M-G: 1.11.14 // The Whole Duty of Man, Ecclesiastes 12:13b, ESV,

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How could the wisest, richest, and most powerful king in all of Israel fall into the abyss of moral morass and idolatry? His father was once a mighty warrior, wise, rich, powerful, and a man after God’s own heart. David wasn’t a perfect king who had made his lion's share of mistakes, but he was a great and godly king. I am sure there were a lot of precipitating factors leading to Solomon’s departure from the LORD, but when he took his eyes off the LORD things went south. Since we can’t possibly know when this happens for any man, we only see the symptoms of a heart departed, but all of those trade agreements made with other kings didn’t help for there were usually daughters or concubines that came along in the trading practices who brought along their gods and introduced their pagan practices to Solomon’s household; add lust to it, and you wind up with 700 wives, princesses and 300 concubines (1 Kgs 11:3)!

What kind of influence did all of these pagan women have upon Solomon? Read (1 Kgs 11:4-10). Still, Solomon had an obligation and responsibility to remain faithful to God in spite of the temptations of life, but he willfully chose to pursue a way of life under the sun, a life lived apart from God.

King Solomon ruled over Israel for forty years from 971 – 931 B.C. (cf. 2 Chron 9:30). It has been said that when he wrote the Song of Solomon he was a young man; while in his middle years before turning away from God, he wrote most of the book of Proverbs, and as an older man he records a time in his life when he was out of the will of God and pursuing a life like under the sun. That sounds about right to me, but we can’t be sure of the accuracy of that observation.

During this spiritual self-imposed exile from God (cf. 1 Kgs 11:1-11), it was as if God was protecting Solomon while he went chasing after the dead ends of life. I wonder how much He does that for us when we choose to go on the lam (cf. Heb 13:5). It cost Solomon for taking a spiritual hiatus by not following the LORD wholeheartedly (cf. 1 Kgs 11:11-13), but when he repented, what emerged was the incredible book of Ecclesiastes. Historically, Solomon was renowned for his vast wisdom and the magnificence and marvel of his kingdom. It’s unfortunate that many believers are practically ignorant of the works of Solomon in the Scriptures! History shouts at the top of its lungs to the deaf ears of every generation, “There is one thing I teach every generation that you need to know! You don't learn from history!” 

Ecclesiastes is an insightful work on the futility of living a life under the sun or living a life away from God not only as a believer but as an unbeliever. If this is good as it gets if this is all that there is, then we should get while the getting is good and enjoy the fruit of our labor. But what if there was more meaning to life than living life to the fullest only to discover emptiness in the final analysis or perhaps struggling through it all only to return to the dust? This great insight into life could only come from an extraordinary person such as Solomon under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (inspiration, 2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Pet 1:20-21). Some scholars would not endow Solomon with such a noble purpose in Ecclesiastes, but I have always had a penchant to give a Bible character the benefit of the doubt unless the facts speak otherwise.

Perhaps the wisest insights from Solomon are revealed in Ecclesiastes climbing out of that dark abyss by the grace of God and proclaiming another look at life! There is something about Ecclesiastes or the Psalms that strike a chord with us for we gravitate to our own emotions. When the deepest of emotions are revealed we relate. We may not understand all the history surrounding it, but the human heart is the one thing that crosses culture, race, gender, or years. We grasp the heart’s cry. One of the reasons why the Bible is so relevant because it is not only a disclosure of God to man but also a book of the heart, and throughout all the ages one thing is a constant on the human level is that man’s heart is still the same from one generation to another. So all this questioning about the relevancy of the Bible is poppycock.

The ripple effect of Solomon’s departure from the LORD was far-reaching. He would retain his kingdom during his life out of God’s respect for His promise to King David, but upon his death, the kingdom would split (1 Kgs 11:11-13). Once Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, took over the reins of his father’s immense kingdom, it was ripped in two when ten tribes seceded from his kingdom (1 Kgs 12:16) and united under Jeroboam I, son of Nebat, an Ephramite and became known as the Northern Kingdom. Jeroboam reigned over this kingdom for 22 years (931 – 910 B.C.). This division of the kingdom was unavoidable for it was allowed by Yahweh because of the sins of Solomon (1 Kgs 12:24).

