons in the Godhead and yet we have only one God." "The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." "John the Apostle said," "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God." "And John 1:14 teaches us," "And the Word became flesh," "became a man and dwelt among us." "That Logos, that Mimra," "the eternal Son of God," "took union with humanity and became a man in order to save us and to redeem us." "And you will notice, beloved brothers and sisters," "that every time the book of Colossians," "or the

book of Hebrews," "or the book of John in the Brit HaChadasha," "speak about creation," "always attributed to Yeshua," "this person who was born to the virgin Miriam," "the Lord Yeshua, the Lord Jesus, the Messiah." "So, remember thy creators," "plural we might say," "one God," "three persons," "in the days of thy youth." In other words, Israel, don't forget your Creator.

Don't forget God. He created you. He is the one that gave you life. Don't forget Him. I want to remind you that He is writing to Israel who already believe in God. He doesn't write it to the world who do not believe in God and that God is a Creator. He is writing to believers, to the nation of Israel, and you and I who claim to believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, we believe the Bible, we believe the Word of God, we have accepted that Yeshua is the Messiah. It's applied to us. He's speaking to believers. And He says, "Don't forget your Creator in the day of thy youth." And notice He continues in the very same verse 1, and He says, "Really, you really have to realize that old age will arrive very soon." That's why He used the word, "In the days of thy youth." "E b'imei bachurotecha" in Hebrew.

When you are young, and I think of some of our young people here, you know, when you are young and everything is well, you might say, and you are capable to run, and you are capable to carry on life, you have strength in your hands, you are lifting up heavy things, you are capable to do much things that the older one cannot do, and we forget many times when we are young that we have accountability to the living God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We know that from experience, right? We, who were once younger, we know very well, "Well, you know, I will talk about God later on.

I don't need you, God, right now in my life. I want to build a career for myself. I want to have things happening in my life. I don't want you to bother me right now, God. Later on, I will return to you, God, and then you will become an important part in my life." We say, But you see, brothers and sisters, Shlomo, who was now older, and he made many mistakes in his life, he had turned away from God, married 700 wives, had 300 concubines, worshipped idols, provided for his own wives and concubines all kinds of idolatry and worship systems or demonic and satanic things. Now he looks back and he gives this counsel and he says, "No, no, no, don't wait until you get older to remember God in your life.

Remember your Creator now in the day of thy youth." And then notice what he adds here in verse 1b, all the way from verse 1b to verse 5, he says, "Remember your Creator when you are young before old age will creep in and come into your life." Don't wait because age and old age is coming very quickly. All of us can say, I remember when I was 20. I remember when I was 25. When I was 30 or 40. I remember and we look back and we say, "Where did the years gone so fast? How did I pass all these years? It seemed to be like a day that passed by." And so Solomon, Shlomo is saying, notice what he says.

He says, "Remember now, Thy Creator, in the day of thy youth, while," listen to what he said, "while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh when you shall say, I have no pleasure in them." See what he's saying? There are years that are coming and there are days that are coming that you will find no pleasure in those days and years. Why? Because you have aged. Your purposes in life are no longer as before. You are not capable to do things that you used to do years ago. Your aspirations change. Life has changed. Many limitations come into our life. We cannot do what we used to do.

I remember, again, here I am, I remember when my dear wife Irene and I were younger, we could pick up our three children, Shalom, Yoav, and Netanel, put them in a car in 10 minutes and travel far away for a few days for ministry or whatever we had to do. It didn't take too long. Chick-chack, we could pick them up, get them. Irene was so fast and I was arranging everything in the car, getting everything ready and we could travel for a long time and it doesn't take too long to get everybody in the car and go. But today, we try to leave the house for a trip or something.

Oh, we forgot that. Oh, don't forget that. And then when we finally get there, we say, oh yeah, I forgot this at home. I gotta go back home. But we have to get to this place. How are we gonna now turn around and go back home? We are not the same, beloved brothers and sisters, when the days of old age coming. Not that we are old. I'm not saying we are old as yet. We are still counted as mid-age, we might say. But beloved brothers and sisters, it's so real how Shlomo is saying and he says, listen, the day is gonna come and the year is gonna draw nigh when you are no longer gonna have pleasure in them the way you used to have pleasure when you were younger.

