Ecclesiastes 12:3 Commentary and Bible Study

Now the images become even stronger as Solomon uses the metaphor of a great house that is falling into ruin along with its elderly staff. He uses this to describe the aging and failing body, which in turn is a picture of the degenerating soul without God. The various members of the household and its servants have themselves become old and weak so that they are unable to carry out their duties.The keepers of the house are responsible for its maintenance, and repair broken parts, and keep its various fittings functioning; they may also provide security for the household. Now they have begun to tremble in weakness and loss of muscle control. They represent the hands which have become rheumatic and lack dexterity, and the arms which cannot be relied upon for the strength. Previously they provided a service to the rest of the body, feeding it, clothing it, grooming it and applying medicine to it when it was sick. Without this care and attention, the rest of the body shows more and more signs of deterioration. The strong men of the house are those who can do the heaviest work. These stand for the legs which have the strongest muscles and support the whole body. In younger days they were capable to conveying the body many miles with hardly a pause. They could march up the steepest of hills and carry great packs. But now they are bent and crooked under a load and are hardly able to support the frame in a standing position. Gone are the days when we exercised our muscles for the sheer enjoyment of it and took pleasure in our own vigour. Now we have to be careful where we go in case we do not get home safely. We need a stick to support us or companions who can steady us. What pleasure we used to take in striding across the countryside, but this is all a thing of the past! The grinders in the household prepared the flour and other foods for the house using the local millstone. They are an essential part of a self-sufficient household. Now they are few and so there is an inadequate supply. These stand for the teeth which in old age decay and fall out or give great pain. Eating is no longer a pleasure as it once was as food cannot be chewed with any confidence. Now the eater has to be careful to avoid anything too hard, and certain meals have to be forgone in the interests of digesting what is possible. It is all downhill from now on and time is running out.Those inside the house look through the windows to see what is happening outside, or to gaze on the beautiful landscape that surrounds the house. But now they are no longer able to see out, either because the windows have become opaque. This illustrates the failing of sight. Maybe cataracts are forming or the eye is deteriorating in some other way: the soul is deprived of much beauty. No longer can the faces of loved ones be clearly distinguished and they seem more and more at a distance. The sunlight peeping through the trees with a myriad of different shades of green is obscure. The world is still out there but it cannot be reached. Every external link to the outside world, the world which they love, is gradually being removed.