"The End of the Matter" Ecclesiastes 12:9–14

Ecclesiastes 12, 9-14.

In addition to being a wise man, the preacher also taught the people knowledge.

! And he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs.

! The preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly.

The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails.

They are given by one shepherd.

But beyond this, my son, be warned.

The writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.

The conclusion, when all has been heard, is,

Fear God and keep his commandments, because this applies to every person.

For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

Amen.

Opening question for you.

How much information do you consume?

And where do you consume it?

A little bit of a confession.

Before I actually give my confession, I told Christine this just last night,

and she gasped audibly.

And then I felt embarrassed.

And now I feel even more embarrassed sharing it this morning.

So here's the confession.

I am subscribed to 112 podcasts.

I couldn't believe it.

I counted every one of them.

And maybe you're just like, yeah, no problem.

I'm like, I have 200 podcasts.

Like, no, that's nothing.

That's small, small potatoes.

I thought it was maybe 40.

And I counted them up.

It was 112.

112 podcasts.

I will say, of those, 74 shows, I have listened to at least some part of some episode this year.

So there's a lot of them that I don't listen to.

Some have kind of gone defunct.

I haven't unsubscribed.

So maybe the 112 isn't so big of a number after all.

But then I figured that out of those 74, I have a consistent rotation of about 40 that I listen to somewhat regularly.

Some weekly, others in spurts.

But 40 in total.

Some, a small amount, are pure entertainment.

It's like an audio story that's in a podcast form, whatever.

But so 40.

40 episodes.

And I thought about this this past week.

And I thought, how on earth am I able to consume that kind of information?

And the answer is, I can't.

How about you?

What information are you consuming and how are you consuming it?

Does much of this information that you consume actually stick?

I can say for myself, I don't think it does.

How can one consider a dozen separate talks every single week?

Is there room for reflection or contemplation in your life as you consider the knowledge you take in?

And then another question.

What is the ultimate purpose of this level of consumption?

Is it making you, is it making me wiser?

I think this is a really important question.

Do we want to be wise?

I said, at this point, what I am doing is I am preparing for, like in three decades maybe, I'm going to appear on Jeopardy.

And that's where all that information is going to come to use.

Maybe.

But I'm not contemplating it in a way that is making me wiser.

Helping me to live better, necessarily.

How about you?

How are you processing all of the information and knowledge and truth that comes into your life?

Last week, we examined verse 8 of chapter 12 of Ecclesiastes.

And that was the conclusion of the book from the point of view of the teaching of the sage.

Verse 8 ends, it's a bit of a bookend, with verse 2 of chapter 1, where the sage both, I guess, opens and closes the book by saying,

Vanity of vanity, all is vanity.

That's how he ends Ecclesiastes.

This week, now that the sage has finished, a new character, and it could very well be the same writer as the sage.

It could be the same person.

But it's clearly a different voice that we encounter starting in verse 9.

And it is the voice of a commentator.

This is more of a summary section, verses 9 to 14 of chapter 12, that wraps up the book.

And the commentator is going to summarize the sage's teachings.

He's going to help us to understand the importance of not just taking in truth or taking in information,

but contemplating it.

Okay?

Applying it to our lives so that we may hopefully become wise men and women as we live out this mortal life under the sun.

All of the investigations that the sage has conducted, all of the conundrums and tensions that we've explored,

make it clear that wisdom is not just about this transfer of knowledge,

but about learning to apply these ultimate truths to our lives,

so that we don't merely become somebody who's really good at trivia night,

but somebody who is quite wise in their dealings.

And then ultimately, we will see that wisdom not just helps us to be wise,

but reveals to us this ultimate purpose for our lives,

and how that ultimate purpose of our individual lives ultimately helps us to participate in the purpose of all of creation.

That creation was designed with wisdom,

and it is going towards a very specific end.

And the wise person understands that we get to participate in that.

So, reflecting on the sage's teachings, the commentator,

and that's who I'll be referring to throughout this sermon,

the commentator will make clear that the meaning and purpose in life we all seek

are discovered through the proper application of truth,

allowing us to lead truly wise lives for a very specific purpose.