Pain in the side, pain in the back, your legs are not here, your headache is there. I forgot these pills. I mean, some people have all these long plastic thing with all kind of compartments inside, pills for that and pills for that. This is in the morning, this is in the afternoon, this is in the evening. Oh! Gewalt, we say in Yiddish. Oy v'avoy, we say in Hebrew when we think about it. So Shlomo is very practical. He says, Israel, don't neglect to remember your Creator in the day of the youth because evil days are coming. There are years approaching when you shall have no more pleasure in them as you used to have in the years when you were younger.

And so now, beloved brothers and sisters, in verse 2, 3, 4, and 5, he described to us how old age arrived and the process of decay that is found in every one of us. Believers in God and unbelievers. People who are saved and unsaved. It comes upon all humanity the process of decay and the process of old age that comes and creep in into the life of all mankind. And so it is so interesting in verses 2, 3, 4, and 5, in fact, even verses 6 and 7, he gives us, you might say, he reminds us how old age will come very, very soon. And he gives us, you might say, almost using illustrations because he was a man who wrote many proverbs.

He gives us illustrations to show us how the human body is decayed. And actually, what he's doing here, he reminds us of what God said in Genesis chapter 3 where he said to Adam, from the dust you came and to the dust you will return. He's really taking us back to the days of old, to the promise of God because sin and disobedience came in. God said this to Adam already in the Garden of Eden because you have disobeyed my word, dying you shall die. With the sweat of thy brow you shall eat bread and eventually you are going to return to the dust from which you were created.

And notice that. Look at this list. I just want to run by you this list. First of all, in verse 2 to show us how the sun and the light and the moon and the stars will be darkened. It's really, this is an application to the mind and the mental capacity to be deteriorated not as it was before. before. It's almost like you are returning to a second childhood. Notice what he says in verse 2. While the sun or the light or the moon or the stars be not darkened nor the clouds return after the rain. after the rain. Most Bible teachers who teach this book of Koheled take this verse and apply this verse to the fact that the mind and the mental capabilities are deteriorating.

the sun and the light and the moon and the stars be not darkened nor the clouds return after the rain. You know this expression that the clouds return again after the rain. It's an expression that it's almost like we are going backwards. You see that's why when a person when we get older we know it from our parents from our mothers and our fathers they were no longer the same as they became older they became older. You needed to feed them. You needed to care for them. They could no longer behave the way they were when they were younger. The clouds speaks of clouds of darkness returning after the rain.

Everything changes. The sun and the light and the moon and the stars are becoming darkened. And your mind is not clear anymore. What I was supposed to do? What was the street I used to be living at? And things are really changing. You know it is sad to see how things change in a person whose mind is no longer there. Years ago and still today when we go to visit people at the hospital and we speak with them by their bedside. we seek to encourage them because of the need that they have. They got up in old age and they are in the hospital. Later on they are moved into the retirement home.

And they need a full care and they are no longer the same. And you sit by their bedside and you try even to remind them who you are and they don't even remember who you are. sad process of decay that happened to all of us. All humans. Every one of us. You and I today as well will realize that this thing is going to hit us one day as we get up in age. That is the process of decay. That is exactly what God said. That because sin came in from the dust you came and to the dust you shall retain. Dying thou shall die.

in Hebrew mot tamut the process of decay. And so he is saying you know don't forget God. Remember God. Remember your Creator when you are young. Why? Because the days come when the sun the light the moon and the stars are going to be dark. Now it is not dark. It is still you are able your mind is sharp. You are able to accomplish a lot. The clouds do not return as it were after the rain because you are thinking Padre you don't go back to being like a child again. Don't forget God. Don't set him outside of your life. You need God. I need God.

