Vanity of vanities

God foresaw that Israel was going to want a king about 400 years before it happened (Deut 17:14-20). He gave a list of conditions to be met:

1. God would choose who it would be

2. He had to be an Israelite

3. He was not to multiply horses to himself

4. He was not to lead the people back to Egypt

5. He was not to multiply wives to himself lest his heart turn away

6. He was not to multiply silver and gold to himself

7. He was to write a copy of the law of Moses and "read therein all the days of his life: that he

may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to

do them"

8. He was to stay humble and keep God's commandments

The first king God chose was Saul. He started out well. He did not violate the first 7 things as far we know, but he did violate the eighth (1Sam 8-30). He fell in love with his position instead of God, and God rejected him (1Sam 13, 1Sam 15, 1Sam 30-31). The Lord chose David to replace him (1Sam 16). David kept all 8 things except he did have multiple wives (1Chr 14:3). Later, God chose Solomon out of his sons to be the next king (1Chr 22, 1Chr 28). He did not violate items 1, 2, or 4; but he did violate items 3, 5, 6, and 8. He multiplied horses to himself (1Ki 4:26, 1Ki 10:25-28). He multiplied wives to himself to the extreme, and they turned his heart away from God (1Ki 11:3-8). When God essentially offered him a blank check so to say, he chose wisdom over riches (1Ki 3). God gave him wisdom, and because his request pleased God, the Lord also gave him riches.

Like Saul, Solomon started out good but erred later. At first, he followed the Lord and did judgment and justice. He built the first temple in Jerusalem. Israel prospered greatly when he reigned (1Ki 1-10). Yet, he married 700 women and had another 300 concubines. They were pagans and not believers in the one true God, and when he was old they turned his heart away from God. He built idols in the very sight of the temple he had built for God. God judged him for his sin, but He postponed the judgment on Israel until the next generation because he was David's son (1Ki 11). The judgment came in the form of division (1Ki 12).

Towards the end of his life, Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes (Ecc 1:1 & 12-18). He tried to live a double life, practicing wisdom while also indulging in the pleasures of this life (Ecc 1:17, Ecc 2:1-3 & 12, Ecc 7:25). Although he led Israel into its greatest prosperity, when he was old, everything he had accomplished was vanity to him. Vanity in this case does not necessarily mean staring at oneself in the mirror. It means emptiness or meaninglessness. He was very rich (1Ki 10), and he built many great works (Ecc 2:4-11), but as he approached the day of his death, it all became so meaningless. Life appeared so empty to him. The word vanity appears in Ecclesiastes 33 times. Here are some of the things he saw as empty:

1. Earthly pleasure (2:1)

2. Earthly labor (2:11)

3. The sinner's labor (2:26)

4. Envy (4:4)

5. Materialism (5:10-11)

6. The wandering desire (6:9)

7. Youth that is not invested in God (11:9-12:1)

Solomon saw death as the great equalizer (Ecc 2:14-23, 3:18-21, 5:13-16, 6:3-6, 8:8, 9:2-6, 11:7-8, 12). Whatever differences there may be between people in this life - wise or foolish, rich or poor, important or obscure - everyone dies. We can bring nothing from this life into the next, but we can live a life that has meaning in this world and the next when we follow God's commandments. At the end of Ecclesiastes, Solomon makes this conclusion, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil (Ecc 12:13-14)". When we appear before the Lord, that is all that will matter (Jn 5:25-29, 2Cor 5:10, Rev 20:11-15). Investing in God's spiritual things now pays dividends in this life and in eternity (Gal 6:7-10, 1Tim 4:8). God wants us to prioritize eternity (Mt 6:19-21), but also to enjoy the journey. (Ecc 2:24, 3:12-13 & 22, 5:18-19, 6:1-2, 8:15).

Perhaps the surest way to live an empty life is to have ourselves as the main focus. In the first two chapters of Ecclesiastes, Solomon uses personal pronouns 74 times. When all we are concerned about is ourselves, we will reach the end of our life only to say like Solomon, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity and vexation of spirit". It is not a sin to want good things for ourselves, but the secret of Christianity is finding that serving God and others is the path to self-fulfillment (Mt 6:33, Mk 12:28-34). God will take care of us when we are taking care of His business. That does not excuse us from fulfilling our responsibilities, but it is a promise.

Solomon started out fulfilling Matthew 6:33, which says, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." He asked God to equip him for the ministry He gave him (1Ki 3). God not only gave him that, but all the things he could have asked for. When God sees that our priorities are in order, He can trust us with blessings. This is not what is called the prosperity gospel. Christianity is not a get rich quick scheme (1Tim 6). Jesus had nowhere to lay His head (Mt 8:20). The apostles left their businesses to follow Him (Mt 4:18-19, Lk 5:27). He calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him (Mt 16:24). He told the rich young ruler to sell his stuff, give to the poor, and follow Him (Mt 19:24). Job was the richest man in his part of the world, but when he lost everything including his children and his health, he still worshipped God (Job 1-2). Ananias and Sapphira were judged for lying about their giving (Acts 4:32-5:1-11). It was not about the amount they gave. This offering was voluntary and personal. They wanted it to appear to others that they gave the whole amount when they had not. It would have been fine to give only part of the amount, but they pretended they had given it all. Also, the early church was not socialistic or communistic. People continued to own homes all throughout the New Testament. There are at least 20 examples of Christians owning homes in the book of Acts and the epistles. Homes were a primary place that they gathered. Having material possessions is not a sin as long as they don't possess us (3Jn 2). They key is finding a greater and higher purpose outside of ourselves in serving God and others.