Judges 1-3 | Luke 4:1-30

“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 

Solomon was the most powerful king in the history of Israel. He had more land conquered, more wealth, more chariots and horses and more wives than any other king. But where does all this decadence and lack of restraint leave Solomon? 1 Kings 11:4-6 tells us, “As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done.” Solomon went and built a lot of temples around Jerusalem.

God delivered His people from the yoke of slavery under Pharaoh in Egypt, but Solomon put them right back onto the path of slavery—a disregard for God’s Word and a desire for more that is outside of what God wills—which eventually led the Israelites into exile. Yet, God, in His kindness, mercy and compassion, met Solomon near the end of his life.

The Book of Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon near the end of his life. In that book, he reflected on his life of indulgence and summarized his learning with a repeated statement that is featured throughout Ecclesiastes: “Meaningless! Meaningless!...Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). Solomon described all of his achievements as meaningless. What he learned near the end of his life was that the pursuit of more can leave us just as empty as the poverty we feared. This sentiment is similar to what the famous Canadian actor Jim Carrey once said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer.”

Getting rich and doing whatever we want is not the answer. Rather, looking back over his whole life, Solomon summarized what truly mattered in the very last words that he wrote in Ecclesiastes: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). The whole goal of the human condition is to fear God and keep His commandments. 

While it might sound restrictive, learning how God designed us to live and respecting the boundaries that He placed in order to protect us is actually the only way to true, full living. God does this to show us the meaning of “enough.”

PRAYER

Lord God, guard my heart away from the empty pursuit of this life. Remind me daily to fear You and to keep Your commandments. Thank You, Lord.