We need God. Israel need God in our life. We don't only need God to give us salvation and hopefully one day we are going to be in heaven. we need God today in our life now wherever we are finding ourselves here in this world. Don't allow yourself to neglect your relationship with the Lord Yeshua the Lord Jesus the Messiah because you will see that the days will come and the sun the light the moon the stars will be darkened and the clouds will return after the rain. you are going to go backwards and you are not going to be capable. You are going to need to be like a baby being treated when you are older and incapable to take care of yourself.

But it doesn't stop here. Because in verses 3, 4, and 5 Shlomo gives Israel a figurative description of an old age. And notice brothers and sisters just I'll pass through these verses notice in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble. The keepers of the house represent the arms and the hands which are walking straight and able to keep and to work and to do things. But there is time coming when they will tremble. You are no longer going to be able to hold yourself straight and your arms and your hands and to use them the way you used to use them in the past. And then he said and the strong men shall bow themselves.

These are the legs and the knees which are very quickly you might say diminishing their strength. They are no longer like before. You can't jump from a high place anymore. You are walking with your knees buckling and every time you have pain in your legs pain in your knees. Then he continued and he said and the grinders shall cease because there are few. It speaks about the teeth. How often times we can't even take a bite anymore because we have one tooth here and the other one there and 20 of them are missing. Of course today thank God we have dentures and we can go and we can fix and get some good set of dentures.

I took my mother to get a set. I took my mother-in-law to take a set. and so on. But you know time is passing by and those teeth are not staying the same as they used to be. The grinders are few he is saying here because they are few. They are ceasing. They are no longer like they used to be before. He continued and he said those that look out of the windows be darkened. That's the eyes. You know up till today a few times a few times I could not even see the number of the song clear because I had to put my glasses on.

And how often beloved brothers and sisters our vision is diminished. Thank God for those that have good vision today but look most of us are wearing glasses. Most of us have gone already to the doctor to do cataract surgery and so on. Something to improve our eyesight but it's not going to be forever. It is temporary. He continued notice and he said in verse 4 he's saying and the doors shall be shut in the streets. That's the ears. That's the ears. In other words even a time we are no longer capable to hear what did he say? What did she say? You know sometimes sometimes it's kind of sad but that's the process of decay.

You know we get hearing aids and I'm still today with my dear mother-in-law even with her hearing aids. He said what? Because you don't hear as you used to be able to hear when you were younger. And then he continued notice and he says in verse 4 he said when the sound of the grinding is low. In other words the voice is no longer the same. He used to sing high pitch and you could sing and shout and call somebody but now the voice the sound of the grinding of what comes out of your mouth is low is no longer powerful and strong as it used to be before.

And then he continued and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird. that means that that person when we get older no longer can sleep in until 10 o'clock in the morning. When the birds are starting to make noise already you wake up early in the morning. Can't sleep like you used to sleep before. You see young men can stay in bed and sleep until noon. Or young women they can stay long in bed they can sleep and no problem. But the older person rise up at the voice of the bird can't sleep as long as they could. He continued in verse 4 and the daughters of music shall be brought low.

The inability not only the inability to speak but also the inability to sing. Not only our voice is low in speaking but our voice is no longer capable as it says here the daughters of music shall be brought low. So inability to speak loud and inability to sing. Inability to sing. This is of course the exception to the rule. There are some individuals that are great singers no matter what age they are at it seems to be but it's not the norm beloved brothers and sisters the process of decay. Verse 3 arms and hands and legs and knees and teeth and eyes decay. Verse 4 ears and voice and early rise and inability to sing.

This is the process of decay of old age creeping in in the life of mankind I should say whether they are God's people or not. He continues in verse 5a and he says even there is fear of heights and fear of traveling. You see what he said when they shall be afraid of that which is high. In other words everything you look here and you say wow wow it's too high for me I cannot longer see, look at height even steps. You have to be extremely careful how you walk. You need a cane to help you and of course it says in verse 5b fear shall be in the way.

