The Conclusion
Ecclesiastes 12:9-14
November 21, 2021
This morning we come to the end of the book of Ecclesiastes.
• Last week we actually looked at the end of the sermon.
• This morning it is the end of the book.
As we said from the beginning Ecclesiastes has an author.
It is a man who heard the sermon of the preacher
And was so moved by it that he was compelled to publish what he heard.
• THE PREACHER, we said, was an older man who had a message for the young man, all about life and wisdom and what to pursue.
• THE AUTHOR heard that message, published it, and is now giving it to his son.
You see the reference to “my son” in verse 12.
So here’s the best way I could explain to you what we see in this text.
• The author heard this sermon (or sermons) from the Preacher.
• The author was moved by it and wrote this book called “Ecclesiastes”
• It is a book recounting the sermon (or perhaps sermons) of the preacher.
And then, (figuratively) tucked inside the back flap of the book
It’s as though the author LEFT A NOTE to his son.
The note explains why the author wanted his son to read this book.
The note explains what the author hoped his son would learn.
It is a perfect way to bring this wonderful book to a fitting conclusion.
WHAT WE READ HERE IS VERY MOVING.
You sense the heart-felt passion of a father
Who desperately wants his son to hear this powerful message.
It is fatherly, it is sincere, and it is incredibly serious.
IN MY MIND, it would be the kind of note
• A father would write to his son
• As he hands him a Bible
• And sends him off to college.
The message has inspired the father.
The preacher has hit the nail on the head.
And the father now is giving it as the finest of gifts to his son.
There is such a weight of emotion here.
But it could almost move a man to tears
As he seeks to express how huge this advice as been.
LAST WEEK DURING THE SERMON we had a few “young men” in the room who were having difficulty paying attention.
• I talked to them about it
• And before we’re too hard on them, we’ve all been there.
But IT GRIEVED ME because I felt the same burden this father has felt.
Of all the messages he wanted his son to hear, this is the one.
So THIS MORNING we’re going to look at this final text.
Certainly there is value for each of us in it,
But I’ll go ahead and make the appeal even stronger
To the young men and women who are here.
WHEN YOU LOOK AROUND THIS CHURCH
• You see friends and relatives.
• You probably see a lot of old people whom you’ve known your whole life.
What you may or may not realize is that from the time you were born
The “old people” in this church have had 1 desire for you.
• Yes they’ve rooted for you at your sporting events
• Yes they’ve followed your school accomplishments
• Yes they’ve commented on how you’ve grown and told you how handsome or pretty you are
BUT ALL OF THAT IS SECONDARY TO THEM.
SINCE THE TIME YOU WERE BORN,
• They’ve prayed for you,
• They’ve sought to welcome you,
• They’ve encouraged you,
• They’ve given money for a youth fund and for you to go to camp.
And it was all for 1 desire they have for you.
ONLY 1
THEY HAVE LONGED FOR THE DAY THAT YOU
• Would recognize your sin,
• Understand the judgment that comes as a result,
• See your need for Jesus,
• Trust in Jesus for salvation,
• Come make a public confession of Him through baptism,
• And then begin to live your life for Him.
Every other desire for you pales in comparison to that desire.
And I can promise you, as we study this text this morning,
And you hear this father speak to his son about what really matters,
There is a part of them that is going to be on pins and needles
And a part of them that is going to be in earnest prayer,
Just hoping that today you get the message.
That’s what we get in this text to conclude the book of Ecclesiastes.
So let’s examine these final 6 verses.
Let’s read this “Note” from the father to his son
Regarding this sermon he has heard.
We’ll break this text up into 3 points that this father has for his son.
#1 HIS COMMENDATION
Ecclesiastes 12:9-10
You will immediately notice that “the Preacher”
Is now being referred to in the 3rd person.
This isn’t “the Preacher” talking here, now this is the author.
And the note begins on somewhat of a light-hearted tone
With the author basically commending this Preacher to his son.
