King Solomon (what’s he thinking?)
I’m re-reading this book. Maybe I have too many things going on in my life, just now, to follow King Solomon’s musings. Maybe my theology isn’t up to the task.
“Vanity and vexation of spirit.” I’m not going to go back and count the times he uses those words; it’s pretty much everywhere in the book.
What is he teaching us? To me it often looks and sounds like he’s throwing in the towel. Well, we’ve all be there, haven’t we? But that would hardly go hand in glove with the rest of the teaching in the Bible. Can you imagine Paul telling new Christian converts, “It’s all just vanity and vexation of spirit”? Obviously I’m not seeing into the heart of the matter.
Some of you out there must be much farther along the Way than I am. What’s your take on Ecclesiastes? Why is it in the Bible? What’s it there to do?
It’s something to think about. While I get ready for another visit to another doctor’s office.
You have to wait for the surprise ending, i.e., detachment from things of this world and a focus instead on the true point of everything, i.e., God. The old “Vanity of Human Wishes” theme, or “memento mori.”
Once, when I was teaching formation classes in my Carmelite community, one of my students said he understood that we could offer up our suffering in union with Christ’s as a prayer, but he couldn’t understand why things just got worse and worse after he offered his suffering. I gave him the usual pat answers, but I kept mulling over the question anyway. And a few days later, I saw the answer as I was praying the Stations of the Cross, in which we move physically around the church or field from station 1, Jesus is condemned to death, through all the events of his journey to the cross, his death, and his placement in the tomb, 14 stations in all, with prayers at each one.
In my church, we have very realistic 3-dimensional portrayals of the events. Stations 3, 7, and 9 are the three times when Jesus falls under the weight of the cross. I noticed that in Station 3 he’s fallen to one knee; in Station 7 he’s down on all fours; and in Station 9 he’s stretched out flat. He’s still facing Stations 10-12, being stripped of his garments, being nailed to the cross, and dying on the cross. And that’s the answer, not the question: It gets worse and worse. It did for Jesus too. Imagine how tempting it might have been at the third fall just to lie there and let the Roman soldiers beat him to death or drag him the rest of the way. But he got up and went on, knowing it would get worse.
And for us? It gets worse and worse. We still have Station 14, Jesus is placed in the tomb. Again, imagine what it must have been like for his followers. Was it all a mistake? Is it all over? No, but we too have to get up and go on. Will it still get worse and worse? Maybe. But we too know that we’ll rise again. Carrying the cross is more than just carrying it. We follow our Lord. It gets worse and worse. But then it gets wonderful. We just go on.
Sorry to blather so much. Lee, you’re in my prayers. Cling to Jesus.
I wouldn’t call this blather. Thank you, Phoebe.
The first time I read these verses, I was in my teens, and Solomon’s words seemed vexing to my spirit. Life was all ahead of me, and I had the blind optimism of youth. That was, IIRC, in the early ‘70s, and as I moved through the rest of the ‘70s, and then onward, I saw numerous disappointments, but also numerous successes.
The teen version of myself had much different priorities than the current version. I loved cars, and my personal measure of success was having a great car; hopefully a high performance car that I would find exciting to drive. I still love cars, but my “dream car”, these days, would be a small SUV with a 4 cylinder engine. The cars I dreamed of owning in the ‘70s have mostly been scrapped and the steel reused. Beautiful, shiny, sleek steel sculptures that I saw as highly desirable fell victim to entropy and have long since lost their charm.
So, all of the excitement about cars, motorcycles and other items I found so compelling 50 years ago, are all but meaningless today. But … the Bible reading I did in those days is still relevant, and more valuable than ever. Not only is it untarnished, but it is more appealing than ever.
Solomon had wealth, and he had a huge harem. He had power and led Israel at a time when that nation was highly successful. He had it all, but by the time he wrote these words, he had come to realize that his life was vanity. Ignoring the warnings of scripture, he took foreign wives and was drawn to the worship of other gods, betraying the One True God of Israel. That last point is more important than anything Solomon ever accomplished, because he may well have died in a disapproved state, before God. Once that happens, none of your accomplishments retain any significance. Zero, nada, zilch.
I never got the Dodge Challenger or Mustang Mach 1 I craved, back in my teen years. The handful of surviving or restored examples which still exist command a very high price. The 1970s prices for any of these vehicles are well within my reach these days, but in 2024 dollars, they are no more attainable today than they were 50 years ago. Of course, my priorities are much different these days than they were back then, and I no longer measure my success in automobiles, or many of the other things I once thought important.
Looking back upon the things I used to desire, many of these were desires in vain. They wouldn’t make my life better, were I to own them today, and in many cases would impose burdens of ongoing expense. I can only imagine that Solomon reached a point where he realized that all he had owned and all he had accomplished had left him unfulfilled. Sadly, in his case, he chose against worship of the One True God, which really only increased the futility of his life.
Solomon’s father, King David, had made mistakes and failed in some areas of life, but there is no record of David ever worshipping foreign gods. We learn from his mistakes and there is every reason to believe that he will have a favorable status in the resurrection. So, in spite of his egregious sin with Bathsheba, and causing her husband to be killed in battle, he served as an example in repentance. His life was not in vain. It’s entirely possible that the same cannot be said of Solomon. He may not have a future. That would be the very definition of vanity.
Very well said–thank you.
(You would’ve loved my 1970 Pontiac: 120,000 miles on it… until a drunk crashed into it on a New Year’s Eve.)
Probably so. A friend of mine had a GTO from the ‘60s, and it was a great car.
I think the phrase under the sun gives the book away. It is life lived outside of faith in God. Jesus taught without Him you can do nothing that counts. And the end of the Book sums it all up, that what is important in life is to love God and keep His commandments.
Interesting point.
I believe chapter twelve, verses 1, 13-14 sum up the whole book. “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them …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.”
It’s a contrast between this life, the things we have accomplished, the things we hold in high value, and treasure. There is an eternity on its way. The only true thing that has value, what God has regard for, is our trust and love for Him, which means keeping His commandments.
One certainly gets the impression that Solomon had everything his heart desired–and it wasn’t enough.
That’s a great observation, Lee, and it’s true for many people, at least on a smaller scale. Prosperity is wonderful, but while having adequate assets to live effectively is important, conspicuous wealth is probably not all that desirable.
Just yesterday, I saw an interview with Toni Tennille, who had a very successful career as a singer, even hosting a network variety show. While she had tasted success, she appreciated most the fact that where she now lives, in Prescott, AZ, she can bring a book into a restaurant and enjoy reading while she eats, and not be disturbed by fans. A person whom has enjoyed incredible success, and she finds greater enjoyment in something most of us take for granted.
At some point, along the line, Solomon figured it out.