There is a fear of traveling now. some of us are traveling but we are not all of us are capable as we get older we have a fear of height the fear of traveling they are no longer things the same as it is in the past and notice what it says at the end of verse 5 it says and the grasshoppers shall be a burden. What does that mean grasshopper? there is everything every little thing is troubling us. Every little thing these grasshoppers just small little things they are becoming to us troublesome. We don't like many things troubling us why is this? Why is that? We are not anymore as we used to be when we were younger and here at the end of verse 5 he is saying and the desire shall fail even physical desire between a husband and a wife as we get older is not the same as when they are younger.

Somebody said it is interesting how the last thing that is found in this list is the desire for physical relationship between husband and wife. It is not like it used to be in the past. That is what is mentioned here in verse 5 at the end. at the end. And notice that brothers and sisters why all this? He says in verse 5 at the end because notice man goes to his long home. The Hebrew word here for long home has to do with a place that he is going to be. Eventually the long home speaks of the time of death the time of death that is coming.

And the mourners go about in the street. That represents the funeral. When in Israel's biblical days the mourners will pass by follow as a procession after the person has died and have gone to his long home. long home. Now I want to remind you it is very interesting because if you remember we began in verse 3 in the day when the keepers of the house is a house. He mentioned a house. The body is a house. It is a house that is housing the spirit and the soul. You and I are creation of God. We are made in the image and the likeness of God. We have spirit soul and body.

The body is merely a shell. It is a house that houses the spirit and the soul of every individual. And when an individual is passing out of this scene he or she are dying it says that we are all eventually going to go to our long home in this verse 5 at the end. And we have to realize that every one of us will end up to go to this long home to the place where we are going to spend eternity either as believers in the presence of God or in Hades and eventually the lake of fire if we have not become children of God accepting the provision of God of course through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

That interesting long home long home. It teaches us that there is eternity at stake. Every one soul and spirit is eternally going to be either with God in the presence of God forgiven or away from God. And the body is going to be placed in the ground after the mourners will follow the body walking up about in the streets the funeral procession. How many times we have already have been through funeral services and whether we walk in the streets as in olden days after the coffin of the dead individual or whether we drive along an envoy of cars until we arrive into the burial site and eventually a person is being buried and placed into the ground.

That expression long home speaks of really eternity. We are going to see this in a moment. The soul and the spirit never die but the body is going to go down to the ground from which it came from. So in verses 3, 4 and 5 Shlomo this is Kohelet the king of Israel Ben David the son of David he gives Israel a figurative description of an old age until one actually dies and going to his long home and the mourners go about in the street. What a description beloved brothers and sisters. Paul said this elsewhere in fact I want you for a moment to turn with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and I want you to see what Paul said about this house that you and I have the body.

Look what he says. He gives us an explanation of the fact that every person here in this world a believer in Yeshua the Messiah is waiting for the day that God going to give us a glorified body. Notice 2 Corinthians chapter 5 for we know that if or when our earthly house of this tabernacle was dissolved we have a building of God and house not made with hands eternal in the heaven. in the heaven. He continued in verse 2 and in this this is this body of ours we groan. We earnestly desire to be closed already with our house which is from heaven. Now again by the way yesterday in our Bible study we have the thought of the fact that God is able to heal the body.

Hezekiah was sick sick and God healed him and gave him 15 more years. But do you think that he didn't die at the end? You think that he didn't get older at the end? You think he eliminated the process of deterioration the process of decay as Shlomo is mentioning here? Of course not. even if God is going to hear from pain here and problem here and so on it's always temporary for here and now in order to drive us closer to him. But the process of decay and death will never eliminate unless the rapture comes and take a believer to be raptured with the Lord before he or she dies.

Now we all have to go through a process of decay of aging. The eyes and the ears and the legs and the teeth and all the parts of the body will never remain the same. That's why Paul Shaul by divine revelation says you know that this earthly house that we have this tabernacle is ultimately will dissolve. But he says we have a hope you know we grown here in this house but we have a building that is building of God a house that is not made with hand and it is eternal and it is not here it is in heaven. That's what Shaul, Paul and Shlomo the king of Israel co-held both of them by divine inspiration to the light that God had given them understood.

