Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ecclesiastes 12:14
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether [it be] good, or whether [it be] evil.
14. For God shall bring every work into judgment ] Once again the Teacher brings into prominence what was indeed the outcome of the book; though, as history shews, the careless reader, still more the reader blinded by his passions, or prejudice, or frivolity, might easily overlook it. The object of the writer had not been to preach a self-indulgence of the lowest Epicurean type, or to deny the soul’s immortality, though for a time he had hesitated to affirm it, but much rather to enforce the truth, which involved that belief, of a righteous judgment (ch. Ecc 11:9), seen but imperfectly in this life, with its anomalous distribution of punishments and rewards, but certain to assert itself, if not before, when “the spirit shall return to God who gave it” (Ecc 12:7). From the standpoint of the writer of the epilogue it was shewn that the teaching of Ecclesiastes was not inconsistent with the faith of Israel, that it had a right to take its place among the Sacred Books of Israel. From our standpoint we may say that it was shewn not less convincingly that the book, like all true records of the search after Truth, led men through the labyrinthine windings of doubt to the goal of duty, through the waves and winds of conflicting opinions to the unshaken rock of the Eternal Commandment.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Ecc 12:14
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil
The great day of judgment
I.
Prove the absolute certainty of a day of general judgment.
1. By the Bible (Jud 1:14; Job 19:25; Psa 9:7-8; Psa 50:3-6; Dan 7:9-10; Mat 25:31-46; Act 24:15; Act 24:25; 2Pe 3:10-12; Rev 20:11-13).
2. Conscience, influenced by the Holy Spirit, and resting on the inspired volume for theological information, points to the Day of Judgment for rewards and punishments to be distributed at the end of our probation.
3. The equality and justice of Gods administration are incontestable proof of a Day of Judgment.
II. The judge, the circumstances attendant on, and the immediate consequences of, the day of judgment.
1. The Judge. Jesus Christ alone, as exhibited in the Bible, is adequate for the great work of judging the world in righteousness. As Son of God, He understands all the rights of the eternal throne, the requirements of law, and the demands of justice; and as Son of man, He knows the extent of our ability, the feelings of our heaths, and the state of our nature, and can, therefore, be a merciful, gracious, and just Judge in things pertaining to God and man.
2. The circumstances attendant on the Day of Judgment, and the immediate results of the decisions of the Supreme Judge. (W. Barns.)
Human responsibility
In the argument in which we are about to engage, we shall assume the great truth of the immortality of the soul; we shall assume, at least, that man is to live after death; for if this be denied, there is little place for reasoning as to human accountableness. I shall perhaps bring this grave question most plainly before you by imagining certain cases, in which a creature would not be accountable, or in which his being held accountable by a Supreme Power would confessedly be at variance with justice. Supposing, then, that I were to tell you of one of the inferior animals, a horse or a dog, as held accountable for its actions, so that the Creator of that animal would call it to a reckoning, and reward or punish it according to its works; there would be an instant feeling in your minds that this could hardly be true. You cannot think that the animal has intelligence enough to be placed under any law; the distinctions between right and wrong have never been apprehended by it, and because of its want of intelligence and of its supposed utter inaptitude for any moral rule, it would seem to you as though to bring the horse or the dog were little better than to bring a machine into judgment. Now, take another ease; the case of an infant, or a very young child. You would declare it palpably unjust were this infant or child alleged accountable for its actions; you would instantly say, The child is in no sense master of its actions; its reason is not strong enough, and its conscience not formed enough, for discerning between right and wrong; and certainly, if there be accountableness in any case, there cannot be in that in which moral difference has as yet no existence. You would do precisely the same with the idiot. You would say, The lamp has been quenched or never kindled in this being, by whose shinings he might have been turned from evil and directed to good: how, then, can he justly be brought into judgment for his actions? how can he be a fit subject whether for punishment or reward? Neither is it only infancy or idiocy which would make you put a human being beyond the range of accountableness. If it could be shown that a being was under some invincible constraint, actuated by a superior power, forced by irresistible passions, or compelled by irreversible circumstances, to a certain course of conduct, you would decide, and we think very justly, that he could not be accountable for his actions. A free agent alone can be accountable; one free, in such a measure, that he can make an election between evil and good, and is under no necessity of acting in this manner rather than in that. We must admit, also, another exception from accountableness. If a being be so placed that he has not sufficient information as to what is his duty, or that he is without adequate motive to its performance when discerned, it would seem unjust to make him responsible for his actions; as he must be free in order to be accountable, so he must have light enough for his direction, and inducement enough for his obedience. We are now to see whether any of these allowed pleas against accountableness can be urged by men in general; for if not, there will be an end of all objection against the doctrine of human responsibility, or that doctrine will stand out in thorough consistence with the attributes of such a Being as is God: Now, first, as to the free agency of man. You may all have heard of what is called the doctrine of necessity, or fatalism. We are told, that inasmuch as there is a succession of causes and effects in the universe, and every cause must produce its effect, there is no possibility of things being otherwise than as they are; we have no power over events, and none over actions; we cannot act but in one way, we can arrive at but one result; and it is ridiculous to talk of our being accountable, when we are but machines which do not regulate themselves. Now, this doctrine of necessity, if true at all, must be true universally. But I can see that the doctrine of necessity is false in matters of common life. It is not true that things are beyond our control; it is not true that they proceed just the same, whether we interfere or whether we do not. The fields do not wave with harvest, whether we till them or whether we do not; and it does make a difference, whether we put out a fire or suffer it to burn. Be, then, consistent, ye modern fatalists! Carry out your doctrine of necessity in all its extent, and do not confine it to religion and morals. But setting aside this doctrine of necessity, is there any real liberty of action–are not men the creatures of circumstances? are they not under an insuperable bias? is it not practically undeniable, that they will act in one way and not in another? Nay, not so; man is no machine, when the utmost has been allowed as to the tendencies and circumstances of his nature. Man is a being who can be swayed by motives; and a being influenced by motives cannot be a being impelled by necessity. Judge for yourselves; are you not conscious, when you do many things, that you might forbear to do them?