In this compelling conclusion to our series on Ecclesiastes, the episode explores the profound insights gained from the preacher’s exploration of life’s meaning. As we navigate through Solomon’s teachings, we learn that all earthly endeavors are ultimately meaningless without acknowledging God. The conversation delves into the importance of developing a personal relationship with the divine as a foundation for obedience and spiritual growth. David Hawking emphasizes the significance of Solomon’s wisdom and the intensity with which he imparted knowledge. This episode challenges listeners to consider the words of the wise as essential guidance, likening them to well-driven nails that
Conduct that is pleasing to God must flow out of worship. Fear God and keep his commandments. Another way of saying that is that a knowledge of God leads to obedience. And it seems that sometimes we get very legalistic people. We try to set up restrictions and limitations and force people somehow to really shape up or ship out. And we want them to be dedicated to God. And we’re using the wrong thing. It’s our personal relationship with God that motivates us to obedience. Worship always precedes conduct.
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Thank you.
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Welcome to the midweek edition of Hope for Today. Today we’ve reached the final verses of our study through Ecclesiastes. The arguments, they’re finished. The searching is over. And now we must answer a simple question. What has this study done to us? Have we learned to hold this world loosely? Have we learned to fear God and to trust his word? Have we learned that what lasts is not what’s built under the sun, but under heaven? Well, today, David Hawking brings us the closing words of Ecclesiastes chapter 12 and the final message in this series, What Have We Learned? We’ll get into the word in just a moment. Stay tuned. First, I want to tell you about a free downloadable book from Hope for Today. This is titled Revival Now. Revival Now is by our ministry friend, Richard A. Bennett. It’s a clear and direct resource that calls believers back to a genuine, revived walk. with Jesus Christ. So if our study in Ecclesiastes has left you longing for what’s solid, what’s eternal, and what truly satisfies, Revival Now is a perfect follow-up to meet that need. You can download Revival Now right off the homepage at davidhawking.org. And when you get it, share it with as many folks as you like. We’ll turn back to Ecclesiastes chapter 12. Now it’s time for day three of What Have We Learned? Here’s David.
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All earthly pursuits are meaningless apart from God himself. It’s all vanity, which, by the way, is repeated seven times in the book of Ecclesiastes. All is vanity. Vanity of vanities. In terms of everything he had discussed about life, they’re all vanities. And concerning all those vanities, he says, vanity of vanities. Isn’t that interesting? Each one of them is meaningless apart from God, and the whole thing, summarized, is meaningless. All these meaningless things are meaningless. Interesting, isn’t it? You’d think he wants us to get a point. And yet tomorrow, many of us will change gears in our brains. And we will decide that what life has to offer us is meaningful and that I somehow don’t need to remember my relationship to God. How easy we can do that. And all of a sudden the goodies, the success, the achievements and the goals and the strategies of life all of a sudden become the big things and I lose reality. I’m wrapped up in the things and I start again laying up treasures on earth. Even though I know God says lay up treasures in heaven and everything now on earth, all of a sudden, hey, it’s big news to me again. Even though I know what this is saying. There’s a tendency in every one of our hearts, according to Moses’ instruction to the children of Israel before they went into the land of Canaan, there’s a tendency in every one of our hearts to forget the Lord. especially when things are going great. When everything is great, when you’re being blessed, when things are going well for you and your home and your business and your career, when things are going well, Moses told the children of Israel, you watch out. It is then that you forget the Lord more than any other time. So what have we learned in Ecclesiastes? One, we’ve learned to remember our relationship to God. Let’s come to verse 9 now. In verses 9 to 12, it’s a summary of what we’ve also learned in Ecclesiastes, and that’s to realize our reliance or our dependency upon God and His wisdom. Do you go to God for advice and counsel? Do you go to His word for wisdom? Look at verse 9. The Bible says, moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge. He knows that life is futile and meaningless, but he still taught them knowledge. Yes, he pondered and sought out and set in order many proverbs. The preacher sought to find acceptable or pleasing words, and what was written was upright. Words of truth. The words of the wise are like goads. The words of scholars like 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. Which, of course, is a lifetime verse of all students. I look at this and I say, what is it trying to tell us in those few verses? It’s a summary of all that Solomon believes about the wisdom of God. And we need to realize our reliance upon God and his wisdom. And I see that in three areas. One, in the intensity of his teaching. Here’s