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Ecclesiastes 1:1-2 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. [2] Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

King Solomon, the son of King David, was a saved believer. The Bible says that:

1 Kings 3:3 And Solomon LOVED THE LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: …

He loved the Lord. He was a believer in the Lord, saved by faith in the coming Jesus Christ. But the Bible tells us that – though Solomon was saved – he had an area of weakness. When we read the rest of 1 Kings 3:3 we see that:

1 Kings 3:3 … only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.

Solomon loved the Lord, but he compromised with the ways of the world. He loved the Lord, but he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. He tolerated the false gods in his lifestyle and in his actions.

Solomon was tolerant to other religions. I don’t mean that Solomon was tolerant in the sense that he had a live and let live mentality toward the unbelievers of the faith. Christians ought to be kind, and ought to show love toward all people. Our standard should be what Jesus said:

Matthew 5:44-45 NKJV – … LOVE YOUR ENEMIES, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Loving your enemies doesn’t mean to justify what the lost do. It doesn’t mean to go along with the gods of this world, sacrificing to that which is not the God of the Bible. Loving your enemies means to actively “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), to declare with the Apostles “There is salvation in no other: there is NO OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN GIVEN TO US WHEREBY WE MUST BE SAVED” (Acts 4:12). We are not to be hateful to people blinded by sin and false gods, but we are to tell the truth.

Solomon was not telling the truth. The King is in a position of authority, looked at by the entire nation. “To whom MUCH IS GIVEN, MUCH IS EXPECTED” (Luke 12:48). A King should love his people, and Solomon did not love his people. He joined with other religions outside of our faith and began to practice rituals to these false gods and goddesses.

Here’s the thing about sin. Once you let a little sin in, it will spread. A little leaven leavens the whole lump (Galatians 5:9).

1 Kings 11:3-4 {Solomon} had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. {4} For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that HIS WIVES TURNED AWAY HIS HEART AFTER OTHER GODS…

Saved as a young man, Solomon took his focus off of the Lord Jesus Christ and instead began to focus on the world. When a believer stops looking to His Lord God and begins to look to the world it will not be long before Satan will open a door of destruction for him. Solomon was called a “wise man”.

God gave Solomon wisdom.
Satan gave him stupidity.

When Solomon had his eyes on Jesus, God used him in mighty ways. Solomon wrote three books in our Bible, “as he was MOVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT” (2 Peter 1:21). He wrote the The Song of Solomon, also known as the Song of Songs when his heart was filled with love. He wrote 3000 proverbs which were bound into the Book of Proverbs, a testament to the wisdom that Solomon had. Solomon was a man of God. Solomon wrote the Book we’re reading today, the book of Ecclesiastes, which means “The Word of the Preacher”.

Solomon departed from serving the living God and began to chase after the things of this world. He wrote Ecclesiastes looking back over the wasted years of his life.

Now an old man filled with regret and bitterness Solomon knew that he was – soon and very soon – going to see his Creator. Solomon knew that he would have to give an account of himself unto God (Romans 14:12). He would have to explain how he – the wisest man who ever lived – fell into the pig pen of sin.

When God saved Solomon and set him over Israel to be its King this man could have done so much for God’s people. Instead of “redeeming the time, knowing that the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16) Solomon dabbled in worldliness. He now understood the words of his father David:

Psalms 39:5 … verily every man AT HIS BEST STATE IS ALTOGETHER VANITY.

Word Study: That word translated “VANITY”, the Hebrew heḇel, means “smoke, emptiness, vapor, breath, something transient and unsatisfactory”. Solomon used the word heḇel 28 times – and it is found 73 times in all of the Old Testament. Each time it’s used, it describes actions that are totally worthless, actions that enrage God and do nothing to satisfy man. Solomon as an old man looked back over his life and wrote – as God inspired him –

Ecclesiastes 1:2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

He is saying “All I did apart from Christ is a fog, a smoke, blown away by the winds of time”. The Christian living apart from the Lord Jesus Christ (if you ARE a Christian) has a terribly unfulfilling life. The devil runs this circus we call the world. When the devil couldn’t stop the Lord from making man perfect and in the image of God he was satisfied with leading man astray in the Garden of Eden. If the devil can’t keep you from being saved, he will do the next best thing. He will get you to step into the world, just as a child steps on to a merry-go- round, and he’ll let you ride as long as you want to ride for “free”.

ILLUSTRATE I heard the story once of a poor farmer who decided to take his family to the circus. He scrimped and saved and finally got enough money to take the wife and kids. When he and his family arrived he saw a wonderful thing – a merry-go-round filled with beautifully painted horses. That old farmer got on the merry-go-round and rode it not once, but many times. Each time it stopped, he gave the man running it more and more of his money, while the family looked on. When the farmer finally ran out of money and came back to his wife she said, “Now there, look at you. You got on where you got off, spent all our money, and you haven’t gone no where – and neither have we.” This is what Solomon did.