–that if a greater inducement to the forbearing were presented than is urging you on to the doing, you would forbear? Then assuredly your actions are so far free, that you may justly be held to account. But a being may be free, and on that account responsible, yet he may be left in such ignorance, or possess so little moral power, that he can hardly discover the right, or follow it if discovered. There is an end of moral government, unless a rigid proportion be maintained between the demands of the ruler and the powers and opportunities of the subject. When St. Paul delivered those memorable words, For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law, he quite settled the question, with all believers in revelation, as to accountableness varying with advantages, so that there shall be different standards for different circumstances. But, withal, we do not think you can find us the tribe of human beings whose circumstances can be given as sufficient to excuse them from the being accountable at all. You have never any right to look at those in whom the moral sense seems almost extinct, without looking also at others in whom that sense is in vigorous exercise. We gather from the fact of a moral sense being found where man has not thoroughly degraded and sensualized himself, that tilts moral sense is actually an element of our nature; yea, an element not destroyed, but only overlaid in the most degraded and sensualized. For no tribe has been met with in whom conscience could not be awakened; awakened, we say; it was not dead, but only slept. There is not one of you without a conscience. Let men say what they will as to the strength of various motives, the strongest, the most uniform, the most permanent motive with you all is the sense of duty. I do not say that this is the motive to which you most commonly yield, but I do say that this motive is always pressed on you through the instrumentality of conscience; so that whilst every other is transient, this is abiding. I dare affirm, that in every mind duty is secretly placed before interest or pleasure, though it is a hundred to one that practically interest or pleasure wilt carry it over duty. There is a light vouchsafed unto all–there is a voice which is audible by all–there is power in all to attempt the walking by the light, and the hearkening to the voice. And, therefore, with every admission that accountableness is not a fixed thing, but must vary in degree with the circumstances and capacities of the individual, we may contend in the general that God will only be acting with the most thorough justice if He act on the principle of the text–the principle of bringing every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. Now, it has not been our object throughout our foregoing argument to show you that God does or will hold man accountable, but rather that there is nothing in the circumstances or capacities of man to militate against the doctrine of his accountableness; on the contrary, that those circumstances and capacities are such as to prove it quite just that he should be held accountable. And you may tell me that this leaves the question of human responsibility unsettled; for that God will call men to account is no necessary consequence on a proof that He might call them to account consistently with justice. Now, here again we are at issue with you; we think that the one is a necessary consequence on the other; for if God would be just in holding man accountable, would He not be unjust in not holding him accountable? The justice results from the capacities with which He has endowed man, and the circumstances in which He has placed him; and He would be unjust were He not to deal with him according to these capacities and circumstances; unjust because having proposed an end, His perfections demand of Him that He inquire whether or no it have been effected. But, in truth, if men require from us a rigid mathematical proof of their being responsible, we fairly own that it is not easy to give. We can show that the elements essential to accountableness are all found in man, and yet it may not be easy to draw out a demonstration that man is accountable. But why is this? Only because things on which there is the least doubt are often the hardest to prove. A man asks me to prove to him that he is responsible; I ask him to prove to me that he exists. He will tell me that he is his own evidence as to his existence; and I tell him that he is his own evidence as to his accountableness. That there should be such words in common use with reference to man, is itself convincing proof, that there are facts which correspond to them in his nature and condition. The whole structure of society is based on the fact of human responsibility, and it is this responsibility which keeps it together. You have only to establish that men are not accountable for their actions, and there is an end of all confidence, an end of all law, an end of all decency; the commonwealth is sick at its core, and the mainspring is snapped which actuates all the system. Neither are our modern philosophers prepared for this. They want to keep man responsible so far as accountableness may be necessary, as the cordage of society; and then they wish to prove him irresponsible, so far as accountableness has to do with his relation unto God. Vain effort! futile distinction! There is no accountableness, except accountableness to God. If I am responsible to man, it is only in a subordinate sense. I see where men want to draw the line of accountableness. They have no idea of not holding one another accountable, when their present interests are concerned; but they would like to be rid of the restraints which Gods moral government imposes, and they manage, therefore, to fix the point of human responsibility just where, if responsible, they stand exposed to eternal destruction. This will not do. We cannot admit that principles which are either universally true or universally false, shall be partially applied, chopped and squared, as may suit mans passions or accord with his interests. We will have them everywhere or nowhere. They shall use their principles wheresoever they are applicable; they shall carry them into politics, they shall carry them into science; they shall be fatalists everywhere, they shall be responsible nowhere. And until this be done there shall be no place for argument against human accountableness, and the testimony of Scripture shall remain thoroughly consistent with all the conclusions of reason, that God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. (H. Melvill, B. D.)
