Pursuits of Solomon as Dealt

Pursuits of Solomon as Dealt With in Ecclesiastes

The book of Ecclesiastes is believed to have been written by Solomon and contains various pursuits that Solomon reports giving himself over to and relates that lessons that he learned while in the midst of these pursuits. King Solomon is said to have been the wisest man who ever lived however, this cannot be accredited to his having lived a blameless life but instead may be accredited to the many lessons learned by Solomon, which culminated in great wisdom. The specific pursuits that are reported by Solomon in Ecclesiastes include those of:

Competition;

War;

Daily Provisions;

Money and possessions;

Acceptance and influence.

THE PURSUITS

Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 9:11 that: "Again, I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all." From this it is possible to gain an understanding that unless God is directing our path and unless He wills that an individual should make certain achievements that those achievements, whether realized or unrealized, have no capacity to make an everlasting impact on the life of the individual. Solomon's reference to 'time and chance' do not make the suggestion that God is not in control but instead relate as noted in the work of Glasson (1983) that man often does not realize nor understand how God is at work through our efforts. There is a problem in the belief that joy is derived from positive results because results cannot be viewed as reliable. Solomon seemed to know that man was likely to fall into a rut and slip into a place of self-sufficiency therefore he left the warning to us that life under the sun has unexpected twists and turns and that mankind must place trust and hope in God instead of in 'self'. As well, Solomon opens the eyes of the reader to understand that one is not required to be the strongest or smartest but that trusting in and focusing upon God are the only assured means of true success because everything else is mere 'vanity'. Vanity can be understood in the context of the writings of Solomon to mean 'empty, meaningless'. Solomon describes the meaningless of these pursuits by saying "vanity of all vanities" meaning that these pursuits are not only meaningless but that they are the most empty of all empty things.

II. The EMPTY and POINTLESS CYCLE

Ecclesiastes reports the reflection of Solomon on life and how man, in his few and numbered years on the earth, really accomplishes nothing that is lasting. Man is born and spends the first years of his life in education and learning and once this has been completed, spends the rest of his years working. Regardless of the accomplishments, or alternatively, the lack of accomplishments on the part of a man, the grave still claims that man and all that is left are his children who follow the same path and irregardless of their accomplishments are then too, lowered into a grave in the earth. The reflections of Solomon are in reality Solomon's search for meaning which may be applied to man's existence. Solomon had 300 wives and 700 concubines as well as vast wealth and knowledge and great respect of those around him and yet, even all this, Solomon learned was not enough to gratify the heart and the soul of man.

III. SOLOMON'S SEARCH for MEANING LEADS to GOD