🗣️ Ecclesiastes 12:13 | The Two Commandments

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📧 In today’s email…

• ✝️ Connecting Ecclesiastes with Jesus

• 🤔 Reflect: Fake it until you make it?

• 🔦 Community spotlight!

 🧠 Memorize

_{see if you know what words go in the blanks}

The end __ ___ ______; all ___ ____ _____.

Fear God ___ ____ ___ ____________, for this __ ___ whole ____ __ ___.

Ecclesiastes 12:13

The Greatest Commandments 💞

Yesterday, we learned that “fear” when it relates to God can mean:

• “Reverence” or “Awe”

• It’s a positional statement where we are less and God is greater

While Ecclesiastes 12:13 tells us to recognize that God is greater than us, it doesn’t end there.

The second part of the verse tells us to keep God’s commands.

Though it doesn’t lay it out, Ecclesiastes assumes we have other books for those commands.

So our verse gives us those two ways to create a life of meaning - and we need both.

We need to:

• Keep God in proper view

• AND do what God asks us to do

It reminds me of another two-part command.

Jesus is asked in the Gospels by experts of the law for the greatest command.

Jews traditionally noted 613 commands in what we call the Old Testament. Which one is the most important?

Jesus answers:

But there’s one more Jesus adds. For free, he gives out the second greatest:

Jesus draws these commands from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.

He didn’t make them up. They were always there - always what the people of God were expected to do.

In some ways, Ecclesiastes 12:13 mirrors those commands but with slightly different language.

• Attitude: Our first priority is loving and “fearing” God — establishing a proper relationship with our Creator.

• Action: Flowing from that first priority is listening to what our Creator says — following God’s commands and loving people.

Unlike the Teacher of Ecclesiastes, we have Jesus — God revealed in human flesh.

Not only do we have his teachings, but we have Jesus as:

• a reference point for how to live fully obedient to God

• our personal Savior, reconciling us to the Father

Thank you, Jesus!

Fake it Until you Make It 🎭

For centuries, Jewish Rabbis and Christians alike have been baffled at how to follow the command to love God and neighbor.

Contrary to what the culture around us thinks, love is not primarily a feeling.

C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity puts it perfectly:

“Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this, we find one of the great secrets.

When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more.

If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less.”

It’s hard to love God and others, but we can start by engaging in certain behaviors that can shape the love in us.

In other words, there can be some wisdom in “faking it until you make it!”

The things we do form us.

So if we act obediently, even when we don’t “feel like it,” it forms us into a certain kind of person through the power of the Holy Spirit.

In our quest for meaning, the first step we take is to fear God and keep his commandments.

To do that, we can start with obedience and let our hearts follow.

We can:

• Study Scripture so we know what God commands us

• Add prayer to the daily rhythm of our lives, showing that God is a priority

• Surround ourselves with people who are also seeking to obey God

Reflect 🤔 

Which commandments do you find most challenging to keep in your daily life?

What steps can you take to better align your actions with these commandments?

Pray

Heavenly Father, help us to truly fear you and to keep Your commandments as our guiding light. May our hearts align with your will, empowering us to live with purpose.

As we navigate life's challenges, remind us of our duty to honor you in all we do. Grant us the wisdom to find joy in obeying your word and in building deeper relationships with you and others. Amen. 🙏 

Note: Tomorrow, we’ll share more specific, practical ways you can fear and follow God.

Community spotlight 🔦 

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Answer key ✅ 

The end of the matter; all has been heard.

Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

Ecclesiastes 12:13