The reasonableness and credibility of this great principle of religion, concerning a future state of reward and punishment
I. The suitableness of this principle to the most natural notions of our minds. We see, by experience, that all other things (so far as we are able to judge), minerals, plants, beasts, etc., are naturally endowed with such principles as are mesh fit to promote the perfection of their natures in their several kinds. And therefore it is by no means credible that mankind only, the most excellent of all the other creatures in this visible world, for the service of whom so many other things seem to be designed, should have such kind of principles interwoven in his very nature as do contain in them mere cheats and delusions.
1. This principle is most suitable to the general apprehensions of mankind concerning the nature of good and evil. And as the one of these doth in the essence of it imply comeliness and reward, so doth the other denote turpitude and punishment.
2. This principle is most suitable to those natural hopes and expectations which the generality of good men have concerning a state of future happiness. The better and the wiser any man is, the more earnest desires and hopes hath he after such a state of happiness. And if there be no such thing, not only nature, but virtue likewise must contribute to make men miserable; than which nothing can seem more unreasonable to those who believe a just and a wise Providence.
3. This principle is most suitable to those fears and expectations which the generality of wicked men are possessed with, concerning a future state of misery. Now, as there is no man whatsoever that is wholly freed from these fears of future misery after death, so there is no other creature but man that hath any fears of this kind. And if there be no real ground for this, then must it follow that lie who framed all His other works with such an excellent congruity, did yet so contrive the nature of man, the most noble amongst them, as to prove a needless torment and burden to itself.
II. The necessity of this principle to the right government of mens lives and actions in this world, and the preserving of society amongst them. Nothing can be more evident than that the human nature is so framed as not to be regulated and kept within due bounds without laws; and laws must be insignificant without the sanctions of rewards and punishments, whereby men may be necessitated to the observance of them. Now, the temporal rewards and punishments of this life cannot be sufficient to this end; and therefore there is a necessity that there should be another future state of happiness and misery.
1. Not all that may be expected from the civil magistrate; because there may be many good and evil actions which they cannot take notice of, and they can reward and punish only such things as come under their cognizance.
2. Not all that may be expected from common providence; for though it should be granted that, according to the most general course of things, both virtuous and vicious actions are rewarded and punished in this life; yet there may be many particular cases which this motive would not reach unto, namely, all such eases where a mans reason shall inform him that there is far greater probability of safety and advantage by committing a sin than can be reasonably expected (according to his experience of the usual course of things in the world) by doing his duty. But the thing I am speaking to will more fully appear by consideration of those horrid mischiefs of all kinds that would most naturally follow from the denial of this doctrine. If there be no such thing to be expected as happiness or misery hereafter, why, then, the only business that men are to take care of is their present well-being in this world, there being nothing to be counted either good or bad but in order to this. Those things which we conceive to be conducible to it being the only duties, and all other things that are cress to it being the only sins. And, therefore, whatever a mans appetite shall incline him to, he ought not to deny himself in it (be the thing what it will), so he can have it, or do it without probable danger. Now, let any man judge what bears and wolves and devils men would prove to one another if everything should be not only lawful, but a duty, whereby they might gratify their impetuous lusts, if they might either perjure themselves, or steal, or murder, as often as they could do it safely, and get any advantage by it. But there is one thing more, which those who profess to disbelieve this principle should do well to consider, and that is this: that there is no imaginable reason why (amongst those that know them) they should pretend to any kind of honesty or conscience, because they are wholly destitute of all such motives as may be sufficient to oblige them to anything of this nature. But, according to them, that which is called virtue and religion must be one of the most silly and useless things in the world. As for the principle of honour, which some imagine may supply the room of conscience, this relates only to external reputation, and the esteem which we have amongst others, and therefore can be of no influence to restrain men from doing any secret mischief.
III. The necessity of this principle to the vindication of Divine providence. It is well said by a late author, That not to conduct the course of nature in a due manner might speak some defect of wisdom in God; but not to compensate virtue and vies, besides the defect of wisdom, in not adjusting things suitably to their qualifications, but crossly coupling prosperity with vice, and misery with virtue, would argue too great a defect of goodness and of justice. And perhaps it would not be less expedient (saith he) with Epicurus, to deny all Providence, than to ascribe to it such defects. It being less unworthy of the Divine nature to neglect the universe altogether, than to administer human affairs with so much injustice and irregularity.
IV. Application. If this be so, it will concern us then to inquire–
1. Whether we do in good earnest believe this, that there shall be a future state of reward and punishment, according as mens lives and.actions have been in this world. If not, why do we profess ourselves to be Christians?
2. Do we at any time seriously consider this, and revolve upon it in our minds?
3. What impression doth the belief and consideration of this make upon our hearts and lives? Doth it stir up in us vehement desires, and carefulness of mind in preparing for that time? (Bp. Wilkins.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 14. For God shall bring every work into judgment] This is the reason why we should “fear God and keep his commandments.”