So Shlomo is saying in verse 5 at the end because men or women or people go to his long home and the mourners go about in the street. The mourners pass by following the body of that individual and eventually this person will be buried the body will be going to the ground as the process that was promised in Genesis 3 from the dust you came and to the dust you shall return. And so now look at this brothers and sisters just before we're going to continue I want you to turn with me to Romans 5 one more verse please because this verse is very important in Romans 5 and verse 12 Paul said wherefore as by one man sin enter into the world and death by sin even so death passed upon all men for that all have sin none of us will escape the fact that we will have to pass away to pass away out of this sin.

Romans 6 and verse 23 said the wages of sin is death but God gave us a gift and the gift is gift of eternal life through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah if we only turn our hearts to Him and accept Him as our Mashiach our Messiah our Lord and our Savior.

So so far beloved brothers and sisters verses 1b to verse 5 remember your creator when you are young before old age will come and now in verses 6 and 7 remember your creator when you are young before death will strike you very fast and notice verses 6 and verse 7 death will come and notice how he described it it's interesting the way Shlomo is using this expression he said or ever the silver cord be loose that silver cord speaks of the spinal cord and then he continue or the golden ball will be broken that represent the skull and then he continue and he said or the pitcher be broken some suggest represent the heart will

be broken and then finally and then finally he says in verse 6 or the wheel is broken at the cistern this is the pelvis in other words the time will come where the spinal cord the skull the heart the pelvis all these internal you might say parts of the body they also will decay they also will decay notice he's using strong word the silver cord will be loosed the golden ball will be broken the pitcher will be broken and the wheel will be broken at the cistern use the word broken and broken or cut it's a sudden death that will come it will be sudden you and I think that we live and we carry

on and the years pass by as if we're going to live forever but eventually it suddenly will come it will be loosed it will be broken be cut off it's going to come very fast that remind us of how serious it is because he's really speaking to the people of Israel and he's telling them listen how do you live your life are you living your life without God as a major part of your life don't you realize that in a moment something will happen and immediately it's going to be broken it's going to be cut it's going to be severed your life can be taken from you in a moment that's why in the book

of Genesis chapter 15 and chapter 25 God said about Abraham that he will live and he will die in a good old age why because he was a man of God and when he lived for God his death did not come as a surprise for him he knew that he's going to pass out of this scene one day but he wanted to live for God and he died in a good old age it was said about King David the same thing in 1st Chronicle chapter 29 how he died in a good old age yes a time we failed the Lord but to live for God and to remember God as our creator it is essential

even Gideon of Gideon in Judges 8 it says that he died in a good old age even though he had some failure in his life but God want us to live for him to remember that he's our creator and of course Yeshua Jesus the Messiah he's not only our creator but he's also our savior he saved us he forgave our sin and our sins and that's why we cannot neglect to remember our creator so remember your creator before old age come but also remember your creator before death will strike you very fast and so he says in verse 7 and notice that very interesting verse verse 7 says then shall the dust that's the Hebrew

word afar then shall the dust return to the earth as it was and notice that second half and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it now here we learn something very interesting that when a person dies it's only the body that go back to the ground but the spirit the human spirit and soul return to the one who gave it is God who gave us the spirit the human spirit in the book of Genesis in chapter 2 we read that God breathed upon Adam and Adam became a living soul but when Adam sinned God said to him from the dust you came chapter 3 and to the dust you shall return for dust

you are and to the dust and to the dust you shall return and so you know he kind of gave us here a complete picture of young person whose age creeps in very fast and eventually he returned to the dust where he or she was but the spirit returned unto the one who gave it and you know brothers and sisters unfortunately that those who teach of soul sleep as if the spirit and the soul of the person who was created by God their existence ends a death but this is not what the Bible teaches us you see how clearly Shlomo knew that the body returned to the ground yes but the spirit shall return unto

