We have seen the experiments that Solomon made in life. He is probably the only man who ever lived who was able to experiment in all of those different areas, attempting to find a solution and satisfaction apart from God. Throughout Ecclesiastes the key expression has been "under the sun." He tried nature and natural science as his first experiment.
A great many people today feel that they will solve their problems by getting back to nature. There is a great exodus out of the cities and into the suburbs and beyond the suburbs to a little cabin by a lake or by a river or up in the mountains. "Let's get away from it all. Let's get back to nature." Well, this didn't solve Solomon's problems, and it will not solve our problems. So Solomon tried wisdom and philosophy; he tried pleasure and materialism; he experimented with fatalism; he tried living life for self. He turned to religion and found ritual but no reality. Then he tried to find the answer in wealth. Finally Solomon tried the good life, the life of the moralist, which he found to be an insipid sort of existence. I think that is why the young people today rebel against it.
Solomon now comes to his final conclusion in this chapter.
Read Ecclesiastes Chapter 12
Key Verses: Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14 "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil."
Key Thought: Fearing God is to reverence, worship, and obey Him. "And keep His commandments," would mean to meet God's condition for salvation--in any age--grounded on faith in God. For Cain it meant bringing a lamb. For Abraham it meant believing the promises of God. For the people of Israel it meant approaching God through sacrifice in the tabernacle and in the temple. For us it is to "...believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved..." (Acts 16:31).
Solomon's poetic picture of old age:
Verse 2. Things don't seem as good as they used to be. When you become old, you can go out and have a great day, but you must rest for days afterwards.
Verse 3. They legs will tremble. Your posture will decline. You will lose you teeth. Your eyesight will become poor.
Verse 4. The hearing will begin to fail. Your sleep will become lighter, waking up at the sound of a bird. Your voice begins to fail, especially your singing voice.
Verse 5. You become afraid of heights. A blossoming almond tree is white. You will have white hair, if any. Little things that never used to be a burden, become burdensome. Romance will be gone. You won't be like you used to be.
Verse 6. Here is a list of the organs of the body: spinal cord, brain, lungs, and heart. They will deteriorate.
Verse 7. There is no soul sleep. Your soul will go back to God.
Verses 1-7. We should remember our sins against our Creator, repent, and seek forgiveness. We should remember our duties, and set about them, looking to Him for grace and strength. This should be done early, while the body is strong, and the spirit is active. When a man has the pain of reviewing a misspent life, his not having given up sin and worldly vanities until he is forced to say, "I have no pleasure in them," renders his sincerity very questionable. Then follows a figurative description of old age and its infirmities, which has some difficulties; but the meaning is plain, to show how uncomfortable, generally, the days of old age are. As the four verses, vs. 2-5, are a figurative description of the infirmities that usually accompany old age, vs. 6 notices the circumstances which take place in the hour of death. If sin had not entered into the world, these infirmities would not have been known. Surely then the aged should reflect on the evil of sin.
Verses 8-14. Solomon repeats his text, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." These are the words of one that could speak by experience of the vanity of the world, which can do nothing to ease men of the burden of sin. As he considered the worth of souls, he gave good heed to what he spoke and wrote; words of truth will always be acceptable words. The truths of God are as goads (spurs, motivators, or catalysts). The Shepherd of Israel is the Giver of inspired wisdom. Godly teachers and guides all receive their communications from Him.
Verse 12. Education will not solve the problems of life.
All things would be vanity and vexation, except they led to this conclusion, That to fear God, and keep his commandments, is the whole of man. The fear of God includes in it all the affections of the soul towards Him, which are produced by the Holy Spirit. There may be terror where there is no love, resulting in hatred. But this is different from the gracious fear of God, as the feelings of an affectionate child. The fear of God, begins in the heart, and includes its practical results in life. Let us attend to the one thing needful, and now come to Him as a merciful Savior, who will soon come as an almighty Judge, when He will bring to light the things of darkness, and manifest the counsels of all hearts. God records in His word, that "all is vanity," to keep us from deceiving ourselves to our ruin. He makes our duty to be our interest. May it be graven in all our hearts.
The result of Solomon's experiments:
Fear God, and keep His commandments, for this is all that concerns man.
Fearing God will result in a changed life. Fearing God will protect you from evil. You will either fear man or you will fear God. If you fear God, you will not have to fear man.