Ecclesiastes 12:13 · KJV Bible | Whosoever Will

ecclesiastes, or, the preacher

Solomon (the Preacher) · c. 935 BC

Chapter the Twelfth

The Honest Man Under the Sun

Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,

And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;

Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.

And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.

The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.

The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.

And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

DOCTRINAL VERDICT

TIER 1: TWELVE CHAPTERS OF HONEST SEARCHING, ONE CONCLUSION

Ecclesiastes documents the limit of the human mind operating without the word of God. Qohelet searches wisdom, pleasure, work, achievement: under the sun, with no revelation from above it. The man who thinks hardest reaches the bottom soonest. He is not defeated by foolishness. He is defeated by wisdom. And then in the last chapter, the book lands: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. Twelve chapters of rigorous, painful searching, and the conclusion is not a philosophical system. It is a relationship and a response. Thread 4: the real response is not always the response to an invitation. Sometimes it is the response to exhaustion. The person who admits the search has failed is the person most ready to hear.

The Limit of Human Wisdom Without Revelation: Thread 4

T4Real Response T7Whosoever Will