1. Because there will be a day of judgment.
2. Every soul of man shall stand at that bar.
3. God, the infinitely wise, the heart-searching God, will be judge.
4. He will bring to light every secret thing – all that has been done since the creation, by all men; whether forgotten or registered; whether done in secret or in public.
5. All the works of the godly, as well as all the works of the wicked, shall be judged in that day; the good which the godly strove to conceal, as well as the evil which the wicked endeavoured to hide.
This, then, will be the conclusion of the whole mortal story. And although in this world all is vanity; yet there, “vanities will be vain no more.” Every thing, whether good or evil, will have its own proper stable, eternal result. O God! prepare the reader to give up his accounts with joy in that day! Amen.
MASORETIC NOTES
Number of verses, 222.
Middle verse, Ec 6:10.
Sections, 4.
The ARABIC subjoins this colophon: – “Praise be to God for ever and ever!”
“By the assistance of the Most High God this book of Ecclesiastes, which is vanity of vanities, written by Solomon the son of David who reigned over the children of Israel, is completed.”
The SYRIAC has, “The end of the book of Koheleth.”
There are others, but they are of no importance.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
For God shall bring every work into judgment: this is added either,
1. As a reason of what he last said,
this is the whole of man, because all men must give an account to God of all their works, and this alone will enable them to do that with joy, and not with grief. Or,
2. As another argument to press the foregoing exhortation, Fear God, and keep his commandments, for you must be called to judgment about it, &c.
With every secret thing; not only outward and visible actions, but even inward and secret thoughts.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14. For God shall bring every workinto judgmentThe future judgment is the test of what is”vanity,” what solid, as regards the chief good, the grandsubject of the book.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For God shall bring every work into judgment,…. Not in this life, but in the day of the great judgment, as the Targum explains it; that is, whatever has been done by men, from the beginning of the world, or will be to the end; all being observed and taken notice of by the omniscient God, who has registered them in the book of his remembrance, and, being Judge, will be able to bring them all into account at that awful day: which is here given as a reason why men should fear God, and keep his commandments;
with every secret thing; that has been committed in secret by men, and is unknown to others, even every secret thought of the heart; see 1Co 4:5; or, “with every secret” or “hidden man” w; whose works are hidden from men, and are not known to be what, they are, and who thought to hide themselves from, God; but these, with their works, shall be brought into open court in judgment;
whether [it be] good, or whether [it be] evil: it shall then be examined according to the rule of the word, and be judged, and declared to be what it truly is, good or evil; and so be either rewarded in a way of grace, or punished: or, “whether [the man, the hidden man, be] good or evil” x, so Alshech; all mankind, everyone, will he bring into judgment, whether he be good or evil. This is the last end of all things, and in which every man will be concerned. This shows, as well as many other things in this book. Solomon’s belief of a future state and judgment; and that there is nothing in it to encourage the epicure and atheist: which being observed by the ancient Jews, they readily admitted it into the canon of Scripture.
w “super omnem occultum, sc. hominem”, Schmidt. x “Sive bonus fuerit, sive malus”, Schmidt.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
As we render zeh kol – haadam as expressive of the same obligation lying on all men without exception, this verse appropriately follows: “For God shall bring every work into the judgment upon all that is concealed, whether it be good or bad.” To bring into judgment is, as at Ecc 11:9 = to bring to an account. There the punctuation is , here , as, according to rule, the art. is omitted where the idea is determined by a relative clause or an added description; for bemishpat ‘al kol – ne’llam are taken together: in the judgment upon all that is concealed (cf. Rom 2:16; 1Co 4:5, ). Hitzig, however, punctuates here , and explains as of the same meaning as the distributive , e.g., Gen 9:5, Gen 9:10; but in this sense never interchanges with . And wherefore this subtlety? The judgment upon all that is concealed is a judgment from the cognition of which nothing, not even the most secret, can escape; and that is not a Germanism, is shown from Ecc 11:9; to execute judgment on (Germ. an ) any one is expressed by , Psa 119:84, Wisd. 6:6; judgment upon ( ber ) any one may be expressed by the genit. of him whom it concerns, Jer 51:9; but judgment upon anything (Symm. ) cannot otherwise be expressed than by . Rather may be rendered as a connecting particle: “together with all that is concealed” (Vaih., Hahn); but certainly comprehends all, and with this comprehensive idea is only deepened. The accent dividing the verse stands rightly under ;
(Note: Thus rightly pointed in F. with Dagesh in lamed, to make distinct the as quiescent (cf. 1Ki 10:3; and, on the other hand, Neh 3:11; Psa 26:4). Cf. with Dagesh in shin, on account of the preceding quiescent guttural, like , Ecc 9:8; , Lev 11:16; , Num 1:7, etc.; cf. Luth. Zeitsch. 1863, p. 413.)
for sive bonum sive malum (as at Ecc 5:11) is not related to ne’llam as disjoining, but to kolma’aseh .
