Hi friends. Here we are at the end of Ecclesiastes. After most of a year and 77 posts, we arrive today at the ultimate climax.
Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.*
Easy: one precept. Remember that and you don’t have to remember anything else.
It’s like we have an invisible compass, dependable for all guidance. That’s pretty reassuring in the plethora of paths.
The only challenge is that the compass is invisible. It’s too easy to not check it, or think it must not be working.
Fear God. It’s not an expression we use much. Instead of “fear” we like to use a lighter touch, like “profound respect.” That works. But it lacks the ultimate weight of consequence.
That which we fear we generally stay away from. But in fact, the fear of an also benevolent God frees us from fear of anything else.
I scanned the headlines in today’s paper . . . full of accounts where no such fear exists. The stories are about the consequences.
There’s a telling account in the Old Testament where Abraham traveled to a country and sensed danger. His remark to himself was, “There is no fear of God in this place.”** He took measures, and those measures are part of his story. But that story is not my point, rather that a place where there is no fear of God is a dangerous place.
Why? Because there’s no sense of consequence.
What we tend to forget is “delayed consequence” is not the same as “no consequence.”
Here’s the rest of that final Ecclesiastes passage:
For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
Happily, the commandments of God are not onerous. All are for our sake. Only in a few instances has he had to say, “Not that.” All else is ours for exploration, enjoyment, and free abandon.
And when we do blow it, he’s got a solution for that too, if we’ll take it.
Meantime, fear God. It’s very freeing.
____________________
* Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
** Genesis 20:11
Our Lives Together
Its About Life
10:18 am
Tremendous post, Hyatt. “A place where there is no fear of God is a dangerous place” therefore to be safe and free of fear we must fear….God alone.
10:26 am
Well done, Hyatt!
77 posts on Ecclesiastes, original thinking and creative presentation. I have never read a book on Ecclesiastes, nor heard a series of sermons in church on this book. You have filled this lacuna admirably.
So what’s next? Song of Solomon? With commentary from your lifetime companion?
I would be a fan!
8:56 pm
You are hilarious, jack!
10:34 am
Thank you so much Hyatt…I really enjoyed working through Ecclesiastes. I actually wouldn’t mind at all if you started the book over again …I am sure you can discern new things out of the book time each you read it.
10:43 am
Fitting thoughts for the end of this book, Hyatt. The great exchange … our surrender, acknowledgement, fear … in return for His care, protection, and indwelling presence. Funny how the world’s perception of this Gospel is one of being binding and limiting. On the contrary, we experience freedom (from our false selves), the promise we’ll never again be abandoned, and ultimately all of those inner-storms calmed. For some of us, for the first time, ever. “Fear” God, then, for our own good? O, man, what are you thinking?
3:36 pm
I found your “dissection” of Ecclesiastes very interesting and worth the thought that went into them. Thank you for your thoughts on that interesting book!
6:24 pm
What a great way to end a great book! “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wIsdom” Psalm 111:10… It’s the essence of Ecclesiastes!
7:04 pm
It is fascinating how the Spirit of God truly moves like wind. Right now, as you are finishing Ecclesiastes, David Jeremiah is teaching on it, Ravi Zecharias is teaching on it, and I think I heard the book brought up somewhere else recently. As I write there is a man with guns and an insane grudge hiding somewhere up in Big Bear who says he has no fear of death. This is because he has no concept of the consequences. People say, “well, I suppose some day I will die.” And the comment is, “what are you planning after that?”
9:20 pm
So true Hyatt, there is liberation with the fear of God. It truly brings everything down to size when compared with the true God.
12:11 am
Great insights. Thank you, Hyatt.
9:38 am
Thanks Hyatt, I always enjoy each of your writings & paintings! Keep them coming.
1:58 pm
Excellent, Amen!
2:31 pm
This is excellent!
11:57 am
Much appreciation for sharing your gifts with us!
2:19 pm
Thank you Hyatt for this post. And I’m glad you referred me to it yesterday. I really like that last sentence you wrote. Yes, this post is excellent.