| When the Queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed. |
| —1 Kings 10:4-5 |
If Robin Leach had the opportunity to host an episode of his television show, “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” about Solomon, King of Israel, this famous reporter would probably have had enough material for a year of programs! We learn about this King in 1 Kings 1-11 and again in the Book of Ecclesiastes, which he wrote.
Not only was Solomon the richest man who ever lived, he also gained fame as a philosopher, composer of music, zoologist, botanist, teacher, writer, builder, and of course, King. Some 487 years after the Israelites came out of Egypt, Solomon had the honor of building the great Temple in Jerusalem. Under Solomon’s leadership, the Israelites spared no expense in creating this magnificent structure.
God had also given the nation of Israel peace with the neighboring nations. As payments of a tribute to assure peace with King Solomon, many of these neighboring nations gave significant gifts of gold and silver.
At the beginning of his reign, Solomon bowed humbly before God and prayed with a committed heart. Not only did God satisfy Solomon’s request for wisdom in leading and building this great nation, God also gave to Solomon more than any man could ever ask in material possessions. Along with all these blessings, God warned Solomon many times to keep his heart tuned to following and obeying the God of Israel.
These numerous warnings were nothing new. God had warned the entire nation of Israel at Mt. Sinai about the kinds of behaviors that they were to studiously avoid. In Deuteronomy 7:3 we read these words from God:
When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations … make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you … for you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.
Unbelievably and inspite of God reiterating this warning by speaking it directly to Solomon, we find that the wisest man to ever live disregarded the warning. The results of Solomon’s failure to obey proved disastrous.
From other nations, Solomon took 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. According to 1 Kings 11:4:
As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God.
Solomon must have spent a great deal of time reflecting on what things would make him happy. In Ecclesiastes 2, we find Solomon telling about all the pleasures he pursued, the projects he undertook, the things he owned, and even that harem he had built for himself. What was his conclusion? Ecclesiastes 1:2 sums it up:
Vanity of vanities, says the Treacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
King Solomon came to the conclusion that, as he recorded in Ecclesiastes 2:24, after all of the pleasures and fame his life produced:
A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness.
What lesson do we find here for us? If we are totally honest with ourselves, we will admit that most of us look for satisfaction in all the wrong places. Instead, the genuine reality is that to know and enjoy God, and to appreciate all that He wills and does, must give us the maximum amount of joy in this life.
Jesus Himself said in John 10:10:
“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Let’s devote ourselves to pursuing the pleasure of pleasing God!
