The Word Like Nails Well Fastened
1Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw near, when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; 2Before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain; 3in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look out of the windows are darkened, 4and the doors shall be shut in the street; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one shall rise up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low; 5yes, they shall be afraid of heights, and terrors will be on the way; and the almond tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail; because man goes to his everlasting home, and the mourners go about the streets: 6before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the spring, or the wheel broken at the cistern, 7and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 8“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher. “All is vanity!” 9Further, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge. Yes, he pondered, sought out, and set in order many proverbs. 10The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words, and that which was written blamelessly, words of truth. 11The words of the wise are like goads; and like nails well fastened are words from the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. 12Furthermore, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. 13This is the end of the matter. All has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. 14For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it is good, or whether it is evil.
Through these expository sermons on Ecclesiastes, we have seen how hard it is for weak people to keep the grace God gave of his own accord. Solomon could not give up a world that is perishing. He knew it was Satan’s temptation, yet he could not bring himself to make a firm decision. That is why he did not live by the Word. When his heart turned away from God in his youth, he coveted power and pleasure, and only when he was old did he come to regret deeply what he had done.
Solomon deeply regretted the days when he had heard the Word from God directly and still not obeyed, and he knew that now, however much he wanted to go back, he could not. That is why he came to think of all those countless hours of laughing and weeping as a life of vanity of vanities. Those who held great power and dominated their generation, and those like Lazarus who suffered for lack of wealth, would all have known, standing at the threshold of death, how vain everything in life is.
Solomon was afraid that his descendants would live lives of regret as he had. So he lays bare all his shame and counsels them to live by faith at every moment. Like Solomon, when we grow old we can tell for ourselves whether we lived for God or for the world. Solomon’s father David charged Solomon before he died: if he kept the instruction of Yahweh, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, according to that which is written in the law of Moses, then Yahweh would make him prosper in all that he did and wherever he went.
The priests and Levites whom God had appointed obeyed this word in order to carry out their duties. The king, too, must obey the law of Yahweh, because he is Yahweh’s deputy, entrusted with the duty of ruling. Even so, Solomon lived a life of faith that turned aside to the right and to the left.
Whether people want it or not, God has set salvation and judgment with Christ at the center. So we must live according to his will. Then, when life is over, what comes after death will be decided according to that faith. You must never forget how important it is to strive to keep God’s law while you live on this earth. Late one night, on my way home from church, I saw bars with their doors open, blazing with bright lights. Every place was full of people of all ages, all laughing and chattering loudly as though they were happy, drinking and absorbed in their conversations. Watching them, I felt as though I were the stranger there. I began to wonder with what hearts they sat drinking so late into the night, and what they could be talking about on and on without end.
Of course, I am not saying they are living their lives wrongly just because they are drinking late at night. What I wondered was whether they know this fact: that whether they admit it or not, after death they will meet God and be judged. If they heard me say this, they would probably be offended and find it absurd. They might ask back how anyone can go through life believing in God alone. The same is true when people fail to overcome countless temptations besides drink and fall into sin. But what matters is whether a person has lived by God’s commandments and ordinances. From the moment of birth to the moment of leaving this world, God sees it all: what that person thought, said and did, and what ideologies, ideas and convictions they lived by.
People will certainly differ in their thoughts, actions and choices, depending on the experiences each has had, the education each has received and the differences between cultures. Because of that, their religions may differ, and so may the way they look at people and society. As things change from past to present, what could not be understood in the past sometimes becomes part of everyday life today. Some of this we have to adapt to, but when people cannot accept it, it can also stir up conflicts that run to extremes. Yet in spite of all this change and conflict in the world, God’s law stands above everything the world is made of. So for those who do not acknowledge this, their lot after death cannot help but be different.
Among the people laughing, drinking and talking, there are probably some who go to church, and some who mock and persecute believers. Living in the world, we sometimes cannot avoid going to places we would rather not go, because of work life, relationships and circumstances. And because each person pursues a different direction in life, differences in outlook and in the kind of conversation people have can also make things hard. That is why you must never forget that these people are the very ones salvation is meant for, and must deal with people in faith wherever you are; only then will you avoid missteps. Then, with the wisdom the Holy Spirit gives, you can set an example as believers.
Those who treat God’s name as worthless will be judged for their own sins. But it would be a great pity if people who serve God were judged one day because they failed to discern spiritually. Some people worship at church in the bright daytime and at night live as completely different people among the people of the world. I want to ask them whether they really know who God is. Perhaps some of you are saying that Pastor Cho can talk like this because she does not have to fight hard to survive in the world. You may say that to survive in the world you sometimes have no choice but to drink, and that there are times you have to act dishonestly. Everyone’s circumstances are different, but I fully understand how hard it is to earn money in a world that does not fear sin. Even so, a ship can move forward toward its destination only when it floats half in the water and half above it. In the same way, I want to tell you that we can stand among the ranks of the saved only by holding fast to our faith.
