Don't Be Like Solomon

The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered. Whatever they did in their lifetime—loving, hating, envying—is all long gone. They no longer play a part in anything here on earth. [Ecclesiastes 9.5-6] 

I don't know a lot, but I know, by everything the story of the Bible stands for, that this passage is informative of the condition of Solomon's heart and not instructive (because what it instructs is just wrong).

Just like the Bible informs that the Ark of God was carried on a cart (instead of on the shoulders of Levites and was therefore wrong), so this passage is not instructive to the reader, but informative. The Bible also informs us of suicide, murder, polygamy, rape and rebellion, but it does not instruct us to do those things.

Because wisdom carries no uncertain allure, people tend to give it godlike status. However, the burden rests upon the wise to yield their wisdom to the sovereignty of God. But that is not what we see of Solomon up to this point in the book of Ecclesiastes. To say everything is "meaningless" excludes the most important factor of life: eternity.

The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. Solomon revealed with these words that, even in all his unmatched wisdom, he was (willfully?) ignorant of eternity. As recent as his father David's predecessor Saul having visited the witch at Endor (1 Samuel 28) where he was spoken to by Samuel from the grave, Solomon would have known that the dead obviously know something because dead Samuel spoke to Saul!

They have no further reward, nor are they remembered. Again, Saul's story with Samuel proves this wrong. But, beyond that, all the talk of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob proves that the dead are indeed remembered!

They no longer play a part in anything here on earth. The remembrance of departed ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Samuel, the things they said, and all the things they were promised, to the contrary, played a huge part in everything to do with Israel's very existence! Solomon had evidently (conveniently?) ignored this fact too. His heart was turned away from God.

The takeaway from this is simple: don't be like Solomon. Instead, understand from all the Bible instructs that human death is not the end. Understand that eternal existence will be spent in the reward for the choice made about God while living on earth (this translates to Jesus Christ in this modern age) as the Bible teaches. Understand that every person leaves a legacy to someone. In that way, they play an ongoing part in life on earth (some obviously more than others).

Everything we understand about Solomon, in all his wisdom, should be tempered with the fact that he abandoned God. Much of what he proposed in Ecclesiastes informs us of Solomon's godless and humanistic thinking. Not ironically, but sadly, "enjoying life" is the premise for much of what the worship of Chemosh and Ashtoreth was all about. This is not unlike the prevailing self-awareness (self-centeredness) promoted by the world and (sadly) even the Church today.

We should align our thoughts about Solomon with the words of Jesus:

The queen of Sheba will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here—but you refuse to listen. [Matthew 12.42 (Luke 11.31)]

Father, may we understand the difference between information and instruction in the Bible. May we see that Jesus Christ removed all doubt about what that looks like... So be it.