Solomon’s Conclusion

Rev. A.T. Vergunst, Waupun, WI

Misuse

Solomon was not opposed to learning. As the wisest and most learned man, he shared his insights with all who came to seek them (1 Kings 10:24). Therefore, young people, as you will soon begin a new school year, do not misuse Solomon’s words. Never think that a lazy attitude toward learning is justified. Consider Solomon’s wisdom which, at the same time, is God’s promise: “The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute [shall serve]” (Proverbs 12:24) and, “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men” (Proverbs 22:29).

Cultivate

God has equipped every one of us with special skills in raw form. These talents need to be carefully cultivated in your youth in order to be useful in your adult years. Be diligent, therefore, to apply yourself to the task of learning. You are not placed on this earth just to enjoy yourself. You are also not here to simply enrich yourself. You are created to serve your Creator by serving your neighbors in the position and with the talents He has determined for you. No one is too young to begin to ask, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” Don’t wait to ask that question until you come to the end of high school. Children need to begin to pray about that when they start elementary school. The time of youth is to prepare you for your future task of service; therefore, your schooling is very important.

Too many books

Though Solomon himself was into writing (according to 1 Kings 4:32, his songs were a thousand and five as well as thousands of Proverbs), he had to admit that study is a weariness of the flesh. In other words, reading many books does not do a person much good except to make him weary. Was Solomon referring to all the studies and discoveries he wrote about in this Bible book? In this book, he had pondered all the problem cases of the life around him. Everywhere he looked, he saw injustice, oppression, pointless hard work of building up a business which someone else after you would waste, unhappiness, and discontent. He admitted earlier, “For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow” (Ecclesiastes 1:18). Reviewing all these miseries and needs would have left him wearied, for with all his wisdom, even he could not solve any of the problems.

Yet, the deep things he pondered in this Bible book were not useless stories or trivial questions. There was great profit in them. Can that be said about the many books and e-books you and I read? They may be great stories that grip you from beginning to end and make you cry or laugh, but are they profitable in leading you to Solomon’s conclusion, “Fear God and keep His commandments”?

If all your reading did not profit your soul, then it only wearied your flesh as it ate up the wee hours of the night or the free hours of the day. How we will regret such a waste when time is no more!

Solomon has come to the final conclusion of all research, observation, and thinking: Fear God, and keep His commandments! To fear God is to esteem Him, to love Him, to recognize Him, to respect Him, to serve Him joyfully, to seek to know His will and to do it. This we can learn only through the Lord’s teaching and blessing upon our study of the Bible. A life of fearing God and keeping His commandments may look boring compared to the glamor of the world’s living, but nothing is farther from the truth. To live in the fear of God is the most beautiful and fulfilling life. In the keeping of God’s commandments is a great reward.

Though keeping God’s commandments will never save you in your fallen condition, yet it is a blessing to have a conscience that does not allow you any peace because you have chosen to ignore, defy, or trample God’s commandments. There are many outward blessings connected with living according to God’s commandments.

Many adults look back at their youthful choices and feel deep regret or shame. Perhaps they are now married in an unequal yoke and experience tensions and disagreements. Many live with the memories of stories and pictures they wish they could forget. Others are trapped in a lifestyle of sinful habits that seem impossible to break. Solomon himself could talk from experience. His addiction to pleasures, more wives, more building projects, and more exotic animals only multiplied his old-age sorrows. Besides, it spoiled his son Rehoboam and brought a great judgment on the nation he left behind. Therefore, young people, listen to the godly counsel of this experienced king who is God’s mouth to us: “Fear God and keep His commandments.”

Final exam

School is starting. That means exams are coming again. So it is with living. God will bring everything into judgment, every secret thing, the good and the bad. That includes every word we say or think, as Jesus pointed out: “But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36). We think an average of seventy thousand thoughts a day. That is an innumerable amount of words to think.

Add to that the words we read. Are the characters in the books you read keeping God’s commandments? Are you one of those “who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them” (Romans 1:32)? Let us also attach this question to the things you choose to see rather than read, for the same judgment of God applies to that aspect. The Lord will mark our iniquities, and oh, who can stand before Him or face His final marking?

Exception

Though most books written are a weariness of the flesh, there is one Book that does not fit in this category, namely, the Bible. The Bible remains till today the most purchased book in the world! That does not mean, however, that it is the most widely read. As many of you begin a new school year, but also as many others will be busy with other demands in life, I encourage you to make the good choice Mary made as she sat down at Jesus’ feet. Prayerfully seek God’s nearness in His Word daily. It will take self-discipline to separate yourself and set aside a portion of time to read God’s Word, but such hours you will never regret.

Place yourself where the Holy Spirit blows. He does not exercise His saving influences in all the books, sites, or places to which we expose our minds. However, the truth remains that that man is blessed whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates in that law day and night. For he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water (see Psalm 1:1-3). Study diligently, but study the Bible the most thoroughly. Though all studies often are nothing else but a weariness of the flesh, the study of God’s Word is His means to bless your soul. How encouraging is His promise, “The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat” (Proverbs 13:4).

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen