The Whole Duty of Humankind
Ecclesiastes 10:1–21:14 – What's the Point?
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time – August 24, 2025 (am)
Before we start moving into our final three chapters of Ecc., I was asked a very good question this past week. We’ve talked about the meaning of the words, the Preacher, vanity, under the sun, and striving after wind. But over the past two weeks we’ve made much of another word, joy (5:20; 8:15; also 2:26; 9:7; joyful, 3:12; 8:15), but we haven’t defined it. What is this joy with which God keeps His children occupied in the midst of all the vanity? (5:20) Different lexicons express it as gladness, mirth (bdb), cheerfulness (bagd), joyfulness, rejoicing (l-n), merriment, good cheer, festivity (igel). There’s the feel. Our resident Hebrew scholar calls it the 'run-of-the-mill' word for gladness or happiness (Burlingame).
Bottom line, then, joy in these passages means just what we’d expect it to mean—no surprise, no hidden nuance. It means what all the lexicons say it means. So, an abiding sense of gladness or happiness is included among the gifts of God (2:26; 3:16; 5:19) that He gives us to enjoy in the midst of this [fleeting] life that’s so unpredictable in every important way. It means that we’re supposed to find joy in all the simple gifts of God. He’s made them for our enjoyment. And He’s made us (cf. 12:1) to enjoy them! So, it’s not indulgent to do so. It’s His intent! This joy brings meaning when we’re adrift in the meaningless (niv). It’s our anchor when we’re tempted to strive after wind. It’s our guide when we feel lost. It’s our encouragement when we’re down. It’s the emotion God has purposed to give when we’re discouraged or disheartened or fearful or sad or filled with regret or tempted toward despair or hopelessness. Nehemiah used a different word for joy, but he used the same imagery when he and Ezra the priest…, and the Levites… said to the people on the back side of the Babylonian exile, those who mourned and wept as they heard the words of the Law being read (Neh.8:9) once again: Neh.8:10 … Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength—Ecc.5:19 … this is the gift of God (3:13; cf. 2:26).
We should feel confident in our assurance that there’s no expression of vanity in this world so fleeting, so empty, so devoid of meaning that it can neutralize this joy, this gift of God. But we should also note that these things will be pressing incessantly against our joy throughout our lives under the sun. The only two places where we see this joy referenced in any form in today’s text is in c.11. Listen for but. 11:8 So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity. 9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. So, rejoice in [your long life], but remember that all is vanity (8). And rejoice in your youth, but know that God [is watching and you’ll answer to Him]. Something is always pressing in to steal our joy. And that thing is real. But joy is the gift of God, and He can [keep us] occupied with [it] (5:20) even when we’re surrounded by vanity.
Let’s now turn our attention to cc.10-12 and see how the Preacher finishes his unique instruction. [His] calling here, like Jeremiah’s, could be summed up as ‘to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow’, but then, and then only, ‘to build and to plant’ (Jer.1:10). By the end of c.9 he has made his case against our self-sufficiency (Kidner 86-87). … [87] [Now] at last [the Preacher] has finished his work of demolition. The site has been cleared: he can turn to building and planting (Kidner 86-87). That’s our text today. The only question is whether c.10 is transitional or the start-up. Let’ look at the text a draw some things from it.
Into the Text:
As this final section opens (10:1), we get a good taste of what will follow: 10:1 Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. This strong contrast captures the flavor (odor!) of what we’ll see today, and in fact what we’ve already seen in those couple verses of c.11 (joy conditioned by bet). The quick message here is also formed as contrast: it takes far less to ruin something than to create it (Kidner 88). And the next verse is just as stark, but can be pretty humorous in our day. 10:2 A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right, but a fool’s heart to the left. In the ancient world, the right was the hand of strength, of favor, and the left of weakness, or disfavor (Eaton 1983 152). There were no politics in mind when it was written!
