Ecclesiastes 12:8-14

Text: Ecclesiastes 12:8–14
Title: Fear God and Keep His Commandments

Main Theme

After exploring the vanity and mystery of life “under the sun,” Solomon concludes that the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments, remembering that judgment is coming.

Key Points

• Life Is Vanity, but Wisdom Still Matters (v. 8–10)

  • “Vanity of vanities” reminds us that life is fleeting and beyond our control.

  • Solomon, the Preacher (Qoheleth), diligently sought truth and taught wisdom.

  • Words matter—truth is carefully weighed and preserved.

• God’s Word Has Power (v. 11)

  • The words of the wise are like:

    • Goads – They prod, convict, and move us forward.

    • Well-driven nails – They secure and stabilize us.

  • These words come from one Shepherd—God Himself.

  • The Spirit uses preaching and Scripture to shape our souls over time.

• Knowledge Has Limits (v. 12)

  • “Of making many books there is no end.”

  • Accumulating information does not produce godliness.

  • Study without dependence on the Spirit leads to weariness.

  • Peace and transformation are found in Christ, not mere information.

• The Conclusion of the Matter (v. 13)

  • Fear God – Live in reverent awe before His holiness.

  • Keep His commandments – Live according to His revealed will.

  • This is “man’s all”—our whole duty and purpose.

• Judgment Is Certain (v. 14)

  • God will judge every deed, including secret sins.

  • Three possible responses:

    1. Self-righteous confidence (trusting your obedience).

    2. Crushing perfectionism (trying to earn acceptance).

    3. Gospel faith (resting in Christ alone).

  • Our only hope in judgment is being found in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

• The Gospel Anchor

  • We are simultaneously just and sinners.

  • Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

  • Those in Christ need not fear condemnation, but live in grateful obedience.

Fear, Obedience, and Final Judgment

1. Biblical Themes

The Fear of the Lord

• Proverbs 1:7 – “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”

• Isaiah 6:1–5 – Isaiah trembles before God’s holiness.

• Hebrews 12:28–29 – Worship with reverence and awe.

The fear of the Lord is not terror for the believer, but reverent awe rooted in covenant relationship.

The Authority of God’s Word

• 2 Timothy 3:16–17 – Scripture equips us for every good work.

• Isaiah 55:11 – God’s Word does not return void.

• John 10:11 – Christ is the Good Shepherd.

The “one Shepherd” ultimately points us to Christ, the Word made flesh.

The Limits of Human Wisdom

• 1 Corinthians 8:1 – Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

• Colossians 2:3 – In Christ are hidden all treasures of wisdom.

Information cannot regenerate the heart; only the Spirit can.

Final Judgment

• Hebrews 9:27 – Appointed to die once, then judgment.

• 2 Corinthians 5:10 – We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.

• Revelation 20:11–15 – The books are opened.

Judgment is real—but so is the assurance found in Christ.

2. Historical & Redemptive Context

Ecclesiastes wrestles with life “under the sun” in a fallen world. Solomon exposes the instability of earthly pursuits to drive us toward eternal realities.

The conclusion anticipates the fuller revelation of Christ:

• He perfectly feared the Lord.

• He perfectly kept the commandments.

• He bore judgment for His people.

Thus, the command to fear God ultimately finds fulfillment in union with Christ.

3. Westminster Standards Connection

Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF)

• WCF 1.6 – Scripture is the sufficient rule of faith and life.

• WCF 16.2 – Good works are the fruit of true faith.

• WCF 33.1 – God has appointed a day of judgment.

Westminster Larger Catechism (WLC)

• WLC 91 – The duty required in the moral law is obedience.

• WLC 152 – Every sin deserves God’s wrath and curse.

• WLC 90 – The righteous shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in judgment.

Westminster Shorter Catechism (WSC)

• WSC 1 – Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

• WSC 39–40 – The moral law summarizes our duty.

• WSC 84–86 – Christ delivers us from judgment through faith.

Ecclesiastes 12:13–14 strongly echoes WSC 1—our purpose is to glorify God in reverent obedience.