So, the commentator sums up the sage's teachings,

and helps us to see the joy that wisdom brings,

the guidance that wisdom offers,

and then ultimately the purpose that wisdom gives.

So, jump in it with me.

We're on page 44 of these individual books.

There is one left at the welcome table.

Feel free to grab it.

It is our gift to you.

Better late than never.

There's also individual Bibles that you can grab to follow along.

If you can, resist using a Bible app,

because you'll get distracted.

And I know that because I'll get distracted.

So, try to open a physical book.

Page 44.

We'll jump into our first point.

The joy that wisdom brings.

Let's read verses 9 and 10.

Besides being wise,

the preacher also taught the people knowledge,

weighing and studying and arranging

many proverbs with great care.

The preacher sought to find words of delight,

and uprightly he wrote words of truth.

Notice first how the commentator

begins by affirming the pedigree and motive of the sage.

He was indeed, that is the sage,

he was indeed wise and skilled

at compiling and bringing together

the various materials that we have

and we've been reading through in Ecclesiastes.

He was discerning.

He was intelligent.

But more importantly,

he understood his role

as a learned and wise man,

as a sage.

And what was that purpose?

It was to serve the people around him.

His pursuit of wisdom and understanding

aimed to help those nearby

flourish and grow

and become wise in their own right.

But what was the purpose of this wisdom?

Just to avoid the pitfalls of life under the sun

or was there something more?

We get a bit of a clue

when we consider how the commentator

describes an aspect of wisdom

as words of delight.

I don't think the text is saying

that the sage took together

all this information

and was just really good at prose

and made it roll off your tongue

so it is memorable.

I think what is being understood here

is that the sage or the preacher

was communicating the importance of wisdom

for our own personal joy.

Not happiness,

not joy in a moment,

but a deep heart joy.

And why is this an important consideration for us?

I think it's for a couple reasons,

but here's a big one.

We are skilled at framing information

to serve our agenda.

Sometimes it's appropriate

to present information positively

rather than pessimistically.

I think it's a really important thing to do.

But more often than not,

we engage in crisis management

that leads us to treat the truth as flexible.

That truth becomes more like modeling clay

than it is a rock.

We can bend it,

we can shape it,

we can make it look the way we want it to look.

I mean,

it's common in politics,

but I would suggest to you

that it's much more common in our own lives.

I'll give an example.

It's from my own life,

it's from this week.

This week I spoke disrespectfully

to a family member.

I was frustrated

and I reacted without thinking.

Very,

I was not charitable

to this family member.

And I had to apologize,

but I wanted to apologize

with excuses.

I was tired.

You know,

you misunderstood me.

Listen,

if you only understood maybe this,

I listened to a podcast last week,

I wasn't going to say that,

by the way.

A podcast,

you know,

this information,

you know,

justifies me pushing back

against this or that.

All I wanted to do

was apologize

and then do it

in such a way

that made me feel

ultimately justified

in speaking ill

and disrespectfully

to this family member.

I'll just say,

and this is like,

you know,

this isn't the regular,

but by God's kindness

and grace

and through some good

kind of like dialogue

with my dear wife,

I was able

to just say sorry

and not justify it

even though it killed me

because I wanted to be right.

And it demonstrated to me

and I think it's helpful

for us to consider

how we are,

we play loose and fast

with truth

so that it can suit us.

We are fine

to sacrifice

an aspect of the truth,

say the 20%

of the truth

that is a bit sticky

and prickly

and difficult.

So we can affirm

80% of the truth,

but in doing so,

what we do

is we ultimately

sacrifice the truth

upon the altar

of our ego.

does it,

doing such a thing,

does it bring

true happiness?

Does it bring

true flourishing?

Again,

consider the wisdom

that the sage

has put forward

is a wisdom

that is to bring

both joy

and ought to be

integral.

It is for the sake

of other people,

right?

The flourishing

and the betterment

of somebody else.

If I would have,

and by the way,

this is not bragging,

I have a thousand times,

okay,

had a sorry,

not sorry

type of apology.

But in those situations,

does that either

bring me

true joy

or does it elevate

and help the other

person to flourish?

And I would say,

no,

it doesn't.