a man who knew all of life, experienced everything there was to experience, had great wealth, great fame, had everything his heart could desire. But Solomon went after wisdom, and he did it with great intensity. And he taught people that way. Verse 9 gives us three words. He pondered… He sought out and he set in order. That tells you how he taught people. The word pondered is a very rare word in Hebrew. It means careful evaluation. He studied it careful. Solomon examined life. And what he’s saying is, if we’re after the wisdom of God, we will not take things lightly. We will study them out. We will consider carefully all things that we face in life, evaluate it in the light of God’s word. Secondly, we have the word sought out. That’s a word referring to diligent study and research. When we talk about relying upon God, we are going to study God’s word. We are going to find out his wisdom no matter what. And the last little phrase or word is he set in order or he arranged it. It refers to how he skillfully presented it in terms of Proverbs, his poetry. It got our attention. Think of all the Proverbs in the book of Proverbs. It gets your attention. He skillfully presented all of this. All of this is saying, hey, I worked hard at one thing. to teach what God has to say. So you see the importance of God’s wisdom is even seen in the intensity of Solomon’s teaching and his dedication to it. But there’s something else. Look at verse 10. I think you realize our need to rely upon God’s wisdom by the very impact of his words. Verse 10 says the preacher sought to find acceptable or pleasant, delightful words. And what was written was upright or pure words of truth. Now, what is he saying there? I like what Michael Eaton, the commentary on Ecclesiastes that he has is really good. And he makes this statement about this verse. He says to be upright, but unpleasant is to be a fool. But to be pleasant, but not upright, is to be a charlatan, a deceiver. You see, both are needed. When I look about my need to rely upon God, God’s words to me are delightful. They are pleasant to the soul. They are comforting. They’re encouraging. But they’re also pure. They’re also upright. And they deal with sin. They are words of truth. God tells me the truth. Both are needed. Both are needed. I need God’s wisdom because I need to have that pleasing, delightful way of communication that God teaches in His Word. I need to have the attitudes of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, forgiveness, all of that. But I need also purity, moral character, to be upright, to be truthful. And God’s Word is that also. In verse 11, I see our need to rely upon God also by the importance of these words. Because verse 11 says the words of the wise are like goads. What’s a goad? A goad is a long stick. with a metal point on the end that you use to prod animals. Sometimes people say, you know, the purpose of preaching is to comfort the afflicted. But sometimes we need to turn that around and say it’s also to afflict the comfortable, right? You see, God’s Word is like a goad sometimes. I may not want to get prodded like that. I don’t want to be stuck like that by God’s Word, but that’s what God’s Word does. We might translate in the vernacular, give them a swift kick in the pants. You know, sometimes we need to get moving for God because we’re not walking with the Lord and, you know, maybe a little goad in the rear end will help, okay? God’s Word is like a goad. And there are so many times that Solomon has used it that way to prick our hearts, to convict us, to get us moving for God. But it also says the words of scholars or the words of the wise are like well-driven nails. You see, it’s not only the response of my life that is needed by going to God’s word, like a goad urging me to respond, but it also, there’s a need of stability in my life. God’s word is like nails that hold down a tent. The same word for nails was used in Solomon’s temple, even with large construction. I need the word of God to stabilize my life. So that when the storms and the winds comes, the tent of my life, as it were, is not blown away and does not collapse. I have it nailed down properly. God’s word does that. But there’s also a matter of authority. Look at the last phrase of verse 11. They are given by one shepherd. An obvious reference to the Lord himself. Given by one shepherd. I need to respond to God’s words like a goad. I need stability in my life. His words are like nails. But I also need to understand that this is authority. It’s given by one shepherd. And I’m sheep, not shepherd. We are the people of his pasture. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. And then verse 12, how does it fit? It’s a matter of comparison. And I read this several times and I’m not really sure I’ve got it yet. It’s a little tougher even in Hebrew than English, but here’s what it says. My son be admonished by these. And in my Bible, there’s a period. Is there one in yours? be admonished or warned by these, and then it kind of has a period. Then it says, of making many books, there’s no end, and much study is a worrisome to the flesh. Now, there are a couple ways of looking at this. One is, I’m admonished by God’s Word. Oh, by the way, study is a waste of time. Now, that’s one way to look at that passage, that what he’s saying is, God’s Word is tremendous, and it will admonish you. Oh, by the way, don’t study a whole lot because you just get tired doing it. Now, do you really believe that’s the point? I have a lot of