aBible.com     

Ecclesiastes 12:13 - The Whole Duty of Man.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 (NIV) Now all has been 
heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear 
God and keep his commandments, for this is the 
whole duty of man. 

COMMENTARY PEARL

Created to Know Him
   If you are seeking fulfillment, purpose, 
or meaning from this world and from human 
accomplishments, I have some bad news: you will never find 
it. There is nothing in the world that will fill 
the deepest void in your life - not the ultimate 
car, not the greatest job, not the most beautiful 
girl or the most handsome guy, not the greatest 
education, not winning it all on American Idol. There 
is nothing that can even come close. 
   King Solomon, one of the wealthiest men 
who ever lived, had everything he wanted. Yet he 
went on a binge, frying to satisfy his appetites 
with the wrong things. He went after passion. He 
went after possessions. He went after things of 
beauty and buildings and land. He drank, and he 
partied. After all of that, here was his conclusion: 
"Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done 
and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was 
meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained 
under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 2:11, NLT). 
   Have you ever been ravenously hungry and 
tried to satisfy your appetite with snacking? It 
just doesn't work. You want a real meal. In the 
same way, we were created with a God-shaped hole 
in our lives. We have been created to love God, 
to know God, and to bear fruit. Everything else 
is secondary. 
   Think about it: everything else in life, 
every other responsibility, no matter how 
significant, must be ordered behind the central purpose 
of your existence on earth - knowing, loving, 
and serving your Creator. Yes, God cares about 
your career, your marriage, your family, and your 
ministry. But knowing Him, prioritizing Him, is number 
one. And when you do, the Bible says you never 
will be a loser for it. 
   Jesus said it like this: "Your heavenly 
Father already knows all your needs. Seek the 
Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, 
and he will give you everything you need" 
(Matthew 6:32, 33, NLT). [Every Day with Jesus by 
Greg Laurie] 

COMMENTARY

The duty to worship God is based upon the 
fact that He is the Creator and that to Him all 
other beings owe their existence. GC436,7 

The whole duty of man is summed up by the 
Saviour. He says, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God 
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and 
with all thy mind Thou shalt love thy neighbor 
as thyself." FE186,7 

The commandments of God are comprehensive 
and far reaching; in a few words they unfold the 
whole duty of man. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, 
and with all thy mind, and with all thy 
strength Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself". 
1SM320,1 

We are under solemn, sacred covenant to God 
to bring up our children for Him and not for 
the world; to teach them not to put their hands 
into the hand of the world, but to love and fear 
God, and to keep His commandments. They should be 
impressed with the thought that they are formed in the 
image of their Creator and that Christ is the 
pattern after which they are to be fashioned. Most 
earnest attention must be given to the education 
which will impart a knowledge of salvation, and 
will conform the life and character to the divine 
similitude.  6T127 

Not Obsolete. Absolute.
   One-fourth of Americans today can name 
whats in a Big Mac, and one in three people can 
name all the kids from The Brady Bunch. But only 
14 percent of Americans can name the Ten 
Commandments. 
   The Ten Commandments are at the heart of 
Western civilization and form the foundation of our 
legal system. God has given us the solutions to 
all of our problems right here in the 
Scriptures. And theyre broken out for us in the Ten 
Commandments, which we find in Exodus 20 (NKJV): 
   1. You shall have no other gods before 
Me (verse 3). 
   2. You shall not make for yourself a 
carved image - any likeness of anything that is in 
heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or 
that is in the water under the earth; you shall 
not bow down to them nor serve them (verses 
4"5). 
   3. You shall not take the name of the 
Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold 
him guiltless who takes His name in vain 
(verse 7). 
   4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep 
it holy (verse 8). 
   5. Honor your father and your mother, 
that your days may be long upon the land which 
the Lord your God is giving you (verse 12). 
   6. You shall not murder (verse 13).
   7. You shall not commit adultery 
(verse 14). 
   8. You shall not steal (verse 15).
   9. You shall not bear false witness 
against your neighbor (verse 16). 
   10. You shall not covet your 
neighbors house; you shall not covet your neighbors 
wife, nor his male servant, nor his female 
servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything 
that is your neighbors (verse 17). 
   God gave us the Ten Commandments for our 
own good so that we can go from hopelessness to 
happiness. But we need to do more than just memorize 
them. We need to internalize them because 
theyre not obsolete; theyre absolute. [Greg 
Laurie from Harvest Ministries; 
https://www.harvestdaily.com] 