I am fine

for reputational

crisis management

to sacrifice

my joy

and somebody else's

good opportunity

to grow

and to flourish

so that I feel

a bit better

about myself.

It's quite remarkable

that given

all of what

the sage has said

in Ecclesiastes,

that what he is

suggesting

by wise living

would even

lend itself

to joy.

So much of Ecclesiastes,

when we've interacted

with it,

has been heavy.

It's been a lot

of tension

between do this,

don't do this.

I'm going to elevate

this aspect of life,

I'm going to take

that same aspect of life

and say that it is vain.

And so much of life

was cast

in a really

difficult light.

A real light,

but a difficult one.

More than one occasion

somebody said to me

throughout these weeks,

I'm ready for Ecclesiastes

to be finished.

And yet,

right off the bat,

we are seeing that

the sage

is teaching wisdom

in such a way

that if it does not

bring joy

into our hearts,

then it might not

be true wisdom.

Wisdom must always

have in mind

a self-giving.

Since truth

should be both

integral

and bring joy,

according to the sage,

it isn't just

for us to possess,

but must be shared

for the benefit

of others.

therefore,

one can't be

both wise

and selfish.

These things

are completely

incongruous.

You cannot be

integral

and joyful

if you are

weaponizing the truth

to serve your own

agenda.

If you live

according to

half-truths

or manipulated

truths

or self-serving

truths,

you are

actually living

by lies

and not truth

at all.

And almost

certainly,

you will not

experience a

genuine,

deep joy.

You might enjoy

ease,

but not true

joy,

as living an

integral,

joy-filled

life is often

a very challenging

one because it

requires humility.

And you will

certainly never

enjoy the fruits

of wise living.

I wonder

if

we take

some time

this week

or maybe

this afternoon

to contemplate

some of the

sages' words

and if you

in your

contemplation

have a bit

of self-reflection

and ask some

of the difficult

questions.

Am I living

according to

the truth

or a shadow

of the truth

or 90%

of the truth

or maybe

I've treated

the truth

not as a

rock

but as

some clay.

And then

ask yourself

the question

in those

circumstances

and in

my life

generally

am I

experiencing

a deep

heart joy

or just

moments

of ease?

Friends,

are you

finding joy

in how

you're living

while

considering

what is

truly right

and wise?

So wisdom

must bring

joy

or it's

not wisdom

but wisdom

also

offers

guidance

in a

very

turbulent

life

and as

we've

seen

over

10

weeks

in

Ecclesiastes

well really

it's been

12 weeks

but 10

sermons

in Ecclesiastes

!

We've seen

that life

under the

sun

is quite

turbulent.

So

wisdom

brings joy

but it

also brings

guidance.

This leads

us into

our second

point.

Look with

me at

verses 11

and 12.

Actually

we'll just

read verse

11 for

now.

Here we

see that

wisdom

guides

our lives

through

two

images

goads

and

nails.

First

let's

take a

look at

goads.

It's

a term

we might

not be

too

familiar

with

but

think

a

staff

or

a

switch

used

to

guide

a

stubborn

herd

animal

presumably

a

sheep

by

inflicting

some

kind

of

discomfort

to

them

so

that

they

are

led

away

from

danger

and

towards

nourishment

and

safety.

