The Bottom Line - Ecclesiastes 12:8-14 (2)
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The Bottom Line
Ecclesiastes 12:9-14
©Copyright August 23, 2020 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche
We have spent 4 1/2 months reflecting on the book of Ecclesiastes. On first read, the book seemed depressing; the opposite of what we have needed during a time when the world is already depressed and discouraged because of a virus that has shut down our country, closed many businesses for good, and seen our freedom greatly restricted.
I hope over the course of these weeks we have seen that Ecclesiastes is exactly the book we should be studying in such a time as this. The book has been like a bucket of cold water thrown in our face to wake us up to some harsh realities in life. It has asked essential questions: Why are we here? How do we find meaning and purpose in living? Does anything really matter? It has done this to point us in the right direction . . . a better direction.
I hope you have also seen that the book of Ecclesiastes is the source of some of the sayings you may hear regularly but didn't know were drawn from this book,
· meaningless, meaningless
· the sun also rises (Ecc. 1:5)
· to everything there is a season (3:1)
· eternity in the hearts of men (3:11)
· Two are better than one . . a threefold cord is not quickly broken (4:9,12)
· eat, drink, and be merry (8:15)
· the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong but time and chance happen to them all (9:11)
· Cast your bread upon the water (11:1)
· Remember your Creator in the days of your youth (12:1)
This morning we will reflect on the final words of Solomon's work. He is going to wrap it all up a comparatively neat bow. Now that he has taken everything apart, he will put it back together in a way that makes sense and provides a signpost to wise living.
Some people believe these words were a postscript written by someone other than Solomon because it is written in the third person. However, that is not uncommon as a literary devise and certainly consistent with the way Solomon has written the reset of the book. Jesus too sometimes spoke in the third person. So, at this point, I will stick with the idea this conclusion has come fittingly from the pen of Solomon himself.
Solomon concludes the same way he began with his summary of life without God: "everything is meaningless." In other words, all the things we turn to for meaning and purpose in life are meaningless. Nothing in the world can give the sense of purpose we are looking for. Only God can do that.
The Wisdom of Solomon
8 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless.”
9 Keep this in mind: The Teacher was considered wise, and he taught the people everything he knew. He listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them. 10 The Teacher sought to find just the right words to express truths clearly.
11 The words of the wise are like cattle prods—painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep.
Solomon's wisdom is described by 4 words,
1. He listened carefully. Listening involves hearing what is going on around you and trying to understand. we listen with our ears and with our eyes. And isn't this the worst part about wearing face masks? We are missing much of the communication that comes from a smile, a frown, a wrinkle of the nose. Solomon listened to and sought to understand the wisdom of others.
2. He studied. He thought deeply. He did not merely absorb information, he reflected on it. He did not merely memorize answers, he searched for meaning and truth. He did not merely recite facts and figures he sought to see if the facts and figures were valid or skewed.
3. He classified what he learned. He drew conclusions. He embraced some things, tossed some away as false, and held some things for further study and reflection
4. Then he searched for the right words to communicate to others what he had learned.
You might think Solomon could have chosen better words for this entire book because he wasn't very clear at all. One of the purposes of Ecclesiastes is to show the emptiness of life the way we generally live it. Solomon, if you will, has tried to provoke us to really look at life. His words helped us FEEL the frustrating meaninglessness of life apart from God. He actually chose brilliant words.
Much of the anger, division and discord in our society could be put to rest if we would simply follow Solomon's approach.
· If we would listen to understand rather than to rebut;
· if we would reflect rather than react;
· if we would take the time to determine what was worth debating and what was just personal preference;
· and if we would choose our words carefully to instruct rather than destroy; civilized conversation might return. There would be fewer posts on Twitter and Facebook might get back to helping people keep in touch with each other.
We are told Solomon's words are like "cattle prods - painful but helpful." The point of a cattle prod is not to hurt the cattle but to move them in the direction they need to move. This is what the words of Solomon were meant to do . . . in fact this is what the words of the entire Bible are meant to do. They are meant to make us think, to alter our course, to point us in the right direction.
A Caution
Solomon adds,
But, my child, let me give you some further advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out.
There is a prevailing notion that all that is needed to fix the problems of the world is more education. If we could educate people better, then the world would be good. Solomon warns you can write and read more books, but all it will do is wear you out. What is required is not more books for more study, but more obedience to what has already been revealed.
In Acts 17 we read about Paul's visit to Athens. He saw all the idols that were there and tried to teach the people. The teachers of Athens wanted to learn what Paul was teaching; they wanted to "take his class." The new living translation says,
"It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas."
They were very proud of how educated and open-minded they were. The problem is you can be so open-minded that your brain falls out! You merely amass information and never get around to thinking about it. We live in a world filled with people who merely report what other people have said. They can quote all kinds of sources, but they don't do any thinking of their own. I've said it many times: many people are educated way beyond their intelligence. The problem is: most of them do not realize this!
Not that we should never read any books (or write any books, for that matter). There is a place in Christian discipleship for the development of the mind. But we should always remember that human wisdom and man-made philosophy are limited. How very many books have been written! Yet how little most of them are able to teach us about the knowledge of God or the way of everlasting life. By far the most important book for us to study is the Bible, including everything written in Ecclesiastes. Therefore, be careful of trying to go farther than the Word of God. Be careful of trying to find answers that can only be found in the Bible.
