Listening to King Solomon - Purpose and Vanity

So often, we put all our time and effort into things we deem important. We spend hours studying for college or university, pursuing our dreams of making a certain career. We strive to become the best football player, make-up artist, singer or writer in the world. We feel a constant need to grow. But why do we do that? Why don’t we put all our free time into studying the Bible?

Solomon, the son of David, has written a few books that are in our Bible. The most well-known is the book Proverbs. However, he also wrote Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. These books contain great wisdom. In this Bible study, I want to think about vanity and purpose.

"All is vanity, saith the preacher"

Do you know the background of Solomon? He is the son of King David. When he became king of Israel, God gave him the chance to choose anything he wanted and it would be given to him. Solomon chose a wise heart to be able to be a good king. So God made him wise. Wiser than any man had ever been or will be. Along with that, God gave him wealth. So Solomon was wealthier than you and I can imagine. You think that Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg is rich? Their wealth is nothing compared to Solomon’s.

Ecclesiastes chapter 1:
1 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.
3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he takes under the sun?

People often want to learn from those who are successful in life. Those who earn a lot of money. How often do you think such a wealthy man would say: “all is vanity”? Solomon however, learned that wealth doesn’t make a man happy. Let us hear what he says.

Ecclesiastes chapter 1:
12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.
14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of the spirit.

That is surprising, right? This man is the wealthiest and wisest man on earth but he can’t be content with it? Surely with all his wisdom he could put the money to good use and help a lot of people with it. Surely, he could buy whatever made him happy. Somehow, it did not make Solomon a happy man. Why?

Ecclesiastes chapter 1:
16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly, I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.
18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

I don’t understand this. All my life people are telling me to push harder. To learn harder at school, to take that extra job and to start doing new things. And here is the wisest man on earth telling me that it is all for NOTHING. What am I doing wrong then? Is there no way to feel content? Is there no purpose in life?

The answer is given at the very end of this book. Every chapter of the books contains the reasoning of the wise king. Every single time he finds that all is vanity. Money is vanity. Power is vanity. Even wisdom is vanity. For the rich die like the poor. In the end of this book, the preacher summarizes and concludes his study.

Ecclesiastes chapter 12:
13 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.

This is a clear message. For all his wisdom, Solomon has the gift to deliver his wisdom in simple words. This is a simple truth: we need to fear God and keep His commandments. Apart from that, it doesn’t matter whether you earn a lot of money or not. God does not care about your curriculum vitae or your GPA. When you die, you face God. He will ask you who you served in your life. He will speak out his judgment. If you do not know Jesus Christ than you will be judged guilty. That is the hard truth.

On earth, you can buy a certain form of happiness. It won’t last. Let our conclusion be that we should not search for earthly riches but strive to become rich in Jesus Christ. Why would you spend your time on video games and social media and all kinds of stuff that doesn’t benefit you? Why would you put all your time into getting a 4.0 GPA when you can’t take it with you in the grave? I am from the Netherlands, where we have a Dutch saying that goes like this: “Your final clothing won’t have pockets”. The meaning of this is simple. You can’t take anything with you when you die. No money, no success, no fame. All there is to save you is the love of Jesus Christ. Won’t that be enough for you?

Please share the bible verse about purpose that means the most to you!

If Only

If only I could.
If only I would.
Rise up and fly away.
Escape to a brand-new day.

If only there was.
If only I’d see.
Love beyond the rain.
Bliss beyond the pain.

The waves keep throwing me around.
Help is nowhere to be found.
Battling my darkened mind.
Still can’t leave it behind.

If only you knew.
If only you’d hear.
I’m drowning in tears.
Torn apart by my deepest fears.

If only I had the courage to speak.
If only I would leave ‘if’ behind.
If only I was not so weak.


What might be changed with a single word? What could be changed with that first step? What lays beyond? When will you finally take the step of faith?

Addiction

Thrill before guilt
Guilt before pain
And after that
Wat will remain?
Will there be
What was before?

Eyes filled up
Tears and shame
A broken heart
A shattered soul
Can there be
What was before?

Your trembling hands
Keep me together.
Don't let go
Just please don't.
We might restore
What was before.

The questions arise
Heart asking, why?
How could you?
Why would you?
Do I want
What was before?

No answer can
Heal your wounds.
No promises will
Kill the pain.
I can't create
What was before. 