4. Practical Applications

• Evaluate major life decisions through the lens of Scripture.

• Use the Ten Commandments as a moral diagnostic.

• Read and study—but do not idolize knowledge.

• Sit under faithful preaching, trusting the Spirit’s long-term work.

• Live daily in light of coming judgment.

• Rest not in your obedience, but in Christ’s righteousness.

Will you please turn in your Bible with me to Ecclesiastes chapter 12. Ecclesiastes chapter 12 and this morning we'll be looking at verses 8 through 14. This is the conclusion of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes chapter 12, beginning at verse 8. If you're using your pew Bibles, the New King James red ones provided for you. You'll find that on page 595. You're now God's perfect word.

Vanity of vanities, says the preacher. All is vanity. And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge. Yes, he pondered and sought out and set in order many proverbs. The preacher sought to find acceptable words, and what was written was upright words of truth. The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are well-driven nails given by one shepherd.

And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh. But let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God, and keep his commandments, for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word. It is perfect. It is true. It is righteous altogether. So Father, we pray that you would please make us desire it like gold. Yes, like much fine gold.

We pray that your word would be used by your spirit to be sweeter to our taste than honey from the honeycomb. And we pray that we may be taught, corrected, rebuked, but trained in righteousness. Father, we need you to send your spirit that we might be thoroughly equipped for every good work. We submit ourselves to you and your word, Lord, help us. We pray in Jesus's name, amen.

We have been all over the place in the last 12 chapters. Just everywhere, life, death, rejoicing, grieving, dancing, mourning. There's been riches and poverty. What in the world is Solomon getting at in all of this? And if we just looked at verse 8, we may be a little bit sour or dour.

I told you before, I did not want to preach the book of Ecclesiastes. But it was a book that one of you suggested, so I did it. because it is a book with a lot of depth and mystery. And there's this phrase that keeps popping up again and again. Vanity.

Some of your translations may say futile or even worthless. Some translators want to say it's an enigma. There's just something to life, and there's something to knowledge. And it seems like no matter how much you want a firm grasp on control of things, no matter how many books you read, or wisdom you accumulate, or number of years that pile up, or gray hairs that grow on your head, it just seems like there's always something you can't just grab onto.

And that's what Solomon, the preacher, has been trying to get us to. We're not in control. And this life is fleeting. And eternity is forever. So what is he getting at here? Convinced he talks about himself in the third person in verse 9. Well, in verse 8, verse 9, it keeps going, right? The preacher, the preacher, the preacher.

That word, preacher, I didn't explain this well at the beginning of the book. I tried to rectify that later in the middle of the book, because some of you said, I don't know what you're talking about. You keep using this word, Qoheleth, Qoheleth, Qoheleth. What is that? Well, that's what that actual word is, preacher. But it's a translator's note, right? Qoheleth, the Qohol is like the assembly. And so the Qoheleth is like the person who's leading the assembly. Actually in verse 11, when it says, the words of scholars, that's actually the master of the assembly.

And so translators, especially the King James and into the New King James, translated this as the preacher, right? Because who's the one leading the assembly? Who's the one who's the master of ceremonies, essentially? It's the preacher. So they call him the preacher. I'm convinced all along that this is Solomon. His life fits best for this. And so, what's Solomon doing in verse 9? He's got a task.

And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge. There's vanity in life. There's things that are like grasping for the wind, difficulty. But yet he's still wise. He still has biblical knowledge that's able to be applied in this life in a skillful way.

And so he still teaches the people the knowledge. He's still teaching them substance. He's still giving them something even though there's many things in this life that seem like they're just water in your hands that you can't really grab onto. He's going to give them knowledge. Things that will still help them and teach them.

And this preacher, he pondered, and he sought out, and he set in order many proverbs. Again, why I believe this is Solomon. Going and searching, plumbing the depths of the knowledge. Did you ever think about the book of Proverbs, and there's sections in Proverbs that aren't even written by Hebrew people? There's a section at the end of Proverbs that's Egyptian. Proverbs. And yet Solomon is reading far and wide and broad.

