The Book of Ecclesiastes - Part 16

I want to finish today with the Book of Ecclesiastes, and that's why I asked for a little bit of extra time. I'm guessing when I get up near the end, I really want to get it in by the end of the message. And if I look where I'm at at the end of the hour, I've got like 10 minutes or something to go, I just ask for you to stay with me. I'm going to continue on and try to so that I'll finish today. That is the objective, and I think that we will. So I'm going to jump right in.

Of course, we're here in the end of Ecclesiastes in chapter 12, and we've gone through this incredible book, and we've learned a great deal from it. And then in summary, in Ecclesiastes 12.8, it came back to the point about vanity of vanities all is vanity. And some people think that's where the book was supposed to originally end, but it doesn't appear that way. It appears that what follows in the epilogue was still written by Solomon as a continuation of what he wanted to tell us. And in fact, that's the part we got into where we're again going back to his role in the work, but not just his role, because we're saying, who wrote this book? Who's giving this truth? Where is this coming from? And I've titled this section in Ecclesiastes 12 here, and again, moving from verse 8 and then to verse 9, and then on down to verse 12, I had titled that the words of truth from one shepherd is what we're talking about right now. I'm going to read these verses again down to at least through verse 11. I'll read to you. I'm sorry we're in Ecclesiastes 12, the very end. So it says in verse 9, and moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge, as he pondered and sought out and set in order many proverbs. The preacher sought to find acceptable... and by the way, where it says he was wise, I think just by way of reminder, he's not saying, hey, I'm wise. I believe he's saying here, because the preacher was one of the wise men. That is, he was a class of teacher. There were priests, there were prophets, and there were wise men. And this was Solomon's role, even though he'd done a poor job in many respects because of his apostasy. But it looks like later in life he may have come back to deliver this, whether he stayed with the truth at this point. We really don't know. I would certainly hope that he did, but we don't know that for sure. There's other things about him committing apostasy that don't mention him coming to any turnaround. But it says, verse 10, the preacher sought to find acceptable words, and what was written was upright words of truth. The words of the wise are like goads, verse 11, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails given by one shepherd. And of course, these are the words of the wise. They're goads. They prod us into action, but they're also like nails to fix things in place and to fix us in place and to have us have something solid to rely on. And it says they are given by one shepherd. And we talked about before how given by one shepherd could be the sense of given by a king, because that was a symbol of a shepherd, was a symbol of a king back then, and he had given this. But he's been calling himself the preacher all this time, and then he switches to shepherd. It doesn't seem like he's talking about himself here. It seems like he's talking about the shepherd of Israel, who was known to be God Almighty. God Almighty was the great shepherd of Israel, and the kings of Israel were over the flock of God.

And so this very, you know, we get down to this point. That's what it seems to be talking about here, that he's saying, where is this from? It's from God. And of course, that's why the acknowledgment he is here in the conclusion that follows is that we need to fear God and keep his commandment, says we'll see in a minute. But first, I want to look at this verse, verse 12.

It says, And further, my son, be admonished by these, of making many books, there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh. That's the way it's rendered in the New King James, at least.

In saying my son here, Solomon could have been dedicating the book to his actual son, who would be king after him. But it probably is, you know, that's Rehoboam, by the way. Rehoboam did not, sadly, follow a very wise course. Yet it seems more likely Solomon was here following the style of a wisdom teacher in addressing his students. In any case, the message meant for everyone. The first sentence here, as translated, seems to make sense by itself, take heed to these valuable words from God, meant to help you. But how does this relate to the next sentence about endless books and wearisome study? Well, one possibility is that emphasis should be placed on these, that is, be admonished or warned by these. Remember what he just said? He said the words of the scholars in the previous verse, the words of the wise, the words of the scholars, given by one shepherd, then saying, and further my son be admonished by thee. Okay, that's what he's talking about. And then of making many books, you know, there's no end, and much studies wearisome to the flesh. So have the emphasis on these words of the wise, rather than getting lost in all this other material. In fact, actually, there are two other ways to read the first part of the verse that yields a similar result, though the admonition or warning is against what follows. Now, the verse literally reads, starting from the beginning, and further from these, from these, my son, be warned. Expositor's Bible commentary points out this could mean, and further than those, or beyond those, be warned, or it could mean, and further in addition from those, or beyond those, be warned. The NIV renders this, be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. So again, looking at it, you know, saying, and further, that is beyond these, my son, be warned, is what this verse could be saying here, beyond these words of the wise, from one shepherd, be warned. But whatever the exact translation, that seems to be the sense. And expositor says that verse 12 is a warning against the vast amount of literature that is a waste of time for the reader who is really concerned to find the truth. If we take the first sentence of verse 12 as warning the disciple against going beyond the inspired words of the wise, this incorporates the theme of the book. In this world, there will always be mystery, and human beings will, can fall into all sorts of error if they try to prove what cannot be proved.

