What Matters at the End of Life
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Basic Background of Ecclesiastes
Basic Background of Ecclesiastes
The author is Solomon
He was the third king of Israel and the son of David who received the promise of God in .
When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”
Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to David—;
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Solomon most likely wrote this later in life
He wrote it later in his life around 950-935 BC.
He wrote it from the perspective of one who had lived and experienced life.
I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.
Important Elements to Ecclesiastes
A focus on the phrase “under the sun,” occurs almost 30 times in the book and emphasizes an earth-centered perspective.
The point is a human-centered existence without God is pointless or “vain.”
The End of the Matter and the Duty of Man (13)
The End of the Matter and the Duty of Man (13)
The “end of the matter” refers to his conclusion of the one point he has been making.
If a person is focused on his life apart from God then his life is meaningless.
How often have you done something and realized it was meaningless?
This is his conclusion, and is one we should all take to heart, because he speaks in great wisdom, and as he looks back at his life, he certainly can see areas of his life where he did not glorify God with it.
He reports himself to have paid attention to all the arguments, and he has reached a logical conclusion.
The duty of man is shared.
Our duty is what we have been created for, and give us purpose in this life.
Our joy and purpose is found in “fear God and keep his commandments”
The “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”
Our joy is when we obey the Lord who made us. The text says, “keep his commandments.”
The End
The End
The True Meaning of Life (14)
The True Meaning of Life (14)
This life is temporary and eternity will follow.
Why do we live for the
Life truly is a vapor and even 100 years is nothing in the sight of eternity.
Why do we invest so much of our resources in this life?
God is the sovereign judge.
The text says, “For God will bring.”
It is in God’s timing and judgment will be based on God’s standards of judgment.
what will God judge?
every deed into judgment
every secret thing will be judged
Both the good and the bad will be judged.
Think of it in this way, when Scripture says God will judge the living and the dead, our perspective may be different depending on our relationship with God.
For the non-believer, there is fear when thinking about God’s judgment.