Ecclesiastes 12: Group Study Handout

How to use: read Ecclesiastes 12 aloud together, then take the questions in order. One page is enough for an evening.

Overview

People are urged to ‘Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth’ before experiencing the inevitable decline of old age (vv. 1-2). The preacher uses vivid imagery to describe aging, where ‘the keepers of the house shall tremble’ and ‘the strong men shall bow themselves’ (vv.

Key verse

“This is the end of the matter. All has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.”
Ecclesiastes 12:13 (WEB)

Outline

Ecclesiastes 12:1–2 Remember Your Creator Early
Ecclesiastes 12:3–5 Imagery of Aging and Decline
Ecclesiastes 12:6–7 Mortality and the Return to God
Ecclesiastes 12:8–10 The Vanity of Life
Ecclesiastes 12:11–12 The Value of Wisdom
Ecclesiastes 12:13–14 The Whole Duty of Man

Discussion questions

In v1, what is the advice given regarding remembering 'your Creator'?
What imagery is used in v5 to describe the feelings associated with aging?
The phrase 'vanity of vanities' in v8: what does it suggest about the Preacher's view of life's pursuits?
In v12, what tension exists in the statement about the endless making of books?
When have you faced 'the evil days' mentioned in v1, and how did you respond?

Go deeper

Passages that echo Ecclesiastes 12: Ecclesiastes 11, Micah 6, Proverbs 1.

Before next time: read Song of Solomon 1.