There will always be books pouring off the presses, some helpful, some agnostic, some downright anti-God." It's indeed wearying to wade through what's out there. And that was so in Solomon's time, as he studied what was available then. What if he saw the huge bookstores and libraries that exist today, or all that's available on the internet? Information overload can keep us from where our focus needs to be. On the other hand, the verse is not intended to dissuade us from valuable study outside of Scripture or the writing of books of whatever genre or discipline, including Christian books. Solomon was not telling wisdom teachers, for instance, to cease from their work of study and writing, but that they and everyone else stand firm on what is truly wise, as given by God. Of course, even studying Scripture can be a problem if it's just an academic pursuit or if the focus is all wrong. And actually, mere study is not what's being warned against here. The New American Commentary notes on verse 12 that, the contrast is not between the study of canonical, that is scriptural, versus non-canonical wisdom, but between the failure to appreciate wisdom on the one hand and excessive zeal for study on the other." In fact, the NASB renders much study as excessive devotion to the many books being written. In Ecclesiastes, an Old Testament study by Dr. Daniel Hill, he explains that the word here for study or devotion is lahad, used only here in the Old Testament, from a rare root meaning to worship study. This is not a mere love of reading. It is a devotion to, or a worship of reading and study, a result of thinking that all answers to all questions can be found in what man writes.

Solomon says this type of misplaced devotion can make you very tired.

Remember Ecclesiastes 1.18? Ecclesiastes 1.18 said, because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increased knowledge results in increased pain. The reason, still part of the quote, apart from what is revealed by God, you will never get the answers you are seeking.

Now, consider those who, as the Apostle Paul described in 2 Timothy 3.7, are always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

That's what we're talking about here. Always learning, never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now, before moving on from verses 9-12, we should think more on what Solomon has given in his epilogue as the basis for his credentials. Dr. Hill writes, prior to giving his final verdict on the matter of significance in life, Solomon establishes why he can give this conclusion.

Now, the entire book shows us why he can say these things by way of experience. He's done it all, remember? He's seen it all, he's done it all. But his final appeal is not to experience, but rather to wisdom from God. So while one may say experience is the best teacher, it is not.

And Dr. Hill explains this in seven points. Number one, and I'll go through these quickly, and you can look at them again later, but number one, the personal experience of failure can show us what is wrong, but it cannot show us what is right. Two, experience can show us what doesn't work, but it cannot show us what does work. Three, experience is limited to that which is under the sun, earthbound. Four, experience may show us one thing as better, but it cannot show us God's absolute best. Five, experience is similar to natural revelation. It shows us our inability, our weakness, our smallness. Six, experience can show us that there is a God who is far beyond man, the creator of man, an absolute sovereign, but experience cannot lead us to God's love and God's wisdom. And seven, only the wisdom of God can bring us to the conclusion Solomon is about to make.

Only doctrine or teaching from God and the wisdom that comes from it can allow us to live as God desires. It's very important. Yeah, we, you know, the school of hard knocks experience is not the best teacher. The best teacher is to listen to what God has to tell us. So then we come to the next two verses, the last two verses, titled, The Conclusion of the Whole Matter.

The conclusion of the whole matter. And we'll look at it again. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep His commandments for this is man's all, for God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil. So in no uncertain terms, that is what is proclaimed. Of course, in our previous study, we've already turned here many times to see where Solomon has been going with his argument. So we know this ending well, and in Solomon's declaring this the conclusion or end of the whole matter, that would seem to mean there's nothing more to say. Yet that was only in terms of his work in communicating this remarkable book to us. For us, there is still more to think over and look into more deeply, and not just in going through this now, but as we move forward and continue on with life. Let's give attention then to what we're told here. First, those who claim that a later moralist added these verses to the end of the book must contend with the fact that what's said here is essentially said multiple times earlier in the book. There's no evidence that the earlier statements were added, though some try to argue that they were, and in fact, they fit very well in their context. So it makes sense that Solomon did end his work with these words as a summation of what he wanted to leave us with. And not only are these the last words of the book, but Solomon directly labels them his conclusion, these being the ultimate takeaway rather than the final vanity declaration back in verse 8. That wasn't the end. This is the end. On the first exhortation in this conclusion in verse 13, the preaching the word commentary points out this. Quote, This is not the first time that Ecclesiastes has told us to fear the living God. To fear God is to honor and revere Him. To worship Him as God, resulting from it should be added a humble and cautious awe of His omnipotence and holiness and devoted care for us, leading us to be devoted to Him. At various points, the preacher has told us to fear God because His work is eternal.

