🧠 Ecclesiastes 12:13 | A Different Kind of Fear

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📧 In today’s email…

• 😨 Understanding “fear of the Lord”

• 👇 A form of prayer to try this week

•  👀 A snippet from a Medieval Latin devotional

• 📕 Resources to help you practice reverence toward God

 🧠 Memorize

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

The end of ___ ______; all has ____ _____.

Fear God and keep ___ ____________, for this is ___ whole ____ __ ___.

Ecclesiastes 12:13

😨 A Different Kind of Fear

Before Ecclesiastes 12:13 says to keep God’s commandments, it says to fear God.

What does the Teacher mean by fear?

The Hebrew word for “fear” is yārēʾ.

It has a range of meanings which includes “to be afraid” but it can also mean reverence or awe when it applies to God.

“Fear of God” is mentioned all throughout Scripture, but especially in the Wisdom Literature (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs).

These wisdom writers often tie fear of God in with wise and intelligent living.

2 examples…

Ecclesiastes admits that wisdom for wisdom’s sake is useless; knowledge for knowledge’s sake doesn’t give us meaning.

To truly know how to live, we must first revere God.

The fear of God is thus a statement about our position relative to God:

God is Creator, we are created.

God is greater, we are lesser.

God is perfect, we are not.

If we understand our place in the world — as always under God — we will begin to truly live as we were created to live.

🧠 Wisdom from Thomas à Kempis: Aim at God

Who is more at rest than he who aims at nothing but God? And who more free than the man who desires nothing on earth?

It is well, then, to pass over all creation, perfectly to abandon self, and to see in ecstasy of mind that You, the Creator of all, have no likeness among all Your creatures, and that unless a man be freed from all creatures, he cannot attend freely to the Divine.

The reason why so few contemplative persons are found, is that so few know how to separate themselves entirely from what is transitory and created…

There is great difference between the wisdom of an enlightened and devout man and the learning of a well-read and brilliant scholar, for the knowledge which flows down from divine sources is much nobler than that laboriously acquired by human industry.

Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ

A good reminder to set our sights on God alone!

Apply & respond: Practice Humility 👇

To show reverence for God and follow God’s commandments, we need humility.

And despite that being easier said than done, we can always shape our feelings if we first practice the right behaviors and thoughts.

💡 Note: These are not one-time things.

Practice 🏃 

1. Behavior: Confess Your Dependence on God Through Prayer

   • Practice humility by regularly acknowledging your dependence on God in prayer, even going to God for the “little things.”

   • In prayer, express your need for God’s guidance, wisdom, and strength in every specific area of your life.

   • Whether it’s anxiety over a test, deciding what to have for dinner, or making a trip across town, pray and invite God into those moments.

2. Thought: Meditate on God’s Grandeur

• Meditate on the reality that God is sovereign, and you are a part of a greater plan. Consider how small you are in comparison to God’s grandeur, yet just how deeply loved you are.

• Choose a Scripture to repeat and pray, such as our current verse Ecclesiastes 12:13 or another one like John 3:30 - “He must become greater; I must become less.” 

• Keep a list of how God has blessed you so you don’t forget the awesome gifts that God reigns down on us.

💡 Bonus points: Keep your family and friends aware that you are trying to intentionally cultivate humility and awe of God. Have them keep you accountable!

Recommended Resources 🎙️ 

Here are a few resources to help you dig deeper into this week’s passage:

• 📹️ Ecclesiastes animated explainer video by The Bible Project (link here)

• 📕 The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis. Public domain because it’s from the 15th century—but still good stuff! (link here)

• 📚️ Awe: Why It Matters for Everything We Think, Say, and Do by Paul David Tripp (link here)

• 📚️ The Awe of God by John Bevere (link here)

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