FEAR GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS Ecclesiastes 12:9-14

Dr JD Harless Tri-County Christian Church August 14, 2016 Resources: Expositors & Commentaries FEAR GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS Ecclesiastes 12:9-14 Today we are going to finish our series on the book of Ecclesiastes. And we are also going to do something that I do with most of my classes at IWU have a test on the last day of class. This test is for you to see how much you might have learned over the past 11 weeks. You ready? Here we go 1. According to Ecclesiastes, life is like a A. Box of chocolates B. Broken record C. Soap opera D. Mist or Vapor 2. The teacher uses the phrase under the sun twenty-nine times in the book. What is this phrase used to describe? A. The Empire of Japan B. Life from a purely secular level C. Global Warming D. A Chain of Tanning Salons 3. What was Solomon s Starbucks Revelation? A. Folgers coffee is cheaper B. Coffee is amazing C. We are never satisfied with what we have D. What s coffee without cream? 4. In this series we were taught to be wise and keep our eyes on the... A. Prize B. Pokemon Go App C. Heat Index D. Road 5. What does the phrase cast your bread upon the waters mean? A. Feed the Ducks B. Slang for Sea-Sickness C. Be Willing to Take Risks FEAR GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS 1

D. Term used in Fly-fishing So how did you do? You learn anything from the journey we took with Solomon? I hope so! Today we come to the conclusion of Ecclesiastes by looking at the last 6 verses. It is a summary of all that Solomon found as he examined and researched life. He pulls together all that he has said in the whole book in these verses. At the time that Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes Israel was at a pivotal time in their history! Their international trade was better than it had ever been. If you remember from 2 weeks ago Solomon refers to that trade when he said Cast your bread on the waters. Fortunes could be made or lost overnight. And the Jews were having a hard time focusing on what really mattered. They seemed to be more interested in making money and storing up wealth than they were focusing on the Kingdom of God and what God wanted out of their lives. And I would guess that we all could say that is true in our society todays as well don t you think? If you are not sure that is the case then stand in line at the gas stations as the people ahead of you are buying lottery tickets in hopes of making it rich overnight. In the last 6 verses Solomon combats this whole mindset and tells the Jewish people of his time and the American people of our time what is really meaningful in life. So what makes life meaningful? Is life really meaningless, meaningless, all is meaningless like Solomon suggests in CHAPTER ONE VERSE 2? Solomon s conclusion is that there is something that brings meaning to life. Let s turn to ECCLESIASTES 11:9-14 and find out what the answer to Solomon s quest is. READ VERSES 9-10 There are some teachers that I wish I could have sit under and absorbed every bit of wisdom that I could possibly take in! I would have liked to sit under C.S. Lewis who examines Christianity in his book Mere Christianity and makes it so inviting FEAR GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS 2

I would like to have sit under Dallas Willard a philosopher and author that penetrates your very soul. I would have liked to sit under a teacher by the name of Stan McDaniel who taught at JBC and would challenge your socks off. I would consider all three of these men as wise teachers but according to the Bible there was one that was wiser than those three or any other teacher who has ever entered a classroom. I KINGS 4:30-31a tells us 30 Solomon s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the men of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 He was wiser than any other man, You can get a sense of his wisdom if you read the book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes or Song of Solomon. Some people might think that Solomon is being a bit arrogant in VERSE 9 when he says Not only was the Teacher wise, but also he imparted knowledge to the people but Solomon knew where that wisdom came from It was God s wisdom not his. READ VERSE 11 In VERSE 11 Solomon compares his wisdom to two things GOADS There is a really good chance that many of us do not know what a goad is. That is because that is not what we call it we call it a shepherd s staff. SHOW SHEPHERD S STAFF. This is actually a welldesigned tool. The hook end of the staff was used to reach out and hook a lamb or sheep around the neck and pull it back into the flock. The other end was probably more pointed than we see them. That was used like a spear. The shepherd would use it to beat off or kill any animals that were trying to get the sheep. And he also used it for a little prodding when a sheep or lamb decided to disobey. The wisdom books which include Solomon s books in the Bible give very practical life knowledge are called are like goads. When we have a tendency to stray away from the truth these books are a way of bringing us back into the fold. When we begin to chase after temptations that lead us a stray and disobey God they can prod us back to where we belong. FEAR GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS 3