There's

pain

involved

there's

discomfort

and perhaps

even

confusion

why is

this

happening

to me

but

the

shepherd's

goal

the

good

shepherd's

goal

is

the

health

of

the

sheep

the

health

of

the

herd

the

second

image

is

nails

it

describes

nails

but

really

if it

would

help

think

of

tent

pegs

in the

ancient

eastern

mediterranean

a lot of

semi-nomadic

living

there were

shelters

that were

put up

storms

and

disasters

and

maybe

even

catastrophes

would

come

upon

people

in the

wilderness

the

nails

had to

secure

the

shelter

so that

there

would

be

a

level

of

stability

and

safety

that

the

shelter

would

be

integral

see

the

pegs

or

the

nails

hold

secure

what

would

otherwise

be

blown

away

or

damaged

and

in

this

to

a

double

metaphor

we

see

this

image

of

wisdom

both

motivating

proper

action

and

the

importance

of

relying

upon

truth

that

can

be

trusted

wisdom

directs

us

in

where

to

go

and

helps

us

to

have

confidence

in

the

truth

and

stand

firm

upon

it

there's

a

promise

of

goodness

and

consistency

for

life

is

what

we're

seeing

what

isn't

promised

is

experience

after

experience

or

a

promise

of

indefinite

progression

where

we are

always

making

or

consuming

or

developing

wisdom

is

therefore

a

guide

toward

the

truly

good

things

in

life

and

stability

for

a

life

lived

in

that

truth

such

guidance

and

stability

they're

incredibly

vital

they were

vital

back

then

and

they're

vital

today

because

there

are

many

false

ideas

about

wisdom

and

human

flourishing

numerous

competing

narratives

claim

to reveal

what will

truly bring

us joy

and

satisfaction

many

perceptions

many

deceptions

pretend

to be

truth

there's

also

charlatans

many

people

that

are

self

possessed

experts

seeking

followers

by

recycling

!

false

ideas

are

promising

great

benefits

if you

only

follow

their

five

steps

for

success

or

apply

their

three

tips

for

a

better

you

whatever

it may

be

a lot

of

these

people

are

platformed

on

podcasts

or on

YouTube

we live

in

the age

of the

influencer

and it

is really

striking

how

the

sages

words

are

true

even

today

where

he

says

there's

nothing

new

under

the

sun

that

there

is

always

in

every

generation

with

God's

people

a

false

vision

of

who

God

is

and

the

godly

life

that

we

need

to

be

aware

of

and

flee

from

it

is

remarkable

how

there

isn't

really

a

new

set

of

heresies

but

really

a

small

collection

of

age

old

ones

that

just

get

repackaged

for

the

new

generation

with

modern

speak

and

just

maybe

promises

that

are a

bit

more

grandiose

than

the

generation

before

this

seems

to be

affirmed

by

the

commentator

about

the

sage

in

the

next

verse

look

with

me

at

verse

12

my

son

beware

of

anything

beyond

these

and

by

the

way

this

is

not

just

a

reference

to

the

sages

words

but

almost

certainly

would

refer

to

the

majority

of

the

written

Old

Testament

Bible

that

would

be

available

at

the

time

at

the

very

least

the

sages

words

maybe

some

of

the

proverbs

some

of

the

Psalter

and

the

Torah

the

first

five

books

of

the

Bible

I'll

start

again

in

verse

12

my

son

beware

of

anything

beyond

these

of

making

many

books

there

is

no

end

and

much

study

is

a

weariness

of

the

flesh

you

know

there

is

a

kind

of

posture

of

concerning

ourselves

with

being

people

that

are

learned

where

we

are

constantly

learning

but

never

coming

to

conclusions

it is

an

exhausting

affair

for

there

is

no

true

purpose

for

wisdom

beyond

looking

wise

like

we've

talked

about

just

in

the

previous

point

a

wisdom

that

is

self

serving

truly

is

no

wisdom

at

all

wisdom

is

always

self

giving

so

a

constant

learning

a

constant

getting

of

degrees

a

constant

consumption

of

the

newest

!

fad

or

the

newest

approach

to

whatever

it

may

be

the

newest

ideology

a

bit

of

philosophy

mixed

in

with

new

age

we're

constantly

learning

but

never

coming

to

conclusions

C.S.

Lewis

in

the

great

divorce

really

depicts

this

type

of

person

and

I'm

going

to

read

the

section

at

length

and

I'm

really

indebted

to

Derek

Kidner

he's

now

passed

away

but

one

of

the

commentators

that I've

used

throughout

this

time

but

he

quotes

C.S.