Praying for help. 
Praying for hope. 
Repair our hearts. 
Clean my soul. 
God can restore. 
What was before. 

I'm free now. 
Living a dream. 
Christ my Savior.
God my King. 
Nevermore like before. 
Captive no more. 

God so loved the world...

Some time ago I tried writing a poem. I actually wanted to write something positive, but my pen seemed to only find dark words. Words that described my feelings of sadness and darkness and battle. The ink was deep black and my mood went darker and darker. Then the tide changed. Something happened inside me. Like a light that goes on. My cold heart started to catch the rays of the Gospel once again. "God so loved the world..."  Those words sang through my head. God loved the WORLD. When the authors of the Bible use the word 'world' it's usually in a negative way. It means the world of the devil. The world of the heathens. The world without God. The world within our own minds and souls. Now, I repeat: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life". How could that be, I thought. Can God love me? All I ever did wrong danced before my eyes. It was like satan was playing the movie of my sin, showing me all I have done. The verse kept repeating itself in my head. Satan lost. God won. No longer I need to be a slave of Satan. No longer I need to be helpless. Still, I am not without sin, but now I battle against it. Not futile, but with the help of God I will win.

Barely awake, in this field I lay.
The darkness is leaving, the night's gone away.
Birds in the sky are talking of dawn
To the rising sun my eyes are drawn.

This coldness I felt, is slipping away,

The sun gives me hope for this new day.
Maybe today, I will finally find.
Some rest for my soul, some joy for my mind.

last night it seemed, i really had lost.
Hell'd let me pay, the full price it cost.

My soul was dark, my mind was stained
I gambled it all, no freedom was gained.

It felt so free, not living by rules.
That old book I thought, was written for fools.
Freedom prooved empty, It seemed i'd died.
Gullible me, the devil had lied.

I laid down my head, no future in sight.
Now knowing if I would survive tonight.
Freezing inside, all hope had gone
Nothing left, I'm all alone.

A voice from afar, is calling on me.
That vulture's cry, is letting me see.
The old book was right, and I was wrong.
I should have known, for so long.

My life is dead, my sin inside
killing me fast, and I am tied.
Can't I break free, leave these chains?
Or will they feast, on my remains.

An old verse, remembered in wonder
The devil parried, no time to ponder.
He screams inside, "it's too late.
You had your chance, now this is your fate."

White and blinding, a light in the dark.
My soul set on fire, ignited spark.
A battle within, the truth and the lies,
Bitter and sweet, devil's disguise.

Again that verse, stronger than before
The devil cries, but I want more.
God so loved the world, it says,
now joy within me's clearing my mess.

I open my eyes, the new day has come
no longer a dream, no longer i'm numb.
My heart soaring, searching for more.
Fly with the birds, to Whom I adore.

He set me free, He gave His all,
Without a right, I'm saved from the fall.
Praising forever, He is my King.
His blood a fountain, my song to sing.

This is one of my first serious attempts at writing a poem. Feel free to give advice for future writing or any other comment. God bless you!

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Bible study: The tree of the knowledge of good and evil

                It happens fairly often that people ask you questions about your faith and religion. Sometimes they are genuinely interested in learning more about Christianity.  More often than not it happens that they try to confuse you and make you lose your faith. Everywhere on the internet, you can find the opinions of people. Often they are misinformed, unknowing of the real message of the Bible, but they just speak after the voice of Satan in their heads. This makes it even more important to study the Bible as much as you can. The greatest weapon against the attacks of Satan is the Word of God. See how Jesus is attacked fiercely by the devil, when He is tired and hungry. He didn’t stumble because He knew the Bible.

"If the forbidden fruit was forbidden, why did God keep that fruit there?"

Let us read a few verses in Genesis 2. In chapter 1 the creation of the  earth is described. In the second chapter, the creation of Adam is told. Adam means something like ‘The human’. As the first human, he was the representative of the whole race. After the creation of Adam, the garden of Eden is described. Then comes the piece that confuses lots of people:

15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Why did God make that tree? If He had left it out, we’d never had fallen. We would still be in paradise. Actually, God is the One to blame it all on.

These are thoughts that turned many people from their faith. They say they do not want to believe in a God that would do such evil, by making that tree. So, what to say when those people confront us with this? How can we defend ourselves against this attack of Satan?