God because it is God who gave us life existence began when God gave us life and he using this expression here in verse 7 of chapter 12 go back to chapter 3 for a moment please Ecclesiastes 3 look at verse 20 and 21 there he says all go unto one place all are of the dust and all return to the dust again he already said that earlier and then he says in verse 21 who knows the spirit of man that it goes upward and the spirit of the beast that it goes downward in other words the spirit of a man goes back to the God who created him we have been created in such a

way in the image and the likeness of God we are a triune persons God had given us spirit God had given us soul and God had given us body the body is the house that we house the spirit and the soul the soul is the seat of the emotion the feeling we are happy we are sad we are weeping we are smiling we are doing there is a seat of the feeling but the spirit the human spirit is that that relate us to a living God the difference between human beings and animals is this man has spirit soul and body but an animal have no spirit only soul and a body that's why an animal

when it dies it doesn't go back to heaven it doesn't live eternally but a man a woman a person who had been created 1 Thessalonians 5 with spirit soul and body we are going eternally to be with God if we are believers or away from God if we are unbelievers again to remind you Luke 16 and you don't have to turn there for now the rich man who dies and Lazarus who passed away Lazarus went to Abraham's bosom enjoy the presence of God in Abraham's bosom speaks of paradise but the rich man who deny God deny the Messiah he have ended up to be in Hades and there from there he is crying father Abraham

have mercy on me I am tormented here send Eliezer that he will come and dip the tip of his finger in my tongue because I am tormented here and father Abraham had to say to him the way he said so you in your lifetime had everything he suffered when he was in his lifetime but he believed in God and you rejected God you understand it from the text so now you are suffering where you are but he is in a good place resting this tells us of sin that we don't see daily it's beyond us we see it in scripture because the Bible teaches us man is going to his eternal home the believer praise

God are going to be in the presence of the Lord forgiven not because we are better than somebody else but because God forgave us Yeshua paid the price for our sins he washed away our sins so great so many we repented and accepted the forgiveness of God but the one who doesn't believe what he is going to say to God God will have to say to him depart from me you workers of iniquity I have to judge you not because I want to but because he refused to accept the offer of salvation man is going to go to his long home where he is going to spend eternity either in God's presence or away from

the Lord then shall the dust return to the earth as it was and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it Yeshua said at the cross Father I commit my spirit unto you this is his human spirit it was if you remember that we read in Acts chapter 7 when Stephen said at the end when he just about to die said Lord Yeshua receive my spirit beloved brothers and sisters there is life after death let us not fool ourselves for a moment assuming that we are only here for a season here Shlomo knew very well that there is an end to life here but there is life after death for the believer is an

eternal home of blessing for the unbeliever is eternity of judgment and how sad it will be for those who refuse the Lord and so notice that brothers and sisters I want to lead on to the conclusion we have the final verses that we have here in these verses 8 all the way to verse 14 just that you will see that as Shlomo is going to conclude now his message to Israel in verses 8 all the way to verse 14 Shlomo charges his people Israel with the final words and notice what he is saying in verse 8 he says now in verse 8 vanity of vanity sayeth the preacher all his vanity hevel havalim amar kohelet

hakol who hevel hevel means empty here in this world everything is empty everything eventually does not give us any eternal gain everything here in this world without God is empty God must be in the life of each and everyone otherwise everything is empty by the way he used that word vanity many times I didn't even count them but from chapter 1 verse 2 all the way to chapter 12 verse 8 many times throughout the book of Kohelet throughout the book of Ecclesiastes he used the word vanity again and again and again he used the word under the sun many times many times in this book of Kohelet and you can look at this for yourself

in due time chapter 1 verse 2 chapter 1 verse 14 chapter 2 verse 1 11 15 and 17 you can just look throughout the book of Kohelet and you're going to see how many times he used the word vanity but now he's concluding he's now giving a final charge to the people of Israel and verses 9 on to verse 14 first of all Kohelet gave his own personal doings look what he wanted really to do even though he failed the king of Israel he's just opening his heart before his people and he says in verse 9 he said really I taught the people of Israel I really wanted to teach them to help them in