Just as an engine does its work down in the seawater, faith becomes full, and can shine, only when it is in the world. If a ship loses its power and sinks, many people will lose their lives; but if it stays on land because land is safe, it cannot do what a ship is for. Just as a ship must be launched on the deep sea to carry people to their destination, believers can live a balanced life of faith only when they keep their bodies in the world and live wisely, their souls hoping for heaven.
I too have worked for a company, and I have run a business for twelve years, so I know well how many different kinds of people there are in the world. I know well how much we have to give way and endure to keep our faith while dealing with them. Watching people of the world work hard for their own goals, I thought that believers have even more to bear than they do. If we set our faith aside for a while for our own pleasure and sin, we can only wander, having lost our purpose and direction, like a ship adrift with its engine dead. If we do not realize what a holy people we are, we will lose even our faith, like a ship that has gone down.
Today far too many people think of church as something like a hobby. The fact is, they think of God less as the absolute one who created the heavens and the earth, and more as a religion it does no harm to have while going through life. In a world where no one knows the future, they go to church lightly, thinking it is no bad thing to have a god who protects them. They have heard that going to church means going to heaven, a place far better than this world, and all they think about is going to heaven after death and living in comfort. But the Bible says that those who believe in Jesus with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and confess with the mouth can enter heaven.
1 John 5:11-12
11The testimony is this, that God gave to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He who has the Son has the life. He who doesn’t have God’s Son doesn’t have the life.
The Bible does not say that we gain eternal life through the act of going to church. It teaches that whoever believes in the Son of God receives eternal life. Faith is the bridge between Christ, who atoned for our sins, and us sinners. So only by believing in the Son of God, that is, Jesus Christ, can we gain eternal life. This word is God’s law, and it will never change.
Believing in God is not merely a matter of fearing hell. It is for living as mature people of God: as children of light in the Lord, setting our minds on the things that are above, not on the things of the earth. A child who studies only to avoid being scolded by their parents never makes that effort their own. But a child who is thankful for the love of devoted parents, fills the present with happiness and studies for their own future can live a successful life. In the same way, those who live the life of faith believing in God’s love, Christ’s sacrifice and the grace of the Holy Spirit can naturally be set apart from the world and live a holy life.
The way believers can live holy lives is by never forgetting to give thanks to God. People do not memorize other people’s addresses, only their own. In the same way, someone who knows for certain where their home is does not get lost on the road. One can recognize the heresies spread through the world without knowing them all, simply by knowing the truth. In the same way, believers who know the holy God do not go down with sin.
When the apostle Paul confessed that he died daily, it was also a confession that if he let his guard down even for a moment, he could not hold off Satan’s attacks. When believers love Christ, proud to be God’s people, rather than going to church so as not to go to hell, they can live the life of heaven even on this earth, and their lives can be safe and free.
Children who watch carefully so as not to hurt their parents’ hearts will receive the heavenly blessing promised in the fifth commandment: honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you. Believers who truly love God will take care, thinking again and again, not to sin, for fear that God’s glory might be hidden because of them. We can see that believers who take care lest their words and actions hinder God’s work receive more of God’s protection and grace.
Acts 7:55-59
55But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 56and said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” 57But they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed at him with one accord. 58They threw him out of the city, and stoned him. The witnesses placed their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59They stoned Stephen as he called out, saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”
If there were no judgment even though we sin, how foolish would the martyrs be who gave their lives for their faith? Luke puts two parties in one place and records the contrast between them: the people who were enraged because they did not want to hear the Word, and Stephen, who believed that heaven is real, boldly proclaimed the Word and was then put to death by them. Stephen proclaimed Christ, who stood at the right hand of God with his eyes on Stephen. But the people, unable to control their feelings, could not bear to hear the gospel Stephen preached, and in the end they even stopped their ears. You must know that those who persecute the truth can go as far as taking a life. But look at Stephen, praying that those who were stoning him would be forgiven. Then you see how much patience and love it gives a person to know God fully.
In the Bible, in the middle of Stephen’s martyrdom, a young man named Saul is quietly slipped into the account. From this we can see how many plans God has as he works to save souls. Saul, who took the lead in persecuting Stephen, heard the gospel Stephen preached, and later, as the apostle Paul, became an evangelist who carried the gospel to Samaria and to the ends of the earth. We can see that the Word sown in the heart is sure to do its work.
There will surely be people who stop their ears and shout, and who persecute you, because they do not want to hear the gospel you share. But you need to believe that the Word you share now will change that person’s heart, and keep sharing the gospel to the end, as Stephen did. Then do people who show one face in the morning and another in the evening believe in a different God from people who, like Stephen, share the gospel morning and evening? They all believe in the same God, but their faith looks different depending on how deeply they know him.