That was in 3.14. And because He demands holy worship in 5.7. He has told us to fear God in times of adversity as well as prosperity in 7.14-18. He has told us that if we do fear God, it will go well with us in 8.12. Now we are told to fear God and obey Him because one day we will stand before Him in judgment. End quote. Fear is typically an enemy of faith because it is misplaced. We may be held back from obedience to God out of fear of difficulties and trials, fear of ridicule by others, fear of being subject to rules we don't really want to live by, fear of missing out on something we desire for ourselves, whether immediate gratification or long-term plans and ambitions. If so, we are fearing the wrong things. We need to learn to fear God above everything else. As Derek Kidner notes in his book, The Message of Ecclesiastes, quote, fear God is a call ace and all other fears, hopes, and admirations in their place. End quote. We're further told to keep God's commandments. It's stated in the Tyndale Old Testament commentaries, the order of the two points, fear and keep, is significant. Conduct derives from worship. A knowledge of God leads to obedience and not vice versa. Actually, the end of that last sentence here, not vice versa, is not entirely true. As obedience to God leads to greater knowledge and understanding. We see that in Psalm 11110. However, it is true that we would never initially obey without some knowledge of God. So we have to have the knowledge to obey, and then obeying, we gain greater understanding. So knowledge and fear of God must come first. It's further noted that, quote, same source, this is the only place where the commands of God are mentioned in the book. The body of the book is simply placed two alternate views of life over against each other, and the life of faith has been commended. Now, in the epilogue, almost as an aside, it's pointed out that such a life will have implications. It must not be restricted to the Mosaic law. It refers to all that is known to be God's will. End quote. Of course, while it may seem a new thought and a brief aside, the need to obey God, to obey His commandments, naturally follows the repeated command to fear God, as this is what a person who truly fears God will do.

The book has already told us that it's best for people to rejoice and, quote, to do good in their lives. That was back in 312, which, as noted earlier, would include doing enjoyable things, but also refer to living morally in obedience to God, since doing good equates to not sinning and being righteous. And that's also in the book. 226, 720, 9-2. In fact, the book contrasted one who fears God with a sinner who does evil in 8-12, and a sinner is one who violates God's laws, since sin is lawlessness. You know, we know that from 1 John 3-4. Several times, the book has spoken, whether openly or implicitly, of sin and wickedness, that is, commandment breaking, as something to avoid. And there's several verses for that. I'm not going to read through them. But in telling us to not disobey God, Solomon has been telling us to instead obey God. And now, he specifically states, keep the commandments. In fact, this is what we are told to do throughout Scripture. Dr. Hill notes that this phrase is found over 60 times in the Bible. And in a number of places, it's directly linked, as here, with the fear of God. In Deuteronomy 5, 29, God said of the Israelites, Oh, that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear me and always keep all my commandments, that it might be well with them. They were later told that Solomon's words might be a condensed form of this, which we'll consider more shortly. And this is from Deuteronomy 10, verses 12 through 13. And now, Israel, what does the Lord... By the way, I would have you turn to these, but I don't want to take it'll take more time that way. And I want to finish today. So we'll just read these. But in now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord our God, and to walk in all his ways, and to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and his statues, which I command you today for your good. We see this in other passages, too. And I'll mention for you 6, 2, and 24. Deuteronomy 6, 2, and 24. Deuteronomy 8, 6, and 13, 4, and 31, 12.

1 Samuel 12, 14. They all say this. It results in blessing and joy. Psalm 112, 1 says, blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in his commandments.

So there you go. Fear God and his commandments. And this wasn't just for the Israelites. In the New Testament, the Apostle Peter stated in Acts 10, 35, he said, In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality, but in every nation whoever fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him, because righteousness being obedience to God's commandments. As we're told in Deuteronomy 6, 25, and Psalm 119, 172. Righteousness is keeping God's commandments. The Apostle Paul said, we are to be perfecting holiness in the fear of God. So again, it's the fear of God that leads to perfecting holiness, which is obedience to God. And Jesus himself gave both directives, though not together in what's recorded. He said on one hand, not to fear people who can merely kill the body, but to properly fear him who holds our very existence in his hands. Yes, I say to you, fear him, he said in Luke 12, 5, and also Matthew 10, 28. And in another time, he said, if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. That's from Matthew 19, 17. Of course, Jesus called to repent and believe in the gospel, was also a call to obedience and trust in God. In Mark 1, 15, as was his instruction to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Obedience to God in Matthew 6, 33, which would result in all earthly needs being met. After telling us to fear God and keep his commandments, Solomon in the last part of verse 13 says, as it's rendered in the New King James, for this is man's all. The earlier King James version said, for this is the whole duty of man. What is actually meant here? The Hebrew here said that this is koh-ha-adam.

The word kohl means all, the whole, and can have the sense of totality, everything, or any, each, every, or anything. That's from the brown driver Briggs-Licks. Ha-adam, with the definite article, ha is the, as noted before, can have the sense of the man or the mankind, used in a plural sense, the word deriving from the first man who was named Adam. Adam. We should note that the phrase koh-ha-adam occurs earlier in Ecclesiastes. In chapter 3, verse 13, we're told that every man, koh-ha-adam, should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor.

In 5.19, we're told that every man, koh-ha-adam, to whom God has given riches and wealth and power to enjoy receives God's gift. And in 7.2, we're told that a funeral is the end of all men, of koh-ha-adam. Notice that in all these cases, the Hebrew wording could be rendered with any of these phrases, all of mankind, all men, or every man. Yet in none of these cases, of what constitutes or pertains to a single man or mankind, the Kyle and Delish commentary in the Old Testament notes on 12.13 here that, quote, that koh-ha-adamifies the whole man, and as little anywhere the whole, the all of a man. It signifies either all men, as at Ecclesiastes 7.2, or every man, as at 3.13 and 5.19. We shall thus have to translate 12.13, for this is every man, or perhaps for this is all mankind. That's their opinion. I want to say that for a second. Now, Tyndale agrees, the sense therefore is this applies to everyone.

