Let us hear the end of the whole matter Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole of man.
Ecclesiastes tests everything life "under the sun" can offer and finds it empty. Its final verse sums the whole book up. After all the searching, the writer turns from man and his works to God. Why does the book land there?
One writer traces how the closing chapters reach that point:
Still, the wisdom of the upright and the folly of the fool each have their own consequences, and in the end God judges. To sum up the whole, God must be remembered, and that before weakness and old age overtake us. For the obvious conclusion of all that has been said is "Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man."
The ESV reads "the whole duty of man." Other translations read simply "the whole of man." That difference matters:
A distinct division follows. Sinful man should not expect happiness except in God. "The whole of man" is to "fear God and keep His commandments." The phrase does not mean his duty. It means the one thing for man, the one principle of life. God will bring every work into judgment.
The book offers no rescue. The writer speaks as one creature to others about the God who made them all:
He would tell the creature of the Creator. He is not charged to proclaim grace; he is not empowered here to offer salvation. He speaks to God's creatures, who are responsible as such to Him who made them. The Creator will take notice of, and make judicial inquiry into, the actions of His creatures. This none can escape, and of this all need to be reminded.
That limit shows even in the names the book uses for God:
Ecclesiastes looks at this world under the same government, in its present fallen state. It asks whether man can find happiness and rest there by any means. There is no trace of the knowledge of redemption. Nor is there any recognised relationship with God. The name used is always Elohim (God), never Jehovah. Fearing God and keeping His commandments is the whole duty of man as such.
Read as an answer to man's real problem, the verse falls short:
This is great wisdom, but does it help man? Does it bring comfort to his soul? Does it give him what satisfies his heart? God is in heaven and man on the earth, he said before. There is an immeasurable distance between. And this masterly conclusion of the royal searcher still leaves God and man apart. There is not even the faintest glimmer of light. Man is a sinner; how can his sins be forgiven? How can man, with a sinful heart, "obey commandments"? What about that judgment of every hidden thing? Alas! no answer.
One writer answers the person who assumes he has already done that:
Alas! he thought that he had feared God and kept His commandments. Now none have fully done that; hence the necessity of the work of Christ.
Romans ends at a different place. Commentators do not set the two books against each other:
Is there contradiction in the two conclusions? Not at all. Ecclesiastes deals with "man's duty" while he lives "under the sun," and with God's judgment in the very last verse. Romans presents man's complete failure and guilt, and God's justification. The entire difference consists in this — that the cross of Christ comes between the two books.
Does grace set the command aside? Commentators say no.
Christ confirms this, and He alone gives us far more as in Him. He lets us into heavenly things and the divine nature, in a way that no one could know or enjoy back then. But to fear and obey Him is ever right.
Grace also changes the ground a person stands on:
Sovereign grace appears. It saves him, makes him a new creation, and changes the whole ground of responsibility. It does not cancel the command — the duty of fearing God. Instead it puts him where the righteousness of the law can be fulfilled in him, and it supplies the power for that.
- Conclusion. The book weighs everything under the sun, finds it empty, and points away from man's works to God Himself.
- Whole. The phrase is not one duty among many but "the whole of man" — the single principle on which a life can rest.
- Creature. The writer speaks as a creature to creatures about their Creator. He was not sent to offer grace or salvation.
- Distance. On its own, the command leaves a sinner exposed. No one has fully feared God and kept His commandments.
- Cross. The cross stands between this conclusion and the gospel's. It does not cancel the duty. It forgives the failure and gives the power.
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.
Twelve chapters have tested everything under the sun. The book ends not with a summary but with a courtroom, where God weighs every deed and every hidden thing no one ever saw.
The book speaks of God as Creator and of people as His creatures. One writer shows why that relationship makes the closing verse inescapable.
He would tell the creature about the Creator. He is not commissioned here to proclaim grace; he is not empowered here to offer salvation. But he would speak to God's creatures, who are responsible as such to the One who made them. The Creator will take notice of, and make judicial inquiry into, the actions of His creatures. Nobody can escape this, and everyone needs reminding of it.
The verse just before this one calls fear and obedience "the whole duty of man." One writer reads that phrase as something larger than duty.
Sinful man should not expect happiness except in God. "The whole of man" is not his duty. It is the one thing for man, the one principle of life: to "fear God and keep his commandments." God will bring every deed into judgment.
The verse pairs "every deed" with "every secret thing." One writer explains why God leaves so much of life hidden for the moment.
Darkness suits men now. Clouds and darkness often surround the throne of God, and His ways are a mystery we cannot fathom. He looks for faith now. But He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make everything plain in the day that is at hand.
The verse says God will do this. One writer asks why, and finds the answer in God's own character.
The principle the Old Testament states is plain: God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing. Nothing else would be worthy of Him. He has nothing to hide, and no act of His has been in vain. Everything will be appraised and given its right value, so that each one may have his praise from God.
The verse states a rule the whole Bible repeats. One writer sets it beside what God has done about it.
Scripture reveals plainly that God will judge men according to their works. The Old and New Testaments are equally clear… Man's portion is death, and after death, judgment. He is sinful and lost. But grace has stepped in after the sin and before the judgment. God has sent His Son to save all who believe. They receive life in Him who died and bore their judgment on the cross, and they show that life by bearing fruit here below. So the Lord who is to judge has Himself ruled that the believer does not come into judgment. Even while here, he has passed out of death into life.
Kelly points out that Scripture uses two different words here.
Even so, all of us, absolutely all, must be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, and each will receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or bad. Notice the wording: "manifested" is the word used where the faithful are included, while "judged" is kept for those who refuse God's mercy in Christ and must own that His judgment is righteous.
Read on its own, the verse is the peak of what human wisdom can reach — and it stops short of comfort.
This is great wisdom, but does it help man? Does it bring comfort to his soul? Does it carry with it what satisfies his heart?… Man is a sinner; how can his sins be forgiven? How can man, with a sinful heart, "obey commandments"? What about that judgment of every hidden thing? Sadly, there is no answer. Lost, sinful man stands face to face with the highest that natural wisdom can produce, and he must shake and tremble.
The same writer shows where that unanswered question leads.
So Ecclesiastes prepares the way for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Like every other Old Testament book, it points and leads to Christ. He solves every problem and answers every question. In Him the old creation ends and the new begins.
- Every creature. The book speaks of God as Creator, and every creature is answerable to the One who made them. Nobody escapes the inquiry.
- Every work. Judgment according to works is not one book's opinion; the Old and New Testaments say the same thing.
- Every secret. Darkness suits people now, so God asks for faith. The hidden things get their light later.
- Every question. The verse leaves the problem open. A sinful heart cannot keep commandments, and the highest human wisdom has no answer.
- Every answer. Grace stepped in after the sin and before the judgment. Christ bore that judgment. The believer is manifested, not judged, and has already passed from death into life.