Passage
“…and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”
Ecclesiastes 12:7
Questions & Commentary
1. We are all made of dust. (e.g., Eccl 3:20; Gen. 2:7; 3:19; Job 8:19; 10:9; 34:15; Ps. 90:3; 103:14; 104:29; 146:4) Is there any significance that God created us from dust?
2. Is there any coincidence that the chemical makeup of the dust of the earth is very similar to the human body?
3. What REALLY matters in what we do or pursue every day if our bodies turn to dust in the end?
4. This verse implies that your spirit (soul) is not your own, but given to you. What is the significance of that? Where else in the Bible is this stated or implied?
5. When your “spirit returns to God who gave it”, what will happen then?
On a long enough time line, the survival rate of everyone drops to zero. Humans make extraordinary efforts to delay death, but death is inevitable, your body will turn to dust. Where will your soul go when this happens? What are you doing in this life to prepare for the next?
Devotional Author: Matt Condie