Ecclesiastes 12:4

"and the doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low, and one will arise at the sound of the bird, and all the daughters of song will sing softly"."doors on the street are shut" -i.e. on the street side. Some say this refers to the picture of the lips sinking in, due to the loss of teeth. "'On the streets' suggest communication with the world; but now such activity has ceased. In youth the appetite is keen and the mouth is employed in work and pleasure, but now the lips are drawn over the toothless gums, and the 'sound of the grinding mill is low'" (Kidwell p. 278).

"sound of the grinding mill is low" -"He cannot any more crack or crunch and break his food, one hears only. dull munching and sucking (as he or she eats)" (Keil/Del., pp. 408-409).

Points To Note:

Some feel that the above verses refer to the ears rather than the mouth. "As people shut doors when they want to exclude outside noise. Deafness is meant, as indicated by the sounds of grinding and singing fading out. But rising up at the sound of birds alludes to. cruel paradox of old age: one cannot hear well, but one sleeps so lightly that the slightest disturbance is sufficient to take away sleep" (Garrett p. 342).

If we wonder why God allows such suffering, all of us need to remember that mankind, in sinning has brought such upon themselves (Genesis 3:19). The aches, pains and complications associated with aging should remind all of us that we live in. world cursed by sin.. world in which all of us should eventually want to leave. Why should. place all my hopes and goals in. world that, like the Titanic, is sinking! (Matthew 6:19-20; Colossians 3:1-3).

"one will arise at the sound of the bird" -Could refer either to insomnia which is often associated with aging, or the habit of aged people to arise early in the morning, like our, "up with the lark".

"all the daughters of song will sing softly" -"With old age, these cheerful evidences of. living world about us grow remote and faint; one feels no longer fully part of it" (Kidner p. 103). Even aged Christians can feel that they are isolated from the world and even other believers. This is especially true of those who find themselves house bound due to health complications. Some feel that this refers also to the voice of the aged. The organs of speech, which are now humbled and frail, so that one's ability to sing is greatly impaired. (See 2 Samuel 19:35).