Glory to God! We just concluded doing most of everything we supposed to do in the past week in the family, workplace, church, community, or elsewhere, and the new week a new workload is already here. The past week is old now and the week we just started is a new week in our life. God, being compassionate and faithful, blessed us with untold number of good things, including some new blessings in our life just like the hymn we sing every now and then, Count your blessings, name them one by one … Count your many blessings, see what God hath done. In fact, God is doing something new everyday and every week in our life.  Prophet Isaiah prophesied about what God is intending to do in this world for His chosen people Israel as well as for everyone else who obeys His commandments and lives according to His Will and for His purpose:

I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel’s Creator, your King. This is what the Lord says—He who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together … Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland … to give drink to my people, my chosen, The people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise (Isaiah 43:15-21)

According to prophet Isaiah’s prophecy, what we can understand is that the Lord God who did miracles after miracles for His people Israel in the wilderness is doing something new in these days in the world (and in our lives) that everyone can experience and benefit from. Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth that The old has gone, the new is here (2 Corinthians 5:17b). Apostle Paul said this statement in the context of a person who accepted Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of their life and began a new life that is according to Jesus’ teachings. When a person chooses to become the follower of Jesus Christ, he/she is a new creation. That is why Apostle Paul wrote: If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here (2 Corinthians 5:17). Despite everything else that is going on around us, the truth is that the Lord God is doing something new everyday and every week in our life and in this world. Hallelujah!

The passage for the Scripture for the Week meditation is taken from Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (mentioned above). The book of Ecclesiastes is part of the Wisdom literature in the Scripture. The message of the book is written by king Solomon, son of David, king over Israel in Jerusalem, who introduces himself as the teacher/preacher (Ecclesiastes 1:1, 12). As the wealthiest and wisest king in Israel, Solomon tried everything possible under the sun to make his life happy and meaningful – he used his wisdom and wealth, power, popularity, and other resources, to bring satisfaction in life for himself and his people but in the end, he found everything meaningless. King Solomon found life meaningful when he began to fear God and keep His commandments. So, he wanted to tell others about his own experiences in life – about his personal efforts to achieve a happy and meaningful life that ended up as a failure; but when he began to fear God and keep His commandments, his life turned out to be happy and meaningful. This was the reason why he speaks from the perspective of his very personal experience (Ecclesiastes 1:1, 12-18; 12:13 [1:1-12:14]) and it communicates four important lessons for its readers:

1. 1. 1. The world and its desires will pass away (Isaiah 51:6; Matthew 24:35; 1 John 2:16-17), which means what we see and experience in life (wisdom, wealth, pleasure – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, etc) will not last forever but  will soon disappear (Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:1; 1John 2:16-17);
      2. Those who fear God [Ecclesiastes 3:14; 5:7;12:13-14] and keep His commandments will live forever (John 11:25-27; 1 John 2:17b);
      3. God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil (Ecclesiastes 11:9b; 12:14 [Psalm 18:20-27; 12:14; Acts 17:31]); and
      4. Everything will go well with those who fear God and obey God’s commandments (Ecclesiastes 8:12; 1 Peter 3:12a) and the wicked will reap the consequences of their wickedness (Ecclesiastes 2:26; 3:17; 8:13 [Psalm 96:13; Ezekiel 3:18;  98:9; Matthew 12:36-37; 16:27; Romans 2:6; 1 Peter 3:12b)

We, as the created beings, must know that God has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live (Ecclesiastes 3:11-12). The final statement king Solomon makes, after talking about his life experiences and outlining practical guidelines for righteous living, is that Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind (Ecclesiastes 12:13). This means, the entire teachings of the Bible, particularly what is discussed in the book of Ecclesiastes [in our context], is in vain if we fail to fear God and keep His commandments. The reason king Solomon said to ‘Fear God and keep His commandments’ is that God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil (Ecclesiastes 12:14). One day, we all (the righteous and the wicked alike) will stand before the throne of God to give a final account of our word and deed and everything we did in life (Psalm 96:13; Acts 17:31; 2 Corinthians 5:10). Jesus said:

26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done (Matthew 16:26-27)

Let us analyze Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

Now all has been heard (v.13a): A summary of all that has been done under the sun is narrated in the Scripture, especially in the book of Ecclesiastes; and it is our responsibility to read it, understand it, and take a wise decision in life. What we need to understand in life is that everything is meaningless apart from God, which means life is meaningful only if we fear God and keep/obey His commandments. Ecclesiastes 12:1 states that Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them.” Therefore, take a right decision to do what is right in the sight of God and all those around us.

