Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 How Should I Live?

Ecclesiastes Solomon examines all of life from the perspective of life without God, which he calls life “under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:3, 14; 2:17, 20 “The aim of the book, very succinctly, is to show the emptiness and meaninglessness of life without God as its controlling factor, and, on the other hand, the wisdom of knowing Him early in life so as to live out one’s days with full satisfaction and fulfillment.” – TJ Betts “Its specific purpose is to challenge the young to reflect on the core issues of life and to choose to live in surrender to Yahweh” – Daniel J. Estes Solomon is not saying that life with God is pointless, rather he is saying that life lived without acknowledging God is pointless. The point of Ecclesiastes is to show that life is difficult to understand; things happen that we don’t like and we can’t control, but we can still trust God and enjoy what he has given us.

Solomon’s Search Ecclesiastes 1:12-14 Solomon sought to understand all of life by gaining the wisdom to understand everything and he concludes that life under the sun (without God as the controlling factor) is ”vanity” and “striving after the wind.” Vanity – “transitory [not permanent] and therefore of no lasting value” (Duane Garrett). Striving after the wind – “You never can catch it; but if you do catch it, you do not have anything anyway” (Duane Garrett).

Does Wisdom Satisfy? Ecclesiastes 1:16-18 If God does not exist, then having wisdom is pointless and meaningless because there is no reason for what happens in the world. Everything is just random and purposeless. If everything is purposeless, then there is no point to having wisdom. Ecclesiastes 2:15-16 If there is no God, and there is no life beyond this one, there is no benefit to gaining wisdom.

Does Wealth Satisfy? Ecclesiastes 2:1; 10-11 Solomon was wealthy beyond imagination, yet without God he concluded that his wealth was vanity and a chasing after the wind. Ecclesiastes 2:20-21 If there is no eternity, if there is no God, working hard in this life is pointless and meaningless.

Does Wealth Satisfy? Ecclesiastes 5:10-16 Money will not satisfy. The more money you have, the more you will want. Money will not go with you when you die.

Ultimate Vanity without God Ecclesiastes 3:18-22 If there is no God, then we are no different than animals in that we both die and that is the end. Ecclesiastes 4:1-3 If there is no God, those who are oppressed in this life have NO hope of seeing justice done to their oppressors. Ecclesiastes 6:12

Nothing “Under the Sun” Satisfies “By means of this negative testimony, [Solomon] hints that true meaning must come from outside of the temporal created sphere, which causes him at the end to appeal to the fundamental premise of biblical wisdom: ’Fear God and keep his commandments.” - Daniel J. Estes “this book espouses the most basic theme of biblical literature— that life lived by purely earthly or human values, without faith in God and supernatural values, is meaningless and futile.” -Ryken

So How Should We Live? “Enjoyment of life comes not in the quest for personal fulfillment, but in the recognition that everything comes from the hand of God.” John Walton Ecclesiastes “counsels its readers to grasp the joys of life as gifts from God” (Daniel J. Estes). Ecclesiastes 2:24-26; 3:12-13; 7:14; 8:11-13; 11:7-9; 12:1 Knowing that nothing ”under the sun” will give us true meaning, or lasting satisfaction, we should live life enjoying what God has given us, always remembering and praising the God who gave it.

What Is Solomon’s Conclusion? “After his extensive search to find meaning under the sun, leaving God and eternity out of the equation, [Solomon] at the end reasserts the foundational principle of biblical wisdom, that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.” –Daniel J. Estes Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 ”God’s will, he has told us, is that we not build our lives on wisdom, wealth, prestige, or lust. Rather, we should accept life as it is with its problems and mysteries and savor its modest pleasures as we can. To do this is to fear God and obey him” (Hubbard). Why should we live in “fear of God” and “keep his commandments?” Because of v. 14. God will bring every deed into judgment. Whether good or evil, secret or exposed. Nothing stands outside of his sovereign judgment.