It’s as if to say, “Son, you really ought to listen to what this Preacher has to say.”
Or, “This guy knows what he’s talking about.”
He begins to sort of give the credentials of this preacher
That he is recommending to his son.
And the point is simple.
You should listen to this guy because he is telling you the truth.
Now, it is apparently understood that this preacher is “a wise man”
But the author wants his son to know that this guy
IS NOT just some “random philosopher” with a unique spin on life.
This preacher is a devoted, studying, seeking, proclaimer of truth.
He’s more than just “a wise man”
BUT “In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs.”
This guy is no shallow scholar.
Son, listen to this man, he knows what he’s talking about.
• He teaches “knowledge”
• He “pondered”
• He “searched out”
• He “arranged many proverbs”
HE’S NOT the kind of guy
That speaks without knowing what he’s talking about.
• He’s done the work, he’s done the research.
• He’s wrestled in prayer.
• He’s meditated all night.
• He has found the truth.
There is an article about forging a man of God that I have always enjoyed and at the same time been highly convicted by.
It describes the type of man that the author is describing here.
It’s called “Forging A Man of God”
Fling him into his office. Tear the “office” sign from the door and nail on the sign, “Study.” Take him off the mailing list. Lock him up with his books and his typewriter and his Bible. Slam him down on his knees before texts and broken hearts and the flock of lives of a superficial flock and a holy God.
Force him to be the one man in our surfeited communities who knows about God. Throw him into the ring to box with God until he learns how short his arms are. Engage him to wrestle with God all the night through. And let him come out only when he’s bruised and beaten into a blessing.
Shut his mouth forever spouting remarks, and stop his tongue tripping lightly over every nonessential. Require him to have something to say before he dares break the silence. Bend his knees in lonesome valley.
Burn his eyes with weary study. Wreck his emotional poise with worry for God. And make him exchange his pious stance for a humble walk with God and man. Make him spend and be spent for the glory of God. Rip out his telephone. Burn up his ecclesiastical success sheets.
Put water in his gas tank. Give him a Bible and tie him to the pulpit. And make him preach the Word of the living God!
Test him. Quiz him. Examine him. Humiliate him for his ignorance of things divine. Shame him for his good comprehension of finances, batting averages, and political infighting. Laugh at his frustrated effort to play psychiatrist. Form a choir and raise a chant and haunt him with it night and day – “Sir, we would see Jesus.”
When at long last he dares assay the pulpit, ask him if he has a word from God. If he does not, then dismiss him. Tell him you can read the morning paper and digest the television commentaries, and think through the day’s superficial problems, and manage the community’s weary drives, and bless the sordid baked potatoes and green beans, ad infinitum, better than he can.
Command him not to come back until he’s read and reread, written and rewritten, until he can stand up, worn and forlorn, and say, “Thus saith the Lord.”
Break him across the board of his ill-gotten popularity. Smack him hard with his own prestige. Corner him with questions about God. Cover him with demands for celestial wisdom. And give him no escape until his back’s against the wall of the Word.
And sit down before him and listen to the only word he has left – God’s Word. Let him be totally ignorant of the down-street gossip, but give him a chapter and order him to walk around it, camp on it, sup with it, and come at last to speak it backward and forward, until all he says about it rings with the truth of eternity.
And when he’s burned out by the flaming Word, when he’s consumed at last by the fiery grace blazing through him, and when he’s privileged to translate the truth of God to man, finally transferred from earth to heaven, then bear him away gently and blow a muted trumpet and lay him down softly. Place a two-edged sword in his coffin, and raise the tomb triumphant. For he was a brave soldier of the Word. And ere he died, he had become a man of God.
(John MacArthur, Preaching: How to Preach Biblically, [Nashville, TN.: Nelson Reference & Electronic, 2005] pg. 285-286)
The author is saying to his son that this preacher is that kind of guy.
