The Teacher’s Conclusion
Open Your Bible
Ecclesiastes 12:1-14, Proverbs 22:17-21, John 11:25-26
BY Jessica Lamb
My second child recently turned seven months old. Though I experienced these same developmental milestones with my first, something about this second time around has left me even more in awe of how quickly babies grow and change. In his first few days, my son could only hold up his head for seconds at a time. When he came home from the hospital, he could only see about fifteen inches away, just far enough to make out my face as I held him and stared at his tiny features. He can now see me clearly from across the room and crawl toward me as fast as his not-so-tiny legs can move.
I sometimes wonder if that’s one of the reasons he cries on occasion, even when every need I can think of is met. Because today, his world looks totally different than it did yesterday. The whole world is open for discovery, but that growth meant a sharp change in perspective.
I imagined that sort of cry at the end of our reading today. The author of Ecclesiastes has been writing at length about life “under the sun.” A life where delight fades, strong men stoop, songs grow faint, and dust returns. A life where so much is “absolute futility.” Then, in the last few verses, there are these words:
Be warned: there is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body.
When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this:
fear God and keep his commands, because this is for all humanity.
For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing,
whether good or evil (Ecclesiastes 12:12–14).
For almost the entirety of my professional career I have worked in publishing, and I always want to voice a hearty “Amen!” at verse 12. There is no end to the making of books, to writers and philosophers and poets and politicians and artists and parishioners trying to make sense of our place as humans in this world. But the path to seeing our days differently is made clear here, because there is more to see than we once thought. For every single one of us, the key to meaning is the same: fear God, and keep His commands.
This is for all of us, because God is for all of us. He is our Creator, whose eyes saw us while we were still being formed (Psalm 139). He is our Sustainer, who knows when a single sparrow falls, clothes the flowers of the field, and anticipates our needs and worries (Matthew 6:25–34;10:29–31; 1Peter 5:7). He is our Savior, who invites us to follow Him and be part of His kingdom work here and now. His Word equips us to see our world through His perspective, and recast all our days in light of eternity.
So remember your Creator, find your confidence in the Lord. He is the resurrection, He is the life. This is for all of us, if we’ll just take hold and believe it.
47 thoughts on "The Teacher’s Conclusion"
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Everything matters. Help me live my life purposefully preparing for eternity and earnestly seeking to honor You and You alone. Save me from the vanity of this world and keep my heart and gaze firmly fixed on You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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Amen! I love that last bit, “save me from the vanity of this world and keep my heart and gaze firmly fixed on You.” This is my prayer also.
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I am thankful for Ecclesiastes. It’s a somber read, but I find that helps me to put “all the things” that can keep me busy and distracted into perspective and refocus on what truly matters. Fear God and keep in obedience. That is the path to a life lived out of freedom and joy! I was reading my Bible’s commentary on the last few verses of Ecclesiastes and it noted “How strange that people spend their lives striving for the joy that God gives freely, as a gift.” All striving is meaningless, even if well-intentioned. Today I choose joy!
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Amen!
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Fear God, reverence Him by keeping his commandments.
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Angie, hallelujah and praise God for the negative test results! My friend also had asked me to pray after she got tested and hers was also negative.
Ash, praying for you and your husband.
Dorothy, praying for your sister and your upcoming move.
Diana, thank you for sharing the story about you and your friend. Praying for you two.
Mari V., congratulations to your daughter! Exciting to hear she loves Jesus – it blesses my heart to hear about youth who believe and walk with the Lord.
Taylor, thank you for always sharing your thoughts and a call to action or a question we can reflect on. I love the verse from Esther, it’s my phone’s home screen.
Praying for you and your husband, Lisa.
Michelle, what a beautiful prayer. Thank you for sharing!
Great summary, Tina! Thanks for sharing.
I am glad this study opened my eyes to Ecclesiastes, although it’s a tough book to read sometimes.
Have a great weekend ladies.
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Fear God and keep His commands…amen and amen again.
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ANGIE, I am fighting with my Kindle right now! PRAISING GOD for your negative test results!!!
I hope you see this correction and offer my sincerest apologies. Probably multiple posts, ladies, since my Kindle is acting weird. So sorry! -
ANGIE – WHAT I TYPED WAS : PRAISING GOD FOR YOUR NEGATIVE TEST RESULTS!!! My sincerest apologies for the changes Kindle made to my comment!
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ANGIE – PessimistIc for your negative test results and that you get to spend time with your precious family tonight!
Blessed by all the comments from you godly ladies!
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