That could mean the directive to fear God and keep His commandments is not just for Israel, but is a universal law for all mankind. A number of Bible versions gives this sense, and there's a number, and I won't say what they all are. And it's possible. I will definitely say it's possible. Yet, it should be noticed that there is a difference between the use of the phrase koh-ha-adam in verse 13 and its uses in the earlier verses. None of the earlier cases are saying that something is the whole or all of man. There is no actual word for is in the Hebrew here, but it has to be interpolated into the text for the verse to make any sense in English. You have to put an is there. Since the usage is different, and since there is no four or two, you know, like for every man or to every man is not there before the all or whole of man, it's possible that the verse can legitimately be translated, as we just saw in the New King James and the earlier New American Bible, as man's all. This is man's all. And this could have the sense of all that man is given to do, as in the King James original, the whole duty of man. This is man's all. It could mean the whole duty of man, and other verses or other versions have that as well. Or it could mean that all that human beings consistent or were created for, as other translators prefer. The whole duty would correspond well with the passage in Deuteronomy 10 that we just looked at, in Deuteronomy 10, 12 through 13, where the Israelites were asked what God required of them, except to fear him, walk in his ways, love him, and serve him, and keep his commandments.

And it could well be that Solomon was giving a shortened form of this passage, yet in this case, too, the application would not be to just Israel, but all mankind.

The New American commentary, however, takes the phrase in the latter sense, interpreting as follows. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole of humanity.

Continuing the quote there, to obey God is to be truly human. Throughout his book, the teacher has investigated the situation of Adam. Now, surprisingly, he affirms that the whole of humanity consists not in its mortality or ignorance, but in its dependence on God and in following him.

And yet the conclusion is not surprising. It not only flows naturally from all that's gone before, but is the final look at Genesis 2-3. Humanity sought to become like God in disobeying him, but instead, they lost the one thing that made them truly human.

We should remember in this light that Solomon earlier stated back in chapter 7, verse 29, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes. Remember that verse.

God's purpose for man was to produce children in his own image, not just in outward form and likeness, but in inner character. So we are to fear and obey God, because as the contemporary English version renders the last part of 1213, this is what life is all about. It might even be said that this is what makes human life complete. There's a further aspect, though, to this matter of man's all that we'll consider here shortly. We'll come back to this. Now, some will object to the focus here on commandments, seeing this as some kind of a legalistic expression and forced submission, and wonder why there is no appeal to love as the ideal in this grand conclusion.

We should understand that love is the supreme principle behind God's commandments as a whole.

The passage quoted earlier from Deuteronomy 10, 12-13, about fearing God and obeying His commandments includes the command to love and serve God with all our heart and being. Indeed, the foremost commandments of God are the two great commandments on which all the law hangs, as Jesus explained, to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves, which we find in Deuteronomy 6.5 and Leviticus 19.18. It's affirmed by Jesus there in the New Testament. The Ten Commandments show us how we are to love God and neighbor. In fact, Paul said in Romans 13.10 that love is fulfilling the law. And the Apostle John said in 1 John 5.3, for this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome. That is love, the commandments. Thus, fearing and obeying God is love, and no, it's not some oppression-driven drudgery. Rather, as was already pointed out above, Psalm 112.1 says that people are blessed and are able to find delight in fearing God and keeping His commandments.

It's a source of delight for those who are really doing that. Furthermore, God's laws bring true freedom. We find that in Psalm 119.45. I'll be said at Liberty because I keep your precepts. James 1.25, the perfect law of liberty. Liberating us from ways that bring harm to others and to ourselves. The whole problem with our world, which the book's been talking about. God said in Deuteronomy 32, Deuteronomy 32, 46 through 47, I really want to...

Yeah, I will have you turn to this verse. Hold your place here and look over at Deuteronomy 32, Deuteronomy 32, 46 through 47. Deuteronomy 32, 46 through 47, God said, And He said to them, Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe all the words of this law.

For it is not a futile thing for you. Remember this whole point about Ecclesiastes, vanity of vanities, all this vanity, frustration, futility, right? But here it says, you need to keep all the words of this law, for it is not a futile thing for you. It's not a vain thing because it is your life. And by this word, you shall prolong your days in the land of the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess. You will prolong your days by this word because this word, these words, are these commandments. This is your life. And it's not futile to obey that. So we'll head back over to where we are here in chapter 12. And it sounds similar, I think, to, for this is man's all. Keep the commandments for this is man's all. This is your life. This is what it is. It's not futile. And that could well be here against the vanity and frustration of this world. God has given us what is not futile, his laws. And this is the basis of a positive relationship with him and fellow man. Of course, the need to love God was not a foreign concept to Solomon. His father David had written, O love the Lord, all you his saints. That was in Psalm 31, 23. Yet Solomon here specified the commandments as David often did too. These include and express love. But we should also note that in speaking directly of commandments, Solomon leaves no ambiguity about what is meant.