And he's able to say that aligns with God's truth. And so I'm going to collect these sayings. I'm going to collect these words. He has studied botany. He's studied zoology. He's studied the stars. And he's studied the ground. He's studied all these other areas. He's collected all these different sayings. He puts them all together in an orderly way. He's thinking about them, meditating on them, pondering them, setting them in order.

And what does that do in verse 10? He sought to find acceptable words, and what was written was upright words of truth. Right, what Solomon wrote down, both in Ecclesiastes and in Proverbs, right, when the Spirit pushed him, inspired him to write down these words, one of the pictures here is that he was putting it on a scale.

Like a balance, you know? Have you ever seen those statues of Lady Justice, right? She's got a blindfold on because justice is supposed to be impartial. And she's holding out a scale, and this scale is what you weigh righteousness and people's actions against. Or maybe you just are the type of person that that's how you like to weigh out your flower and you don't trust, you know, a modern digital scale. I don't know. But the point being is a balance. And he's put these different phrases on there, and what is true and what's not true.

Just only write down what he believes is the truth for God's people. And so the preacher has labored and labored and labored to try to put together all these words, everything that we've looked at about life. And there's a sense in which we may think, what was the point? If it's all vanity, it's because words actually have a meaning and an effect. Look with me at verse 11.

The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails given by one shepherd. See Solomon understands that even though this life is filled with enigma and futility and vanity, that knowledge still matters. That he's wise enough to know that you still need to be taught because words have impact. The words of the wise are like goads.

That's not a word we use very often. But the goad was essentially think of like a really long stick. So you're plowing, you're behind the plow, and you got some type of ox or something, some animal of labor who's pulling the plow. And when that thing decides to be stubborn and doesn't want to move anymore, you take that pointy stick and you put it in the rump. And you go, keep going, keep going.

That's not exactly a comfortable idea because it's saying, we're the ones getting poked. And you can talk to my wife and she would agree, sometimes I'm like that dumb animal who doesn't want to move from my old ways, right? And so sometimes we need to get pricked by the goad. We need to get prodded along.

And that's what the words of the wise do. And maybe there's even things when you get to the scriptures, it's like, this doesn't sit comfortably with me. It just kind of gets under my skin. It's like when you get something underneath your fingernail and it's just like, argh, I gotta do something about that. That's what God's word does. That's what the scriptures does.

And I gotta tell you, I was not anticipating, this is far more autobiographical sermon than I anticipated, that's okay. But for a book I didn't want to preach, the Lord has used this to just radically crush my heart in a number of different ways. In some ways, realizing that there were things that would get under my skin. Like, how can Solomon just say, right, like, just enjoy your wife at all the vain days of your life?

And then I started realizing, all the spinning of my wheels of all these schemes and plans and things that I want to enact and books I want to read and degrees I want to get and all this other stuff, all the while there's, there's a family and kids right in front of your face.

Because that's what God, I'm just giving you a personal illustration of what God's Word this few months has done for me, but the point is, God's Word is like a goat, it just pricks us, pushes us. They're like well-driven nails. The words of the scholars are like well-driven nails. When God uses people who study his word and are devoted to his word and are faithful and trying to seek out his word, it gives us something to actually be fixed in our lives. Why do you use a nail? You don't just drive in a nail for no purpose, you drive in a nail because it's meant to hold something together, or hang something on.

I gotta say, I'm kind of surprised every once in a while, you know, as the weeks have gone on in Ecclesiastes, even last week somebody came up and they said, Well, you didn't have to. I think you came to our shepherding group and our shepherding meeting and you left and you wrote that sermon the next morning because it had to be for us. I said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I did not write that sermon for you.

But the point being is that it's like a nail. And that's what happens with God's Word when we're taught from it. I remember Lou Priolo one time at a conference Olivia and I were at. He's a biblical counselor and he writes a number of books. And he was up there preaching to us about something or another.