The Conclusion
Solomon summarizes the conclusion he has intended us to reach:
Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. 14 God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.
When all is said and done Solomon wants us to know His conclusion: we are most human, most fulfilled, and find the greatest meaning and purpose in livinn when we are rightly aligned with the Lord who made us for Himself.
How do we get there? Solomon gives us direction. First he says we should, "Fear God."
Immediately, people resist this teaching. They say, “I don’t want a God I have to fear.” And I say, “Don’t you?” Don’t you want a God who has the power to make things right; the power to punish sin and to reward faithfulness? Don’t you want a God who is so mighty that He can forgive your sin and change your heart?
We should certainly fear God's power, His wrath, and His judgment. God should be respected. When we respect and fear something we alter our behavior accordingly.
· When we fear getting older we eat better, exercise more, and try to make the most of the moments we have.
· When we fear failing in school, we study harder.
· If we fear being a bad parent ,we will read and learn. We might take classes or talk to those we consider to be good parents.
· If we fear the police on the highway, we drive the speed limit.
The point is: Fear results in action. Fearing God is much the same. If we truly respect God, we will honor Him in the way we live our lives. This fear of God will impact everything else in our lives.
Oswald Chambers said it best when he wrote, "The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.
William Gurnall said, "We fear man so much because we fear God so little."
Do you remember when you were just a little kid. You went to all kinds of places that on the surface should have terrified you. These places were crowded, noisy, and intimidating. It would have been tempting to feel claustrophobic because you felt people all around you. But you were fine. Why? Because you were holding the hand of, or being carried by, you mom or dad. You had confidence in their power and their strength and in their love for you.
This begs a question doesn’t it? Is it not true that people are so terrified of this virus because they do not fear God? I’m not suggesting we be reckless, but we also should not be paralyzed. Our God is bigger than the virus. He holds our hand. He will guide us home. Nonthing can stop Him!
The second key principle from Solomon is: we should keep His commandments. This follows naturally. If we genuinely fear God, we will do what He tells us to do. Part of the reason we obey is because we know there are consequences for disobedience. Some of those consequences are immediate, some are future. Solomon reminds us God will judge us for everything we have done . . . even the things in secret no one else sees.
Our primary motivation for obedience, however, is not the fear of punishment, it is the deep respect we have for the Lord. It is similiar to what soldiers are taught in the military. They have to learn to respect those in command over them. At first, they may have to be "persuaded" to do as they are told. But the point is to teach the soldiers to respond instantly to a command that could save their lives. They need to be of one mind for their survival.
God wants us to keep His commandments because He knows what is best for us. We may not see it. We may not understand. His commands may go against our desires, but we obey because we know He sees the bigger picture. We trust that He sees what we do not. We trust Him therefore we trust what He tells us to do.
There is a reason He commands us to
· to forgive those who have hurt us
· to keep meeting together as Christians
· to memorize His Word
· to save sex for marriage
· to set aside one day a week for rest and spiritual renewal
· to give God the first part of our earnings
· to love and encourage one another
· to tell the truth
· to bear each other’s burdens
· to confess our sin
· to make our requests known to God
The reason is simple: this is the best way to live. It results in the strongest relationships, the deepest joy, the most profound intimacy with God, and the best of the life we have been given.
We don't have to understand why we are supposed to do these things any more than our dog needs to understand why we have set up certain rules. They need to trust our love for them and do what we tell them to do.
Of course, before we can respond to God's commands, we need to know what He is commanding. This is why we need to be students of God's Word. We must read with the intent to obey. In other words, every time you open the Word of God you should do so willing to be instructed in life. We should be willing to obey whether we find the command pleasant or not.
CONCLUSIONS
God has taken us on a wild ride through the book of Ecclesiastes. He has destroyed anything we turned to for truth and guidance that was apart from God. Science will not save us. Education will not save us. The government is not our salvation. The world cannot be repaired by more laws that tell us we should be better people. We will not find greater satisfaction by embracing a freedom that says, "Do whatever makes you happy."
The reason these things will not save us is because they are powerless to do so. Only God can save us. Only He can give meaning and purpose to our lives. He created us. He made us for a purpose. We will find meaning only when we are doing what He created us to do. It is only the eternal perspective that makes any sense of the seeming randomness of life.
Philip Rykin concludes his commentary on Ecclesiates with these fitting words,
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, and 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—the way we made time for her and got down on her level. What we said about someone else’s performance will matter—the sarcastic remark or the word of genuine praise. 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—all of it 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.[1]
So, at the end of this study we are left with a question: What will you do with what you have learned? Will you add your notes to your notebook and store it away, or will you alter the direction of your life? Will you churn in despair over the meaninglessness of life or will you embrace the One who alone gives meaning and purpose? Will you follow the way of the Lord or will you continue to go your own way while maintaining a superficial religiosity? Are you interested in merely sharing what others say about having a vital relationship with God, or do you want to pursue a relationship of your own with God? These are the questions Solomon meant for us to ask. He hoped we would stop running fast heading nowhere, and instead reflect on life and embrace the life God meant for us to live.
As you talk to other believers, you will find the book of Ecclesiastes is not a very popular book of the Bible . . . but maybe it should be.
[1] Philip Graham Ryken, Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2010), 281.