Reference to commandments shows we are not to determine this for ourselves. That is, what is love. Love can be interpreted in various ways. And people may believe they're showing love in their feelings and actions while they're actually being contrary to God. True love is based on living by what God says to do. From a general command to love, we could probably exercise reason to show kindness to another person to a certain extent. But how could someone without any knowledge of God's laws come up with Sabbath worship as showing love to God without his revelation that this is what we should do? A foreigner in Solomon's day, hearing a general exhortation to love God, might have been able to come up with ways to express that. But of course, the various methods would not be enough and might well be egregious disobedience to God. I mean, people think, oh, I'm doing this for God. And it's something God says not to do. We see that all the time. Here at the end of the year, we see it quite prevalently. Yet in hearing the more specific directive to keep God's commandments, the response of some foreigner would naturally be, well, what commandments are these? And that would lead to seeking where these may be found.

And that brings us to another vital point here. All of us need God's revelation on how to worship and obey Him. We cannot obey God's commandments and grow in His ways out of our own innate senses with no knowledge of Him and His will. To obey God's commandments, we have to know them. And to know them, we have to know what God has revealed. In fact, to have a proper fear of Him and to learn to trust Him, we need the revelation of His Word, Holy Scripture. It is only here, brethren, that we can make sense of our world and learn the right way to think and what to do. Solomon just mentioned the studying of books after speaking of the wisdom that comes from God. What we need to realize is that one book, itself formed of many books, has the foundational answers and counsel that we need. The goads and nails of wisdom that were just mentioned are found here. Again, this is where they are. And the basis for the fear of God and the specific commands to follow are found in this book, the Bible. Tommy Nelson writes in his book, A Life Well-Lived, quote, Solomon's conclusion gets to the heart of the matter. In a crazy, uncertain life, there has to be a source of wisdom that does not change and is never wrong. God has given us that wisdom in His holy Word. It's our task to love it, learn it, and live it. If we do, we'll find the joy that our souls have always longed for. End quote. And this is remarkable to me to read things like that from people that are not in fellowship with us. They don't know the full truth, but God's Word has an effect on people. It has an effect on people, even if they don't yet have His Spirit and full understanding. As was noted, we noted back in the Bible reading program's comments on Job 28 that man cannot use his technological genius to find the true wisdom of God. It can't be found through natural exploration. If you go back and look at Job 28, that's what it says in verses 1-14 there. But where, reading on in Job 28, 12-13, but where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man does not know its true value, nor is it found in the land of the living.

End quote. This treasure can't be bought, it says in verses 15-19 there of Job 28. For, as Job explains, true wisdom comes only from God. He says that in Job 28 verses 20-23. And notice what he says in verse 28. Job 28-28. He says, And to man, he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding. Fear the Lord is wisdom, depart from evil is understanding. This is the very way that Job himself had been described by God in Job 1 verse 8, as one who feared God and shunned evil. And it's in exact parallel to the conclusion of Ecclesiastes, to fear God and keep His commandments. To shun evil, to keep His commandments. This is the path to true wisdom and understanding. Thus, if we really want to grasp the dilemma that Ecclesiastes has been dealing with, if we want to have any inkling of trying to make sense of it, here is the way. And yet, for now, we still can't see everything. You know, Dr. Walter Kaiser, whose outline we've been following, notes, having pointed to Job 28 here, he says in his book Ecclesiastes Total Life, quote, to the degree that God reveals His plan to believers. To that degree only are they able to apprehend that much of the plan of God. Yet, there is still mystery left. Only God knows entirely. We mortals know only in part. That's true, obviously, for these people who don't have a full grasp of the truth. But it's true for us, too. Do we really have a full grasp of it? Absolutely not. We see it through glass darkly. We don't know it all yet. There's still a lot of mystery involved. Yet, this is fine, as we learn to trust God to help us and to guide us to the ultimate purpose. He is working out in us and in all the world. As Solomon elsewhere wrote, and this is from Proverbs 1, 7 and 9, 10, he said, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and understanding. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and understanding. That's also in Psalm 111, verse 10. But here, at the close of this later work of Ecclesiastes, he states that it's also the end, the conclusion of the whole matter. So it's the beginning of wisdom. It's the beginning, but it is also the end of the whole matter. Something else the conclusion here accomplishes is that it answers the opening question of the book. Recall that the prologue of the book was found in the first three verses, verses 1 through 3. The first verse introduced the preacher. The second verse set the tone of much that would follow with his vanity of vanities declaration. And in the third verse of chapter 1, he asked, What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun? That is what benefit or advantage could be gained in living this life? Solomon saw none in what his own hands had wrought in 2.11. He revisited the question a few times later in chapter 2 and 3 and 5. He had asked this question in a seemingly hopeless way, as if to say, What is the point of living? Yet he did find profit in wisdom, despite its limitations in this life, as we see in several verses in the book.