Do you truly love God? What matters for people of the world and for believers alike is that in the end they will meet the living Judge. We must never forget this. From the moment of birth, people run toward a set destination. Young people must know that youth will not always be theirs. Life may seem as if it will last forever, but if we do not make our decisions in faith at every moment, then when the years have passed we will come to regret having lived a life of vanity of vanities.
Once we grow old, there is no way to go back to our youth, however much we want to. If you are living in the days of your youth now, hold on to God without hesitating. In Ecclesiastes 12, Solomon records in great detail what people go through as they grow old. Verse 3 says that when people grow old their strength fails, so their hands and feet tremble, their once-straight backs bend, and their gums weaken, so their teeth fall out and they cannot chew their food well.
When these signs appear, it means that the body is getting ready to leave the world. So we should put our affairs in good order and leave no regrets behind. Because the young are young, eating and drinking are no burden to them, and their eyes are good, so they can see and learn many things. That is why this is the time for them to take up God’s work well. The doors being shut in the street, in verse 4, is about hearing. It grows dull, so a person cannot hear well and others have to speak loudly to be heard. And because they cannot hear well themselves, they think others cannot hear either, so they speak louder and louder.
As we grow old we cannot sleep deeply, so we rise even at the voice of a bird. Speaking grows hard too, and the voice that rang out clear in youth grows thick and loses its strength. In verse 5, the old are afraid of heights, because their bones break easily. Having no strength to resist, they are startled even by small sounds; their hair turns white, as the almond tree blossoms; and they can no longer carry even a small load.
When these things appear, the day of leaving the world is not far off. So we should take them as a sign to open the hands that have clutched so tightly until now and to set our lives in good order. Even if we have much wealth because we worked hard all our lives, we must leave it all behind when we leave the world. So we should live a life of love rather than temper, and of giving rather than greed. Once our breath stops, we cannot take anything in the world with us. We must leave behind everything, even the name we have been called by and this body we were sure was our own. So we must bring our lives to a beautiful close.
When the long journey of life is over, everyone meets the Judge. Perhaps God will ask you how you used the years he gave you. Depending on your answer, he may embrace you as a faithful servant or rebuke you as a wicked servant. He is the Almighty, who already knows everything before we answer, but we must confess our sins ourselves. That is why we must live well.
Do not forget that the time you are spending now is your answer to God’s question. If you met God now, what answer would you give? You must always live with this answer in mind. At the start, I told you about the people raising their glasses. The things people do without a thought, simply and casually, add up and become evidence at the judgment. That is why it grieved me to see them.
In verse 6, the silver cord being severed, the golden bowl broken, the pitcher broken at the spring and the wheel broken at the cistern speak of the moment of leaving the world. At that moment the flesh that held up our life collapses, and the body that held the soul, and its breath, come to a stop. The times when the pitcher of life was filled with greed and lust, and the hours spent longing for the Word and living by faith, have all come to an end. So before our flesh returns to the dust, we must remember God, who allowed all of this, and we must turn back and repent now. Solomon knew that people are divided between eternal life and eternal punishment according to the faith they lived by. That is why he earnestly pleads with people not to cling to a vain life. Solomon is earnestly urging you, too, to fear God and keep his commandments. God is the one who will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. So you must be sure to turn back to the way of truth.
Finally, I would like to ask you a question. Do you truly believe that God will judge? Do you truly believe that the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of your soul and spirit and marrow?
Then lay down all your greed and worry and live by the Word. If you believe that God truly rules over life, I hope you will lay the heavy burden on your shoulders down before God and experience how he answers. Lay it all down—the people you hate, the greed for more, the desire for revenge—and give glory to God, who gave you grace. I hope you will know that only when you let go of the world can God work, and that you will live a life that obeys God’s will.
If you cannot entrust these things to God, you have no choice but to reach for the glass, to take revenge yourself and to chase after money. Through Ecclesiastes you will have learned what life is. Watching Solomon, who had power enough to bring birds down from the sky yet in the end regretted what he had done at the close of his life, you will also have learned what kind of life leaves no regrets.
Can you see Solomon kneeling, powerless, before God? Solomon, who once ran as if he had wings, began to walk slowly as the years went by. His back bent, his hair turned white, and he became a pitiful old man who endlessly regretted the years gone by. Even if you grow old, I hope you will not make your life one of regret. God’s word is like nails well fastened. So if you hold on to the Word, you will never fall into darkness. When we meet God, who never changes, we can rise above the world. If you understand Solomon’s heart and follow Christ, you could become a wise old person like Solomon, who wrote Ecclesiastes, and show young people the way they should go.
Now I will bring these expository sermons on Ecclesiastes to a close. I am grateful to Solomon, who shared his wisdom with us, and I give deep thanks for the love of God, who waited to the end for him as he wandered. You have learned wisdom; I hope you will be a light to the people around you.
Expository Sermons on Ecclesiastes