Well, we have arrived, after many months, at the end of our study of Ecclesiastes. I personally am a bit sad to see it come to an end. It has been quite a challenge and at the same time quite a blessing. Even though this book is over 3,000 years old, it is just as contemporary today as it was when the Holy Spirit moved Solomon to write it. People are still seeking purpose, meaning, and satisfaction in life through mirth, and wine, and wisdom, and wealth, and physical relationships. And they are still finding that none of these can truly satisfy the soul. It appears that Solomon is recounting his life experiences and maybe is saying, “Don’t fall into the same traps that I did.” In vs.12 he addresses his reader by saying, “My son,” and you sense the heart-felt passion of a father who desperately wants his son to hear and heed this powerful message. It is the the kind of note a father would write to his son as he hands him a Bible and sends him off to college, or out into the world on his own. It is fatherly, it is sincere, and it is incredibly serious. Young people would do well to listen to the advice and instruction of godly parents. We have been a little farther down the road of life than you have. We know where all the potholes and detours are because we have experienced them. Even though technologies have changed (and will change), the basics of this world and the nature of mankind have not. I mentioned last week that we have the beginnings of a good young adult group in Bethel, and it is going to be and currently IS up to you to carry on the work of this church. And the only way to do it is to pay close attention to the kind of wisdom Solomon and God’s Word give us. So, let’s look into the last few verses of Ecclesiastes and see “the whole duty of man.”

  I.  THE COMMENDATION OF WISDOM – VV. 9-10.

 II.  THE CORRECTION OF WISDOM – VS. 11.

III. THE CONCLUSION OF WISDOM – VV. 13-14.