   I have a love-hate relationship with my 
GPS because sometimes I think it takes me the 
wrong way. In fact, Ive read some interesting 
stories about people who followed a GPS and ended up 
in some pretty strange places. 
   When the Israelites left Egypt, their GPS 
system was very simple: they moved when the Lord 
told them to move, and they went where the Lord 
told them to go. 
   Today, God directs us through His Word. 
Its our GPS system, so to speak, confirmed to us 
by the Holy Spirit in our hearts. We can find 
everything we need to know about God and about life in 
the pages of the Bible. 
   Psalm 1 summarizes this for us: Oh, 
the joys of those who do not follow the advice 
of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or 
join in with mockers (verse 1 NLT). 
   If you want to be happy, according to 
Psalm 1, then dont hang out with ungodly 
people, go to ungodly places, and do ungodly 
things. 
   The psalmist goes on to say, But they 
delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day 
and night. They are like trees planted along the 
riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves 
never wither, and they prosper in all they do 
(verses 2"3 NLT). 
   God has laid out His parameters for our 
own protection, for our own good. And as we get 
older, we start seeing the repercussions of the 
decisions people made when they were younger. 
   Solomon, the king of Israel, was renowned 
for his wisdom. With his unlimited resources, he 
decided to see for himself everything this world had 
to offer. Eventually, he came to this 
conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this 
is everyones duty (Ecclesiastes 12:13 
NLT). 
   It comes down to this: Gods way is the 
right way. [Greg Laurie from Harvest Ministries; 
https://www.harvestdaily.com] 

CLOSING THOUGHT

Everyone seeks fulfillment. Most of us have 
some goal or dream that we think will bring 
fulfillment to our lives. But God has wired us in a way 
that we cannot truly find fulfillment by pursuing 
things of this world. We can only find it by 
pursuing him. Solomon, traditionally believed to be 
the author of Ecclesiastes, gives us an eloquent 
testimony to that fact. He pursued every avenue of 
pleasure without hindrance and found them all empty. 
In the end, he said that all is meaningless 
except knowing God and obeying him. [NIV Once A Day 
Bible] 

LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS TOPIC

Ecclesiastes 12:13 - The Whole Duty Of Man 
Is: 

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2005/20050304-1050.html 

Ecclesiastes 12:13 - The Whole Duty of Man. 
(updated) 

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2010/20100905-1644.html 

Ecclesiastes 12:13 - The Whole Duty of Man. 
(addendum) 

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2012/20120906-0727.html 

Ecclesiastes 12:13 - The Whole Duty of Man.

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2020/20201004-0915.html 

John 17:3 - A Supreme Relationship with 
Jesus Christ is Eternal Life. 

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2018/20180823-1030.html 

YOUR COMMENTS

If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or 
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either 
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in 
hearing from you.  Thanks in advance and let's keep 
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred 
Gibbs  

LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT

Most Important Decision in Life: 
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0 

Steps to Peace by Billy Graham: 
https://stepstopeace.org/ 

A Man without Equal by Bill Bright: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo 

Seeking God Made Real: 
http://vimeo.com/31489782 

Prayer Made Real: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE 

Importance of Choice: 
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]  

Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David 
DeRose, MD, MPH: 
https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart 

LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES 

Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: 
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/ 

Amazing Facts Bible Studies: 
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx  

Hope Awakens Bible Study Guides: 
https://www.hopeawakens.study/lesson-header;id=2 

Glow Tract Video Bible Studies: 
http://www.bibleresearch.info/ 

LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS

Islam and Christianity in Prophecy, The 
Third and Final Conflict by Tim Roosenberg: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHSJB-fuHLU&list=PLWhQIHGTHlkaGg5Cwe3NDzWtFX8vNSpsE 

Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of 
Adventist World Radio: https://www.awr.org/bible 

Revelation Now by Pastor Doug Batchelor: 
https://www.revelationnow.com/ 

Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW: 
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens 

Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet: 
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657