The End Of The Matter Series

The Conclusion of the Matter

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14

Rev. Brian Bill

November 23-24, 2024

I want to start with two questions related to preachers.

Q: How do you know when a preacher is lying?

A: When he says, “In conclusion.”

Q: What does it mean when a pastor says, “And finally, in conclusion...?”

A: Nothing, absolutely nothing.

People joke about the preacher who says, “in conclusion,” when everyone knows he’s just warming up.

There is a phrase a preacher can use which is guaranteed to wake up an audience: “And in conclusion.”

As we come to the preacher Solomon’s concluding words from the Book of Ecclesiastes, we’ll be challenged to wake up and warm up to what is most important. Let’s give our attention now to Ecclesiastes 12:9-14. Notice how Solomon moves from the first person to the third person in his epilogue.

Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. 10 The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth. 11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 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. 13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

We could summarize the Preacher’s final sermon like this: The end of the matter is to focus on eternal matters.

Since we’ve been journeying with Solomon since June, I thought it would be helpful to review the summary statements from each sermon. Special thanks to Marie Guyton for going back over the sermons and putting this list together. Here’s how we’ve been applying the Word to our world today.

• Because life is fleeting, base your life on what will last forever.

• Dissatisfaction is designed to lead us to find satisfaction in God alone.

• We will never find our purpose in life if we put the pursuit of our pleasures above God’s priorities.

• We can’t find our worth in our work, but we can worship God by how we work.

• Because God has a reason for each season in our life, we can trust His timing.

• While we are mired to earth and tethered to time, we are also wired for eternity and will live eternally, in either Heaven or Hell.

• Be intentional about connecting with others because we are made for community.

• Be on guard when you worship God by drawing near to revere Him.

• The love of money will not provide meaning in life.

• Your soul will only be satisfied when you surrender to the Savior.

• Since God wants better for us, we must give Him our best.

• Life only makes sense when we live it for the Lord.

• Only personal conversion through Christ, not political conviction, will lead to lasting change.

• You are not prepared to live until you are prepared to die.

• It’s better to go the way of wisdom than to fall into foolishness.

• Be oriented for action because life is often uncertain and unexplainable.

• Don’t waste your life trying not to die; spend your life living for the One who died for you.

As Solomon nears the end of his existential journey, he draws out four conclusions which have direct application to our lives today.

1. Reflect on the Bible daily. I see seven truths about the Bible in verses 9-12. Let’s walk through this section phrase-by-phrase.

• The Bible is to be studied. In verse 9, Solomon describes how seriously he took the writing of Ecclesiastes: “Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care.” His heart was to teach “knowledge,” which refers to “discernment and insight.” Before writing things down, he “weighed” his words, which means he “pondered and considered.” The word “studying” speaks of “scouting or seeking out.” He also “arranged many proverbs” which means he “set them in order.” A proverb is an earthly saying containing heavenly truth, or a practical word for a complicated world. We know from 1 Kings 4:32 Solomon “…also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005.”

Since Solomon did this all with “great care,” we must study the Scriptures carefully and consistently, pondering the Word so we can live it out in our lives. This makes me think of 2 Timothy 2:15, which is the anchor verse for our Awana discipleship ministry for kids: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” I had the joy of attending Awana this past Wednesday night and saw so many kids filled with joy as they were quoting the verses they had memorized.