If we approach the book of Ecclesiastes from this vantage point, “I’ve been there living life like an unbeliever under the sun away from God, and this is the main thing that I’ve discovered – that life lived apart from God is nothing more than futility and emptiness and vanity; such a life under the sun is essentially useless.” Having fallen into ungodliness below the sun and returned to godliness above the sun, Solomon testifies that man’s all is in fearing God and obeying His commandments (Eccl 12:13). Why is this so important for us? Read what Paul had to say,

“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Rom 15:14).

Imagine the magnitude of people living in a state of vanity, under the sun, reaching into the billions of people living life without God, living life, as it were, under the sun, having no hope. Ecclesiastes makes sense when reading from this perspective of under the sun living; a life of thinking and living outside of the will of God. Solomon appears to be mocking life under the sun; significance does not emerge from living a life of futility or another way of saying it is that temporal living does not produce anything of eternal value. So living for God in the now takes on a bolder meaning. Day after day we see people working to fulfill their dreams apart from God. This is all they will ever have on this side of eternity should they fail to turn to faith in Christ. Ecclesiastes gives us great insight into the futility of a life lived under the sun, a life lived apart from God.

A life without Christ may succeed in acquiring great knowledge, power, and riches, but all will lack one thing that eludes every effort – significance. Of all their obtaining they never find significance as well as the peace of God that surpasses all understanding (Php 4:7). To be a part of or contributing to something eternal is what gives meaning to life as opposed to only living on the temporary plane under the sun, and then there is no carry over into eternity save only hell…. Solomon gives insight into how to be a part of or contribute to something that will stand the test of time and eternity. 

“I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him” (Eccl 3:14).

Whatever God does is His will; His will is whatever God does; it shall endure or remain forever. If we do God’s will, which endures forever, whatever we do in the will of God will last forever (cf. 1 Jn 2:17). This is the gold, silver, and precious stones quality of life above the sun living rather than a wood, hay, and straw quality of living under the sun as a believer or living life out of the will of God. Significance is in knowing and doing the will of God above the sun. If something could be added or taken away, it would not be durable forever. This is how secure our treasure is in knowing and doing the will of God for our life (Mt 6:19-20); it’s like His inseparable love for us (Rom 8:39).

So, let me ask you. Where are you at in the will of God? Are you living life under the sun in a horizontal worldview of secularity or living life above the sun with a vertical worldview of eternality (Col 3:1-2)? Everything under the sun is temporal; everything above the sun is eternal. I don’t know about you, but I have plenty of scars from too much life under the sun which I will carry to my grave, but the wisdom of God’s grace can take something ugly and transform it into a thing of beauty. Here’s the thing for us who believe. Yeah, we can go headstrong into a rebellious whim pursuing things under the sun, but in the end, we wind up with emptiness clawing at our gut; it is as inevitable as Solomon said it was, “I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind” (Eccl 1:14).

Listen to me carefully. You may be ego-tripping off of earthly significance (wealth, power, influence, etc), but these are only wood, hay, and straw temporal properties that will never fill that hole, that feeling of emptiness inside of every man or woman who has not been truly regenerated. I knew of a medical doctor who claimed to have it all, yet he was tormented for decades by clinical depression and the mixing of prescribed drugs with alcohol. My understanding was he had been wanting to die for decades...! 

This man never understood that significance is found only in knowing and doing the will of God. Anything outside of that realm is according to Solomon, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity” (Eccl 1:2). The translators of the KJV described it this way, “I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit” (Eccl 1:14, KJV). This is Solomon’s warning to all living “under the sun.” In the end, this MD committed suicide. His legacy? “I am a Christian! I shot my brains out...!”  

All those months or years chosen to live life under the sun will rob us of eternal blessings that could have been ours had we only stayed the course, living above the sun, keeping our eyes upon Him. Significance or meaning to life is only found in fearing God and obeying His Word (cf. Eccl 12:13-14). It is so profound a truth that it is almost lost in its simplicity.

You can kick up a fuss and raise hell if you want to about this or that, but I think I’ll side with Solomon on the whole duty of man that I might keep on having hope, one of the benefits of relying on the authority of the Scriptures rather than undulating feelings or man’s opinions. There’s one thing to keep in mind in all of this – “For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Eccl 12:14, ESV). <><