And he said, I'm up here just shooting with birdshot. I got a shotgun up here and just little pellets and it's just spraying everywhere. And I don't know who's getting hit. But for some of you in the pews, you're sitting here feeling like I've got a sniper rifle zeroed in on your soul and that this is God's Word and how in the world does he know I'm dealing with that right now?

Because that's what God's Word does. That's what the work of the Holy Spirit is. The words of the scholar are like a well-driven nail. They hit the spot. Sometimes it hurts when you're the one who's getting nailed down. Thinking back about it, what he was preaching on was honesty. And it brought me to tears, because I was one. I thought, this isn't fair, man. But this is what words do. They have an effect. But why? Look at the very end at verse 11. The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails given by one shepherd. It is an absolute miracle that the God of the universe, who spoke all things into existence, talks to us in words we can understand.

He didn't have to do that. And yet He speaks to us in His Word. He's a shepherd who brings us beside the still waters and into the green pastures. And so as we sit under the preaching and as we read His Word, I know that it's not always the most fun thing to do. Sometimes it's tedious, sometimes it's hard, sometimes it's tiresome, sometimes you don't even know why you got a good night's sleep, but you come into church and you're trying to read and you're trying to pray, and yet, for some reason, you're still falling asleep and you're biting the inside of your lip and trying to take notes, but the words keep getting smaller and smaller and smaller. But we know that that's how God works. The shepherd uses his word. His words will not return to him void. They always have an effect. Just shocked.

Again, just thinking of my own life and sitting under Micah Ramsey's preaching for just under a decade. And there's a few sermons that I can remember, extremely pointed parts. Let's see, 52 sermons a year times, let's say, eight years, over 400 sermons. I don't know how God shaped my soul under those 400 sermons. I can't remember most of them. And yet, time and time again, when I come to the word or there's something in my life, my preacher's voice comes back to me. And I remember, oh yeah, Micah explained that to me. Oh yeah, my pastors told that to me.

I gotta say, as a shepherd, that's a scary thing. I'm not talking to you guys because you're pastors, but as a shepherd, that's really scary. Because I read books about people who have walked away from the faith and oftentimes it's their shepherd, physical shepherd, who has told them non-truths, or truths heaped up upon the scriptures that were man-made. And so I want to encourage you, go to the truth that's written by the one shepherd. Go back to God's word time and time again and find instruction and value for your soul, words have effect. But also notice, you're never gonna be done. Verse 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. This is one of the rare few instances we get this.

In verse 12, his audience is his boy. It's very proverbesque, isn't it? Where Solomon tells his son to lean in and to listen. He's got things to tell him about life. And here in verse 12, at the very end of the book, we find out that he's writing to, I wonder if it's now his adult son. His old man Solomon is looking back on his life. And he says to him, be admonished by these, right, by these words and these teachings, these proverbs that he's given him. But then he tells him something that is challenging.

Of making many books, there is no end. And much study is wearisome to the flesh. I am very thankful to you, the congregation, for providing a book budget. But one of the things I have recognized is there will always be more books to buy. And you make, I just want to encourage you, right, or warn you maybe is a better word. that there are many, many, many people who are trying to sell you more and more and more books, and you may be tempted in your heart to think, if I just get my hands on the right parenting book, if I just read the right marriage book, if I just read the right relationship book, if I just read the best home keeping book, if I just read the best book on peace, if I just read enough books about enough of the things, I'll finally have No, you won't. No, you won't. Peace is offered out to you in Jesus Christ. So I'm not discouraging you from reading books.

Go ahead, if you want to be a better parent, read some parenting books. If you're struggling with anger, read some anger management books. If your finances are going down the toilet, maybe you need to read some financial books. I'm not saying there isn't wisdom to go and search out those things, but what I'm saying is, if you think that the accumulation of knowledge is going to finally bring you stability, there's no end to it.

Much study is worrisome to the flesh. I know scores and scores of people who I've interacted with over the last 15 years, who especially in the Reformed world, they've read and read and read book after book after book, thinking that if they just read enough books, if they accumulated enough theological understanding, then they would finally be godly. No. No, it wasn't producing in them because they were trying to produce what only the Holy Spirit could do in their lives. I think a number of us get stuck in that. We're never going to be able to create the perfect study system. We're never going to be able to write the perfect book or do the perfect thing.

