Useful Bible Studies > Ecclesiastes Commentary > chapter 11

Is there any advantage to be young and strong?

Ecclesiastes 11:10

We may ask ourselves whether there is really any advantage to be young and strong.

The answer seems clear. A young person must grow old, and a strong person will become weak. In the end, they will die like everyone else and God will be their judge. If there is any advantage, they will soon lose that advantage.

Pain and anxious thoughts often come as a person grows older. The author of Ecclesiastes told his readers not to think about such things. Even the best and strongest part of our lives shows how weak we really are.

So the most important matter is to think how we should live. We all must become older. But we can choose whether or not to serve God. We must decide what we consider important in life.

For the author of Ecclesiastes, the right decision was clear. He had studied how weak people really are. He recognised that God is great. So, the only proper decision is to obey God from our earliest opportunity to do that (Ecclesiastes 12:1).

A young person should not waste his energy by a decision to follow his own desires and feelings (Ecclesiastes 11:9). An older person should not just think about his own pain and anxious thoughts (Ecclesiastes 11:10). People think too much about themselves, and they do not think enough about God.

God desires to have a very close relationship with his people. In fact, he wants to adopt them as his sons and daughters (John 1:12-13). He wants to fill their hearts and minds with sincere love, both for him and for other people (Mark 12:29-31).

Next part: Remember God, who created you (Ecclesiastes 12:1)

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© 2019, Keith Simons.