What Happens at 30?
- There is a misconception that you are an adult at 18, but the Bible does not speak of such folly.
- Some of our nation’s laws, with minimum ages of 18 or 21, perpetuate this myth of majority.
- God’s wisdom in the Bible does not allow any new liberties or rights for those turning 18.
- You could not serve in the military, even with great manpower demands, until 20 (Num 1:3).
- The priests of Israel, John the Baptist, and Jesus did not being until 30 (Num 4:3; Luke 3:23).
- The Lord considered those under 20 to be children and ignorant (Num 14:29-31; Deut 1:39).
- The Bible includes 19-year-olds with 6-year-olds when valuing a nation by age (Lev 27:1-7).
- Men married well before 30, which is why she is called the wife of thy youth (Prov 5:18).
- Parents need to realize that their children will view them and life much differently at age 30.
- The Bible encourages you to train children with a promise for when they are old (Prov 22:6).
- Hannah had Samuel worshipping the Lord sometime around the age of 5 (I Samuel 1:24-28).
- You must discipline children while there is hope, before they are set in their ways (Pr 19:18).
- Therefore, Solomon speaks over and over in Proverbs to his “son” and to his “children.”
- A 30-year-old views life very differently from an 18-year-old, especially with a wife and child!
- The Lord mocks men about the vanity of life by ironically mocking youth (Eccl 11:7-10).
- Childhood and youth are vanity, for they are filled with foolish lusts and vain optimism that deceive youth to believe they can do anything, play forever, and never pay (Proverbs 22:15).
- He begins to taste his mortality around 30, which sobers him of the brevity and vanity of life.
- An adult realizes the folly of the sins of youth (Job 13:26; 20:11; Psalm 25:7; II Tim 2:22).
- We want to be men in understanding, for understanding accompanies maturity (I Cor 14:20).
- A man puts away childish things, and he does not need to be told what they are (I Cor 13:11).
“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;”
- You are a creature; He is your Creator: you are not your own; you have no rights. You owe Him all you are and have.
- You must remember Him. It is easy to remember all else but Him and His rights and precepts.
- You must do so in youth to use your vitality and be saved from the thorns and scars of sinners.
- You must do so now: for you cannot boast of tomorrow, the matter is crucial, and death comes.
- Childhood and youth are vanity (11:10), for they are filled with foolish lusts and optimism that deceive you to believe you can do anything and live forever (Pr 22:15; Ps 25:7; II Tim 2:22).
- Old age will bring evil days, when you will have no pleasure in natural life; so you must wisely make the effort to remember and worship your Creator now, in the vitality of your youth (12:1).
|2a||While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened,||Good times of pleasure and prosperity will end, which in Scripture are described as sunny, bright days (II Sam 24:3; Is 30:26; 60:20). Bad days are described as lacking such light (Is 13:9-10; Joel 2:10; 3:15).|
|2b||Nor the clouds return after the rain:||Physical maladies are described by unwanted rain (Pr 26:1) coming again and again. Old people have bodily ailments one after another.|
|3a||In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble,||The house here is our physical body (II Cor 5:1), which has been kept from top to bottom by our hands. Man’s hands, which have done everything for him, will shake and tremble, which is common in old age.|
|3b||And the strong men shall bow themselves,||Strong men, plural, are the legs. Man’s legs, the strongest muscles in the body (Ps 147:10), will be unable to fully straighten and lift the body.|
|3c||And the grinders cease because they are few,||Teeth, or grinders, will fall out and be unable to do their former work. Man’s teeth decay, fall out, and force him to eat soft and mushy food.|
|3d||And those that look out of the windows be darkened,||Eyes are the windows of the soul with an outward view and shades. Man’s eyes lose their acuity and ability to see color, print, and details.|
|4a||And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low,||Lips, which the Holy Spirit calls the doors of your mouth (Ps 141:3; Mal 7:5), are the opening to the streets of digestion and respiration. Man’s lips flop closed when the teeth fall out. They are no longer held apart; they must close to hold food; and they are seldom opened to speak.|
|4b||And he shall rise up at the voice of the bird,||Rising time is no longer a matter of choice. Man’s sleep ability declines, so he wakes early without the peaceful and long sleep of youth.|
|4c||And all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;||Ears, which detect musical tones, lose their ability to hear and discriminate among sounds. Man’s ears become dull and cannot hear music from others and cannot hear himself accurately enough to sing.|
|5a||Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high,||Equilibrium declines with sight and hearing. Man’s sense of balance leaves and brings vertigo, so that he fears ladders, heights, and flying.|
|5b||And fears shall be in the way,||Confidence declines with physical deterioration. Man’s courage leaves him, so that he imagines many dangers and prefers to stay put at home.|
|5c||And the almond tree shall flourish,||Hair turns white-gray, as a blossoming almond tree. Man’s hair turns from youthful color to the white-gray of old age (Lev 19:32; Job 15:10).|
|5d||And the grasshopper shall be a burden,||The male member, like the grasshopper, jumps up easily and often in youth. Man’s erectile function becomes more difficult, needing Viagra.|
|5e||And desire shall fail:||Sexual desire, one of the great impulses of youth and health, disappears. Man’s sexual drive declines with falling hormone levels to nothing.|
|5f||Because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:||Death and burial, the appointed end of all men, puts the body in its long home, the grave. Man’s body declines, as described above, to the point where it dies and is buried. At which time mourning becomes the only proper song for what was once a life of vitality, promise, and pleasure.|
|6a||Or ever the silver cord be loosed,||The spinal cord, which carries nerve impulses to your body, loses its grip. Man’s life ends when the brain and spinal cord no longer connect.|
|6b||Or the golden bowl be broken,||The brain, which directs the body and is kept in the bowl-like cranium, ceases to function. Man’s life ends when the brain no longer directs.|
|6c||Or the pitcher be broken at the fountain,||The heart, which receives and pumps blood for circulation, is like a pitcher and fountain. Man’s life ends when the heart stops pumping.|
|6d||Or the wheel broken at the cistern.||The heart, which receives and pumps blood for circulation, is like a water wheel and cistern. Man’s life ends when the heart stops pumping.|
|7a||Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was:||The body shall corrupt and decompose rapidly back into the clay and dust from which it was originally created (Gen 2:7; 3:19; Eccl 3:18-20).|
|7b||And the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.||Your spirit, which is your living soul and personality, shall meet its Creator, Who gave it in the first place (Gen 2:7; Eccl 3:21).|
- Since all of natural life is the greatest of vanities, we conclude with Solomon all that matters is fearing God and keeping His commandments, which is the only duty of man (Eccl 12:8,13).
- We are all going to our long home; we are all going to die; we are appointed to it for our first parents’ sin. Therefore, we ought to make use of each day of life to seek Him (Psalm 90:12).
- We cannot hide things from God: He will expose all we have done and judge it by His absolute holiness and righteousness, regardless of whether it is secret or good or bad (Eccl 12:14).
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
- Youth should fear God, which is to make every decision in the light of a terrible God and dear Father, Whom you neither want to offend or disappoint (Prov 3:7; 16:6).
- Youth should keep His commandments, which is to make every decision in light of His glorious Word, for you believe that the Bible is right regarding every subject (Ps 119:128; Is 66:2).
- Young man, God’s word can cleanse from the vanity of childhood and youth (Ps 1:1-3; 119:9).