I even remember one of my professors telling me when I was writing this big thesis thing, he said, Brian, stop reading and just write. And then I was writing, writing, writing. And he said, Brian, being done is better than working. Just finish. Just get the degree and be done. It was great, wise advice. You're never going to be done reading. You're never going to be done studying. You're never going to be done. So give it up. I'm not saying give up the reading. Give up the perfectionism. Give up the illusion of something that's not vanity.

Because there's a conclusion of the whole matter and that's where I want to close us in verses 13 and 14. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep his commandments. For this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil. You have all these choices in your life. you will have all sorts of choices.

What you buy, what you don't buy, whether you dance, whether you won't dance, is it the time to mourn, is it not the time to mourn? Are you supposed to go on this business adventure or not? Are you supposed to invest in this or not? Are you supposed to go out and do this event or not? You will have all sorts of things in your life. Should you drink the wine or not? Should you enjoy the feast or not? Is it the time for fasting? Is it the time for feasting? Oh, is it the time for dancing?

Oh, you will have all sorts of choices all over your life. And the conclusion of Solomon's endeavor to try to get through all of this is, fear the Lord. Stand before God as reverent. He is the one who is holy, holy, holy. When the angels stand before God in the Holy of Holies, in Isaiah's vision, they cover their eyes with two wings, and they cover their feet with two wings, and with two wings they fly and they cry out, holy, holy, holy. And when Isaiah walks before the Lord in that scene, he says, woe is me, for I'm a man of unclean lips. He fears, he trembles before God. Because he knows that God is omniscient. He sees and knows everything. So we walk before God with reverence. And we keep his commandments. There's a standard.

I'm gonna encourage you, right? What is the only rule for faith in life? What is the only infallible rule for faith in life? That's one of the things that we vow to at membership vows. It's God's word. And so go and live your life in the fear of the Lord, making the most biblical, principled decisions that you can. A good way to just quickly evaluate that is to go to the Ten Commandments. What's required here? What's forbidden here? Why did God give these things? It's just a good litmus test.

Should I go and enjoy going off and doing the X, Y, or Z activity instead of going to worship? Well, you can go to God's Word and you can find a really easy answer for that one. Should I go and indulge in this sexual desire that I have with somebody who's not my spouse? Well, there's a really easy answer for that one. Should I continue to desire my neighbor's husband because he's so much better than my husband?

Well, there's a commandment for that. It gives you just a basic framework by which you're able to judge your heart and your life. It's not going to give you every clear-cut answer. But it is a place to start. Is this me loving the Lord with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength, whatever this desire is, the thing I want to say or the thing I want to do, am I loving others? You can go with Christ's summary of the two commandments. The point is, what's the summary? What's the conclusion of the whole matter? Fear God and keep his commandments for this is man's all. Why? For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.

There's a few ways to take that. Three different paths that I think you could take. Path number one is a self-righteous path. Path number one is to say, I will keep all these commandments. I have kept all these commandments. And someday, even when I stand before the Lord, I'll be able to say, I kept every single one of these commandments.

I'm begging you, if that is where your heart is, if that's the path that you've gone down and you look at your life and you think you can do no ill, I'm begging you to see yourself as God sees you, as a sinner in need of grace. The second road, though, may be the road that you look at and you think, well, God's going to bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, and so I must I must be absolutely perfect, and you will whip yourself into shape, and you will beat your body into submission, you will practice all the asceticism possible, and you will do all the things necessary that you think, if I just do all these things, then there won't be a secret place in my heart that God will judge. It's still the same as the first path. If you believe that you will be vindicated on the last great day because of your good works, you're still trusting in your good works.

And I promise you, this is a hard thing to say, but I find in my life constantly, I'm preaching autobiographically because these things kick me in my own teeth. Every time I think that I'm doing something well, give it a week or so, and I find out from my family that was really hurtful. There's all sorts of ways we sin, even unintentionally.