Son, you should listen to what this Preacher has to say
Because he is giving you the very words of God.
He has studied and wrestled and prayed and begged
And meditated and suffered to know this truth.
THIS IS TRUTH!
(10) “The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly.”
THAT IS ALL HE WANTED.
Paul told Timothy:
1 Timothy 4:13-15 “Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.”
2 Timothy 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 4:2 “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”
2 Timothy 4:5 “But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
As the father gives this recorded sermon to his son,
He opens with a commendation that the son should listen to this sermon
Because this preacher knows what he is talking about.
#2 HIS COUNSEL
Ecclesiastes 12:11-12
THE AUTHOR CONTINUES WITH
Why the son should listen so intently to this Preacher.
The author says:
(11) “The words of a wise man are like goads…”
A “goad” is a stick with a sharp point on it used to drive livestock along the road.
Ever hear the statement,
“They where goading him along” or “Stop goading me”
IT MEANT “Stop poking me with that sharp stick”
Remember before the apostle Paul was saved,
The Lord commented on his stubbornness and said:
Acts 26:14 “And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’”
Why do you fight the prompting of God?
So a goad is that which is meant to stimulate you
To do what you are supposed to do.
And the author says “The words of a wise man are like goads…”
• The words of this Preacher are the types of words that are going to push you to be the man you are supposed to be.
• The words of this Preacher are the words that will push you down the path you are supposed to walk.
ALL FAITHFUL PREACHERS CARRY A GOAD INTO THE PULPIT
WE KNOW THAT we are born in sin.
WE KNOW THAT foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child.
WE KNOW THAT a father’s job is to extract foolishness and to instill.
You can’t leave a child to their own logic or devices.
They’ll wreck their life if you let them choose their own path.
Ephesians 6:4 “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
And the truth is that sometimes that young man or woman
Has to be goaded into the right path.
This father wants his son to recognize the goad of the preacher.
This is even the work of the church.
Hebrews 10:24 “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,”
• If you read the NIV it says, “to spur one another on”
• Like a goad.
THE AUTHOR HERE TELLS HIS SON THAT
This man has the wisdom that will drive him down the correct path.
He goes on to say:
“and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails;”
“collections” there is a confusing word translation.
It is a word that can mean “congregations”
It can even be a sort of figurative reference then to like “a heard or a flock”.
And that’s the idea in this verse.
When he says “masters”,
• He’s talking about those who are “masters” at “using the goad.”
• He’s talking about those who are “masters” at “directing the heard.”
When you have a wise man who is really good at using the goad
And pushing the herd down the right path
You’ve got the kind of guy you should listen to.
The Preacher was that kind of a guy.
The author said he is like “well-driven nails”
What does that mean?
What he builds lasts.
• His wisdom is tried and true.
• His wisdom is time-tested.
“Listen to this guy, he’ll goad you down the right path.
And the wisdom he gives you will last.”
But that’s not all.
“they are given by one Shepherd.”
• We have a guy here who is really good at using his goad to drive the flock
where they need to go.
• He puts them where they need to be and his direction lasts.
BUT THERE IS A REASON.
IT’S NOT because this particular Preacher is so smart or so astute.
Why is this Preacher so good at pushing you down the right path?
Because he got all of his instruction from the true “Shepherd”.
The “Shepherd” referred to here is none other than God.
AND THAT IS THE POINT OF THE AUTHOR TO HIS SON.
Son, listen, you need to pay attention to this Preacher.
• He’s a hard working, hard-studying wise man.
• He has done the work to bring you wisdom.
• He will drive you down the right path.
• And His counsel will last.
Because the wisdom and counsel he is imparting to you has come to him from God.
• His wisdom is NOT a secular wisdom.
• His wisdom is NOT even primarily an experiential wisdom.
• His wisdom IS supernatural wisdom.
• His wisdom IS divine wisdom.
We don’t have time to go read the whole chapter,
But you can write Job 28 in your margin.
