Ecclesiastes 12 Commentary
The Conclusion …The Whole Duty Of Man
The word of God can change your life. Read it daily…FOR HELP CLICKHERE
KEY THOUGHT: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. [Ecclesiastes 12:13b NKJV]
Kindly read your Bible before going through the commentary!
Ecclesiastes 12 NKJV
Seek God in Early Life
12 Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth,
Before the [a]difficult days come,
And the years draw near when you say,
“I have no pleasure in them”:
2 While the sun and the light,
The moon and the stars,
Are not darkened,
And the clouds do not return after the rain;
3 In the day when the keepers of the house tremble,
And the strong men bow down;
When the grinders cease because they are few,
And those that look through the windows grow dim;
4 When the doors are shut in the streets,
And the sound of grinding is low;
When one rises up at the sound of a bird,
And all the daughters of music are brought low.
5 Also they are afraid of height,
And of terrors in the way;
When the almond tree blossoms,
The grasshopper is a burden,
And desire fails.
For man goes to his eternal home,
And the mourners go about the streets.
6 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is [b]loosed,
Or the golden bowl is broken,
Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain,
Or the wheel broken at the well.
7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was,
And the spirit will return to God who gave it.
8 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher,
“All is vanity.”
The Whole Duty of Man
9 And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and set[c] in order many proverbs. 10 The Preacher sought to find [d]acceptable words; and what was written was upright—words of truth. 11 The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of [e]scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd. 12 And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh.
13 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.
Footnotes
a. Ecclesiastes 12:1 Lit. evil
b. Ecclesiastes 12:6 So with Qr., Tg.; Kt. removed; LXX, Vg. broken
c. Ecclesiastes 12:9 arranged
d. Ecclesiastes 12:10 Lit. delightful
e. Ecclesiastes 12:11 Lit. masters of assemblies
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Ecclesiastes 12 Commentary
Vanities of vanities! All is meaningless! This poster statement doesn’t close the book, but it reappears in the closing chapter of the book. It is actually the starting point.
The statement describes life without the government of the Son, the LORD Jesus.
Picture humanity lost out at sea – lost both in time and space. But humanity must recover both. Countless solutions and countless leaders emerge to guide humanity back to safety, back to normalcy.
But none of the solutions work. Of course, humanity is lost, so they miss everything that should make life normal. Among the many fake maps is money. Pleasure is another, alongside power, authority, and fame.
But all is meaningless! Vanity of vanities! A chase after the wind!
Then the author repeats the statement that “There is a time for everything”. It underlines the fact that the search for normalcy (life as designed by the Creator God) isn’t an indefinite activity. There is a time limit for it.
Find your way out in time, or you are lost forever!
Hence, “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come”.
The scripture adds more meat to it. Humanity isn’t without a Creator. The Creator designed life within the brackets of birth and death. The physical body is different from the spiritual entity. At death, the two separate. The body returns to dust, while the spirit returns to the Creator for more “living”.
Death is an end to the body, but the spirit, the real “man,” returns to his eternal home. The New Testament explains further what happens to the spirit man.
“Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. John 5:28-29.
Of course, the greatest deception follows the thought that this life is all there is. As severally repeated, “Vanity of vanities”.
The book has a conclusion. “Fear God and keep His commandments.” For this is man’s all.
And there are consequences beyond the grave.
Ecclesiastes ends here.
- Ecclesiastes 12 Commentary
- Ecclesiastes 11 Commentary
- Ecclesiastes 10 Commentary
- Ecclesiastes 9 Commentary
- Ecclesiastes 8 Commentary
- Ecclesiastes 7 Commentary
- Ecclesiastes 6 Commentary
- Ecclesiastes 5 Commentary
- Ecclesiastes 4 Commentary
- Ecclesiastes 3 Commentary
- Ecclesiastes 2 Commentary
- Ecclesiastes 1 Commentary
- Proverbs 31 Commentary
- Proverbs 30 Commentary
- Proverbs 29 Commentary
- Proverbs 28 Commentary
- Proverbs 27 Commentary
- Proverbs 26 Commentary
- Proverbs 25 Commentary
- Proverbs 24 Commentary
- Proverbs 23 Commentary
- Proverbs 22 Commentary
- Proverbs 21 Commentary
- Proverbs 20 Commentary
- Proverbs 19 Commentary
- Proverbs 18 Commentary
- Proverbs 17 Commentary
- Proverbs 16 Commentary
- Proverbs 15 Commentary
- Proverbs 14 Commentary
- Proverbs 13 Commentary
- Proverbs 12 Commentary
- Proverbs 11 Commentary
- Proverbs 10 Commentary
- Proverbs 9 Commentary
- Proverbs 8 Commentary
- Proverbs 7 Commentary
- Proverbs 6 Commentary
- Proverbs 5 Commentary
- Proverbs 4 Commentary
- Proverbs 3 Commentary
- Proverbs 2 Commentary
- Proverbs 1 Commentary
- Psalm 150 Commentary
- Psalm 149 Commentary
- Psalm 148 Commentary
- Psalm 147 Commentary
- Psalm 146 Commentary
- Psalm 145 Commentary
- Psalm 144 Commentary
Loving Scripture….
LOVING SCRIPTURE 
Leave a comment