The End Of The Matter
THE END OF THE MATTER
Ecclesiastes 12: 9-14 (ESV)
9Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care.
10 The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth. 11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.
12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
We are familiar with the saying, “Life is a teacher.” This means that we have the opportunity to learn from our life experiences. If we are humble enough to acknowledge our shortcomings and mistakes and make the necessary adjustments, they can help make our lives more beautiful.
In our sermon series on the Book of Ecclesiastes, we find King Solomon imparting the valuable les sons he had learned in life. With the wisdom that God gave him, he reflected on his experiences, summa rized them, and shared them like a preacher so that we don’t have to make the same mistakes in our lives. At this point, we already have learned that Solomon’s life had some painful detours. He started out well, asking God for wisdom when he began his reign over the nation of Israel. However, he allowed himself to be distracted; he allowed the pagan women he married to cause him to drift away from the Lord. He tried to fill his life with many things he thought would satisfy him. In this book, he was willing to be vulnerable and share what he had learned for our benefit. Allow me to highlight some important lessons we covered in this book:
♦ The Futility of Life Without God – life will be meaningless when we live our lives apart from a relation ship with God. Pursuing wealth, pleasure, or human achievements is empty without pursuing God first.
♦ The Limitations of Wisdom – While wisdom is valuable, human understanding will always have limits. For example, King Solomon struggled with life’s injustices and the inevitability of death.
♦ The Inevitability of Death—The Book constantly reminds us of the certainty of death, which serves as a humbling reminder of the shortness of life.
♦ The Dangers of Materialism—Ecclesiastes also warns against the obsessive pursuit of wealth and mate rial possessions, highlighting that they won’t bring lasting satisfaction.
♦ The Uncertainty of Life – Ecclesiastes also points to the unpredictability of life, where good and bad events happen to everyone. This is a humbling reminder that none of us is in control of our lives.
I pray that we have paid attention to these instructions and will continue to make the necessary
changes to make our future more productive and blessed.
This morning, I am concluding this series and would like to challenge us to give
our full attention to the three essential recommendations King Solomon wants to provide in wrapping up everything he said. What are they:
I LET’S ADHERE TO THE TEACHINGS OF THE BOOK (vs. 9-12)
As King Solomon concludes the book, he wants to ensure that we don’t take it for granted, so he shares some significant processes for how it came about. Of course, he started with the wisdom that God gave him, and from there, he did three essential steps:
A. He was very careful with the book (v. 9)
Since this book meant a lot to King Solomon, he made sure that he put together the contents very carefully. He used three specific words in verse 9 to drive this across:
1. “Weighing” – He carefully weighed the words and concepts he shared in his mind. 2. “Studying”- He carefully investigated everything.
3. “Arranging” – Then, he carefully arranged them in the form of proverbs.
B. He was truthful in the book (v. 10)
In verse 10, he affirmed that he did not just find the pleasant words to use in this book; he also com mitted that whatever he wrote was right and truthful – “The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.” In other words, he did not compromise on the truth while conveying what he needed to say beautifully. Today, we must be extra careful with the books and materials we read. Not all of them are truthful and reliable. I read that today, around two thousand to three thousand each day worldwide. This includes traditional print books, e-books, and self-published books. Every year, the estimate is approximately 1 million to 1.5 million new titles are published in the United States alone. Globally, it should be several million. People are exposed to many materials, so please remember that not everything you read is truthful. Only the Word of God has claimed to be truthful – “Sanctify them by the truth: Your Word is truth” (John 17:17).
C. He was purposeful in the book (v. 11)
King Solomon also ensured that the truths were like “goads,” the guiding instrument for oxen, sheep, or goats. This pointed instrument will be used to prick the animals the Shepherd is caring for to keep them from wandering off into dangerous places. While the “nails” are firmly planted in the lives of readers. I love these pictures used to help us treat the truths from this book seriously. We should always allow God’s Word to guide us and embed them firmly like nails in our lives. Remember, God’s Word was not given simply for our information but for our transformation.
But the most crucial part of this paragraph is found in the absolute authority it carries, as emphasized in verse 11 – “The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.” Who is this Shepherd who gave the words of this book to Solomon? I’m sure we are all familiar with King David’s words in Psalm 23 – “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not be in want.” Fast
forward to the New Testament, John 10:11, the Great Shepherd is identified explicitly as our Savior, Jesus Christ – “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
The usefulness and authority of God’s Word reminds us of the apostle Paul’s
words In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV):
16All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for train ing in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
I pray that our studies of the Book of Ecclesiastes will open our hearts to change in how we live to day and in the coming days. May we stop meaningless pursuits of things that won’t satisfy us in the end. Let’s not repeat King Solomon’s mistakes but begin the relationship with God that will lead us to enjoy Him and everything He has given us.