There are also helpful reminders of practical wisdom in this section. Again right here: 10:4 If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place; just stay put, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest. That’s good input! Or, 10:8 He who digs a pit will fall into it, and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall. This one’s hidden a bit. Someone who digs a pit is likely looking to trap something; but if he’s not careful it’ll be himself. And breaking through a wall implies wrongdoing, perhaps unlawful entry, and we can never know if some unseen harm awaits us there. [T]he pit that traps its maker was a proverbial picture of poetic justice (e.g., Psa.7:15; 9:15; 35:7 f.; 57:6; etc.), and the unnoticed serpent was the very image of lurking retribution (Kidner 91). You see, even though we can’t know the big picture in this life, there are certain patterns we observe and learn from. 11:7 Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. This is just a sweet statement, true, and anchored in human experience. But it’s also the lead-in to a deep reflection that opens that sequence of stark contrasts we noted just a few moments ago. Light and seeing the sun are metaphors for life. 11:8 So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity. 9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes (a metaphor for wisdom [2:14 The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. …; cf. 6:9]). But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. He’s watching, so live wisely. Live in the joy. 10 Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain (evil [esv fn3]) from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity. Time is [fleeting]; lay down your vexation—anxiety (Shepherd 352), the bitterness provoked by a hard and disappointing world (Kidner 99)—and just live to please the Lord!
This final section also reminds us that wisdom really is better than folly. Most clearly: 10:12 The words of a wise man’s mouth win him favor, but the lips of a fool consume him. And there are some humorous images of those who lack wisdom. 10:3 Even when a fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to everyone that he is a fool. He can be doing the same thing as everyone else, but he’ll still stick out! 10:10 If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength—You think?—but wisdom helps one succeed. So, part two reveals that part one of this verse was talking about the foolish: a dull blade is hard work. That’s funny! 11:4 He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. The fool can find any excuse to avoid work. But at the same time, things like wind and rain are out of our hands when it comes to doing our work. 11:3 If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth, and if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree fell, there it will lie. It didn’t consult anyone, and it’ll remain where it fell no matter how we feel about that. 10:20 Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king, nor in your bedroom curse the rich, for a bird of the air will carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter. Be careful what you say; you never know who’s listening. Or whom they will tell!
There are also troublingly relevant descriptions in this closing section that display how easy it is for us to fall back into life under the sun where we actually believe things can be managed. 10:19 Bread is made for laughter, and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything. We fall into this pit that [we dug] more easily than we’d ever imagine. In fact, we don’t even recognize it as a pit. We can begin to think of it as the place where we live—10:19 can describe us even when we think we’re seeing these things a gifts of God! (3:13) Do you hear their resonance between bread, wine, and money on the one hand and eat and drink and take pleasure in [your] toil (3:13) on the other? The very things that God gives for our enjoyment become vanity when we treat them as ends in themselves, as things of intrinsic worth to us.
Thus, there’s also a helpful reminder of the underlying, bedrock truth sitting right in the middle of this closing section. 11:5 As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. Don’t get ensnared in the vanity of this world. And particularly, don’t reinterpret the gifts of God as vanity. Just hear and heed the eloquent, extended, closing call of the Preacher to 12:1 Remember… your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them.” And listen to the narrator’s summary after he reminds you of the Preacher’s utter reliability (12:9-11), 12:13 … 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. Live like there’s a God, and He’s in charge!
Conclusion
In it’s context, doesn’t this bring to mind Question 1 from the Westminster Shorter Catechism? Q. What is the chief end of man? A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever. The language of Ecc. may sound more firm and foreboding: Fear God and keep his commandments, but not if we keep context in mind. What are the gifts of God again? 3:13 … everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man. This is what’s in our hands. This is how we glorify God, by receiving His gifts and using them as He’s intended. This is also the disposition, then, from which we fear [Him] and keep his commandments and prepare for His coming judgment (12:13-14). We do it in joy!
If we fear and [obey] him with anxiety (Shepherd 352) and the bitterness provoked by a hard and disappointing world (Kidner 99), or by anything else—the sense of need to please Him, or to retain His favor by our obedience, or to achieve a certain outcome with our gifts—we’re embracing the vanities of this world in just the way the Preacher told us not to do! We’re living as though the outcome of our actions is in our hands, not His. So, we’re not hearing the voice of Ecc.