Now, at the end of the book, the preacher has repeated the vanity of vanities declaration regarding this life in chapter 12, verse 8. He has presented more details on his writing of the work, giving God the ultimate credit for wisdom and its communication here in verses 9 through 12. Then in 1213, he essentially sets forth the profit or benefit to be found in life.

And it could be that man's all, or the whole of man, is meant in this context. That is to say, all that man has as benefit. This is man's all. This is what man gains. This is what it is. This being the further aspect of this matter of man's all. Noted before to be considered shortly, I said we would see something else. This is the other interpretation of what man's all might be.

And though it's not directly stated, the profit or benefit gained is essentially, again, said to be found in wisdom, true wisdom, and all that it entails, for as pointed out earlier, the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and keeping his commandments is the path to understanding.

Kaiser notes, quote, what is the beginning of wisdom and keeping his commandments? Sorry, what is the profit of living? What does a man get for all his work? He gets the living God, and his whole profit consists of fearing him and obeying his word, end quote. And it should be added the results, this results, in great blessing and delight, as it says in Psalm 1121. You know, happy are those who fear God, keep his commandments. In fearing and obeying God, it will be well for us. We were told that in Deuteronomy 5, and it said in Ecclesiastes 8, 12, leading to prolonged days and being preserved alive, being for our good, always, it said in Deuteronomy 6 and in Proverbs 10, moreover, those who fear him lack nothing, it says in Psalm 34, 9. Indeed, they have everything that they need in this life. Find that in Matthew 6, verses 25 through 34. That's what we do. We don't worry about tomorrow. We seek God first, and seek the kingdom and his commandments, and all these things are added to us. And here's the neat thing. They will have everything they need in this life, yes, and they will ultimately have everything, period. We see that in Revelation 21, verse 7. He who overcomes will inherit all things, everything. Remember that Solomon said early on in Ecclesiastes, and this was in chapter 2, verse 26, he said, God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in his sight, but to the sinner he gives the work of gathering and collecting that he may give to him who is good before God. Ultimately, the wicked will be gone and have nothing, as all will go to the righteous who fear God and keep his commandments. And we see that also in Proverbs 10, 28 through 30. This is the only way to true happiness. Solomon, also having written, happy is he who keeps the law. That's in Proverbs 29, 18, happy is he who keeps the law. You know, look at all this misery and monotony and the sadness and all the bad things, keep the law. That's the only way to find true happiness. This includes experiencing all the earthly joys that Solomon has communicated throughout the book as God gives his people the means to truly enjoy them as his gift. And an important part of being able to fully enjoy them is to keep them in the context of trusting God now and for eternity that is in his hands.

We are later promised in, this is 1 John 2, 17 in the NIV, the world and its desires pass away.

But whoever does the will of God lives forever. Thus again, the real prophet or advantage in living is in fearing and obeying God, which will lead to blessing and joy forever. And then we must further consider the last verse. Observe that the conclusion does not end with the directive to fear God and keep his commandments, or with the value of doing so. Rather, we are reminded of something else in the last verse that will help us to fear and obey God. A last attention-getter to keep us on the alert and urgent about our own condition. Solomon stating, quote, for God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil. As with the directive to fear God, this is not the first time Solomon has told us to keep in mind God's coming judgment in Ecclesiastes. As mentioned earlier, he said in 2, 26 that the sinner would have to give everything to the righteous. He said specifically in 3, 17, after witnessing injustice and sin, that God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time there for every purpose and every work.

He said in 8, 12 through 13 that it would be well with the righteous, but not with the wicked, whose days would not be prolonged. And in 11, 9, in the last subsection before the epilogue, he told the young to enjoy life, though again stating specifically, but know that for all these, God will bring you into judgment. That is, we are to temper whatever choices we might make with this important reality check. It should be also mentioned that some commentators do not believe that ultimate future judgment is intended here in this last verse of Ecclesiastes, since it just says judgment and not the judgment with the definite article. They believe that judgment here and earlier mentions just refer to God's ongoing judgment in this life. And it's certainly true because they don't want to think that Ecclesiastes is looking to some kind of final judgment. They don't think that's a valid interpretation. It's certainly true that there is ongoing judgment through this life. This may have been in mind in Ecclesiastes 5, verses 4 through 6, where Solomon stated that if we fail to live up to our stated commitments, we're supposed to keep our vows, and if we don't, God could be angry with us and destroy our works, it says there. Of course, much of God's judgment is an ongoing evaluation and may not involve immediate chastening. God is regularly judging what we do and calling us to change and helping us to do so. God had an ongoing judgment of Israel and Judah nationally, and He sent prophets to call them on their disobedience, and He sometimes brought needed punishment. For God's spiritual people today, His Church were told, 1 Peter 4, 17, that the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. Again, this judgment is ongoing, but clearly God has also spoken throughout Scripture of a period of future judgment beyond this age. In Ecclesiastes, judgment in this age could conceivably be intended in the noted time for God to judge, and there's a time for God to judge, it says in 3.17, and in God's judging a young man's works in chapter 11 verse 9. But ultimate future judgment would fit in these cases just as well, and perhaps better. We should especially consider God setting things right in 2.26, with the sinner losing all to the righteous. That's not in this world! And in 8.12-13, with the righteous coming to good and the wicked not being prolonged. After Solomon had lamented the wicked being prolonged in the righteous dying early as the vanity of this world. So the setting things right is not now, sometimes it's now.