Solomon got on the devil’s merry-go-round and, investing his very life into ride after ride, stayed there until it was too late to fully serve the Lord.

Oh that God would keep us all from ever getting trapped on Satan’s merry-go-round. Oh that we wouldn’t have to eat the swill of the hogs as the prodigal son did before we turn and repent, resting in the arms of Jesus.

Solomon Thought Human Knowledge And Philosophy Would Make Him Happy

Ecclesiastes 1:13 And I gave (nāṯan pro. naw-than’) my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning ALL THINGS THAT ARE DONE UNDER HEAVEN: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.

Solomon surrendered his heart to seek and search out wisdom – not of God but of “ALL THINGS THAT ARE DONE UNDER HEAVEN”. Solomon was given wisdom so that he could reign over Israel. Instead, he turned that gift of God into something that would bring pride. Solomon was an expert in zoology (study of animal life), in botany (study of plant life), in ornithology (study of bird life), in entomology (study of insect life), and in ichthyology (the study of fish life). Solomon sought out and studied all the lesser things …

but he didn’t learn of Jesus.
He knew all the ologies but the one that mattered.
He did not study THEOLOGY. He didn’t study God.

Knowledge can be an idol. I remember years ago a man who professed to be a “mature Christian” believed some nonsense, and brought that to me. I opened up the Bible and showed him what it said – but he refused to believe the clear teaching of Scripture. Why? Pride in oneself blinds us to God. God tells us:

Colossians 2:8-10 NKJV – Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, ACCORDING TO THE TRADITION OF MEN, according to the BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE WORLD, and NOT ACCORDING TO CHRIST. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and YOU ARE COMPLETE IN HIM, who is the head of all principality and power.

Everybody thinks they will have happiness if they follow human logic and political correctness. But Solomon said …

Ecclesiastes 1:14-15 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, ALL IS VANITY AND VEXATION OF SPIRIT. [15] That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.

The more knowledge and wisdom Solomon gathered, the less satisfied he was in his soul. Some of the saddest people in the world are those who possess great wisdom and knowledge. They are sad because they chase after human knowledge, but have no time to come and know the Lord. Solomon said:

Ecclesiastes 1:18 For IN MUCH WISDOM IS GRIEF: and he that INCREASETH KNOWLEDGE INCREASETH SORROW.

The wisdom and knowledge of man does not increase happiness. Don’t misunderstand – wisdom should be sought, and knowledge should be sought – but through the Lord. The Bible says:

James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ASK OF GOD, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and IT SHALL BE GIVEN HIM.

God wants His people to be wise. We are to be “wise as serpents, but harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). But the Source of our wisdom must always come from a ongoing relationship with the Lord Who gave Himself for us. There is a wisdom of man, and a wisdom of God. We who are Christ’s should seek wisdom from God. The wisdom that is from above

James 3:17 …. is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

The lowest uneducated man is far happier than the PHd professor or the self righteous Pharisee who has not learned that the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). Solomon knew this before he drifted from the Lord, for fourteen times in the Book of Proverbs he spoke of the fear of the Lord. Solomon wrote that “The fear of the Lord …

… is the BEGINNING OF KNOWLEDGE (Proverbs 1:7)
… PROLONGS DAYS (Proverbs 10:27)
… is the FOUNTAIN OF LIFE (Proverbs 14:27)

And “By humility and the fear of the Lord are RICHES, HONOR, AND LIFE” (Proverbs 22:4). The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), but the fear of the Lord brings life and happiness and peace.

Solomon Thought Pleasure And Entertainment Would Make Him Happy

Ecclesiastes 2:1 I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with MIRTH, therefore ENJOY PLEASURE: and, behold, THIS ALSO IS VANITY.

Just as it was in Solomon’s day, we in America live in a please me society. Everyone wants to be entertained. Everyone wants to be happy. Video game sales bring in billions of dollars a year in profits. Households that are starving for food often have cable television and high speed internet access. People spend billions on drugs, alcohol, pornography. Every aisle at the grocery store is filled with magazines that let us look into the debauched and sin laden lives of Hollywood stars.

Solomon chased after pleasure, but in finding pleasure he discovered something. Sin always brings diminishing returns.

Laughter and entertainment divorced from a walk with Christ in time loses its charms. This also is vanity. Solomon’s father, King David, wrote:

Psalms 16:11 Thou {O God} wilt show me the path of life: IN THY PRESENCE IS FULLNESS OF JOY; AT THY RIGHT HAND THERE ARE PLEASURES FOREVER MORE.

