The Conclusion

The Final Word of a Wise Teacher

Good afternoon. My joy this afternoon is to turn to Ecclesiastes chapter 12. We've been on a roller coaster journey through this book of the Bible, and now we come to the very last paragraph, the very last section — Ecclesiastes 12:9-14. Let's ask that God would speak to us one last time from this book.

Father, please help us. Give us the wisdom we need to rightly navigate this world in which you put us. Where we feel sleepy, wake us up. Where we feel cold-hearted, warm us up. Help us this afternoon to see more of who you are and all that you've done, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Setting the Scene

Before reading this last section, I want to give you an image for how to imagine this book. Imagine you went to hear a lecture by a world-class expert. Someone introduces the evening: "It's my joy tonight to welcome the esteemed professor, who is going to speak on her subject..." Then she comes and delivers her lecture.

That's what Ecclesiastes is like. Chapter 1 verse 1 says, "The words of the teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem." We have a voice introducing us to this teacher — an expert who has researched, pondered, and is now going to share his wisdom. Then the professor shuffles onto the stage, looks at the audience, and says:

"Meaningless, meaningless," says the teacher. "Utterly meaningless. Everything is meaningless."

This expert, having done his research, delivers his verdict: life in this world is ungraspable. You can never quite work it out. And he lectures all the way through chapters 1 to 11, showing us the reality of this world. It hasn't been a lot of fun — not a feel-good, Disney-style pick-me-up. The professor has shown us the world as it really is, and it's a hard place.

Last week, the professor got to the end of his lecture. Do you remember his last line? "Meaningless, meaningless," says the teacher. "Everything is meaningless." And then he shuffles off the stage, leaving everyone stunned.

So now the narrator — the one who introduced him — comes back onto the stage and says, in effect, "Thank you, teacher, for what you've said. Now, this is what you're to do with it." Without these final verses, it would be very difficult to know what the book of Ecclesiastes is about. Let's listen to what we're supposed to do with the teacher's words.

Not only was the teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. The teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true. The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails, given by one shepherd. Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body. Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

A Precious Gift

What are we supposed to do with the teacher's words? Notice how the narrator tells us that what we've received is a precious gift. The teacher wasn't randomly chucking out grumpy facts — he carefully investigated, researched, pondered, searched out, and put things in order. He spoke what is upright and true.

Wisdom to navigate this world won't be found within your own heart. The wisdom you need is not something you can work out yourself — it's something you need the wise teacher to impart to you.

I'm not much of a pilot — honestly, if there were only two of us in the plane, you should fly it, not me. But I do know this: there are moments when the cloud becomes so thick and everything so white that you lose all sense of where you are, and you don't even know which way up you are. It's possible to fly thinking you're the right way up and actually be upside down. Terrifying.

I think that's the experience Ecclesiastes has left most of us with. Sometimes life spins us around, leaving us so confused we cannot see the meaning. What does a pilot need in that moment? The instrument on the dashboard that tells you where the horizon is — something true that you can rely on, even when it feels wrong, and build your whole life on.

That's what the teacher has given us: a word which acts as our horizon in a complicated, confusing, whited-out world, so that we might know which way is up.

A Better Teacher Than Solomon

What a privilege to have a teacher who is wise. But there's one greater than Solomon: Jesus. If you've read the gospels, they keep calling him Rabbi — do you know what that means? Teacher. Jesus is the true teacher who has come from God, who has walked this real world and experienced its turmoil, and who speaks words so reliable and true that you can base your life on them.

Jesus doesn't claim to have an idea, a thought, or a philosophy. He claims to speak truth. In fact, he doesn't just claim to speak truth — he claims to be truth. Can you think of anything more outrageous than for Jesus to say, "I am the truth"?

As you fly through life, the horizon you need is not a truth or one truth among many — it's the truth, found in Jesus. Your life will only make sense, and you will only know which way is up, when you set your horizon by him.

I hate being taught things. I like to work it out myself. I hate asking for directions, I hate IKEA instructions — I hate anything that involves admitting I don't know. But here's the reality of the Bible: you don't know. There are things you cannot make sense of in this world. And Jesus is the teacher, the king, the Son of God who has come from above with the truth we desperately need.

Goads and Nails: What Ecclesiastes Should Feel Like

What effect will these words have? "The words of the wise are like goads." A goad is a pointy stick used to correct animals that are going wrong. If you've got a herd of cattle moving in one direction and one starts veering off, a little poke moves it back in line.

The teacher's words are like goads. There will be points where they poke us, and it feels uncomfortable — like being pushed out of shape. But we need that wisdom to push us back into shape, because by nature we veer off track. We act in ways even non-Christians recognise and regret: Why am I doing that? Why did I say those words? Why was I so harsh? God's word pokes us and moves us back on track.