But really, this could only refer to a writing of wrongs beyond the time of this world, as part of God's future judgment. And it seems likely that the final verse in the book must be looking ahead to that same time. The definite article is not necessary to designate that here. You don't have to say, God will bring every work into the judgment. This would be an odd way to say that God will judge every work. We might imagine something more like, God will bring every work into the judgment.

That's weird. It just sounds like he's carrying works into the judgment. What you would have to say is something more like, God will bring every work to judgment in the judgment. But of course, that's unnecessary. The simpler wording we have, God will bring every work into judgment, can well apply to the judgment yet to come. Yet it's, of course, also possible that ongoing judgment and evaluation in this life is intended on one level, with an eye to final determination in the future being also implied.

Now, no further that God will judge every secret or hidden thing, whether good or evil. It does not say in the particular wording here that these will be exposed, merely known about, and judged by God who knows everything. Hebrews 4.13 likewise says, there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

But other verses do say that there will be exposure. Jesus warned, and this is in Luke 12, 2-3, and it's also in Mark 4.22, he said, for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore, whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear and in a room will be proclaimed on the housetops.

Now again, you know, we think, wow, but of course, we'll hopefully be different people then. It won't be when it's all revealed, these whole life histories. And when will this happen, though? You know, Jesus also said, he said in Matthew 12, 36, but I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. Paul, too, spoke of the day when God will judge this.

This is in Romans 2.16. He said that God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel on the day when that he spoke of the day of that. And when, he said in 1 Corinthians 4.5, when the Lord comes who will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the heart.

And Paul further writes in 2 Corinthians 5, 9 through 10, therefore we make it our aim to be well pleasing to him, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

The last phrase here is simply this is essentially the same as we see in the end of Ecclesiastes 12.13, whether good or evil. God is going to judge it all. Now, the preaching the word commentary brings some good perspective on why Ecclesiastes ends on this note about judgment. Why does Ecclesiastes tell us, it says, about the final judgment here? Because it means that everything matters. The preacher began and ended his spiritual quest by saying that everything is vanity, and without God there is no meaning or purpose to life.

Is that all there is? He kept asking. Isn't there more to life than what I see under the sun? If there is no God, and therefore no final judgment, then it's hard to see how anything we do really matters. But if there is a God who will judge the world, then everything matters. At the final judgment, it will matter how we used our time, whether we wasted it on foolish pleasures or worked hard for the Lord. It will matter what we did with our money, whether we spent it on ourselves or invested it in the eternal kingdom. It will matter what we did with our bodies, what our eyes saw, our hands touched, our mouths spoke.

Whether we obeyed our father and mother will matter. So will the look we gave them and the little comment we made as we were walking away. What we did for a two-year-old will matter. What we said about someone's performance will matter. The proud boast and the selfless sacrifice will matter. The household task and the homework assignment will matter. The cup of water, the tear of compassion, the word of testimony, it all matters.

The final message of Ecclesiastes is not that nothing matters, but that everything does. What we did, how we did it, and why we did it will all have eternal significance. The reason everything matters is because everything in the universe is subject to the final verdict of a righteous God who knows every secret. Of course, this can seem quite ominous. In fact, the Expositor's Bible commentary points out that the Jews did not like ending a reading with the word of judgment, and in public they repeat verse 13 after verse 14. They follow the same practice at the end of Isaiah and Malachi, and lamentations too, I should note.

This is noted in Jewish Bibles, but judgment from God is not itself a bad thing.

His judgment is always just and righteous and exactly what is needed. Moreover, judgment is not only to declare everything evil and bring punishment and final condemnation, judgment will declare both good and evil. The end of verse 14 states, as we see, and there will not just be condemnation of evil, but reward for doing good. We see that in many verses in the New Testament. We should note that even one of the verses quoted before about the Lord coming to judge what is now secret in 1 Corinthians 4-5, where Paul says he will bring the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the heart, that sounds scary, but it ends with, then each one's praise will come from God. It should also be pointed out that even the initial judgment that will come on the world at Christ's return will not decree eternal condemnation for those in opposition to Him, or for most of the human race through the ages who have not lived in obedience to God's commandments.

We understand, brethren, that those who have lived apart from the truth of God in this life will yet have the opportunity to follow God in the general resurrection of all mankind beyond the resurrection of the just at Christ's return. Now, there's no explanation or hint of this in Ecclesiastes, but this truth is revealed through later scriptures that God inspired, as we know.

Yet even for those who desire to follow God today, the conclusion to Ecclesiastes could still leave us uneasy. Fear God and keep His commandments, being mindful of judgment and reward, is boldly proclaimed here. The problem is that we have not always and do not always keep God's commandments, at least to the full extent that we should.