This certainty of a final judgment of personal character is the Ariadne-thread by which Koheleth at last brings himself safely out of the labyrinth of his scepticism. The prospect of a general judgment upon the nations prevailing in the O.T., cannot sufficiently set at rest the faith ( vid., e.g., Ps 73; Jer 12:1-3) which is tried by the unequal distributions of present destiny. Certainly the natural, and particularly the national connection in which men stand to one another, is not without an influence on their moral condition; but this influence does not remove accountability, – the individuum is at the same time a person; the object of the final judgment will not be societies as such, but only persons, although not without regard to their circle of life. This personal view of the final judgment does not yet in the O.T. receive a preponderance over the national view; such figures of an universal and individualizing personal judgment as Mat 7:21-23; Rev 20:12, are nowhere found in it; the object of the final judgment are nations, kingdoms, cities, and conditions of men. But here, with Koheleth, a beginning is made in the direction of regarding the final judgment as the final judgment of men, and as lying in the future, beyond the present time. What Job 19:25-27 postulates in the absence of a present judgment of his cause, and the Apocalyptic Dan 12:2 saw as a dualistic issue of the history of his people, comes out here for the first time in the form of doctrine into that universally-human expression which is continued in the announcements of Jesus and the apostles. Kleinert sees here the morning-dawn of a new revelation breaking forth; and Himpel says, in view of this conclusion, that Koheleth is a precious link in the chain of the preparation for the gospel; and rightly. In the Book of Koheleth the O.T. religion sings its funeral song, but not without finally breaking the ban of nationality and of bondage to this present life, which made it unable to solve the mysteries of life, and thus not without prophesying its resurrection in an expanded glorified form as the religion of humanity.
The synagogal lesson repeats the 13th verse after the 14th, to gain thereby a conclusion of a pleasing sound. The Masoretic Siman ( vox memorialis ) of those four books, in which, after the last verse, on account of its severe contents, the verse going before is repeated in reading, is ” . The refers to (Isaiah), to (the Book of the Twelve Prophets), the first to , the second to (Lamentations). The Lamentations and Koheleth always stand together. But there are two different arrangements of the five Megilloth, viz., that of the calendar of festivals which has passed into our printed editions: the Song, Ruth, Lamentations, Koheleth, and Esther; and the Masoretic arrangement, according to the history of their origin: Ruth, the Song, Koheleth, Lamentations, and Esther.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
C. MAN IS ADMONISHED TO WORK IN HARMONYWITH GOD BECAUSE GOD WILL BRING EVERY WORK INTO JUDGMENT. Ecc. 12:14
TEXT 12:14
14
Because God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 12:14
425.
Is the judgment eternal judgment or judgment which takes place in this world? Explain and discuss.
426.
What truth taught by Jesus in Mat. 10:26 is taught in this final verse?
427.
Who will judge the secrets of the heart? (Cf. Rom. 2:16)
428.
How thorough will be the final judgment? (Cf. 1Co. 4:5)
PARAPHRASE 12:14
I say that no man shall escape because God shall bring every deed into judgment whether the motive is good or evil.
COMMENT 12:14
Ecc. 12:14 Appropriately the reader is drawn to God in this final sentence of the book. God is the Creator (Cf. Ecc. 12:1; Ecc. 7:13-14; Ecc. 7:29; Ecc. 8:15; Ecc. 11:5; Ecc. 12:7), the One worshipped (Cf. Ecc. 5:1-2; Ecc. 5:4; Ecc. 5:6-7; Ecc. 8:2), the One who permits mans enjoyment, (Cf. Ecc. 9:7) the One who knows the end from the beginning (Cf. Ecc. 3:11; Ecc. 3:15), the One who has placed the desire to know in the heart of man (Cf. Ecc. 3:10), the One who supplies food, and water, and gives His approval of labors (Cf. Ecc. 2:24; Ecc. 3:13; Ecc. 5:18-20), the One who works that men will fear Him (Cf. Ecc. 3:14), the One who is the final judge of all men (Cf. Ecc. 3:17; Ecc. 11:9; Ecc. 12:14), the One who proves that man is different from beasts (Cf. Ecc. 3:18), the One who blesses the godly (Cf. Ecc. 7:18), the One who delivers the godly from sin (Cf. Ecc. 7:26), the One who is the author of the words of life (Cf. Ecc. 12:11).
The fact that God will bring every act into judgment has been established. He had previously stated: I said to myself, God will judge both the righteous man and the wicked man, for a time for every matter and for every deed is there (Ecc. 3:17). In Ecc. 11:9 the emphasis of the judgment is on all these things. Nothing escapes the knowledge of God. The eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth (2Ch. 16:9). (Cf. Zec. 4:10; Mat. 12:36; Act. 17:30-31; Rom. 2:16; 1Co. 4:5; 2Co. 5:10) This final judgment will test the works of men to determine what is vanity and what endures (1Co. 3:11-15).
There is a sense in which present judgment takes place under the sun. (Cf. Joh. 3:18-20; Gal. 6:7-8; Eph. 5:13) However, the judgment Solomon refers to must be the eternal judgment as no earthly judgment could include every man and every act.
FACT QUESTIONS 12:14
581.
Would a partial judgment of sins on this earth satisfy the demands of this verse? Explain.
EPILOGUE
This final word.