people that just take those verses out of context and say, especially if they’re kids to their parents, much study is wearisome to the flesh. Do your homework. Much study. You understand? What is he saying here? I think there’s a comparison in this text, and I don’t think you ought to put a period there. I think what he’s saying is that other books in life, besides the book of God’s wisdom, other books are endless and wearisome. And they have no comparison to the wisdom of God. It’s an issue of priority by way of comparison. What he is saying is, you’re not going to be goaded and nailed down by the books of this world. Whether you think you will or not, you won’t, according to God. As important as it may be, he’s not against learning everything you can. But you see, it’s an issue of priority. Now I want to ask you, do you study the Bible more than you study anything else? Do you read the book of God, the greatest book of wisdom that’s ever been written? Do you read it more than any other book in any other literature in your life? I read that verse many, many times. I said, now Lord, don’t let me get this confused. I don’t want to lead people astray and I don’t want to misrepresent what God says. But I really believe that statement is connected, that it’s a comparative statement. That what he is urging us to see is the priority of God’s wisdom. Other books are endless. There are tons of them out there and more every day. But there is one book that can radically change your life. And sometimes we, if we’re dedicated, start out in the morning and read a chapter. But there may be five chapters of another book that we’ll read. I’m not against reading other books, obviously. I’m just saying, I wonder if we really know what that point is there. This book is more important than any book you have ever read in your life. There is no other book in the world that can claim to be the word of God and produce the results of this book. No book can change your life. No book can admonish you. No book can prod you. No book can prick your conscience. No book can straighten your life out than this book, the book of God, God’s wisdom. And I say to you, to all of you, no matter whether you’re a preacher or not, a Christian worker or not, every last one of us ought to consider this the most important book in our lives. We need to know what this book says more than any other book in the world. I think it’s a challenge to recognize the importance of God’s wisdom. That’s what I think it’s saying. So what have we learned in Ecclesiastes? We’ve learned to remember our relationship to God. We’ve learned to realize our reliance upon God’s wisdom. But third, this book has also told us to recognize our responsibility to God or our accountability to God. Look at verse 13. Let’s hear the conclusion of the whole matter, Solomon says. Fear God… and keep his commandments. By the way, that order is important. Fear, then keep. Why? Because you see, conduct is always derived from worship. That’s why a lot of us don’t perform and our conduct and our behavior pattern struggles so much because it doesn’t flow out of a vertical relationship to God. It’s sometimes urged by a horizontal relationship with others. An example, a wife prodding her husband to really live for the Lord. You see, conduct that is pleasing to God must flow out of worship. Fear God and keep his commandments. Another way of saying that is that a knowledge of God leads to obedience. And it seems that sometimes we get very legalistic people. We try to set up restrictions and limitations and force people somehow to really shape up or ship out. And we want them to be dedicated to God. And we’re using the wrong thing. It’s our personal relationship with God that motivates us to obedience. Worship always precedes conduct if it’s the right order. I think there are two things he’s telling us here when he tells us to fear God and keep his commandments. One, he said in verse 13 that this is the whole duty of man. New American Standard Bible says this applies to every person. I think the first reasons he’s giving for us to recognize our responsibility to God is that it gives meaning to your whole life. When he said this is the whole duty of man to fear God, keep his commandments, what he’s saying is, that that is what gives meaning to your life. That is the contrast to everything in Ecclesiastes when he said vanity of vanities, meaninglessness. What gives meaning to my life? What is the whole sum of the matter? What really counts in my life? And his answer, fear God. To fear God is to know him also, according to Proverbs, is to hate evil and to love what’s good. Yes. And it’s to acknowledge God and worship him. Yes. All of that. And that is what I need in my life. I may go to other things, but that’s what I need. That should be the priority. It gives meaning to my life. Everything picks up when I acknowledge God. When I’m committed to the Lord, everything is different. It gives meaning to your life. But secondly, in verse 14, it prepares you to meet God. It prepares you to meet God. Because it says God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it is good or evil. Are you prepared to meet God? Are you really? The Bible says every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Psalm 147.1 says the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, who acknowledge who he is, who worship him. who love him, who adore him, who honor him in their life. Lots of things to learn. Solomon has told us much about life, hasn’t he?