As Ecclesiastes 7.20 told us, for there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin.

You see that in Romans 3.23 as well. We might look at the conclusion of Ecclesiastes then, and still despair. Obey God? Easier said than done. Indeed, Paul said that the corrupted human mind is hostile to God and cannot obey God. That's in Romans 8.7. And even those who've been converted to and are growing in God's way still struggle against sin. You read Romans 7, what Paul said in 1 John 1, 8 and 10. But there is good news. God wants to save us and make us part of his family forever. He wants to extend to us his great mercy and mercy triumphs over judgment, we're told in James 2.13. A vital key is that we must repent. Turn our lives away from sin and back to obeying God. And we must continue to repent when we falter. Moreover, we must have faith toward God and receive the basis on which forgiveness of our disobedience is made possible, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. But this is not so that we may continue in sin. We must truly live in obedience to God. It's not enough to know what we ought to do. We must also do it. As Paul wrote, Romans 2.13, for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified. But it remains a challenge, and we could never succeed on our own. We need the Father and Christ living in us through the Holy Spirit to be able to continue in obedience to God. And even then, we will still get tripped up in sin, as already mentioned. So we must continue to repent, striving with God's help through Christ to persevere. As long as we do not walk away from this salvation process, we will ultimately be ushered into eternal life in God's coming kingdom. Paul said in Philippians 1.6 that he was, quote, confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

He's going to bring you there as long as you don't walk away. Of course, this wonderful truth and process was not yet fully revealed in Solomon's time, though it appears that the biblical patriarchs and the prophets understood it to an extent. Yet even in that day, God had often called his people to repent, to be restored to a relationship with him, to seek and receive his mercy and forgiveness. Eventually, they would come to understand that the one who would ultimately judge the sins of mankind would himself come as a man to die in payment of those sins, as we see in John 5. And then, risen from the grave, he would go on to help us obey God's law for the great blessings that would lead to. No, God is not some harsh, stern judge. The Father and Christ are the epitome of love. 1 John 4, 8, and 16. God is love. And this is the character they want us to build to be like them, the character revealed in God's wonderful commandments.

And so, as the Tyndale commentary ends, quote, we leave the preacher there. His message is not complete, for he lived before the full light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He saw a far off, and still leaves us with some questions. How can God accept us in such a way? What is the explanation of the hideous mess of this world? On what grounds can he feel confident that some future judgment will put it all right? Is there not a missing link in all of this? Yes. The missing link is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. End quote. The Apostle Paul will answer the cry in Ecclesiastes, all is vanity. In 1 Corinthians 15, 54 through 58, he says, so when this corruptible is put on incorruption and this mortal is put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your sting? O Hades, the grave.

Where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law, it says there, as we've broken it and earned its penalty of death. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, Paul says, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. It is Christ's victory that gives us the victory over this life's vanity. Your labor is not in vain. It's not futile in the Lord.

And Paul further said, in the face of vanity and the trials of this life in Romans 8, 18 through 21, For I consider that the sufferings of this present time, that we read about in Ecclesiastes, are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed in us, for the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subject to futility, to vanity, to frustration. It was subject to vanity of vanities, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope, because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. What an awesome day that will be!

This is why it will all have been worth it. Moreover, God will wipe away all tears from our eyes. We see that in Revelation 21.4. And we will no longer see through a glass darkly.

1 Corinthians 13.12, But we'll have perfect understanding. Then, all that we've had to endure through this life, why do we have to go through all these things? Why do these terrible things happen? Why these specific things? These things that affect us, they affect others we know and love. Why? All that we will have had to endure through this life will at last make perfect sense.

The Scottish Bible teacher Oswald Chambers noted in 1917, on the oppression of tyranny in Ecclesiastes 4.1-3. And I think this is a tremendous quote. This is what he said, There will come one day a personal and direct touch from God when every tear and perplexity, every oppression and distress, every suffering and pain and wrong and injustice will have a complete and ample and overwhelming explanation. And until then, we soldier on, as Paul wrote, 2 Corinthians 4, 16-18, Therefore we do not lose heart, even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day, for our light affliction, which is but for a moment. And we know what Paul went through, all the things, but he said it was a light affliction. It's for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at things which are seen, but at things which are not seen. For the things which are seen, all that we see around us, all the troubles, all the problems are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. And that's again in 2 Corinthians 4. With the victory we have through Christ, knowing that our labor is not in vain in him, and that what we go through now will all have been worth it in the end. We can truly follow the repeated recommendation of Ecclesiastes to enjoy life today.

As Paul said in Philippians 4, verses 4 and 6, rejoice, enjoy. In the Lord always, again, I will say, rejoice, be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving. Let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

This is the conclusion of the Church's Bible reading program commentary on the Old Testament, and we now stand ready to move ahead to the background and story of Christ's life and teachings in the New Testament, teachings that answer in a more complete way the great quandaries that are raised in this book that we've been reading, showing us the way to fear God and keep His commandments and find ultimate joy as His immortal children in His family and kingdom without end.