Much closer to our generation than Solomon, there stands a man who represents the same world. He caused laughter to flash across the faces of literally thousands. Yet, in a more serious moment he contemplated life apart from the fear of the Lord and his words are strikingly similar to those of the Preacher. On that occasion Mark Twain wrote:
A myriad of men are born; they labor and sweat and struggle for bread; they squabble and scold and fight; they scramble for little mean advantages over each other. Age creeps upon them; infirmities follow; those they love are taken from them. At length ambition is dead; pride is dead; longing for release is in their place. It comes at lastthe only unpoisoned gift earth ever had for themand they vanish from a world where they were of no consequence. Then another myriad takes their place, and copies all they did, and goes along the same profitless road, and vanishes as they vanishedto make room for another and another and a million more myriads to follow the same arid path through the same desert and accomplish what the first myriad and all the myriads that came after it accomplishednothing,
One bows in deep gratitude before the throne of Grace. Indeed the vacuum within man is Christ-shaped. When through faith and submission to His Lordship He floods into our lives, there is fulfillment and purpose. The Sun of Righteousness has risen with healing in His wings. Let Jesus have the final word:
I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I CAME THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE LIFE, AND HAVE IT MORE ABUNDANTLY. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep (Joh. 10:7-11).
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(14) Considering that the book is filled with complaints of the imperfection of earthly retribution, this announcement of a tribunal, at which every work, every secret thing, shall be brought into judgment, cannot be reasonably understood of anything but a judgment after this life; so that this book, after all its sceptical debatings, ends by enunciating, more distinctly than is done elsewhere in the Old Testament, the New Testament doctrine of a day when God shall judge the secrets of men (Rom. 2:16), shall bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the hearts (1Co. 4:5).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
14. Every work into judgment This book began with a view of the arena on which mortal life is enacted. It ends with a conclusion in which nothing is concluded but mortal cares and vanities and opportunities. We are pointed, as by the marble finger of the ancient statue, to the tribunal hereafter. In the cool light of the world where change and confusion never enter, there sits the most worthy Judge Eternal. Beyond that Koheleth is silent; but how full of meaning is his silence!
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
REFLECTIONS
READER! may we not, after the perusal of this Chapter, and indeed from the whole of the Preacher’s sermon, as contained in this book of the Ecclesiastes, take up both the wise man’s direction to the young, and the Psalmist’s direction to the old, and in his form or words, cry out and say, Both young men and maidens, old men and children, praise the name of the Lord; for his name only is excellent, and his glory above the earth and heaven. This, indeed, is the conclusion of the whole matter, and this is the whole of man!
See; my soul, from the perusal of Solomon’s whole discourse, and as the sum and close of Solomon’s whole experience, the emptiness and vanity of all besides. I have seen (with he) all the works that are done under the sun; and behold all is vanity and vexation of spirit. And wilt thou not, my soul, learn from so notable a proof, how utterly insufficient all earthly things must be to give comfort? Shall Solomon complain at the head of a kingdom, that emptiness, vanity, and disappointment attended all; and wilt thou expect a different issue from earthly attainments? Say! Canst thou acquire possessions like his or, even if acquired, couldst thou be sure to keep them? or if keeping, would a different close mark thine from Solomon’s?
Turn, my soul, turn from all these things to Jesus. His grace, his love, his good will, his favor, which is better than life itself, will give the finishing enjoyment to every other blessing, or make up the want of it, if denied thee. It is Jesus which must put a sweetness and a relish into all the comforts which are found, in creatures of any kind. And if Jesus be not in it, there can be no sweetness in it at all. Come, then, thou dear Lord, come and bless the young man in his youth, and the old man in his grey years. And then, when the grasshopper shall be a bur den, and even desire of all nature’s enjoyments shall fail; thou wilt be the strength of the heart, and the portion to satisfy forever. Oh! grant Lord, both to him that writes, and him that reads, that ere the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bow be broken; the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return unto God that gave it; Jesus may be the all in all to our souls, the conclusion of the whole matter, and the sum and substance of all our joy. May we have the full interest of Jesus, and all that is his, by faith in this life, and in the life to come, then we shall be satisfied with the everlasting enjoyment of him by sight, when we awake up after his likeness. Amen.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Ecc 12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether [it be] good, or whether [it be] evil.
Ver. 14. For God shall bring every work into judgment. ] Full loath is sinful flesh to come to judgment; but (will they, nill they), come they must, “God will bring them.” Angels will hale them out of their hiding holes. Rocks and mountains will then prove a sorry shelter, since rocks shall rend and mountains melt at the presence of the Judge. Let us therefore judge ourselves, if he shall not judge us, and take unto us words against our sins, if we will not have him to take unto him words against our souls. Hos 14:2 And then, Ira vivamus, ut rationem nobis reddendam arbitretour, saith the heathen orator, Let us so live as those that must shortly be called to an account. For who can tell but that he may suddenly hear as that Pope did, and was soon after found dead, Veni, miser, in iudicium, Come, thou wretch, receive thy judgment. Let this be firmly believed and thoroughly digested, and it will notably incite us to the fear and service of God. This some heathens knew. Zaleucus Locrensis, in the preface to his laws, hath these words: Hoc inculcatum sit, esse Deos, et venturum esse summum et fatalem illum diem: Remember to press often upon the people these two things; first, That there are gods; next, To these gods an account of all must be given. The Areopagites at their council were wont diligently to inquire what every one of the Athenians did, and how he lived, that men knowing and remembering that once they must give an account of their lives, though but to earthly judges, might embrace honesty. a
With every secret thing.
Whether it be good or evil.
