Eccl 11:9–12:14
The despondent man of Ecclesiastes finally came to an understanding concerning what life was about. He saw what he considered to be prosperous days that were filled with pleasure and then he saw the futility of what he had come to rely upon. This realization left him without hope. He no longer trusted his fellow human beings, he despaired of the future, he languished in the present. But finally he began to see something of sense in it all. The essence of his discover was this: “Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” The whole duty of man is to fear and to keep. What do those words mean?
The Hebrew word for fear is yare. It is used in five different ways. It can refer to an emotion, the intellectual anticipation of evil, reverence or awe, righteous behavior, or formal religious worship. When referring to God the emphasis is more often placed on awe rather than terror. When seen together the nuances of meaning seem to form a whole. The person who fears God has an emotional response toward him that involves the strong concern that he might not displease God, the intellectual anticipation that evil could cause him to fall short of his goal, and the reverence and love toward God which naturally lead to righteous behavior and a desire to worship the One he loves. A few times this word is used it actually refers to people who are in the process of worshiping God. For example, “those who fear God” in Psalm 22 is referring to the worshiping congregation.
Shamar means to keep, to guard, to observe or to give heed. The basic idea of the root word is “to exercise great care over.” It is most often used when speaking of obeying the Word of God. So significant is the meaning of the word that it is also used to speak of the sacred occupation of the priests in Numbers 18:7. It cares the idea not only of watchfulness and carefulness but also of maintenance. It refers to personal discipline.
The whole duty of mankind involves Fearing and keeping. The songwriter had it write when he penned the words to “Trust and Obey” for “there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but the Trust and Obey.” (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament)
Dr. Gayle Woods
Proverbs 3:1-18
Keeping the laws of God is basic to trusting the Lord with all your heart, not leaning on your own understanding, and acknowledging Him in all your ways. The Hebrew word that is translated law in verse 1 is Towrah which we often see transliterated as Torah. For the Jews, this word has come to be synonymous with the Pentateuch. The verb from which it is derived means “to project, to point out or to teach.” It is easy to grasp the connection. The law of God is what He uses to point out His will to mankind. The word is used in various ways throughout the Old Testament. It at times refers to ritual, custom, or prescriptive right, but it is also used to speak of specific ordinances, to groups of regulations and instructions, and to the books that contain them. The Greek word that is used in the Septuagint for Law is Nomos. Both of these words speak of the Law of Moses as being one law while containing many commandments (entolai). “This law is also called the Law of the Lord because, though it was given by Moses (John 1:17) and by the disposition of angels (Acts 7:53), it really represented the will of the Lord God (Luke 2:23).” Girdlestone p. 231
Although law, judgment and justice are important concepts in Gods dealings with mankind they are always tempered with mercy. The Hebrew term in verse 3 that is used for mercy is Chacad which is used in various ways to speak of Gods dealings with mankind, and also to suggest how we should deal with each other. The Greek term used in the Septuagint is Eleos. An example of how the word is used is found in the New Testament in the account of the good Samaritan the “one who shewed the mercy”. To display mercy is to show love in practical ways even though the person may not deserve our love. The exercise of our mercy may cost us time, financial expenditure, and a loss of time or comfort. Girdlestone notes something of interest when he says, “It is a remarkable fact that the word Chaciyd (a variant of Chacad) when applied to man, has usually a possessive pronoun affixed to it, so as to indicate that the persons who are exercising this disposition belong in a special sense to God. They are “his merciful ones” (A.V. “His saints”). p. 131
We are forcefully reminded by these observations that Gods law is not something that is to be negotiated. It is not an option. It is to be obeyed and when disobeyed dire consequences will follow. On the other hand, God extends His mercy to those who have disobeyed the law but want to turn from their wicked ways. In all of this, His people are to emulate His perfection. We are to obey His law carefully but not legalistically. His mercy is to be extended through us to others who have faltered in the way.
Dr. Gayle Woods