The conclusion of the matter (v.13b): The conclusion of the matter is pronounced based on what we have read, heard, and understood. The time has come for us to take a stand/decision – either we can place our trust in our own resources (worldly resources), or place our trust in the Lord God Almighty (godly resources). The most popular worldly resources include trusting one’s own wisdom, wealth, power, popularity, and other available resources; but the godly resource is nothing but placing one’s trust in the Lord God – fear God and keep His commandments. If we place our trust in the worldly resources, it will not endure for long but will bring us misery and misfortune, including eternal condemnation; whereas, godly resources endure forever and brings us blessings, including eternal life.

Fear God and keep His commandments (v.13c): Proverbs 1:7 states that The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction, and Proverbs 9:10 states that The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. If you are well versed with the Scripture or familiar with the life of king Solomon son of David, king of Israel, we can understand that he was one of the wisest and most resourceful kings who reigned in Israel. He, being the wisest (1 Kings 4:29-31), wealthiest (1 Kings 3:12-13; 10:23-27; 2 Chronicles 9:13-28), most powerful (1 Kings 10:23; 2 Chronicles 1:13-15), most popular (1 Kings 4:32-34), and one of the most resourceful king in the history of Israel (1 Kings 10:23-29), tried all possible ways and means to find happiness and satisfaction in life. Nevertheless, he failed in everything he tried and was not able to find happiness and satisfaction in life with his ability or with all the resources he acquired. Let us read one of the many life-experiences king Solomon shared in the Scripture to warn us from being ignorant of the false hopes and assumptions that the world falsely promises to humanity:

[King Solomon writes] I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. 2 “Laughter,” I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” 3 I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.

4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart. 9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me. 10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.  My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. 11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11)

However, being chosen by God to be the king in Israel, as per the covenant God made with his father David (2 Samuel 7:16; Jeremiah 33:17), God honored king Solomon when he stopped trusting in himself, or on the resources he acquired, or pursuing worldly ambitions; and began to place his trust in the Lord God, he was able find happiness and satisfaction in life. Moreover, his life-experiences and failed-life-lessons helped him to turn to the God of his fathers and find meaning for his life. Now, he has a message that he wanted to pass on to the people and the next generation; and it is Fear God and keep His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13c). Even if it hurts, it is better to fear God and keep His commandments, as king David said when God’s wrath came upon himself and Israel: I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is great (2 Samuel 24:14). Fear God and keep His commandments was the ultimate recommendation or advise king Solomon passes on to others after himself trying all possible ways and means to make himself and others happy and find satisfaction in life. From this we can understand that it is time to fear God and keep/obey His commandments and live according to His will and for His purpose instead of focusing on the false promises the world gives us.

The duty of all mankind (v.13d): Fear God and keep His commandments is the duty of all mankind because, whether we know it or not, it is the fact that whatever we attempt to do to get happiness and satisfaction using the available worldly resources will fail us. Ecclesiastes 12:13c states that the duty of all mankind is to fear God and keep/obey His commandments. It does not mean that we should not work or hesitate to do what we are supposed to do in taking care of ourselves and others around us. When the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, he became a living being; then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it (Genesis 2:7,8,15). In addition to work in the Garden of Eden and take care of it, the Lord God gave him His righteous  laws, decrees, and commandments to follow (Genesis 1:26-30; 2:16-17). Thus, the man was commanded to work in the garden and take care it and to follow/obey His righteous laws, decrees, and commandments. In this sense, Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind, simply means to trust in the Lord and do everything according to His will and for His purpose. In addition to Adam’s example, there are several other examples mentioned in the Scripture of people who feared God and kept His commandments while taking care of what they were asked to take care. Below mentioned are a few of those examples for our reference:

