Introducing Ecclesiastes (3 of 5)
Well, then, what is the answer? Where can we find what our heart yearns for? Where can we stand that is not sinking sand? Where is the solution to the tyranny of this fallen world, under the sun? The Preacher tells us and we lean in to hear what he says.
The Preacher makes us wait until the last two verses of the book to tell us. First, he wants to expose the folly and futility of all those areas where we try to find fulfillment, a foundation, and a future. Only after saying ‘won’t work’ does he tell us the secret.
“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.” (Eccl. 12:13–14)
You see what the Preacher does? He lifts our eyes beyond the confines of this fallen world to the God who lives and reigns on high, our Father in heaven. Throughout his collection of observations spread throughout Ecclesiastes, the Preacher has sprinkled reminders of God’s presence and providence, glimpses of glory.
- Thins might seem chaotic but in Eccl. 3 we see the rhythm and order God has established in times and seasons.
- “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” (Eccl. 3:11)
- “I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him.” (Eccl. 3:14)
- “As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.” (Eccl. 11:5)
These reminders serve as teasers for us that there is more to life than meets the eye.
Fear God and keep His commandments. We are not only to lift our eyes to God, we are to submit to His glory, to seek His ways, and to serve His ends. Only God knows. Only God can establish the work of our hands.
That means, for example, that we don’t find our worth or security or satisfaction in money but in God. Money is a provision of God but we can make it an idol that rivals God for our affection and allegiance. We are to keep our lives free from the love of money. We are to use our money as stewards of what God has entrusted to us. The same is true for all the other areas addressed by the Preacher.
Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
NASB95 refers to Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
For further study see Under the Sun: Redemptive Reality in the Book of Ecclesiastes (Stanley D. Gale, Shepherd Press, 2025, 144 pages)