I have a special treat for us this morning. Several weeks ago, on the Friday before we began Ecc., I visited one of our Members who said, like so many other’s do, that Ecc. is his favorite OT book, perhaps his favorite book in the Bible. And he agreed to pray for me while I’m preaching it to the body. Later that same Friday evening, he sent me a text message with a lesson for you all:
What does the life of a Christian inspired by Ecclesiastes look like? It is a life dedicated to the Glory of God with no preconceived notions of how that may manifest itself. There is a time, place, and occasion for everything. In Christ there is eternal enjoyment with our Lord, without Christ it is all a vapor and meaningless. Dear Christian (this is now to each of us), whatever stage of life you are in, whatever situation you find yourself in, or whatever opportunity you have been given, live for His Glory and enjoy Him forever. Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 (Andres Schwartz)
This brother has discerned the heart of Ecc., wouldn’t you agree? And he’s done so from experience. This was written to us all by Andres Schwartz as he battles a particularly cruel expression of cancer. I believe Andres understands better than many of us (not all, perhaps, but many) the bitter gall of battling the vanities of this life moment by moment, day by day. And at this point they seem anything but [fleeting]. Yet I believe our Father has given us through this faithful brother the very words we need to hear today as we finish our exposition of this book. And with these words I close: Dear Christian, whatever stage of life you are in, whatever situation you find yourself in, or whatever opportunity you have been given, live for [God’s] Glory and enjoy Him forever. This is the end of the matter (12:13).
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Resources
Ardnt, William F., & F. Wilbur Gingrich [bagd]. 1958. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, second edition revised and augmented by Wilbur Gingrich and Frederick W. Danker from Walter Bauer’s fifth edition, 1958. Chicago: University of Chicago.
Brown, Francis, S. R. Driver, & Charles A. Briggs [bdb]. 1906. The Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Oxford: Clarendon.
Burlingame, Andrew. 2025. Personal Email Correspondence.
Carson, D. A., R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, and G. J. Wenham, eds. 1994. New Bible Commentary 21st Century Edition. Ecclesiastes, by Michael A. Eaton, 609-618. Leicester, Eng.: InterVarsity.
Clendenen, E. Ray, and Kenneth A. Matthews, eds. 1993. The New American Commentary, vol.14, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, by Duane A. Garrett. Ecclesiastes, 253-345. Nashville: Broadman & Holman.
Dever, Mark. 2006. The Message of the Old Testament. Ch. 19, The Message of Ecclesiastes: Wisdom for the Successful, 527-544. Wheaton: Crossway.
Grudem, Wayne, ed. 2008. ESV Study Bible. Study notes on Ecclesiastes, by Max F. Roglund. Wheaton: Crossway.
Guthrie, D. & J. A. Motyer, eds. 1970. The New Bible Commentary Revised. Ecclesiastes, by G. S. Hendry, 570-578. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Keil, C. F., and F. Delitzsch. 1891. Commentary on the Old Testament, trans. M. G. Easton. Ecclesiastes, 627-816. Edinburgh: T&T Clark.
Kidner, Derek. 1976. The Message of Ecclesiastes. Nottingham: InterVarsity.
Liddell, H. G. 1888 [igel]. An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon founded upon the seventh edition of Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon. Oxford: Oxford.
Longman III, Tremper, and David E. Garland, eds. 2008. Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Revised Edition, vol. 6, Proverbs – Isaiah. Ecclesiastes, by Jerry E. Shepherd, 253-365. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
Louw, Johannes P., & Eugene A. Nida [l-n]. 1989. Lexicon of the New Testamen Based on Semantic Domains, second edition. New York: United Bible Societies.
Wiseman, Donald J., ed. 1983. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. Vol. 18, Ecclesiastes, by Michael A. Eaton. Downers Grove: InterVarsity.
The Bible Project/Videos/Ecclesiastes, [TBP].
NEXT SUNDAY: Ten Takeaways from Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes 1–12