Eld Ko Swee Chay

Remember the days of darkness (Ecclesiastes 11:7-10)

Introduction

In Ecclesiastes 11:5-6, Solomon highlighted that man is unable to know the unfathomable works of God, how the Spirit works and how a baby is formed and grows in the mother’s womb. These are beyond human comprehension and understanding. He emphasised that human minds cannot fully grasp God’s plans and actions. Spending time and effort searching for answers regarding things in God’s domain is futile. As children of God, we are to humbly acknowledge and accept that we cannot fully understand the works and ways of God due to our human limitations. Notwithstanding this, we must trust in God's sovereignty, work diligently and responsibly to sow spiritual seeds and do the works of God, and leave the result into the gracious hands of God.

In Ecclesiastes 11:7-10, Solomon went on to highlight the reality of life: the certainty of old age, death and of God’s judgment, and offered advice, especially to the young people, on living a godly and joyous life in the Lord by keeping away from anything that is vexation to the heart and painful and hurtful to the flesh. 

Be mindful, days of darkness will come (Eccl 11:7-8)

⁷ Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun: ⁸ But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.

In the Bible, light is often associated with life and contrasted with darkness which is associated with death. Light is beautiful, but the main point of “light is sweet” is that it is good to be alive. While it is good to live many years and enjoy the things God has blessed us with, we must think of the things that will undoubtedly come for all: we all will grow old and die one day, and after that face God’s judgement (Eccl 11:9).

The assertion of Solomon “the days of darkness, for they shall be many” doesn’t deny life after death, nor does it specifically allude to an interim period between death and resurrection. It is simply a way of saying life on earth is short, but life after death is eternal. It is prudent for us to remember the days of darkness (old age and death) and beyond, that we must not be prideful, nor find confidence and security in our possessions and carnality. “All that cometh is vanity” reflects the inner feelings of Solomon at this stage of his life when he was experiencing the ravages of old age and confronted with soon-coming death. Let us all take heed of the warnings of Solomon, in that we don’t make the same mistakes that he made in falling away from the Lord, doing evil in the sight of the Lord and indulging in sensual pleasures.   

Solomon was not a dreary pessimist. He encouraged us, both young and old, to rejoice in every day God has given us but to remember the facts that our time on earth is temporal, our youth and vitality will not last forever, we will all grow old and become weak and die one day, and that life after death is eternal which is far longer than a person’s life span. Psalm 90:10-12 says “¹⁰ The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. ¹¹ Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath. ¹² So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”

As children of God, we must live wisely with the attitude that although our lives on earth are short, we will live with God forever. We must be wise to not just think of the moment and its impact but have a long-term view toward eternity; we are to consider our decisions and how we live our lives from God’s perspective – consider their impact now and into eternity.  We should make the best use of our days on earth to live a meaningful and purposeful life for Christ and serve the Lord because they are few and will pass quickly, knowing that whatever we do for the Lord will count for eternity. We must be prepared and ready to meet our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Be a godly young man living fully for God (Eccl 11:9-10)

⁹ Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. ¹⁰ Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.

In these two verses, Solomon provided three important advice, specifically to young people, on how they should live their lives:

• They can enjoy their youthful years, but they should always do so in a way that is acceptable and pleasing to God.
• They must know that for all they have done, they will have to give an account before the judgment seat of God.
• They must guard their heart and avert evil and fleshly lusts.

Solomon advised every young person to enjoy rationally the blessings God surrounds him with in his youth. Take heed that this is not a recommendation to live an unbridled life of pleasure. It is not promoting unhallowed Epicureanism. On the contrary, Solomon warned against sinful pleasures and of God’s judgment. For young people with lots of energy, time and youthful exuberance, it is natural for them to enjoy their youthful years according to their hearts’ desire and things pleasing to their eyes, but the danger is that some will enjoy life by doing things that are sinful and offensive to God. Therefore, young people should always enjoy with the fear of God in their hearts. They need to know that there is a judgment to come; God will eventually bring their complete life record to the judgment bar. All their godlessness under the sun, carnal mirth and sensual pleasures will be reckoned with in the Day of Judgement.

Knowing this, it is good for all, especially the young and youthful ones, to know that we must not treasure up unto ourselves the wrath of God by the indulgence of youthful lusts. To this end, we must pay the utmost attention to manage well our souls and bodies, our hearts and flesh; remove everything that will lead to sorrow (regret and grief) in our hearts; take great care that our bodies are not defiled by intemperance, uncleanness, or any fleshly lusts.

Godly living is not something that can be put off until old age. The time of youth should not be wasted on godlessness and wantonness. There are experiences that only youths can fully enjoy, and they should be experienced with contentment to their fullest, but always with God and eternity in mind. Given that there are not many responsibilities to bog them down and obligations to take away their time, the youths can do many things for the Lord if they were to use their strength, energy, zeal and time prayerfully for the glory of God.

People often say, “It doesn’t matter”. But many of our choices made in life do matter and are irreversible, and wrong decisions will stay with us for a lifetime with regret. What we decide to do and achieve in our lives when we are young do matter. Young people, remember, you will need to make decisions in every area of your lives: what course to study, which job to take, who to marry, what your life’s purpose and goals are, how you should lead your family, and more importantly how you live your spiritual life. It is very important that you commit all your decisions to the Lord in prayer now and make the right choices according to God’s Word and will. How many have lived or are living wasted lives because they made the wrong choices in their youth! Your youthful days will be vanity if they are not lived rightly with God. Life is a precious gift given to us by God, and it is to be used for the glory of God.

Conclusion

While it is good to live many years and enjoy the things God has blessed us with, we must constantly remember the days of darkness – the certainty of growing old and dying one day, the certainty of God’s judgement. As children of God, we must be wise to think not just for the moment but of life beyond this life, eternity. We should make the best use of our threescore and ten years on earth to live a meaningful and purposeful life for Christ and to serve Him, knowing that whatever we do for Him will count for eternity. We must live right with God and be prepared and ready to meet our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Young people, take heed of Solomon’s advice. Enjoy your youthful years with the blessings from God but always do so in a way that is acceptable and pleasing to Him and remember you must give an account for all that you have done before the judgment seat of God. To avoid living a life of regret, remove everything that will lead to sorrow (regret and grief) in your heart; take great care that your body is not defiled by intemperance, uncleanness, or any fleshly lusts; commit all your decisions to the Lord in prayer and make right choices according to God’s Word and will for your life. The best way to enjoy your youth is to live consciously in holiness, godliness and righteousness according to God’s Word.  AMEN.