Solomon's Succinct Summary

And then he walks us through all the experiences, all the pursuits, all the different ways he tried to find meaning in life. And now, after all these lessons, we come to Solomon’s Succinct Summary.

His conclusion can be remembered by dividing it into 4 “R’s”, Rejoice, Remember, Reflect and Resolve.

Rejoice – 11: 9-10

9 Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. And walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes;

but know that for all of these things God will bring you to judgment. 10 Remove sorrow from your heart, and put away pain from your flesh, because youth and the prime of life are fleeting.

He said back in 3:4 that there is, “A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.”

We tend to think of rejoicing, gladness, laughing, and dancing as usually being spontaneous, celebrations of events that aren’t necessarily planned. But that isn’t the Biblical kind of rejoicing, and not what I see Solomon calling us to. He is calling us to a more serious kind of rejoicing.

Let’s look at some verses from the New Testament.

? “You joyfully accepted the plundering of your property” (Hebrews 10:34).

? “Count it all joy . . . when you meet trials of various kinds” (James 1:2).

? “When others revile you and persecute you . . . rejoice and be glad” (Matthew 5:11–12).

? “In his joy he goes and sells all that he has” (Matthew 13:44).

? “[They rejoiced] that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name” (Acts 5:41).

? “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5:3–4).

? “In a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity” (2 Corinthians 8:2).

? “We are glad when we are weak and you are strong” (2 Corinthians 13:9).

? “Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad” (Philippians 2:17).

? “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake” (Colossians 1:24).

? “You received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 1:6).

? “For the joy that was set before him [he] endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2).

? “You rejoice, though now for a little while, . . . you have been grieved” (1 Peter 1:6).

? “Rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings” (1 Peter 4:13).

? Paul summarizes it: “As grieving yet always rejoicing;” (2 Corinthians 6:10)

This is the kind of rejoicing that isn’t situation dependent, this is the serious kind of rejoicing that happens despite circumstances.

Solomon says rejoice in your youth. Next, he says we need to:

Remember – 12:1

1 So remember your Creator in the days of your youth:

This is a challenge. How many of us can remember what we had for dinner last night? The night before? How many of us struggle to remember the name of someone we just met? At work, I write the date at least five times on paperwork for every patient I take care of in the OR. How many times a day do you think I look at my watch to make sure I’m writing the correct date? About four to five times per patient.

In Psychology, memory is an organism’s ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences.

Two middle-aged couples were enjoying friendly conversation when one of the men asked the other, "Fred, how was the memory clinic you went to last month?"

"Outstanding," Fred replied. "They taught us all the latest psychological techniques, such as visualization, association and so on. It was great. I haven’t had a problem since."

"Sounds like something I could use. What was the name of the clinic?"

Fred went blank. He thought and thought, but couldn’t remember. Then a smile broke across his face and he asked, "What do you call that flower with the long stem and thorns?"

"You mean a rose?"

"Yes, that’s it!" He turned to his wife, "Hey Rose, what was the name of that memory clinic?"

Solomon says to Remember our Creator in the days of our youth. Our youth is when we most easily make memories and retain new information. Solomon is pointing us toward our Creator at a time in our lives when we could easily ignore or forget whose we are. That’s why we have verses like Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” or Psalm 34:11 “Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Or the commendation Paul gives Timothy, talking about his education from his mom and grandma in 2 Timothy 3:15, “and how from your childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”