Here (as also at the end of Lamentations, Isaiah, and Malachi) many of the Hebrew Bibles repeat the foregoing verse, Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, &c., yet without points, lest anything should seem added thereby to the holy Scriptures. Hebrew Text Note The reason hereof read in the end of the prophecy of Isaiah. See Trapp on “ Isa 66:24 “
a Rouz’s Archaeol. Atti., 125.
Laus Deo
secret = hidden.
evil. Hebrew. ra’a’. App-44.
Ecc 12:14
Ecc 12:14
“For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
A more positive statement of the Biblical doctrine of the Eternal Judgment is to be found nowhere else in the Old Testament. The fact of God’s eventual judgment of the whole world is a cardinal principle of Christianity, one of the fundamentals (Heb 6:2). This announcement of it at the end of Solomon’s book makes it a climax. It could very well have been that his conviction of this certainty was the very thing that finally brought him to his senses. Delitzsch agreed with this. “This certainty of the final judgment at last was that which finally brought Solomon out of the labyrinth of his skepticism.” It will also do the same thing for every honest and intelligent man who will contemplate it.
As Hendry wrote, “The resolution of the discord” (the making of all things right: the just assignment of rewards for the righteous and punishments for the wicked, which shall take place only in the world to come) – “All this shall await the time when faith will give place to sight and every hidden thing will be revealed; so we may say of these last words of Ecclesiastes, that they foreshadow the resurrection.
“Solomon’s conclusion is that true religion is the only way to true happiness.” Man may chase the rainbows in any direction that he chooses, but apart from the love and service of God, only the rottenness of a grave awaits him. The verdict of God’s truth against any other way but the true one is `vanity of vanities.’ Why should anyone doubt it and throw his life away in the pursuit of life’s beckoning butterflies, all of which can only disappoint and destroy him?
For a more extensive discussion of The Judgment regarding (1) its place in the Bible, (2) the necessity for it, (3) the occasion of it, (4) its importance as a foundational doctrine of Jesus Christ, (5) the reasons for its being a day of terror and sorrow for “all the tribes of the earth,,’ etc.,
Our study of this amazingly powerful chapter of God’s Word would not be complete without a summary of the great doctrines of Christianity that are either expressly declared, necessarily implied, or both, in these verses. Here they are:
The Existence and Power of God
God is the Creator
God is the creator of Man
Immortality of the Soul
The Resurrection of the Dead
God is the Shepherd of Israel
The Existence of Moses’ Law
God’s Commands Available in that Law
That Law a Divine Revelation
Man’s Accountability to God
The Eternal Judgment (Heaven and Hell)
Rewards and Punishments
It would be difficult indeed to find another chapter in the whole Bible with a more impressive constellation of stellar Christian doctrines than that which appears here. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Amen!
Ecc 12:14 Appropriately the reader is drawn to God in this final sentence of the book. God is the Creator (Cf. Ecc 12:1; Ecc 7:13-14; Ecc 7:29; Ecc 8:15; Ecc 11:5; Ecc 12:7), the One worshipped (Cf. Ecc 5:1-2; Ecc 5:4; Ecc 5:6-7; Ecc 8:2), the One who permits mans enjoyment, (Cf. Ecc 9:7) the One who knows the end from the beginning (Cf. Ecc 3:11; Ecc 3:15), the One who has placed the desire to know in the heart of man (Cf. Ecc 3:10), the One who supplies food, and water, and gives His approval of labors (Cf. Ecc 2:24; Ecc 3:13; Ecc 5:18-20), the One who works that men will fear Him (Cf. Ecc 3:14), the One who is the final judge of all men (Cf. Ecc 3:17; Ecc 11:9; Ecc 12:14), the One who proves that man is different from beasts (Cf. Ecc 3:18), the One who blesses the godly (Cf. Ecc 7:18), the One who delivers the godly from sin (Cf. Ecc 7:26), the One who is the author of the words of life (Cf. Ecc 12:11).
The fact that God will bring every act into judgment has been established. He had previously stated: I said to myself, God will judge both the righteous man and the wicked man, for a time for every matter and for every deed is there (Ecc 3:17). In Ecc 11:9 the emphasis of the judgment is on all these things. Nothing escapes the knowledge of God. The eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth (2Ch 16:9). (Cf. Zec 4:10; Mat 12:36; Act 17:30-31; Rom 2:16; 1Co 4:5; 2Co 5:10) This final judgment will test the works of men to determine what is vanity and what endures (1Co 3:11-15).
There is a sense in which present judgment takes place under the sun. (Cf. Joh 3:18-20; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:13) However, the judgment Solomon refers to must be the eternal judgment as no earthly judgment could include every man and every act.
This final word.
Much closer to our generation than Solomon, there stands a man who represents the same world. He caused laughter to flash across the faces of literally thousands. Yet, in a more serious moment he contemplated life apart from the fear of the Lord and his words are strikingly similar to those of the Preacher. On that occasion Mark Twain wrote:
A myriad of men are born; they labor and sweat and struggle for bread; they squabble and scold and fight; they scramble for little mean advantages over each other. Age creeps upon them; infirmities follow; those they love are taken from them. At length ambition is dead; pride is dead; longing for release is in their place. It comes at last-the only unpoisoned gift earth ever had for them-and they vanish from a world where they were of no consequence. Then another myriad takes their place, and copies all they did, and goes along the same profitless road, and vanishes as they vanished-to make room for another and another and a million more myriads to follow the same arid path through the same desert and accomplish what the first myriad and all the myriads that came after it accomplished-nothing,
One bows in deep gratitude before the throne of Grace. Indeed the vacuum within man is Christ-shaped. When through faith and submission to His Lordship He floods into our lives, there is fulfillment and purpose. The Sun of Righteousness has risen with healing in His wings. Let Jesus have the final word:
I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I CAME THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE LIFE, AND HAVE IT MORE ABUNDANTLY. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep (Joh 10:7-11).
