Today we will read Ecclesiastes 12: 9-14:

9 Besides being wise, the Teacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs.10 The Teacher sought to find pleasing words, and he wrote words of truth plainly.

11 The sayings of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings that are given by one shepherd.  12 Of anything beyond these, my child, beware. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments, for that is the whole duty of everyone. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.

So today our time in Ecclesiastes comes to an end.  We see a brief summation of his teaching and what he has done for the people.  With all that has been said, thought about, and pondered throughout this book, we leave with simple, true words. 

Fear God and keep His commandments. That’s the simple truth of this book, that is the simple truth of much of scripture and much of faith. Fear God and keep His commandments. 

Fear God – that means reverence for. That means to understand that God is God and we are not. That means respect. That means honor. We honor God with our lives, our words, our very souls. God deserves and demands our respect. I say in the same way, I “fear” my parents. I love them. I honor them. I respect them. When I was young, I did fear their discipline. I understood the power of that. 

We should fear God in the same way. He is holy, He is “other.”  He is different than us.  We should not take Him for granted or take advantage of Him. He is God. He deserves our respect. 

Because of that, we keep His commandments. We know that He knows best, so we keep them. His commands are life.  They are peace. They are our path.  We keep them because in keeping them we find the way to the life that God desires for us. 

Fear God.  Keep His commands. That is simple. That is true.  So much of wisdom is not complicated. It is simple. It is eternal. It is everlasting.  With all that we have learned in this book, let’s hold onto these simple truths.  Living in this manner is the key to the life that God has for us. 

Let’s live that simple wisdom. 

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