A Priceless Bit of Wisdom

Our guest blogger today is Dr. Richard Emmert, pastor at Manley Baptist Church in Morristown, Tennessee.  He has a Priceless Bit of Wisdom for us:

Humanly speaking, Solomon had it all!  He had a brilliant mind, unmatched wisdom, enormous wealth and power, great innate talent and ability, fame, white hot ambition and the prestige of being the son of the most powerful and respected king of his day.  He pursued life with gusto and passion.  The Book of Ecclesiastes gives his commentary on life and concludes with a priceless bit of wisdom.

One after the other, he sought lasting satisfaction in wisdom, pleasure, hard work, popularity, wealth, and fame.  He said, “…I have magnified and increased in wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge” (Ecclesiastes 1:16).  He said, “All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them.  I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure” (Ecclesiastes 2:10).   His servants gathered the best of entertainment, food and women from around the world for his enjoyment.  He ultimately had 700 beautiful wives and 300 concubines. 

With his vast wealth gathered from kings and provinces near and far supported his mammoth building projects that defied the imagination of the average person.  Yet he cried, “I completely despaired of all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:20). 

His fame went out to the world.  Kings, queens and world powers sought his counsel and if nothing more than a glimpse into his world that had no equals among men.  Still, Solomon reached his golden years and pessimistically declared, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2).  He found no sustaining satisfaction in all his pursuits and soberly concluded, “So I hated life …because everything is futility and striving after wind.” (Ecclesiastes 2:17).

Through much pain and heartache, Solomon came to realize all human achievements are empty and disappointing when pursued as ends in themselves.  True satisfaction in life comes from serving God and following His will for our lives.  Therefore, he concludes, there is one essential thing in life, “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

Thanks, pastor!  Talk to you guys tomorrow!

-Tara K

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