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Authors: Joseph Prince
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the sun .
Solomon Indulged In Every Fantasy
I’m sure that many of us have had similar fantasies. Men who love building can relate to this: “If I had no money restrictions, and I had all the power and means to build and design houses the way I like…” Solomon was the original Bob the Builder! Could he do it? Yes, he could because he had the money!
Solomon built God a temple. Then, the temple was the most expensive building in the world. After that, he built his own house, his palace. Do you know how long he took to build his palace? Seven years! To women, that may be a nightmare! To men who love building, that is a fantasy. Whatever you may fantasise about, this man did! Solomon indulged in every fantasy. He also grew fruit trees and built water pools. He was a great horticulturalist.
Notice that Solomon says in verse 7, “I acquired male and female servants”. So he could enjoy a massage any time he wanted! And in the original Hebrew, “ musical instruments of all kinds” (verse 8) translates to “concubines of all kinds”. Solomon had concubines of all kinds. The Bible tells us that Solomon had 300 concubines and 700 wives. Solomon was a man who had everything. If there was a downside to all this, it would be that he also had 700 mothers-in-law!
Don’t forget that God gave him wisdom, favour, influence and power to get wealth, but God didn’t give him the results or outcomes of his wealth. God didn’t give him the results or outcomes of his influence. God didn’t give him the results or outcomes of his wisdom and favour. Nonetheless, Solomon’s wisdom and favour came from God.
Verse 9 says:
9 So I became great and excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem…
Solomon became great and whatever he saw and liked, he took. What would men and women give for that! Would you call that a life worth living?
Let’s see how Solomon’s life of fantasy unravels (verses 10–11):
10 Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart rejoiced in all my labour; and this was my reward from all my labour. 11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labour in which I had toiled; and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun .
The book of Ecclesiastes is a story of a backslidden man. Solomon was a man who once knew God, but later, even though he still had his God-given gifts, he turned his heart away from God. Here is a man who did everything under the sun and yet despaired of life.
If you only experience things under the sun, you’ll whenever always be unfulfilled.
The lesson here is that whenever your thoughts become earthly and focus on things under the sun, you despair. We must never forget that God is above the sun. When he wrote the book of Proverbs and Song of Solomon, Solomon’s thoughts were heavenly and he spoke about things above the sun. But in Ecclesiastes, we see that he was focused on things below the sun and his life had no more meaning.
If You Live Life ‘Under The Sun’, You’ll Despair
Solomon, the man who experienced everything, leaves us a clue in a phrase that appears throughout the book of Ecclesiastes — “ under the sun” . Solomon lived life enjoying all earthly pleasures. Indeed, he lived life indulging in everything under the sun. And yet, he grew very depressed (verse 11):
11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labour in which I had toiled; and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun .
My friend, if you only experience things under the sun, deep down, you’ll always be unfulfilled, you’ll always be empty on the inside.
When I was in National Service, I was assigned to the Singapore navy. I remember that over a period of a month, our ship sailed to a number of destinations. One day, we docked in Taiwan and we all took some R&R leave. That meant that we were supposed
Solomon Indulged In Every Fantasy
I’m sure that many of us have had similar fantasies. Men who love building can relate to this: “If I had no money restrictions, and I had all the power and means to build and design houses the way I like…” Solomon was the original Bob the Builder! Could he do it? Yes, he could because he had the money!
Solomon built God a temple. Then, the temple was the most expensive building in the world. After that, he built his own house, his palace. Do you know how long he took to build his palace? Seven years! To women, that may be a nightmare! To men who love building, that is a fantasy. Whatever you may fantasise about, this man did! Solomon indulged in every fantasy. He also grew fruit trees and built water pools. He was a great horticulturalist.
Notice that Solomon says in verse 7, “I acquired male and female servants”. So he could enjoy a massage any time he wanted! And in the original Hebrew, “ musical instruments of all kinds” (verse 8) translates to “concubines of all kinds”. Solomon had concubines of all kinds. The Bible tells us that Solomon had 300 concubines and 700 wives. Solomon was a man who had everything. If there was a downside to all this, it would be that he also had 700 mothers-in-law!
Don’t forget that God gave him wisdom, favour, influence and power to get wealth, but God didn’t give him the results or outcomes of his wealth. God didn’t give him the results or outcomes of his influence. God didn’t give him the results or outcomes of his wisdom and favour. Nonetheless, Solomon’s wisdom and favour came from God.
Verse 9 says:
9 So I became great and excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem…
Solomon became great and whatever he saw and liked, he took. What would men and women give for that! Would you call that a life worth living?
Let’s see how Solomon’s life of fantasy unravels (verses 10–11):
10 Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart rejoiced in all my labour; and this was my reward from all my labour. 11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labour in which I had toiled; and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun .
The book of Ecclesiastes is a story of a backslidden man. Solomon was a man who once knew God, but later, even though he still had his God-given gifts, he turned his heart away from God. Here is a man who did everything under the sun and yet despaired of life.
If you only experience things under the sun, you’ll whenever always be unfulfilled.
The lesson here is that whenever your thoughts become earthly and focus on things under the sun, you despair. We must never forget that God is above the sun. When he wrote the book of Proverbs and Song of Solomon, Solomon’s thoughts were heavenly and he spoke about things above the sun. But in Ecclesiastes, we see that he was focused on things below the sun and his life had no more meaning.
If You Live Life ‘Under The Sun’, You’ll Despair
Solomon, the man who experienced everything, leaves us a clue in a phrase that appears throughout the book of Ecclesiastes — “ under the sun” . Solomon lived life enjoying all earthly pleasures. Indeed, he lived life indulging in everything under the sun. And yet, he grew very depressed (verse 11):
11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labour in which I had toiled; and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun .
My friend, if you only experience things under the sun, deep down, you’ll always be unfulfilled, you’ll always be empty on the inside.
When I was in National Service, I was assigned to the Singapore navy. I remember that over a period of a month, our ship sailed to a number of destinations. One day, we docked in Taiwan and we all took some R&R leave. That meant that we were supposed
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