… My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. The end of the matter; all has been heard.
Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
There is relief at the conclusion of Ecclesiastes to find Solomon’s ‘end of the matter’ after all has been heard, after he admits ‘of vanity there seemed to be no end’ and after being wearied, we are surprised by the simplicity of his summation:
Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 1
Were we expecting something more profound, a formula of multiple steps? After all considerations, Solomon goes simple, back-to-basics, what he knew when he began.
Isn’t it so human to spend much time, mental processing, study, analysis and stress to discover the ‘deeper’ truths only to realize God gave us what we needed up front!
Yes, life in God wasn’t meant to be as mysterious as we make it:
Fear God—Keep His Commands.
Straightforward, basic, direct, simple. If only we take Him at His Word and live in His power and His precepts of what is right for us. May it be so.
FOOTNOTES:
1 Ecclesiastes 12:13 (ESV) – https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/ecc/12/13/s_671013