their life as the chosen people of God he said moreover because the preacher was wise God gave me this wisdom he still taught the people knowledge and he gave good heed and he sought out and he set in order many proverbs he says really I meant I really intend to teach you my people Israel I really wanted to see I receive wisdom from God he's saying I receive wisdom I was a wise man by divine gift from God and I still wanted to teach you I know I fail I know my past but I really want to teach you Israel so notice it says three things about him he taught he won and he set

things in order he taught he won and he set things in order in verse 9 he taught the people knowledge he gave good heed he warned them and he sought out as he said and he set in order many proverbs he was writing proverbs over 3,000 proverbs Shlomo wrote and in the 3,000 proverbs it was not given for nothing it was given to teach lessons that's why if you read the book of proverbs Mishle Mishalim you will see how many exhortations are given through proverbs my son despise not the word of the Lord my son take heed to the words of your mother listen to the counsel of your father my son he's writing so

many proverbs and he says listen I set proverbs in order in order to teach the people that God has given to me to lead as the king of Israel and then he says in verse 10 not only that I taught and I warned and I set in order things in Israel but I really wanted to use needful words and truthful words words that will be edifying and truthful for the people of God notice I'm reading verse 10 and the and the preacher sought to find out acceptable words that which was written was upright even words of truth you see Shlomo gave us the truth and if we are not going to give each other the

truth and using words that are acceptable that are profitable that are needful you know to speak a word in season you know sometimes we need to correct each other sometimes we need to speak the truth to each other but on the other hand sometimes we have to be careful when and how we speak we need to speak the truth in love needful words sometimes we say things that are not needful for the moment are not needful in this occasion but he said listen I really meant Israel I'm opening my heart before you the preacher Kohelet the word preacher comes from the Hebrew word Kohelet the gatherer of the Kehillah of the congregation I really sought

to find out acceptable words I didn't just say things for the sake of saying I wanted it to be acceptable being God and a blessing to you but I also wanted to speak words of truth there are so many lies today that do not edify anyone we need to speak the truth and to speak it in love to the brothers and sisters and then verse 11 beloved brothers and sisters Solomon admonished each one individual as if he or she was his son or his daughter and notice and I want to read this verse 11 he said in verse 11 the words of the wise are as goads and as nails fastened by the masters of

assemblies which are given from one shepherd you know the words of the wise are becoming like goads what is a goad it's like a shepherd that uses a stick to prick the sheep so they will go in the right direction and you see God's words are like goads that are pricking us in order to awake us and alert us and cause us to ponder am I going in the right way am I living for God is what I'm doing now is pleasing to the living God to my creator the words of the wise are becoming like goads and not only that they are like goads but are also like nails that are fastened by the

masters of assembly what does that mean you know when you have a box and you put something inside and you nail it good good good it become like a keeping whatever is inside sealed and protected why do you think God is constantly speak to us through his word because he wants to alert us to awake us by these goals but also to preserve us beloved brothers and sisters how many are wrong ways we would have gone had a word of the Lord did not speak to us and kept us kept us from sins that we could have committed any time kept us close to the Lord kept us perfect peace because when the Lord speaks

to us and we draw near to him but when we don't listen to the words of the wise and we are not humbling ourselves and accepting the word of God as goads and as nails that are fastened deep rooted we are wandering all over we are never able to continue to walk with God in our life in a world that is vanity full of vanity and sins here in this world you ask any brother and any sister and any godly man or woman they will tell you it is the word of the Lord that kept me unto him that is able to keep us from falling and preserve us unto the day of our Lord

Yeshua the Messiah God's word keeps us God's word stir us up he speaks to us he corrects us he says Gideon you were wrong there you need to correct this he tell you and I with whatever the name that you can put is you know what if you would have only listened to what I have to say to you would have kept you from so many problems that you experience in your life had I listened to the word of God one might say I would have been kept from so much evil but I didn't listen and young people I'm challenging you I'm speaking from my heart take God into your life don't wait don't say

God I'll need you later on I don't need you now I'm dealing with don't neglect the Lord Yeshua the Messiah in your life now don't wait because we all know how failing we are in our lives as believers and so in concluding now this is just the final thing notice he used also the word it's given as from one shepherd that is the shepherd of Israel the shepherd who care for the flock the Lord Yeshua Jesus says I am the good shepherd the good shepherd give his life for the sheep he's the great shepherd David says the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want he leads me by green pastures and still waters the