But that is true not only of these books of wisdom but all the Bible can be used as a goad. Sometimes God s word is comforting like in Psalm 23 thy rod and thy staff comfort me. Sometimes God s Word is like a little prod like 2 Timothy 3:16 where we are told, All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in all righteousness. It is comforting to know that God has not forgotten us and that God is very willing to use his goad on us to keep us in the flock. Solomon also compares God s wisdom to WELL DRIVEN NAILS Again we might lose the point Solomon is making here. In Jewish homes of Solomon s time there were no closets or coat racks. There were no such things as hangers at least not for clothes. There were nails hammered into the wall and important things including clothes clay jars and so forth were hung on those nails. They had to be well driven so that nothing would fall and break But well driven nails that we use today would give you the same concept. They hold things in the place they are supposed to be. And God s word does the same thing including the wisdom books of the Bible. God s word including the wisdom books is our comfort or guide our prod and our stability. The more it is used by us the more likely we will become the sheep that pleases God. Let s READ VERSE 12 Solomon gives us a warning in this verse. There is the same kind of warning at the end of the book of Revelation but it is much more emphatic REVELATION 22:18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. It is amazing how many books hit the shelves today. In 2015 there were approximately 1.5 million new books published. Now I understand that many of them were fiction and biographies, etc. But many of those books are what we call self-help books. Their intent is to make you wiser and a better person. Solomon s point thousands of years ago and John the author of Revelation is this FEAR GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS 4

be careful of what you read and believe. When you try to add to the wisdom of God s word you are walking on very thin ice. And if it conflicts with God s word then stay away from it. You want to learn more about yourself and what will bring you true joy and satisfaction then read the Bible You want to know how to raise kids to be godly adults then read the Bible. You want to know how the universe came into existence and how it continues to function then read the Bible. There is nothing wrong with reading books in fact I encourage it. But always check it against what God says in his book! We have spent 12 weeks counting today examining the wisdom that God gave Solomon. We have entered his lab and watched him examine everything under the sun. And after examining all of this testing it from every angle he has boiled down his findings to two conclusions. Here is the first one 1 FEARING GOD IS RIGHT THINKING READ VERSES 13-14 The word fear often misleads us. Vicki and I have a neighbor who has a German Shepherd. When he is loose we are afraid to be outside. We certainly don t want our grandkids outside. He is not what you would call a friendly loving pet. That is not what this word means at least not entirely. There is somewhat a sense of that understanding. When I was a small tyke and mom or dad told me to do something I knew if I did not do it wrath was going to come my way. Did I deserve it? Yes. And if they said it would happen it happened. There is a sense of where we need to be fearful of the wrath of God. The Apostle Paul does an excellent job sharing this with us in COLOSSIANS 3:5-6 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. FEAR GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS 5

I think the American church in general has lost that healthy fear of God. And when we look at what happened when the Jews did that the results were never good. Solomon says in PROVERBS 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. But there is additional meaning to this word fear. It also expresses a sense of awe and reverence. When you get to know God you stand in awe. Listen to what happens with Moses EXODUS 33:18-23 18 Then Moses said, Now show me your glory. 19 And the LORD said, I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But, he said, you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live. 21 Then the LORD said, There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen. And when God passes by listen to who Moses responds 8 Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. (EXODUS 34:8) So the results of all these experiments that Solomon conducted boils down to this Fear God! Wise advice don t you think? One commentator rightly said, To fear God is to take God seriously, to acknowledge him in our lives as the highest good, to revere him, to honor and worship him, to center our lives on him. The Apostle Paul said to the philosophers in Athens, In him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). I think we would be wise if we saw God less as our good buddy and more as the God of the Universe in who all things have their being. Remember this God is the almighty Creator; we are mere creatures. God is eternal; we are here today and gone tomorrow. God is holy; we are sinners. FEAR GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS 6

The second conclusion that Solomon makes is 2 KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS IS RIGHT LIVING When you were a kid did you ever try to do something that your parents told you not to do and then hope they would not find out? Mom and Dad are still finding out things my sisters did that they were able to hide all these years. I have found that many of us live our spiritual lives that very same way. We disobey God because there is something we really want to do and we do it. But listen to this If you think you are going to disobey God and him not find out think again! Listen to VERSE 14 (READ) again For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. Part of that verse I really like everything we do that is good he sees it. But the other part I don t like so well everything we do bad he also sees. Friends We need to understand a very basic rule Love and obedience go hand in hand. We cannot say we love God but chose to disobey him. Listen to what the Apostle John says in JOHN 14:15 15 If you love me, you will obey what I command. So what are his commands? If we were to list all the commands in the Bible we would be here for a long time. But Jesus made it easy for us he compiled them into two commands Love God Love people. So how are you doing with those two? You really loving God and showing it by obeying him? And are you really loving his people? It is not always an easy thing to do it is? But Solomon found out that through all of his experimentation that that is our duty in life to fear God and obey his commandments. CONCLUSION We began our sermon this morning with a test. I want to finish this morning by adding one more question to that examination 6 What is the duty of life? FEAR GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS 7

Exactly! A. To gather as many toys as we can before we die B. To eat as many peanut butter shakes from Good s as we can C. To be the most popular person in school or at work D. To fear God and obey his commandments FEAR GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS 8