As always we must search in the Bible for an answer. In this case, we should first see what this verse means. It seems to be that God put that tree in the Garden of Eden to test Adam (and later Eve). So, why did He want to do that? It has to do with the way He created us, humans. Humans differ from animals because we have a free will. We can choose if we want to do something, or not. Animals only follow their instinct. There is no right or wrong for animals, but due to our free will, there is right and wrong for us. God wanted us to be special. We were meant to be the crown of His creation. Not just like the animals and plants, but humans that would serve Him out of free will. Out of love.

Now, how could we show that we love God if the only thing we can do is the right thing? If there was no option to do wrong, we would be like robots, programmed to do good. This is the reason God made this one tree. We could show Him that we would serve Him out of free will by not eating from this tree.

This also completely changes our view of God. Instead of Him being evil for giving us the chance to sin, He is extremely generous in His creation. Look at what He says! Of EVERY tree of the garden you may freely eat. Adam and Eve had everything they could wish for in this garden. There was no pain, no cold, no hunger and nothing else bad. And there was just this one tree that they should not eat the fruits from. They didn’t need the tree for anything. It seems like the Lord made the chance that humans would sin as small as possible.

The fall of humankind

Now we know that we cannot shove our blame on God. Humans tend to try and do that. Hear what Adam says when the Lord confronts him about eating from the tree. “This woman You gave me, she gave me the fruit, and I ate.” He blames Eve as well as God here.

People often say that humankind isn’t to blame since it was Satan that made Adam and Eve sin. This is hardly a valid reason. Firstly, Adam and Eve were both made good. They could have resisted if they wanted to. They had a free will to do good. Satan could not make them sin. It was fully the responsibility of Adam and Eve themselves. Sure, it was the devil that made them consider to sin, which led to the deed of sinning itself. And maybe this is why there is forgiveness for humans, and not for devils. The fallen angels were good, but they wanted to be like God. They made up their own plan and  fell. But humans did not make the plan to sin on their own. They were led to sin by Satan. But this is just a speculation, and it really doesn’t matter much. The fact is, there is forgiveness for humans.

"Humans always seem to want to blame someone else..."

The fallen angels try everything to make you sin. To prevent you from turning to Jesus for forgiveness. For they hate Jesus and they hate you with such fierce hate that they want to destroy your soul. Be afraid of the devils, for they are cunning. See how Satan, through the snake, makes Eve consider to sin. “has God not said that you shall not eat of EVERY tree in this garden?”. Oh, this filthy liar. As always he twists the words of God. And Eve speaks with him when she should have turned away from him. It leads her to eating the fruit.

Please be aware of the devils. So many people nowadays barely consider their existence. Angels and devils are more myth than reality in the eyes of many. Satan was beaten, but he is still a roaring lion, trying to devour your soul. Not until the end of time will he be banished from the earth forever. It’s not safe here on your own. You need the Bible. If you are a true Christian he will not leave you alone. He comes as a wolf in sheep clothes. Clothed as a pastor or a youth worker maybe. He might even be the one next to you in church. He knows how to catch humans. He gives them riches beyond counting while robbing their souls. 

How can we survive with this evil all around us? We aren't good anymore like Adam and Eve were created. We can't resist the devil anymore because he is living in our hearts and minds. But that is not the end of our story. It is hopeless for us, sure. If we had to save ourselves, we wouldn't stand a chance. But we don't need to do it ourselves! Hear what God promises Eve, right after they sinned. "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."

Genesis:3:15

Right after humankind made it clear they did not want to follow God this happens. God immediately promises that Jesus will come and make a way for humans to be reconciled with God. How can we not love this God? He made us. He cares for us. He loves us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die on this earth, so we could be saved. Oh, how deep has our Saviour gone to carry our sins away. He is the one who defeated satan. We can't stand against the might of Satan but he never even was a match for Jesus Christ. Let us find refuge in the arms of Jesus. There we are safe. When God is with you, who can stand against you?

If you read this far, I hope that you learned something. I hope that in the future you will not just read the Bible, but really study it. There is so much knowledge and wisdom to be found in it. May the Holy Spirit guide your heart.

Note from author

Please consider following my Instagram page. Daily, I post quotes and verses from the Bible with a short devo. Christian Religion Quote

This subject came to my attention at a bible study, at my church. I am not a theologian, but I tried to explain everything as good as I can. If you do not understand anything or think I was wrong about something, please contact me.

November 2016