This week’s Old Testament Scripture comes from the Book of Ecclesiastes, a book of philosophical sayings written by King Solomon, probably later in his life. Much of the book has a rather dark and discouraging feel to it, and as we look into our passage for today we can see why Solomon was feeling depressed and discouraged.
Solomon was a son of King David, and inherited the throne after his father’s death. Though a believer in Yahweh, Solomon strayed away from Him for many years, as he allowed the worship of his many foreign wives’ pagan gods, and even participated in their idolatrous worship. Fortunately it seems that Solomon did return to the Lord much later in life. While king over all Israel Solomon sought to find happiness, satisfaction, purpose, and meaning in life. However, everywhere he looked he found emptiness, and nothing that would satisfy him.
As one of the richest men in the world, and a very powerful king during a time of peace in his country, Solomon had time to spend on his own personal pursuits and search for meaning, rather than fighting battles as his father did. As we read in chapter 2, he sought happiness in many things. He brought in comedians (vs. 2). He built many houses, and planted many gardens and orchards with watering pools for them (vs. 4-6). He filled his many houses with servants and all the trappings of wealth (vs. 7). Solomon increased his wealth many times over, filling his bank accounts, and acquiring whatever money could buy (vs. 8, 10). He sought meaning through music (vs. 8), and also through his work (vs. 11). Solomon even sought happiness and meaning in something many people do, through alcohol (vs. 3), and in physical relationships, as he had 700 wives and 300 concubines (I Kings 11:1-3).
Yet in all of these pursuits Solomon found no happiness, satisfaction, or meaning. As he cried out in despair that it was all vanity, futile, useless, a pursuit of the wind (1:14). As he repeated many times throughout this book, everything done “under the sun” was useless. Solomon spent his whole life seeking to find some meaning, some understanding in life, and there is some indication that he might have returned to God by the end of his life (Ecclesiastes 12:9-14).
We don’t need to spend our whole life in pursuit of things that will not satisfy us. All worldly pursuits, good or bad, will fail to bring lasting satisfaction. Worldly wisdom and philosophy without God is only folly. Without God, life can’t help but disappoint. True wisdom is found in God, and true happiness comes from pleasing Him.
As Solomon knew, the same end will happen to all of us, whether wise or fools, whether rich or poor (vs. 14-16). All that we so eagerly seek to accumulate in life will only be left to our descendants (vs. 18-19). As we know, we can’t take it with us when we die, and we all will die. The only difference is whether we have the Lord Jesus as our Savior.
There are two words in the English language, a pair of homonyms - sun and son. They sound the same in English, but differ in meaning. Solomon found that everything he sought in life, everything “under the sun” was meaningless. That is because it was from and of the world. He needed to look for a life spent under the Son, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The only One who can make life worth living is Jesus Christ. A life lived for Him, or under the Son, will bring fulfillment, satisfaction and contentment. Anything done under the sun in this world, other than for God will lead only to despair.
Like the one woman in the crowd following Jesus, just touching the hem of His garment is greater than anything the world has or could ever offer us. Millions of people around the world do not believe it. They seek to cure their loneliness, discontent, or fears with material belongings, vain philosophies, education, work, physical pleasures, etc., only to discover, as Solomon did, that those are all meaningless and chasing after the wind.
As a famous preacher once said, “Solomon climbed the world’s ladder of success, only to find it leaning against the wrong wall.” Jesus gave the answer to all of Solomon's frustrated pondering in Matthew 6:19-21. Don’t lay up treasures on earth. Instead, be laying them up in heaven. The only thing that is not “vanity and vexation of spirit” or chasing after the wind, is what we do for God.
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