This is the End

Well, this is it. We come to the end of the book of Ecclesiastes. And let me just be the first to say: congratulations, you made it! I feel like we should hand out badges to everyone who's been here for every sermon. This is a difficult book, one that is universally recognized as such. I feel like it was almost easier going through the book of Revelation than it has been going through Ecclesiastes. So I want to begin this morning as we look at this text with two quotations. The first is from Tremper Longman III, an esteemed Old Testament scholar who wrote a commentary on Ecclesiastes. Concerning this passage, verses 8 through 14, he writes, "Within this section we encounter some of the most significant disputes concerning translation and interpretation of the text." That's saying a lot when you're talking about Ecclesiastes, where many could argue the whole thing has been a difficult task of translation and interpretation! And I would just like to point out that this is the first and only passage I've had the opportunity to preach from Ecclesiastes. Was this done on purpose? We may never know. Nevertheless, here we are.

The second quote comes from St. Augustine of Hippo, a fifth-century bishop in northern Africa. In his work Confessions, he wrote, "I sought an answer to the question, 'Whence is evil?' But I sought it in an evil way, and I did not see the evil in my very search." This accurately captures the overwhelming problem with the book of Ecclesiastes and, coincidentally, the correction that the narrator is moving all of us toward this morning. Like Augustine, the preacher—Qohelet—throughout Ecclesiastes is on a journey to answer a question. He has a question which he longs to answer, presented to us in the very beginning of the book in chapter 1, verse 3: "What does a man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?" This question drives the majority of the book. For Qohelet, this is a question about meaning: What does man gain throughout all his work and life? What is the point?

Qohelet’s Broken Methodology

The problem is that while this question is worthy of being sought out, the preacher fails to see what Augustine ultimately saw: his own faulty methodology. He does not see the failure in the way he seeks to answer his question. As we've walked through Ecclesiastes, probably the most repeated word is "I." The preacher says, "I said in my heart," "I will test you with pleasure," "I made," "I built," "I sought," "I perceived." He sits at the center of his journey. Everything he tests is measured against his own experience, interpretation, sense perception, thoughts, and ideas. He is the beginning and the end of his quest, his own main point of reference. So from the very start, his methodology is broken. After walking through this journey with Qohelet and his broken methodology in practice, the narrator now comes back into the story to give his assessment, his application, and ultimately to correct that methodology by offering a right way to understand the complexity of life.

The Shift in Speaker: Framing the Book

Here in verse 8, there is a shift in speaker. The vast majority of Ecclesiastes is occupied with the musings of the Preacher, but in verse 7 his words come to an end, and in verse 8 the narrator who introduced the book returns to the story. He does so by taking us back to the very beginning. Verse 8 is a restatement of chapter 1, verse 2: "Vanity of vanities, says the preacher; all is vanity." Together, chapter 1, verse 2 and chapter 12, verse 8 form an inclusio—a bookend framing the whole of Qohelet's speech. He began with vanity and he ends with vanity. The search for meaning, at least from the preacher's perspective, has ended exactly where it began: with a declaration that all is vanity, meaningless, and enigmatic. The meaning of life, as far as the preacher is concerned, is beyond understanding, grasping, or holding onto; it is too much to figure out.

This restatement provides the narrator with the opportunity to offer his assessment of the work as a whole. In verses 9 through 12, there are divergent views on how one should understand the narrator's assessment of the preacher's words. Depending on what commentary you read, some say both the narrator and the preacher arrive at the exact same conclusion. Others say the narrator, while slightly affirming the preacher, disagrees greatly on his accomplishments and arrives at a completely contrary conclusion. As is often the case, the right answer is probably somewhere in the middle. What's most important for us as we bring this book to a close is to see that the narrator affirms both the wisdom of the preacher and the usefulness of Ecclesiastes as a whole.

The Narrator’s Assessment and Canonical Rooting

Look with me at verse 9: "Besides being wise, the preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many Proverbs with great care." Despite what we might have thought while listening to the preacher rant and rave about his search for meaning, the narrator declares that the preacher is in fact wise. He taught the people and collected proverbs—weighing and arranging them, though not necessarily inventing new ones. So while it may not be an overwhelming endorsement, it is certainly not a denial either. The narrator affirms that the preacher was wise and diligent in his craft. In verse 10, he goes on to say, "The preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth." He tried to do this. Now, as you read through Ecclesiastes, would you characterize these as "words of delight"? Did anybody leave after each sermon going, "Man, that felt great! Loved what he said about not being able to find purpose in anything!" There is debate over whether this highlights his failure to find words of delight or simply describes what he attempted to do, but regardless, he was trying. Qohelet is a wise man attempting to accomplish something meaningful.