• • Noah feared God and kept His righteous laws and decrees while preaching righteousness in a wicked generation (2 Peter 2:5) and making the ark for himself, his family and the animals to survive the flood (Genesis 5:28-9:28);
  • Abraham feared God and kept His commandments while leaving his country, his people, and his father’s household to the land God would show him (Genesis 12:1-9);
  • Joseph son of Jacob and Rachel feared God and kept His commandments while
    

    overcoming each challenging situations in his life and becoming a ruler in Egypt and helping his father Jacob and his sons to relocate to Egypt where the children of Israel grew into a nation (Genesis 37:1-50:26; Exodus 1:1-7);

  • Moses feared God and kept His commandments while being the deliverer and leader of Israel (Exodus 2:1-Deuteronomy 34:12);
  • Joshua feared God and kept His commandments while being the leader of the people of Israel and distributing the land God gave to the Israelites as an inheritance (Numbers 27:12-23; Deuteronomy 31:1-8; 34:9; Joshua 1:1-9; 13:1-19:51; 24:15);
  • King David feared God and kept His commandments while taking care of his household and the nation of Israel as king in Israel; and the Scripture says that David had served God’s purpose in his own generation (Acts 13:36). King David honored God for raising him from being a shepherd to his father’s sheep to the throne of Israel to reign over God’s people Israel.  King David also kept His righteous laws and decrees and followed Him wholeheartedly his entire life. He praised God, saying:

9 I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. 10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. 11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth (Psalm 57:9-11)

• • King Solomon son of king David, feared God and kept His commandments (yet, not all the time) while being the king in Israel and built the temple of God in Jerusalem (1 Kings 1:32-40; 6:1-38);
  • Zechariah and Elizabeth feared God and kept His commandments while taking care of their family and the priestly duties they were called to, and in raising John the Baptist who was the forerunner of the Son of God – Jesus Christ (Malachi 3:1; Matthew 3:1-17; 11:10; Luke 1:5-25; 3:1-20; John 1:29-34);
  • Joseph and Mary feared God and kept His commandments while taking care of their family and bringing in Jesus into this world (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-24; Luke 1:26-38; 2:1-52);
  • John the Baptist feared God and kept His commandments while being the forerunner of Jesus Christ and preparing the way for His ministry (Malachi 3:1; Matthew 3:1-17; 11:10; Luke 1:5-25; 3:1-20; John 1:29-34);
  • Christ Jesus / the Messiah feared God and kept His Father’s commandments in its entirety while preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of God and fulfilling the Father’s will upon His life o=to save humanity from their sins and eternal condemnation and interceding for His people before the Father (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14; 9:1-7; 52:13-53:12; Matthew 1:18-2:12; 26:36-28:10; Mark 14:32-16:20; Luke 1:26-33; 22:39-24:53; John 3:16; 18:1-21:14; Acts 1:1-11);
  • The disciples of Jesus feared God and kept His commandments while being the apostles to carry the gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the world (Matthew 10:1-4; 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20; Luke 16:12-16; 24:46-47; John 3:16; 20:21; Acts 1:8);
  • Apostle Paul feared God and kept His commandments while being the Apostle to the Gentiles and preaching the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ to everyone who came across his life (Acts 7:54-57; 8:1-3; 9:1-31; 22:17-23:11); and so on.
  • The early church feared God and kept His commandments while being persecuted for preaching and teaching the gospel of Christ and proclaiming that Jesus is the Lord and Savior of the mankind (Acts 1:8; 2:41-47; 4:32-37; 5:12-16; 9:31; 18:8; Ephesians 4:11-12; Hebrews 10:25; 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9)
  • We, the present generation followers of Christ: In the light all the saints who feared God and kept His commandments and followed God faithfully in their lives, we, the present generation of Christian believers must fear God and keep His commandments and bring glory and honor to God the Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

It is our call to pursue the will of God in our life and to do the will of God in and through our life in order to find happiness and satisfaction in the work of God that we are called for. Ecclesiastes 3:22 states that I have seen that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot.