But these words are not just like goads — they are also "like firmly embedded nails." Something secure and solid, not rickety, not going to let you down. A foundation you can put your weight on.

And these words are given by one shepherd.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters.

One shepherd has given us one word — a word that pokes us and a word that holds us. Interesting that Jesus not only said "I am the truth," he also said "I am the shepherd." The words of the wise teacher and the one shepherd come together in the one person of Jesus. He speaks words that both confront us when we're being lazy and comfort us when we're distressed.

No Other Voice

"Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them... of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body." This isn't an anti-study verse — it's a warning against continually seeking more and more voices when there is only one shepherd, one teacher, one truth.

Some people are interested in Jesus, like to talk about him, but never actually trust him — always more questions, never satisfied. At the end of the day, the question is: is Jesus your shepherd or not? Will you trust him? Will you let him be your teacher?

The Conclusion of the Matter

So here it is — the summary of it all: "Fear God and keep his commandments." If you want to know how to walk wisely through a painful, disorienting world, here is your horizon. It's so simple.

We love making things complicated. Do you know which sport has the most rules? American football — the NFL has over 100,000 pages of rules. So complicated. Lots of people think God is like that. He's not. Fear God and keep his commands. That's it.

You might think, "That doesn't sound very nice — good thing we live in the New Testament where it's about grace and love." I want to persuade you in the time we have left that to fear God and keep his commandments is not cold, hard, and dutiful — it's the most beautiful thing.

What It Means to Fear God

Fearing God is an encounter with God that is:

1. Joyful — Isaiah 11 says the Messiah "will delight in the fear of the Lord." The Bible's fear is not terror but wonder — an experience of God's magnitude that leaves you saying "wow." God's purpose for you was joy, and joy is found in a right fear of God.

2. Humbling — Seeing God as he truly is enables you to rightly understand who you truly are. To fear God is to say, "You're God, I'm not," recognising I am small. As Ecclesiastes 5 says, "Guard your steps when you go near the house of God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth."

3. Physical — Why does the Bible keep using the word fear rather than respect? Because fear captures something respect never can. When people encounter God in Scripture, they tremble; their hearts pound. This is a stream of experience many of us have never really pursued because our understanding of God has become too intellectual, too rational, too domesticated. Don't pursue the experience itself — but do pursue the God of holiness, the God of awesome wonder. Don't settle for a cold, lukewarm, mediocre experience of him.

4. Ultimate — The fear of God is not a means to something else. If you say, "I will trust God if he gives me this," then the thing after the if is what you actually fear and desire. That's not the fear of the Lord — that's using God to get what you want. The fear of the Lord says: you alone are my desire, above all other things.

5. Reordering — Fearing God reorders your whole life, reshaping your priorities and putting everything in its right place. Lord, where do you want me to be? What do you want me to do?

6. Freeing — This is the astonishing thing at the end of Ecclesiastes: fearing God is true love and wonder, and keeping his commandments is true freedom. We think freedom means doing whatever I want. It's not. True freedom is doing what I was created to do. Psalm 119 says, "I run in the path of your commands." God's commands don't spoil your life — the world's voices lie when they say that. God's commands give you the freedom you were created for.

This is the horizon line. Every day, wake up and ask: How do I fear you and keep your commandments today, in this situation? It's not complicated rules — it's that simple.

Judgment, Guilt, and the Cross

The final verse says God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or bad. This awesome God of love and holiness will judge this world and bring everything out into the open. I find that terrifying — there's so much in my heart I don't want made known.

The answer is: fear God. Let me take you to one last place to see what to do with your guilt and shame.

Imagine a hillside outside Jerusalem. Three crosses, three men. The man in the middle is being mocked and accused. One criminal hurls abuse at Jesus: "Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us." But the other criminal says:

"Don't you fear God, since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise."

When you truly fear God, rather than making you terrified, it drives you to run to Jesus and say, "Remember me. I'm a criminal. I deserve punishment, I deserve hell — and yet you died on that cross in my place." The fear of God drives you to Jesus.

Fearing God is not an Old Testament relic we've done away with. It is seeing God as he truly is, running to Jesus for mercy, and then living every day seeking to keep his commandments.

Conclusion

This is the conclusion of the matter, the end of Ecclesiastes: fear God, keep his commandments, live that way — and when you fail, run to Jesus, the man on the middle cross. Run to him for mercy, and then fear God and keep his commandments. It's simple. That is the way to life — joyful, humbling, freeing, physical, ultimate, reordering. There is no other way.

Father, we thank you for who you are. Thank you that you are beautiful. Lord, we want to be people who fear you, who know who you truly are, who don't push ourselves forward but humble ourselves before you. Thank you for this book of Ecclesiastes, for this one teacher, this one shepherd, this one truth that will goad us and hold us until the day we see you face to face. We praise you. Amen.