Fear God and Keep His Commandments

 Ecclesiastes 12:9-14

 

Fear God and Keep His Commandments

Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying, and arranging many proverbs with great care.  The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.

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 a weariness of the flesh.

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 2 Timothy 2:15, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”  Solomon is telling his son and all that read this, they are reading an account of what he has done.  He also did his best to organizes it in a way that helped the reader.

 

Solomon is making clear that these proverbs will guide us in our life if we apply them as we go, at home, at work, and in all matters.  But make no mistake Solomon is referring to God as our Shepherd and often He uses men to move us in the right direction.  When a believer holds to the truth written in Scripture and builds their life on them, they are stable in all their ways.

 

One could come away with Solomon is teaching against education and that would be wrong.  He is telling you and me to find joy in all that we do, but to approach life with humility and balance.  It all comes back to fearing God, for no education will replace that, for without the fear of God, no one gains wisdom.  Only the fool says in his heart there is no God!

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice