SERIES: Ecclesiastes
TEXT: Ecclesiastes 12:8-14
MESSAGE: “Living With the End in Mind”
“Everyone wants to be successful rather than forgotten, and everyone wants to make a difference in life. But that is beyond the control of any of us. If this life is all there is, then everything will eventually burn up in the death of the sun and no one will even be around to remember anything that has ever happened. Everyone will be forgotten, nothing we do will make any difference, and all good endeavors, even the best, will come to naught. Unless there is God. If the God of the Bible exists, and there is a True Reality beneath and behind this one, and this life is not the only life, then every good endeavor, even the simplest ones, pursued in response to God’s calling, can matter forever.” — Timothy Keller, “Every Good Endeavor”
“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.” — Ecclesiastes 1:2 // Ecclesiastes 12:8
“Throughout his book the Teacher has investigated the situation of ʾādām Now, surprisingly, he affirms that the whole of humanity consists not in its mortality or ignorance but in its dependence on God…It not only flows naturally from all that has gone before but is the book’s final look at Gen 2–3. Humanity sought to become like God in disobeying him, but instead they lost the one thing that made them truly human.” — Duane Garrett
TEXT: Ecclesiastes 12:8-14
There are three final encouragements from Solomon in today’s text. Here’s what they are: (1. Reflect deeply on life 2. See the Greater Teacher 3. Remember Whose You Are)
1. Reflect Deeply On Life (v. 9-10)
“Besides 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.”
2. See the Greater Teacher (v. 11-12)
“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.”
“The ultimate Author of Ecclesiastes—the Spirit of God—uses the words of the book to convict the human heart of its need for Jesus. These words are given by “one Shepherd” (12:11). Only three other places in the Bible speak of a single shepherd, and each refers to the Messiah (Ezek 34:23–24; 37:24–25; John 10:11–16). Ecclesiastes is therefore a messianic book that points to and longs for the Messiah to come and order His kingdom by wisdom.” — Daniel Akin & Jonathan Akin
“By telling his son that study is wearisome and there is no end to making books, he is pleading with his son not to go off on his own quest for meaning and satisfaction as if he could try something Solomon did not already try…The wisdom literature cries out for a better king who can redeem creation from the curse. Isaiah 11 promises that wise King, and this Greater Solomon is presented to us in Matthew 12. Jesus is the wise King who establishes and orders His kingdom with wisdom—a wisdom that is similar to the wisdom of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.” — Daniel Akin & Jonathan Akin
3. Remember Whose You Are (v. 13-14)
“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.”
“‘Here at last we shall find reality, and find ourselves…not as perfectionists seeking what is best for them, but as servants reporting to their proper master. Fear God is a call that puts us in our place, and all other fears, hopes and admirations in their place.” — Derek Kidner
TAKEAWAYS: How can we live with the end in mind? Let’s ask ourselves three questions…
- What priorities fill my day?
- What voice leads my life?
- What will be leftover?
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” — John 10:11