Here is where pleasure is. It is not in the world wallowing in debauchery. Pleasure is at the right hand of God, dwelling in His presence. Blessed be the Name of the Lord! As Pastor Jerry Vines once said, “The Christian faithfully serving Jesus can have more fun accidentally than the world has on purpose!”. Solomon had to learn that. He tried the booze, the wine and liquor trail. He wrote:

Ecclesiastes 2:3 KJV – I sought in mine heart TO GIVE {} MYSELF UNTO WINE, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should DO UNDER HEAVEN ALL THE DAYS OF THEIR LIFE.

Word Study: The word rendered “TO GIVE” is the Hebrew māšaḵ, which means “to stretch oneself out”. Solomon became a man who sets out to “get wasted”, laying hold on foolishness. He opened himself up to addiction. The woman who gives herself to drugs or alcohol for the sake of pleasure may actually destroy her life. Drunk drivers die in accidents, and kill others in accidents. People who give themselves to the folly of alcohol and drugs do foolish things, demeaning things.

Solomon chased after sexual sin. He wrote:

Ecclesiastes 2:7 I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house ….

He collected people about him for pleasure. Dear ones, consider your bodies to be Temples of God. Avoid the sensuous evil of our age. People think that we are in the age of sexual freedom. What has this “freedom” gotten us? Broken families, teenage pregnancies, and sexually transmitted diseases. Abortions in the millions. Children raised in single parent homes, missing a mother or a daddy.

Illustrate: And disease, horrible disease. There was a story published in USA Today© I read several years ago. It seems that a man met a woman at a bar and invited her up to his room. The next morning he woke up and the woman was gone. She had left behind a nice note thanking him for the evening. The man thought about how nice that was, and he wish he had known the woman’s name. When he stepped into the bathroom he noticed – scrawled in red lipstick across the mirror – these terrifying words:

“Welcome To The Wonderful World Of AIDS”

She purposely infected him, knowing she was contagious. The Bible predicted this years ago, before there was ever any concept of AIDS or HIV. The Bible tells the believer:

1 Corinthians 6:18-20 NKJV – Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but HE WHO COMMITS SEXUAL IMMORALITY SINS AGAINST HIS OWN BODY. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Solomon Thought that Work And Projects Would Make Him Happy

Ecclesiastes 2:4-6 I made me great works; I built me houses; I planted me vineyards: [5] I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits: [6] I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees:

Solomon threw himself into his work. He tried knowledge & wisdom, but this did not satisfy. Solomon tried pleasures of the flesh, but again all was vanity. So he changed his methods and turned to work. It is estimated that Solomon was worth in excess of 20 BILLION dollars. The Bible says that “King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom” (1 Kings 10:23). What pleasure did this give Solomon? He wrote:

Ecclesiastes 2:11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do: and, behold, ALL WAS VANITY AND VEXATION OF SPIRIT, and there was NO PROFIT (yiṯrôn, no advantage or excellence) under the sun.

Solomon said there is no profit under the sun – it is all vanity (smoke) and vexation of spirit. For all his riches Solomon was miserable. You would be surprised how many rich people kill themselves every year. Though I’ve never been rich (and never will be), I can imagine its tough to be rich. The people you think are your friends are just there because they want your money. People hound the rich incessantly to try and get what they have. Rich people are targets of kidnapping for ransom. Jesus often spoke of the rich person. He said that the deceitfulness of riches often choke the Gospel so that it will not bring life (Mark 4:19). Jesus said of the rich man:

Luke 18:25 For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for A RICH MAN TO ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

But of the poor Jesus said:

Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR…

The Apostle Paul said of those who are rich:

1 Timothy 6:17-19 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high minded; nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; [18] That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; [19] Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

If the Lord has blessed you with money or land or possessions, He has given them to you to be used for His glory. Riches are a poor god. Follow Jesus. Love one another.

What Is Solomon Preaching To Us Today?

As Solomon came to the end of his days this wise man – the wisest man who ever lived – left behind this truth. He said:

Ecclesiastes 12:1 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;

While you are able, before your body falls to pieces, focus on serving and living for Jesus. The Apostle wrote:

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NKJV – Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Paul didn’t want to stand before Jesus one day with nothing to show for his stewardship. The Apostle said in

Philippians 3:7-8 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. [8] Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, (skubalon) THAT I MAY WIN CHRIST

Everything is lesser than when compared to running the race with Christ. Solomon ends his letter to us today with these sobering words:

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 KJV – Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For GOD SHALL BRING EVERY WORK INTO JUDGMENT, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

You and I, in fact, every person will meet Jesus one day. A judgment is coming that no one can escape. “GOD SHALL BRING EVERY WORK INTO JUDGMENT”. What you did for Him. What you didn’t do for Him. Have you received Him as Lord and Savior? This is the first work you must do – but not the only work. That which makes a WHOLE MAN is to serve the Lord and to heed His Word. When we depart from God we become incomplete. No man, woman, or child is complete without an ongoing relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.