How to Live While Young – Ecc 11:1 to Ecc 12:8
Open It
1. Why do people want to know the future?
2. Of what opportunities have you failed to take advantage? Why?
3. What sort of risks are you afraid of taking?
4. What is the worst thing to you about getting old?
Explore It
5. What central theme did Solomon develop in these verses? (Ecc 11:1 to Ecc 12:8)
6. What conclusions did Solomon draw about life? (Ecc 11:1 to Ecc 12:8)
7. What did Solomon tell his readers to do? (Ecc 11:1)
8. What sort of person did Solomon criticize? (Ecc 11:4)
9.What is beyond our understanding? (Ecc 11:5)
10. Why did Solomon tell his readers to keep busy? (Ecc 11:6)
11. What do we need to keep in mind? Why? (Ecc 11:8)
12. What advice did Solomon have for the young? (Ecc 11:9)
13. When should we take pains to remember our Creator? (Ecc 12:1)
14. How did Solomon describe old age? (Ecc 12:2-5)
15. How did Solomon symbolize death? (Ecc 12:6-7)
16. What did Solomon conclude is meaningless? (Ecc 12:8)
Get It
17. How do the uncertainties of the future make you feel?
18. How should we live in light of the uncertainties of the future?
19. What prevents you from taking calculated risks in life?
20. Why is it important to establish a relationship with God when we are young?
21. In what way is it easy to forget our Creator?
22. What can we do to keep our accountability to God in mind?
23. Why is it easier to enjoy life when we are young than when we become old?
24. How does the reality of aging affect you?
25. How should we live our life in light of the reality of death?
26. In what sense is life meaningless?
27. How should we respond to the seemingly meaningless aspects of life?
Apply It
28. What first step can you take to pursue an opportunity that you have put off?
29. What is something you can do this week to remind yourself of Gods place in your life?
30. Whether young or old what is something you will do today to enjoy the life God has given you?
The Conclusion of the Matter – Ecc 12:9-14
Open It
1. About what do you like to keep learning more and more?
2. Who has helped you become wiser or more mature?
3. What motivates you to keep Gods commands?
Explore It
4. How did Solomon conclude this book? (Ecc 12:9-14)
5. How did Solomon describe the Teacher? (Ecc 12:9)
6. What did the Teacher do with his knowledge? (Ecc 12:9)
7. For what did the Teacher search? (Ecc 12:10)
8. How did Solomon describe what the Teacher wrote? (Ecc 12:10)
9. How did Solomon describe the words of the wise? (Ecc 12:11)
10. About what did Solomon warn his reader? (Ecc 12:12)
11. What did Solomon say about books and study? (Ecc 12:12)
12. What is a persons whole duty? (Ecc 12:13)
13. Why did Solomon tell his reader to fear God and keep His commandments? (Ecc 12:14)
Get It
14. With what mood would you say Solomon concluded this book?
15. How are wise sayings like goads?
16. When have you been weary from studying?
17. How important is learning and studying in comparison to other pursuits?
18. What is the relationship between fearing God and keeping his commandments?
19. How does the fact that God is going to judge every deed motivate you?
20. What opportunities do you have to teach others?
21. How can we learn from each other?
22. What opportunities do you have to learn from others?
23. In what ways can you be a teacher or advisor to at least one other Christian?
24. In what ways can you gain from others wisdom and insight?
Apply It
25. What can you do always to be conscious of Gods commands?
26. What is one piece of advice you would give to a younger or less mature Christian?
27. What can you do this week to learn from another Christian who is older or wiser?
Ecc 11:9, Psa 96:13, Mat 12:36, Mat 25:31-46, Luk 12:1, Luk 12:2, Joh 5:29, Act 17:30, Act 17:31, Rom 2:16, Rom 14:10-12, 1Co 4:5, 2Co 5:10, Rev 20:11-15
Reciprocal: Jdg 11:27 – the Judge 1Sa 2:10 – judge 2Sa 12:12 – secretly Neh 5:15 – because Job 22:4 – will he enter Psa 44:21 – knoweth Psa 50:21 – set Psa 78:33 – years Psa 90:8 – our Psa 139:3 – and art acquainted Pro 23:17 – be thou Ecc 3:17 – God Jer 32:19 – to give Eze 18:30 – I will Eze 33:20 – I will Mar 4:22 – General Luk 8:17 – nothing Luk 16:2 – give Joh 5:22 – General Act 24:25 – judgment Rom 2:5 – revelation 1Co 7:29 – that both Eph 5:12 – in Heb 4:13 – with Heb 6:2 – eternal Heb 9:27 – but 1Pe 4:5 – that Rev 14:7 – Fear Rev 20:12 – according
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge