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 PEARLS
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
COMMENTARY
Solomon the Searcher
I observed everything going on under the
sun, and really, it is all meaningless - like
chasing the wind. (Ecclesiastes 1:14 NLT)
If anyone could ever say, Been there,
done that, bought the T-shirt, it was Solomon.
He was the hedonist extraordinaire. He went
after everything the world had to offer.
Solomon was highly educated, yet he went
on unbelievable drinking binges. He was an
architectural genius, building the most incredible
structures. Yet he abandoned God in his search for
meaning in life.
The irony is that Solomon knew better. He
was raised in a godly home. His father was King
David, and his mother was Bathsheba. While its
true that David had a serious lapse of faith,
its also true that he repented and got right
with God.
The Bible describes David as a man
after [Gods] own heart (1 Samuel 13:14 NLT),
and he did his best to raise Solomon, the future
king, in the way of the Lord.
Shortly before his death, David gave
these words of wisdom to Solomon: And Solomon,
my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors
intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart
and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every
heart and knows every plan and thought. If you
seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake
him, he will reject you forever (1 Chronicles
28:9 NLT).
Essentially, David was saying, Son,
you cant live off your dads faith. You
must get your own. You need to know the God of
your father. Serve Him with an undivided heart
and a willing mind, not because you have to, but
because you want to. Dont allow your heart to be
divided. Set your heart completely on God.
Initially Solomon followed his fathers
advice. In fact, he did quite well in the beginning.
But after a while, Solomon allowed his heart to
be divided. He tried to walk with God yet
dabble in sin and compromise his values. And it was
only a matter of time until Solomon began to
backslide and fall away.
Then one day Solomon basically said,
Forget it. Im going to go for it. He
abandoned God, and the Old Testament book of
Ecclesiastes is the account of what he learned in this
backslidden state.
A phrase Solomon repeatedly used in
Ecclesiastes was under the sun. He was talking
about horizontal living. It is life this side of
Heaven, life without God.
Solomon also used the word
meaningless (NLT). For example, in Ecclesiastes 1:14 he
wrote, I observed everything going on under the
sun, and really, it is all meaningless - like
chasing the wind (NLT).
Solomon the searcher was telling us there
is nothing on this earth that will satisfy us
completely.
That doesnt mean its wrong to love
life or have possessions. In fact, no one
appreciates life more than the child of God does. And
the Bible tells us that God richly gives us
all we need for our enjoyment (1 Timothy 6:17
NLT).
Solomon set out to experience what most
people only dream of. And in the end, it turned out
to be a nightmare. [Greg Laurie from Harvest
Ministries; https://www.harvestdaily.com]
Walls of Protection
As a pastor, I have talked to a lot of
people who are facing death. And as Ive listened
to the regrets that people have, I have yet to
meet anyone who said, I regret that I became a
Christian when I was eighteen.
On the other hand, Ive heard a lot of
people say, I regret that I didnt do this
sooner. I regret all the wasted years.
Dont let that happen to you.
After trying everything the world had to
offer, King Solomon summed up his experience by
saying, Fear God and obey his commands, for this
is everyones duty. God will judge us for
everything we do, including every secret thing, whether
good or bad (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NLT).
Solomon was saying, Listen to a
seasoned pro. I know what Im talking about here.
If you leave God out of the picture, then your
life will be empty, meaningless, and futile. But
if you want to live a life that is full, a life
of purpose, then here it is: fear God and obey
His commands.
Thats what will keep you on track with
Gods plan for your life. Fear God and obey His
commands.
However, a lot of us dont like
commands. We see them as restrictive. But if we want
to live a life that is full, we must recognize
there is structure, there are parameters, and
there are absolutes.
It would be like someone saying, I
dont like traffic laws. Im not into
stoplights. And I dont like those dotted lines down
the road. They really bug me. Im going to
drive wherever I want to drive and go wherever I
want to go. I want my freedom.
Instead, what theyll get is the
freedom to have an accident. Theyd better stay in
their lane and hope the other drivers do so as
well. Those lanes and traffic laws are there for
our protection. They exist so that we can go
where we need to go.
We might look at the commandments of God
and think theyre ruining our lives. But God
didnt give us His commands to make our lives
miserable. Rather, they are walls and barriers of
protection to keep evil out. That is what Solomon was
saying. Its for our own good.
Yes, the Bible does say that we
shouldnt do certain things. The Bible does tell us to
stay away from particular things. But when it
tells us not to do something, it also tells us to
do something else instead.
For example, the Bible says, Dont
be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your
life (Ephesians 5:18 NLT). There is the dont.
It goes on to say, Instead, be filled
with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making
music to the Lord in your hearts (verses
18"19 NLT). There is the do.
Gods plan is always better. Yes, He
tells us what we should avoid. But it is for our
own good. [Greg Laurie from Harvest Ministries;
https://www.harvestdaily.com]
CLOSING THOUGHT
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]
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
Ecclesiastes 12:13 - The Whole Duty Of Man
Is:
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210731-1003.html
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2020/20201004-0915.html
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2012/20120906-0727.html
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2010/20100905-1644.html
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2005/20050304-1050.html
John 17:3 - A Supreme Relationship with
Jesus Christ is Eternal Life.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2018/20180823-1030.html
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
https://abible.com/links/