Lord is my shepherd he's really you might say almost prophetically speak about the Messiah who is the only one shepherd that's the shepherd of Israel that is speak about the Messiah of course Shlomo was like an under shepherd because he was a king he took care of the people of Israel when he was right with God of course he did the right thing but there's only one shepherd the Bible the Bible is filled with verses that deal with the shepherd of Israel namely the Lord Yeshua the Messiah of whom we read that he is the shepherd the good shepherd who gave his life for the sheep then he concludes now in verses 12 he said

and further notice that in verse 12 Solomon is now admonished each individual as son he said and further by this my son be admonished making many books there is no end and much study is the weariness of the flesh he is confessing he said I can write many books and I can as it says here there are many books and much study and study and study there is weariness yes there is I understand that but you make sure that you study that you learn from that which is for the Lord and that which will help you spiritually that's what he is saying Shlomo he is admitting he is confessing he said my son listen be

admonished of making many books there is no end and of much study is a weariness of the flesh and look at the conclusion beloved brothers and sisters verses 13 and 14 Solomon's final word of conclusion look at the conclusion he came to a conclusion and he said hear now let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter here is all what I eventually want to teach you Israel fear God keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of men fear God and obey God because this is the whole of men the word for duty is not found in the Hebrew text it's not a duty it's a privilege it's not something that we need

to be forced to do to fear God it's not a matter of duty oh I must I must otherwise God no it's the way God made us he made us for his own pleasure we were created in the image and the likeness of God we are you might say the only ones that are able to relate to a living God not the plants not the animals but only human beings we can relate we can get up in the morning and say God thank you for giving me the fact that I can breathe you gave me a good night you gave me a home you gave me food you gave me my life in whom we

live and move and have our being beloved brothers and sisters this is the conclusion fear God obey God because this is the whole of men we were made to be related to a living God it's really abnormal for a person to reject God because he or she were created in the image of God when somebody is an atheist or an idol worshipper he's really not fulfilling that for which God have called him or her to be this is the whole of man that's it God and man God and man that's why Israel is called the wife of Jehovah the wife of Yehovah that's why the church the assembly is called the bride of the Mashiach

the bride of Christ we were made in such a way that we will live and enjoy God forever and ever this is the whole matter he said this is the whole conclusion fear God keep his commandment but this is the all of men and then he conclude by saying listen because listen God shall bring verse 14 every work into judgment with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evil ah you know what he said God knows everything one day he said God we are going to stand before God he going to bring everything into judgment the believer going to be judged at the judgment seat of the Messiah the unbeliever going

to be judged at the great white throne judgment the believer going to be judged only for his works because the Messiah already paid the price for our sins but the unbeliever going to be judged and be cast into the lake of fire you know he said listen God will bring every work into judgment how we live our life how we behave how we conduct everything he going to bring unfortunately we are not always pleasing to him we know that but eventually God is going to evaluate everything whatever good we will be blessed and receive a reward whatever is evil going to be cast away from him every secret thing you know sometimes I'm thinking you

know everything we nobody knows we even think about it's secret yet God knows everything about us because he is the creator this is the whole thing the whole of men we have been made in an image in likeness of God we are responsible to a living God and how precious it is when we remember our creator in the day of our youth and we live life in such a way that we honor him in spite of the failure you know for all the sins that we have committed Yeshua had to die for he forgave our sins but he doesn't want us to stay away from him he wants us to turn to him so my

to live it for you help me to repent when I am wrong help me to choose a better route in my life help me to conduct myself in a right way that is pleasing to you but if someone is not a believer sad to tell you the truth because eternity is going to come very very soon we're not going to live here forever we need to turn our hearts to Yeshua the Messiah to thank him for his love for us so we will be eternally with him never to be separated from him remember now thy creator in the day of thy youth may the Lord bless his word can we say amen to that