Interpretive difficulties persist in verses 11 and 12: "The words of the wise are like goads and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one shepherd. My son, beware of anything beyond these; of making many books there is no end, and much study is weariness of the flesh." Language can be challenging, especially when translating ancient Hebrew into modern English. But what I find most interesting in these two verses is the phrase "my son." Throughout the entire book of Ecclesiastes, that phrase has not appeared once. Yet here, as the narrator brings the story to a close, we find "my son." If you read Proverbs, "my son" shows up repeatedly. I believe the narrator is firmly situating Ecclesiastes within the Old Testament wisdom tradition, canonical rooting it alongside Proverbs to show there is instruction here to be received and understood.

Connecting Ecclesiastes to Proverbs helps us understand how to process its message. Proverbs is based on character and consequence: if you do X, Y, and Z, you will get P, D, and Q. "Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." The problem is that many people go to bed early and get up early and are still fools, or work hard and accomplish nothing. The wisdom of Proverbs frequently collides with the harsh reality of living in a broken world marred by sin. Ecclesiastes steps in on the backside of Proverbs and asks: What do you do when traditional wisdom seems to fail? What do you do when the fool prospers, the wicked excel, and the righteous suffer? Ecclesiastes is meant to be read in conjunction with Proverbs, and Proverbs with Ecclesiastes. The narrator is knitting these together to say this book is profitable; there is wisdom to be gleaned here.

Two Commands for Life

While verses 9 through 12 present interpretive challenges, verses 13 and 14 are clear as day: "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil." In a quick, punchy, and direct way, the narrator condenses everything down into two clear commands: Fear God, and keep His commandments. The command to fear God is not foreign to Ecclesiastes—the preacher mentions it in chapters 5 and 8. In chapter 5, he talks about approaching the house of God to listen rather than speak: "God is in heaven and you are on earth, therefore fear God." In chapter 8, he argues that it is better for those who fear God than for those who do not. However, the preacher never puts forward the fear of God as the primary motivation driving every action; his search begins and ends with himself. The narrator, much like Proverbs, presents the fear of God as the starting point of all life.

When the narrator speaks of fearing God, it represents an orthodox understanding of man's relationship to his Creator. God is transcendent Creator over all creation, and we are His creation. Fearing God begins with that distinction, but biblical fear moves beyond sheer dread or terror. While chapter 5 warns us to keep our mouths shut because God is in heaven, true biblical fear moves from dread to reverence, from reverence to awe, and from awe to worship—worshiping the Creator who, though transcendent, calls a people into relationship with Himself. In light of the chaotic nature of life, the narrator's ultimate exhortation is simple: worship God.

Life is crazy, unpredictable, and rarely goes according to our plans. I had my own life mapped out as a kid—initially wanting to be a bulldozer, then a pediatrician, living in a big house in one place forever with dogs, hosting family reunions. Instead, I dislike dogs, I don't host reunions, and I've lived in dozens of places. Life is chaotic. Taking all this in, the narrator says: In light of the chaos, worship God. This mirrors Psalm 73, where Asaph is ready to throw in the towel because the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer, until he enters the sanctuary of God—it is worship that corrects his perspective. This was the shift in methodology Qohelet so desperately needed. It does not begin with self; it begins with worshiping God.

This worship is then expressed in obedience: fear God and keep His commandments. Worship offered in word only is incomplete; true worship is demonstrated in word and deed. The narrator grounds these commands in God's universal sovereignty: "For this is the whole duty of man, for God will bring every deed into judgment." Notice he doesn't say this is the duty of just the preacher, the narrator, or covenant Israel—it is the duty of every man, woman, and child who has ever lived. Why? Because God is Creator over all, and there is not a square inch of creation where He does not reign. We do not "make" God Lord of our lives as if He depended on our permission; He is Lord over all creation, and every deed will be brought into His judgment.

Hope in Christ and the Call to Mission

We have all felt like the preacher at times, wondering what the point of it all is. In the midst of life's absurdity, it is good to hear: worship God and keep His commandments. And the glorious news is that through Christ, we can! Christ lived a perfect life, died on the cross, rose again, and now reigns at the right hand of the Father. Because of Jesus, we can worship God, walk in obedience, and be at peace even in the hardest circumstances. We do not need to cry out, "Meaningless! Meaningless!" because Christ sits enthroned, and all of God's promises find their "Yes" in Him.

Finally, if it is the duty of all mankind to worship God, then it is our duty to declare this reality to the ends of the earth. As John Piper famously said, "Missions exists because worship doesn't." God deserves and demands to be worshiped by every person on this planet. Whether called to go to foreign lands or to speak to our neighbors and coworkers, we must be motivated by the reality that people made in the image of God were created for something so much greater than the lies they are trapped in. They were made to know, glorify, and worship their Creator. Let us be a people committed to seeing the earth filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.

transcribed by Sermonspark.ai