II LET’S ADORE OUR CREATOR (v. 13)
King Solomon’s second recommendation as he concludes the Book of Ecclesiastes is found in verse 13 – “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” If you notice, he divided the whole duty of humankind into two parts. By the way, see ing God as our creator is key in the context of the chapter since the Preacher started this chapter by saying, “Remember now your Creator.” With Him as our creator, there must be some sense of indebtedness and accountability towards Him. Going back to verse 13, I summed the two into one heading – “Adoring Our Creator” because the reality Is that If we genuinely acknowledge Him and love Him, we will undoubtedly obey Him. Jesus Himself said in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Here are the two essential parts in adoring our creator:
A. Fear God
The Hebrew word “Yare” is used here to mean fear, reverence, or be awed. So, the fear of God here does not suggest you be terrified of Him that you run away from Him. Instead, it implies to us that we acknowledge His awesomeness and that we respect and honor Him. In other words, the fear of God is our response to His magnificence, where we are compelled to respect, adore, and honor Him.
King Solomon wrote these words in Proverbs 9:10: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” This is a critical reminder that we can never begin to live wisely without acknowledging and honoring God. Tragically, so many people are more afraid of what others will say than what God says about them. Many tend to be men-pleasers more than desiring to please God. Being well aware of this tendency, Paul clearly warned in Galatians 1:10 – “For am I now seeking the ap proval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” I trust we will always do our best to please God rather than please men.
B. Keep His commandments
Of course, if we fear Him, we will obey His commandments. Obedience is the outward manifesta tion of our attitude towards the Lord, which is why the fear of God is essential in our lives. Allow me to re-
mind you of what God told Joshua as he began his leadership over Israel as a replace ment for Moses:
Joshua 1:7-8 (ESV):
7Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.
8This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way pros perous, and then you will have good success.
Clearly, this passage reminds us that our obedience will be the key to experiencing God’s ultimate victory in life. This reminds me of what I read about Roger Staubach, who led the Dallas Cowboys to the World Championship. He admitted that his position as a quarterback who didn’t call his own signals was a source of trial for him. Coach Landry sent in every play. He told Roger when to pass when to run, and only in emergency situations could he change the play (and he had better be right!). Even though Roger considered coach Landry to have a “genius mind” regarding football strategy, pride said he should be able to run his own team. Roger later said, “I faced up to the issue of obedience. Once I learned to obey, there was harmo ny, fulfillment, and victory.” The same can be said of us. We are always better off acknowledging that our creator knows better how we should live our lives. If we want to be successful and victorious in life, we must be willing to trust Him and obey Him always.
III LET’S BE ACCOUNTABLE TO ULTIMATE JUDGE (v. 14)
The last recommendation comes from verse 14, “For God will bring every deed into judgment, with [b]every secret thing, whether good or evil.” This is a plain reminder of our ultimate accountability to the One who gifted us the life we have consumed here on earth. This life is only borrowed from Him, so we can not live it without regard to its designer. If you go back to the passage that Bro. Oliver shared last week you can see that King Solomon repeats himself in this verse for greater emphasis:
Ecclesiastes 11:9 (ESV):
9 . . . Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
However, as the Preacher repeats this truth about our final reckoning, he expands the idea by saying that God will judge:
♦ “Every deed” – This includes all actions and activities
♦ “Every secret thing” – This covers even our hidden thoughts
Folks, we are answerable to God, who will be our ultimate judge. We can’t hide from Him. He knows everything – every action, every thought, and every word. Yes, everything about us. This is certainly a scary thought, right?
But this teaching was given before Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. So, King Solomon’s
motive for fearing and obeying God comes from the truth that we will face God for judgment. This is definitely dreadful for us because we know how sinful we are. However, the crucifixion of Jesus was meant to
provide forgiveness for all our sins. John reminds us about this truth in 1 John 1:7 (ESV):
7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
If you examine this verse, it plainly states, “. . . the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” It teaches that “all sins” are forgiven, including past, present, and future sins. Some think it cannot include the future, but if the blood of Jesus only covers the past sins, we who are living in the 21st century cannot claim forgiveness for the death of Christ that happened during the 1st century. Paul believed and taught this truth, as we can find in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” I love how Paul Gerhardt, the German theologian, expressed the same conviction:
There is no condemnation,
There is no hell for me,
The torment and the fire
My eyes shall never see;
For me, there is no sentence,
For we, there is no sting
Because the Lord who loves me
Shall shield me with His wing.
Therefore, for all of us who know Jesus as our Savior, this judgment in the future will never be about our sins. Instead, it will be how we have loved and served our Savior after we came to know Jesus Christ. What if our life ends today and we find ourselves being evaluated by Jesus Christ, how are we going to fair? Someone wrote these words that can help us do some self-examination, knowing our works of service will be judged:
If He should come today and find my hands so full of future plans, however fair, in which my Savior has no share, what would He say?
If He should come today and find my love so cold. My faith so very weak and dim that I had not even looked for Him. What would He say?
If He should come today and find that I had not told one soul about my Heavenly Friend. Those bless ings all my way attend. What would He say?
If He should come today, would I be glad? Remembering that He died for all, and none through me had heard His call. What would He say?
In conclusion, let’s make it personal. What adjustments are you willing to make in your life so you can ensure that you won’t have any regrets in the end? Solomon waited until the tail end of his life to realize
that life without God is meaningless. Please don’t make the same mistake. While you are still strong and can maximize your opportunities to honor your creator, commit now to live for Him. Don’t waste your life going after things that won’t satisfy you! Let me assure you, you and your family will receive the greatest advantage when you take God seri ously and wholeheartedly live for Him!
Bishop Jeremiah Lepasana/October 27, 2024
Leading People To A Life Of Commitment And Productivity In Christ