God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing whether it is good or evil (v.14): The message of the Holy Scripture to the mankind is to fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind (Ecclesiastes 12:13b). God, being Omniscient (all-knowing), Omnipotent (all-powerful), and Omnipresent (present-everywhere), keeps an account of every deed of every human being ever since they were created. Apostle Paul said, Each of us will give an account of ourselves to God (Romans 14:12; Proverbs 18:21; Ecclesiastes 3:15; Matthew 12:36-37; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 20:11-15). The reason why the Scripture says to fear God, and keep his commandments is that God will bring into account everything that has been done by humanity from the beginning of the world to the end of the world (Psalm 14:2-3; 33:13-14; 53:2; Romans 3:10-12; Revelation 20:11-15). God brings even the hidden things into the light as God spoke through prophet Jeremiah that He is the God nearby and far away: Am I only a God nearby,” declares the Lord, “and not a God far away? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord (Jeremiah 23:23-24). Jesus said that When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you (Matthew 6:3-4 [1 Corinthians 4:5]). King David, from his personal experience, shared that God knows all about everyone and no one can hide anything from Him; and He is present everywhere and no one can go to a place where God’s presence is absent:

1. You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.
2. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
4. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.
5. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.
6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
7. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8. If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10. even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
11. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
12. even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you (Psalm 139:1-12)

That is why David prayed to the Lord: Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression. May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:13-14). And pleaded with Him to search him and test him to know if there is any anxious thoughts in him that will lead him astray from God’s presence: Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24).

Below are some key thoughts from king Solomon’s teachings from the book of Ecclesiastes that would either help us to fear God and keep His commandments or keep us away from doing things that would bring God’s judgement upon us or some general information for us to know:

• • There is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9)
  • There is no lasting glory on earth – no one remembers the former generations (Ecclesiastes 1:11)
  • There is no lasting pleasure on earth – nothing was gained under the sun (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11)
  • There is no certainty of life on earth – low and high, rich and poor and wise and fool alike do not endure forever on Earth (Ecclesiastes 2:14-16 [Psalm 49:2,10,12,19])
  • The righteous and the wicked must stand before the judgement throne of God (Ecclesiastes 2:15-17)
  • Everything that has life will die – humans and animals alike (Ecclesiastes 3:18-20)
  • This world is filled with so much of oppression and injustice (Ecclesiastes 4:1)
  • The poor are oppressed (Ecclesiastes 5:8a)
  • The poor are denied justice (Ecclesiastes 5:8b)
  • The poor are denied their rights (Ecclesiastes 5:8c)
  • It will go well with those who fear God, who are reverent before Him (Ecclesiastes 8:12b)
  • Since the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them (Ecclesiastes 8:13)
  • Everything is meaningless under the sun if we do not fear God and keep His commandments

As the children of God, let us Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind (Ecclesiastes 12:13b). Know that the Lord God Almighty is compassionate, gracious and loving (Psalm 86:15). Apostle Peter wrote to the early church: The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare (2 Peter 3:9-10). Apostle Paul also emphasized on God’s favor on people that He does not want anyone to perish rather He wants everyone everywhere to come to the saving knowledge of Christ. Romans 5:6-8 states that You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly … But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. However, the wicked and the ungodly will be punished due to their deliberate disobedience to His righteous laws, decrees, and commandments. Therefore, we, as the children of God, must find happiness and satisfaction in everything that God gives us to do in this life, as King Solomon stated: This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God (Ecclesiastes 5:18-19). According to Apostle Paul, We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). May the Lord God Almighty bless us all! Amen!