Ecclesiastes - Theme

Theme

According to Tremper Longman, an Old Testament scholar, there are two themes to the book.

First, to "fear God." This point is made throughout Ecclesiastes (3:14, 5:6-7, 7:18, 8:12), though often with a hint of doubt. Here, it is made quite emphatically, with the idea being that one should have the correct relationship with God, where human is subservient to the deity. To "fear God" means to "respect, honor, and worship the Lord."

Secondly, the narrator teaches that the reader should "keep commandments." This verse, in following "fear God," suggests that one must be subservient to the eternal specifically by observing the commandments. The verse ends with two motive clauses, the first being: "for this is the whole duty of humanity" (Hebrew says ki zeh kol-ha’adam literally meaning "for this is the whole of humanity"). Rabbi Eleazar purports that this phrase suggests that, "the commands to fear and obey God were the most important things in life." However, Ecclesiastes ends with a second clause, answering why we should fear and obey God. The answer is because "God will bring every deed into judgment" (12:14). Here, judgement and law are linked for the first time in Ecclesiastes. While judgement has been discussed earlier (3:16–22, 11:9), here it is correlated directly with obeying commandments. While Ecclesiastes had earlier suggested that the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper (7:15–18, 9:1–12), here there is a much more optimistic outlook; if one is faithful according to Qoheleth’s standards, one will be judged kindly.