Lewis

and

here

is

the

whole

section

and

again

this

is

depicting

!

a

type

of

person

who

is

always

learning

but

never

truly

reaching

the

truth

this

is

what

it

says

quote

this

is

the

spirit

talking

to

a

man

I

can

promise

you

no

scope

for

your

talents

only

forgiveness

of

having

perverted

them

no

atmosphere

of

inquiry

for

I

will

bring

you

to

the

land

not

of

questions

but

of

answers

and

you

shall

see

the

face

of

God

ah

but

we

must

all

interpret

those

beautiful

words

in

our

own

way

for

me

there

is

no

such

thing

as

the

final

answer

the

free

wind

of

inquiry

must

always

continue

to

blow

through

the

mind

must

it

not

listen

said

the

white

spirit

once

you

were

a

child

once

you

knew

what

inquiry

was

for

there

was

a

time

when

you

asked

questions

because

you

wanted

answers

and

were

glad

when

you

had

found

them

become

that

child

again

wisdom

guides

us

to

a

truth

it

guides

us

away

from

falsities

but

it

ultimately

guides

us

to

a

truth

and

a

truth

that

is

stable

a

truth

that

might

have

different

applications

slightly

different

applications

for

different

times

but

the

content

of

which

doesn't

change

truth

is

firm

it

is

everlasting

it

adures

wisdom

indeed

guides

us

to

live

a

selfless

life

rooted

in

such

truth

it

does

this

how

by

shaping

and

forming

our

hearts

directing

our

affections

not

to

ourselves

and

interestingly

not

even

primarily

towards

our

neighbor

although

that

is

an

important

aspect

of

being

a

wise

person

but

ultimately

towards

the

Lord

and

to

the

conviction

that

he

has

created

us

to

know

him

and

enjoy

him

and

live

according

to

his

ways

this

is

the

purpose

of

wisdom

and

the

purpose

that

it

provides

us

with

and

this

leads

us

to

our

third

and

final

point

the

purpose

that

wisdom

gives

starting

in

verse

13

finally

finally

after

ten

weeks

of

wrestling

through

ecclesiastes

we have

long

sought

the

answer

to

our

question

what

is

the

purpose

of

our

life

what

is

the

purpose

of

all

of

our

lives

and

the

purpose

of

wisdom

and

of

right

living

is

that

we

may

fear

God

and

keep

his

commandments

you see

for those

who have

eternity

written on

their

hearts

that's

what

the

sage

said

back

in

chapter

three

nothing

less

than

knowing

the

eternal

God

and

being

known

by

him

living

under

his

good

and

godly

rule

!

learning

to

obey

his

commandments

and

realizing

that

all

of

life

is

under

his

watchful

and

beautiful

gaze

only

that

will

satisfy

us

nothing

else

will

everything

else

is

what

the

sage

calls

vanity

vanity

vanity

all

is

vanity

how

could

we

find

ultimate

meaning

in

anything

else

it would

be a

fantastic

time

to put

a nice

bow

on the

entire

book

but

before

we get

too

excited

let's

put a

critical

hat

on

and

ask

ourselves

the

following

question

is

there

really

true

eternal

joy

in

fearing

and

serving

a

divine

being

because

if

that's

the

case

we

have

to

say

no

to

a lot

of

other

things

that

are

good

okay

so

are

we

really

pushing

all

of

our

chips

into

the

middle

of

the

table

betting

on

God

are

we

through

ecclesiastes

we are

reminded

of

the

absolute

futility

of

elevating

ourselves

above

all

else

time

and

again

the

sage

has

given

us

examples

of

why

it

is

not

a

good

thing

to

pursue

earthly

pleasures

to

their

ultimate

end

as

if

they

will

give

us

eternal

satisfaction

because

such

things

will

perish

time

and

again

he

reminds

us

of

the

absolute

futility

of

elevating

ourselves

above

all

else

living

for

our

own

glory

our

own

reputation

or

ultimate

purpose

is

an

absolute

fool's

errand

says

the

sage

for

those

who

yearn

and

understand

that

we

are

made

for

eternity

pursuing

such

eternal

desires

through

fleeting

things

are

more

than

just

fruitless

they're

actually

detrimental

to

our

lives

they

harm

us

and

actually

they

harm

others

we

are

pursuing

the

eternal

one

our

creator

to

recognize

that we

matter

before him

and that

he

delights

in us

and every

time we

look

with that

longing

and yearning

towards

something

else

things

are bound

to go

awry

ultimately

we deny

his

goodness

we

deny

that

he

is

the

creator

and

the

truly

wise

one

and

that

in

him

there

are

joys

unspeakable

we

know

where

true

joy

resides

and

it's