Ecclesiastes Chapter Twelve, Concluding The Matter

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. [14] For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Finally, the preacher leads us to his summary. The preacher, in his search for relevance and meaning, sought out many paths and always found disappointment at every turn. Worse, disappointment fomented bitter frustration, and despair. He earlier intimated that God once made man upright, but since that time mankind has sought out many schemes, Ecclesiastes 7:29. In an effort to discern their various merits, the preacher indulged them all.

Verse 13 commences with the preacher demanding to hear the conclusion of the matter. The answer, as it were, is more shockingly simplistic than we might have expected, or even wanted. The preacher compels us to obey God, and to keep His commandments. The Hebrew word for “commandments,” is, “mitsvah,” and simply means, “a command or statute, whether human or divine.” The most famous use of this word, of course, comes from the Hebrew Torah, or the book of the Law, the first five books of the Bible, or the books of Moses. The Law given at Sinai, however, was entirely to Israel, Yahweh’s covenant people. The Gentiles were without law, and without hope, until Christ our Lord tore down the middle wall of separation, Ephesians 2:12-15.

Yet the giving of the first commandment was in Eden, to our first parents, when they were prohibited from partaking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Before Israel and before Abraham, God was contending with the stubborn sons of Adam. The Flood was a signal judgment for the disobedience of men, showcased in Lamech. Six generations after Adam, Lamech was the first recorded polygamist, taking two wives contrary to how God ordained marriage between Adam and Eve. Moreover, he murdered a young man for insulting him and then vindicated himself by warping God’s words to Cain as a license to sin, Genesis 4:15, 19, 23, 24.

Lamech flaunted his rebellious spirit, and since only Noah, his sons and their wives escaped judgment we may postulate that most of the earth was much like Lamech prior to the Flood, and that there may have been commands given for man to obey. Otherwise, how would they know they had sinned? We know that the Law (the Mosaic Law) was meant to convict men of sin; it was not to save men, but to showcase God’s holiness and man’s wickedness, Romans 7:7, 12, Galatians 3:21, 22. In fact, this point is focused upon in Scripture, where we read, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,” Genesis 6:5, KJV. God gave numerous commands prior to the Law and the establishment of the state of Israel. There was the command about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Genesis 2:17. There was the creation of the institution of marriage, Genesis 2:24. There was the command for proper sacrifice, Genesis 4:4. There was an injunction against murder, Genesis 4:15; see also Genesis 9:5, 6. There was the command to enter the ark and escape impending wrath, 2 Peter 2:5, Genesis 6:3. There was the command to permit the eating of animal flesh, Genesis 9:3. There was also the establishment of capital punishment, Genesis 9:6. And all of this prior to Genesis chapter 10!

The term commandments, especially in the Old Testament, can (and often does) make one immediately think of the Decalogue. But we must recall that the preacher only revealed God as Elohim throughout Ecclesiastes. This is the God of Creation, found in Genesis 1:1. Before He gave His covenant name to Moses at the burning bush He was known the world over by His creatures as Elohim, the Creator God. This same God is the Savior of Jew and Gentile alike. Jesus said of this God, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent,” John 6:29. John adds, “And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment,” 1 John 3:23. The latter portion of the verse corresponds with what the Lord said to His apostles at the Last Supper, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another,” John 13:34. It is the message of the gospel that is the power of God to salvation for all who believe it, Romans 1:16. The gospel is foolishness to those who are dying, but it reveals God’s power to us and in us for those who are saved by it, 1 Corinthians 1:18. John records in the Revelation that the message of the gospel is everlasting, or eternal, Revelation 14:6. In other words from Adam until the last man alive before the new heavens and new earth, the gospel alone is how one is saved. Any law given only reveals man’s unwillingness and inability to obey, indicting us. 

All commandments God has given are born from love; to give His creatures what is best as He determines. They were meant to be barriers; safety nets that man was not meant to cross for his own sake and the sake of his fellow man. The Law, and all of God’s commandments are communal in nature. One cannot obey in a vacuum; they are for the welfare of oneself and others. And the ultimate commandment is to place one’s faith, our confident trust, in God alone for our eternal welfare. Returning to Revelation, we read the angel’s cry to a dying world when rebellion has already been unmasked for the wickedness it really is. “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water,” Revelation 14:7. Much like the preacher’s own words about God’s person and nature, the angel pleads with fallen humanity to give glory to their Creator, returning man to his primordial roots, when Elohim walked with Adam in the garden. God is the Creator, and we as His creation–the living testimony of his unparalleled genius and creativity–should acknowledge and worship Him for who He is.

This, the preacher attests, is man’s all. All means just that: everything that gives man value and purpose is found in his Creator’s presence and will. When we defy our Creator, we deny ourselves the very identity and purpose we desperately crave. The preacher, in his writings, strove to correct this egregious error. God will bring all works into judgment, whether we are saved or lost. Our thoughts, words and actions will be judged, no matter how secret such things were, or how secret we believed them to be, Matthew 12:36, 1 Corinthians 3:13-15, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Romans 2:16, 14:10, Revelation 20:12.

There is the caveat that God will clearly demonstrate whether the action was meant for good or evil on the day of judgment. This seems to imply that there are deeds done here on earth that seem good but are not, and vice versa. In our fallen estate this makes perfect sense, since we know so little and tend to act more on impulse, emotion or intuition than from thoughtful, careful choices. Even then our limited resources can lead us to wrong conclusions. Judge nothing, we are told, before the time comes, 1 Corinthians 4:5. The evil works of men cannot (and will not) be hidden; neither will the good done by man. And each will receive proper recompense for his work, God assures us. And for each of us that alone can provide either great motivation or incredible fear. If the latter is what seizes you, then I implore you to know the Lord Jesus Christ and believe on His name. You will receive eternal life as a gift of God’s grace, and have your sins forgiven you in Jesus’ name. This is man’s all.