It is the chapter where Job talks about mining for gold and other precious treasures.
And Job basically says if you want gold or silver or diamonds then man knows where it is and how to get it; you have to go dig for it.
But then Job asks the question, but where do you get wisdom?
• Can you dig for it?
• Where do you find it?
Job 28:20-28 “Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding? “Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living And concealed from the birds of the sky. “Abaddon and Death say, ‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’ “God understands its way, And He knows its place. “For He looks to the ends of the earth And sees everything under the heavens. “When He imparted weight to the wind And meted out the waters by measure, When He set a limit for the rain And a course for the thunderbolt, Then He saw it and declared it; He established it and also searched it out. “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.’”
Wisdom only comes from God.
And the author here is telling his son,
You need to listen to this Preacher
Because he is imparting to you wisdom from God.
And I love what he says next:
(12) “But beyond this, my son, be warned…”
• There is a wisdom you need to hear and that is God’s wisdom.
• You should devote yourself to knowing that.
• But “beyond this” be careful.
God’s wisdom is necessary, but anything “beyond” God’s wisdom
Should be examined very carefully.
For while God has true wisdom that must be heeded
There is a whole lot of false wisdom that should be avoided.
And that is what he means here:
“But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.”
NO, this isn’t some lament against reading.
It is a warning that there is NO END to “knowledge”
And “wisdom” that the world will throw at you.
The world will never quit writing books that tell you how to live.
We’ve read the passage a lot lately about what Paul preached when he was in Athens.
• Have you ever paid attention to what kind of people his audience was?
• Paul showed up in Athens because he was on the run.
• He went into the Areopagus and started preaching.
But this is how that crowd was described.
Acts 17:21 “(Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)”
Translation?
• There was no truth there.
• They never settled on anything.
• They just kept questioning and kept debating.
Listen there are a lot of highly educated people in this world
And they know a lot about a lot of things.
And NOT ALL of their knowledge is useless.
A man doesn’t have to be a Christian
To know how to build a bridge or remove an appendix.
BUT I WOULD REMIND YOU OF THIS.
If a man or woman does not believe in Jesus
Then regardless of what else they know
They are deceived at the very most important level.
So be very careful reading their books
And taking what they say to be true in every regard.
Some of it may be truth, but I promise you that some of it is not.
And if you devote yourself to learning from the world,
It will end up in terrible harm.
I’m telling you I can’t think of a better verse or better advice
To give a graduating senior as they plan to head off to college.
Don’t believe everything they tell you.
There is God’s wisdom and then there is everything else.
Saturate yourself with God’s wisdom and be very skeptical of everything else.
Paul summed up the difference:
1 Corinthians 2:7-8 “but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;”
You want the true value of the world’s wisdom?
The world is so smart and so educated and so knowledgeable
That they couldn’t even figure out why Jesus is so important.
THAT IS NOT WISDOM, THAT IS FOOLISHNESS.
1 Corinthians 3:19-20 “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS”; and again, “THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS.”
LET ME ASK THE ADULTS IN HERE.
When you send a kid off to college, do you ever have any reservations regarding just what they might get taught?
ABSOLUTELY!
We know how it works, the universities are a lion’s den.
• They’ll teach your kids about critical race theory…
• They’ll teach your kids about socialism…
• They’ll teach your kids about sexual orientation and gender neutrality…
• They’ll teach your kids about abortion and hyper-feminism…
• They’ll seek to rewrite the moral code you tried to instill in your kids.
• And they’ll teach them all that while immersing them in a secular and immoral environment.
If you have no concerns about sending your kid off to college
Then you aren’t paying attention.
THIS AUTHOR FEELS THAT CONCERN.
He heard this sermon and it resonated
And he wrote it down for his son and said, “Son, there’s a lot of information that’s going to be thrown at you which is called “truth” and it won’t be. If you want truth, listen to this Preacher. He is bringing you the truth of God and it will send you down the right path.”
