Daily Devotions

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 
Day 
Day 166

"When one rises up at the sound of a bird"

Text: Ecclesiastes 12:4

A FURTHER DESCRIPTION OF AGEING

Solomon continued to write about what happens when one becomes old. This is a solemn reminder of how we must prepare for old age.

“When the doors are shut in the streets,
And the sound of grinding is low;
When one rises up at the sound of a bird,
And all the daughters of music are brought low.”
Ecclesiastes 12:4

1. “When the doors are shut in the streets”

a) The “doors” could refer to the lips.

b) When one is young, going out to the streets is normal.

i) The young seem to have a lot to share.

ii) Many can spend hours talking away.

c) But those who are older tend to speak a lot less, but sometimes less is more.

2. “And the sound of grinding is low”

a) The focus is not so much about eating (though grinding is a reference to the teeth).

b) The focus here is that of the ears.

i) When one is younger the ears can be very sharp.

ii) With age, hearing can be seriously impaired.

iii) The sound, even of grinding food, would be low (inaudible).

3. “When one rises up at the sound of a bird”

a) When one is younger, sleeping is usually not a problem.

b) But with age, sleeping can be a problem.

c) One becomes a very light sleeper.

d) Even the sound of a bird will cause one to wake up.

4. “And all the daughters of music are brought low”

a) “Daughters of music” is just a beautiful phrase for the simpler word “music”.

b) The young are attracted to music of all kinds.

c) With age, there is a waning of interest in music.

d) A number of problems may explain why this is the case.

i) “Brought low” is a description of hearing impairment.
One cannot enjoy what one cannot hear properly.

ii) With waning strength, interest in music also fades.

Once again, we are reminded of all the problems that attend old age!