Author: Joe
Last saved by: Auth User
Company: GDC

99-04-25-A.JSH-129 / 

©℗ 1999  Joe Griffin

Faith-Rest Drill: Physical Death & Summary, Ecclesiastes 12:7-8; Solomon’s Contributions to the Old Testament Canon, Ecclesiastes 12:9-10; 1 Kings 4:29-32

Ecclesiastes 12:7 -	[NAS] Then the dust will return to the earth as it was and the spirit [ ruach: soul ] will return to God Who gave it.
1)	Physical death has occurred.  The dust returning to the earth is a description of physical death when the remains of biological life are placed into the grave where its elements return to their source of origin in the earth.
Genesis 2:7 -	Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground [ biological life ] and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life [ ruach: soul life ] and man became a living being [ human life ].
2)	From both verses we also see the separation of the soul from the body and its return to the origin of its source, God Who gave it.
Ecclesiastes 12:7 -	[NAS] Then the dust will return to the earth as it was and the spirit [ ruach: soul ] will return to God Who gave it.
Ecclesiastes 12:7 -	[CTL] Then the remains of biological life will return to its source of origin in the earth and soul life will return to its original source, God Who gave it.

Ecclesiastes 12:8 -	[NAS] “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “all is vanity!”
1)	Solomon, in what we might call geriatric retrospection, offers his personal analysis of his life ill spent in a vain pursuit of happiness.
2)	He did not remember his Creator in his youth or middle age.  He continued his frantic search for happiness until his soul was callous by the darkness of cosmic thinking.

3)	The end result was misery in old age as he confronted the normal maladies of the aging process without the comfort and assurances found in Bible doctrine.
4)	Such a condition knows nothing but misery, which is expressed by an attitude of no gratitude.  There is anger, bitterness, hatred, complaining, vindictiveness, self-centeredness, revenge motivation, the bearing of grudges, and licentious living.
5)	The result is an old age characterized by no happiness, no peace of mind, no power under pressure, no grace orientation to life, and no comfort in dying.
6)	Solomon’s summary is exactly the same as his introduction in Ecclesiastes 1:2:
Ecclesiastes 12:8 -	[CTL] Emptiness of emptinesses,” says the man with the message, “emptiness of emptinesses!  All is emptiness!”

Ecclesiastes 12:9 -	[NAS] In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge and he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs.
v 10 -		The preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly.
1)	This is a new paragraph and it begins the Epilogue to the book.  It takes us back to Solomon’s rebound recovery that saw him successfully return to a spiritual life before his death.
2)	During this time of recovery, Solomon was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write three books of the Old Testament.
1 Kings 4:29 -	Now God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of mind, like the sand that is on the seashore.

v 30 -		And Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.
v 31 -	For he was wiser than all men, Ethan the Ezrahite [ human author of Psalm 89 ], Heman /HE-mun/ [ human author of Psalm 88 ], Calcol /KAL-kal/, Darda /DAR-da/, the sons of Mahol /MAY-hol.  His fame was known in all the surrounding nations.
v 32 -		He also spoke 3,000 proverbs and his songs were 1,005.
3)	The Book of Proverbs contains some 915 verses in all so only about one third of his Proverbs were preserved by the Holy Spirit in Scripture.
4)	And of his 1,005 songs only one made it into the Word of God, the Song of Solomon.
5)	In Ecclesiastes 12:10 he asserts that he “wrote the words of truth correctly.”
6)	Solomon went through a recovery procedure that included rebound and a return to and an advance in the spiritual life of his dispensation, the faith-rest drill.
7)	Believers who continue to advance in the spiritual life assigned to them will know true happiness no matter what stage of life they’re in.
8)	From this perspective the details of life are reduced to the accouterments they are intended to be.  They are enjoyed from the vantage point of perfect happiness, not depended upon for its attainment.