There's an entire sacrifice for unintentional sins. But there's a third road, and that's the road I want to encourage you on. That's the road who doesn't hide those secret things of our heart before the Lord, but I'm encouraging you to take a third path. And that third path is saying, on that last great judgment day, Lord, you know the secret things of my heart. You know the things that I have done that are sinful.

They're laid bare before you've opened the books. And the only hope I have is that I'm written in the Lamb's book of life, because it's the Lamb who covers my sins. I can't act as if I do not have any sin because that would be to make you a liar and to deceive myself.

But we must be those type of people when we read verse 13 and 14 that we say we do want to walk before God in reverence and we do want to keep his commandments but yet we know that is no longer I who live but it's Christ who lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God. who loved me and gave himself up for me. Is your life hidden in Christ?

That is the only hope at the last great judgment day. That is the hope we have that when we stand before God and he opens up the scrolls and we see everything that we've ever done, whether good or bad, that we can say, yes, that was me. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for the one who poured out his son. Thank you that you knew all those things about me and yet you still loved me. That is why we say in our membership vows that you anticipate giving your testimony at that last great day with joy. Because our joy is in Christ. Our hope is in the one who saved us.

This doesn't give us license for lawlessness. It doesn't mean that we just don't care about the commandments, and we don't care about God, and we just do whatever we want. No, it's because our hearts are so filled with thanks to God that we know we could never do it ourselves. But because he has shown us, proved us his love in Jesus, that we can say the old Creation is gone.

Behold, all things have become new. And we look forward to the taking off of the mortal body and the putting on of the spiritual. We don't fear death. We don't fear when the almond tree blossoms, when we grow old and age and our bones ache. We walk in reverence. We seek to keep His commandments and we trust in Him even up and to and through the Judgment Day. Brothers and sisters, God is gracious. By grace you have been saved through faith and not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works because we would brag about it if it was of our works. We don't get to boast.

The Judgment Day will come. If you're not in Christ, if you've not received and rested in Him alone for your salvation, today, may this nail be driven in firmly fixed. May you remember your Creator, and that judgment will come, for it is appointed for every man to die, and after this, the judgment, it will come. Receive and rest in Christ, but for those of you who are resting in Christ, the conclusion of the matter Fear God, keep his commandments for this is your all. The judgment day will come. Rest in Christ. Let's pray. Father, we know that you have called us to be holy as you are holy.

We pray for your Holy Spirit to reform Convict, sanctify, change our hearts and our desires and our minds that we would truly love and follow you. God, we pray and plead with you that you would please help us to not walk in some type of constant fear and worry. that on the last great day you will reject us. Lord, we pray that your Holy Spirit would so fill our hearts that we would be united to Christ, that we would abide in Jesus and bear good fruit in keeping with repentance. We pray that your Spirit would be active in our lives, that we would walk before you with joy and with reference.

Lord, you know that we are both just and sinners. Simultaneously, Lord. So we thank you for Jesus. We pray that you would please help us. Help us, Lord, to find what is firmly fixed, what will never move, the rock of our salvation, Jesus Christ himself. In his name we pray. Amen.

• What does “vanity” teach us about control and ambition?

• How have God’s Word and preaching functioned like a “goad” in your life?

• In what ways can theological knowledge become a substitute for spiritual growth?

• What does it practically mean to fear God in everyday decisions?

• How does remembering final judgment change how we live?

• Which of the three “paths” (self-righteousness, perfectionism, gospel faith) are you most tempted toward?

• How does union with Christ transform obedience from fear-driven to gratitude-driven?

• Vanity (Hebel): Vapor, breath, fleeting enigma.

• Fear of the Lord: Reverent awe and covenant loyalty.

• Goad: A sharp instrument used to prod animals forward.

• Justification: God’s declaration that sinners are righteous through Christ.

• Sanctification: The Spirit’s ongoing work of making believers holy.

• Final Judgment: The day when God will judge all humanity.

• Union with Christ: The believer’s spiritual connection to Christ in salvation.

• Simul Justus et Peccator: Simultaneously justified and sinner.