I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. “Laughter,” I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” I tried cheering myself with wine and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives. I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man’s heart. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me. I denied myself nothing my eyes desired. I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Nothing was gained under the sun. ~Ecclesiastes 2:1-11-
And He told this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, “What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.” Then he said, “This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”” But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then, who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” ~Luke 12:16-21
How does that old song go? Love is something if you give it away; Give it away, give it away. Love is something when you give it away, You end up having more. It’s just like a magic penny, Hold on tight and you won’t have any, Let it go and you’ll have so many, They’ll roll all over the floor. (Something like that!) Magic penny - YouTube
“When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Nothing was gained under the sun.” Over and over, again and again, throughout Ecclesiastes, Solomon uses the word, “meaningless.” He found everything in his life meaningless. To be truthful, even though he was king, in many ways, Solomon lived a very meaningless life because he lived it all for himself.
As we read today, we read about all the ways that Solomon led a very self-centered life. If you get to the end of your life and find no meaning to it, that is because you were living just for you. You end up being a lonely creature that will die and not be able to take anything to the grave with you. Then, in truth, you have nothing to show for your life’s work.
No wonder Solomon realized that he might be forgotten. He had made his life all about himself. The only person who would want to remember him Would be him and he’ll be dead and gone! The dead remember nothing.
But wait, you may say, Solomon built the temple. Oh yes, but the materials used, and the design for that magnificent masterpiece were all from David. Solomon was obeying his father at that point because his father loved God. In fact, Before David died, he instructed his surviving officials to make sure that Solomon fulfilled David’s instructions.
David may have had an inkling that left to himself, Solomon may have strayed or cut corners and David was adamant that not happen. In contrast to David, who wanted to glorify God, Solomon’s idea was to build a palace for himself. It was bigger and took two years longer than David’s temple had! Solomon might have even used the temple materials to add to his own palace if David hadn’t prepared in advance.
Even though he was wise, the seeds of self-centeredness were already showing during Solomon’s early reign. He boasts about acquiring servants and slaves. Why? To make his life easier. The gardens and vineyards were all for him. Even the harem of women that he accumulated, seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, were all for him.
Up to one thousand men were deprived of wives so that Solomon could have what he wanted. In the end, it was the women that caused him to stray completely away from walking with God. Through them, he lost sight of the one who brings the meaning into our lives in the first place. If, in the end, the only person that you can say that you served well is you, then you were very short sighted indeed.
What you will have missed is that it is in the giving that life finds its meaning. Consider Paul’s words as he quotes the Lord Himself: “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus Himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive,.”” (Acts 20:35) Who gave more than Jesus Himself?
Solomon, a king in the seen world, was all about himself. Jesus, the true king of glory, with wealth, power and riches beyond compare was all about us. He set aside everything He had to serve us, die for us, forgive us and redeem us. He did not ask if we were worthy because He already knew that we are not, but He acted anyway. Now, He calls us to follow in His footsteps and put meaning into our lives by serving others as well.
Solomon made the mistake that the rich fool in Jesus’ parable made. He assumed that all that he had was for his use alone. He had no thought for those around him who were suffering from lack, but only thought of himself. “Do not be deceived yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.” (1 Cor. 3:18-19A)
Both Solomon and the rich man thought they had wisdom and by worldly standards, I suppose they could have been correct, but in God’s economy, we gain more as we give. It is in the giving that we find meaning and, a generous person will be remembered by those he has served. I think though that Solomon finally realized all this by the end of life and it is why he wrote Ecclesiastes.
Let us give thanks that our God is the most giving of all!
Prayer: Father God, giver of life, giver of all good things, you have made us in Your image so that we rejoice when we are giving too! Grant Lord that we will deny our baser nature and truly give and give thanks too, and find meaning and happiness in living according to your wise commands to love one another. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: Let All Things Now Living
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