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s Bible teacher and author David Hawking bringing his verse-by-verse study through the book of Ecclesiastes to a powerful close here on Hope for Today. David’s going to be back in just a moment or two with a wonderful word of prayer that’s going to kind of wrap the series up and really bring it home to our hearts. So stay tuned for that. First, Matt’s here. And Matt, we have a very special home Bible study resource. This is going to change the way that we look at the subject of love. Let’s talk about it.
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Jim, I love 1 Corinthians 13. Oh, yeah. And isn’t it intriguing that the King James Version uses the word charity for love?
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Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels and have not charity, love, I am become a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. Though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains and have not charity, I’m nothing. Charity.
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And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
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Charity suffereth long in its kind. Charity love envieth not. Charity vaunteth not itself up, is not puffed up.
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And death not behave itself unseemingly. Seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil.
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Rejoiceth not in iniquity. Wow. But rejoiceth in the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things.
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Hopes all things.
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Adoreth all things.
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Yeah.
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Charity. Never faileth. What a roadmap for loving your spouse, kids, for loving your neighbor the way God wants us to love them. This is the kind of love that changes lives and hearts.
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Wow. You know, and love, if we as believers will dive deep into this passage. Let it thoroughly saturate our hearts. Understand and put its truth into action. There you go. We’re going to be radically transformed.
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Imagine the impact it can have on our gospel testimony. Amen. Well, discover the wondrous story of love in 1 Corinthians 13 with David Hawking’s book, Love is the Greatest. It’s just $15.
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Your purchase will bless your life and be a blessing to hope for today. Amen.
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To get your copy of David’s book, Love is the Greatest, call us in the U.S. at 1-800-75-BIBLE or in Canada, 888-75-BIBLE. Bible by the numbers 242-53. And you can also purchase this book and other resources at our website, davidhocking.org. We also have a special bundle package of David Hawking’s sermon notes and outlines from 35 of his teaching series in the Old Testament. Listen, this collection is David’s original sermon notes and outlines for, again, 35 different message series that he’s taught from the Old Testament. And the whole package is available for a special package price of just $75. Now, it’s just a little more than $2 per You get the outlines, the illustrations, the cross-references for each of the messages in 35 Old Testament series by David Hawking. Purchase on our website davidhawking.org or call us for more details. And one more quick note here. If you would like to send a special gift to support the ministry work of Hope for Today to join with us in ministry, call us at 875-BIBLE. That’s in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. Bible by the numbers 24253. You can also make a donation on our website, davidhawking.org. or send a gift by mail, write to Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011. RPO, Seven Oaks, Abbotsford, B.C., V2S, 8P1. Your support helps us continue teaching the Word of God clearly and faithfully. As promised, here’s David to close us in prayer. Father, we thank you for your Word.
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There are a lot of things, Father, in this book that hit at the core of what’s wrong in our lives. We’ve so often been dominated by our culture to the point we can’t tell the difference anymore between what really honors you and what honors the devil. We’ve allowed the world to dominate, control our thinking, to tell us what’s good and what’s important. We’ve gotten so far away from acknowledging you. God, we need to remember our relationship to you, a remembrance that’s more than simply thinking of the fact of your existence. but responding to you in worship and love and praise and joy, recognizing that all you’ve given us in life, it’s from your gracious hand, that our ability to enjoy it is related to our relationship with you. God, we’ve learned that we must rely upon your wisdom. We read so much. We hear so much in this world coming from the wisdom of men. God, how we need to filter it all through the wisdom of God. Teach us that your words are far more valuable than anything we have ever learned in our lives. And God, we’ve learned to recognize again our accountability to you, that one day we shall stand before you. Lord, I would pray that you would help those who are wrestling with their own commitment to you to really settle that. that they, Father, would worship you and love you in their hearts, fearing you, Father, more than anything else in life. You tell us the fear of man is a snare and a trap, but to fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. Oh, God, help us to dedicate our lives completely to you, to honor you in all that we do and all that we say. We thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen.
SPEAKER 02 :
Amen. Amen. Thank you David. Well, next time on the program, David’s beginning a study of 1 Corinthians 13, where God makes it clear that without love, everything else is empty. Invite a friend to join you as we begin this important study. And we’ll see you then, right here on Hope for Today.
