Image: Rhododendron, North Garden, Virginia, May 2017.
Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Ecclesiastes 12:1-7.
Remember now thy
Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years
draws nigh, when thou shalt say, I have not pleasure in them (Ecclesiastes
12:1).
Solomon begins, “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy
youth….”
The OT scholar John Currid points out that the verb “remember”
here does not simply mean “to recall something or to bring something to
memory,” but “it actually bears the idea of commitment that results in action”
(Ecclesiastes, pp. 149-150). So, it
might be rendered, “Serve now thy Creator,” or “Commit yourself now to thy
Creator.”
Some men are always thinking about how they might one day trust
the Lord or how they might one day serve the Lord, but they never get around to
doing it. This is a call for urgency. Don’t wait any longer!
There is something else that stands out here about the
language. The noun “Creator” comes from the Hebrew verb to create (see Gen 1:1:
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth”). Though it is
translated in the singular here, it is actually a plural noun, so it might be
literally rendered, “Remember now thy Creators
in the days of thy youth.” In this way, the language recalls Genesis 1:26: “And
God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness….” The liberal
scholars said this means the ancient Jews were not pure monotheists. They were,
at best, henotheists. But Christians said, No. This is the triune God of the
Bible. This is the one God in three persons.
The Bible can affirm with no contradiction that creation is
an act of all three persons of the Godhead. The Father is the creator (Gen
1:1). The Son is the creator (John 1:3; Col 1:16; Heb 1:1). The Spirit is the
creator (Gen 1:2; Job 26:13; Psalm 104:30). Creation is the work of a glorious triune God. Creator is one of his
most magnificent titles.
It is not just that God made the first man from
the dust of the earth and breathed the breath of life into him, so that he
became a living soul (Gen 2:7) or that he made the first woman from man’s rib
(Gen 2:22), but that he also creates every man and every woman who has ever
lived: “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous
are thy works; and that my soul
knoweth right well” (Psalm 139:14).
Will you remember your Creator while you are in
the strength of your youth, in the prime of your life? Some are always putting
off such a commitment. Some think: Youth is for sowing wild oats; religion is
for old folks. Bridges cites an “ungodly adage” heard in his day: “Youth for
pleasure—age for business—old age for religion,” which he interprets as, “Let
the devil have the prime, and God the dregs” (Ecclesiastes, p. 285). Some simply procrastinate, putting off to
tomorrow what should be done today.
Bridges, however, observes: “Every day is lost
that is not spent for him. Let not the deceiver cheat us out of all time, by
cheating us of the present time” (p. 287).
Will we remember now our Creator while we have
the strength and vigor to do so?
Grace and
peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
No comments:
Post a Comment