Can you feel that plea from this father?
Can you hear the desperation he has?
We haven’t even gotten to the message yet.
I just want you to see how badly this father wants his son to listen.
SO YOUNG MAN LISTEN UP
His Commendation, His Counsel
#3 HIS CONCLUSION
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
In your life you’ll learn a great many things.
In your life you’ll process great amounts of information.
But if you can start to filter through it all
And start to rank it in order of importance,
Here is the truth that you should put at the top of your list.
We’ll call it the “absolute most important thing” you could ever know.
This is “The conclusion, when all has been heard:”
“Fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”
If you learn nothing else, learn that.
GOD (the Creator of the universe, the Sovereign over all)
GOD IS A RIGHTEOUS JUDGE
He will judge every single person.
• “this applies to every person”
He will judge every single deed.
• “everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil”
GOD KNOWS YOU.
• You have not escaped His radar.
• He meticulously and purposely created you.
• And He had kept extensive records on your entire life.
That thing you did that no one knows about.
You thought you were alone and no one was watching
God knows about it.
And in the great courtroom He will bring it light.
There is nothing hidden that God doesn’t know.
You may have your momma fooled (doubtful)
You may have your grandma fooled (probable)
But you don’t have God fooled.
HE KNOWS.
And because He will judge every single thing
The author tells his son the best advice he could possibly give.
“Fear God and keep His commandments”
Son, nothing is more important in this life
Than that you have such a fear of God
That you are motivated to obey Him at all times.
Do you feel the Father’s plea?
• Son, please don’t offend God!
• Son, please honor God!
This is a father who loves his son and does not want to bear the thought of his son bearing the wrath of God’s holy judgment.
• “Just do what He says!”
• “Obey Him!”
That’s the plea of this father.
Now, this plea is absolutely true and is absolutely the most important.
BUT, IT IS INCOMPLETE.
• This father lived on the other side of redemption.
• This father lived before Jesus came to earth and before Jesus died on the cross.
His message is 100% accurate, but it is incomplete.
• Jesus finished this message.
• Jesus completed this father’s point to his son.
We remember:
Matthew 16:27 “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”
John 5:22-29 “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”
We’ve read it many times:
Acts 17:31 “because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
And of course we are all aware:
Revelation 20:11-15 “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
Jesus Himself preached that judgment is coming.
But Jesus also offered a way through the judgment
And that was by believing in Him.
John 3:16-18 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
AND THIS IS IT YOUNG MAN.
• I want nothing else for you.
• This father wanted nothing else for his son.
• This congregation wants nothing else for you.
We want you to know that God is not joking around.
JUDGMENT IS REAL.
There is a real lake of fire and people will really go there for all eternity.
The only people who escape it
Are those who turn from their sin and trust in Jesus Christ.
It is only for the people who confess Jesus as Lord.
There is not a more important piece of information
That you will ever hear than that.
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
That is it.
That is “The conclusion, when all has been heard”
When this father heard this sermon by the Preacher
He heard what he wanted his son to hear before he went into the world.
And this morning we conclude the study of this wonderful book
By bringing it to you.
AND THIS MORNING I AM ASKING YOU
To turn from your sin and to confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
I am asking you
• To believe that Jesus’ righteousness if enough to satisfy the Father.
• To believe that Jesus’ death is enough to satisfy the Father.
• To give your life to Him.
• Then to publicly confess Him.
Nothing matters to me or this church more than that.
And when you trust in Jesus the Bible says that
• Your sin will be imputed to Christ and He will have paid the penalty for that you have done – FORGIVENESS
• And not only that, but His righteousness will be imputed to you and you will instantly be made acceptable to God – JUSTIFICATION
• He will place His Spirit within you to set you free from the sin that has plagued your life – SANCTIFICATION
• And one day He will take you home to heaven to be with Him – GLORIFICATION
2 Corinthians 5:20-21 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
