You’d be hard pressed to find a life with more adventure and pleasure than that of Solomon–unfathomable wealth, unparalleled wisdom, soaring success, wives and concubines galore. While this is perhaps not the ideal life of your average midwestern woman, for a king in the ancient world, this is the life. Feasts, glory, honor, acclaim, majesty, Solomon has it all.
And yet, here in the final words of Ecclesiastes, Solomon laments the vanity of it all. None of these things can keep a man out of the grave. But even more to the point, none of them can stop the sun and light and the moon from going dark on the Day of Judgment. No earthly pleasure or power can stop a man from having to stand before His God on that day, when every deed, both good and evil will be brought to life.
And so, while we may not be able to identify with what Solomon considers the height of pleasure, we should certainly heed his warning. Your money, your reputation as a kind and beautiful soul, your accomplishments, Whatever you think is the marker of a successful and joyful life, none of this can rescue you from the grave and all of it will burn to ashes on the day when you stand before your Lord.
So fear God. Keep His commandments. And see fully the Savior who ends the vanity of Solomon. See the wounds of Jesus Christ, the one who kept every commandment for you. Look at the wounds of Jesus Christ and there you will find the only thing that will not burn into ashes before the mighty power of God. There you will find His righteousness, His perfection, His glory and majesty. And there you will find that His righteousness and perfection, His glory and majesty are now yours. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and you will find peace. Through that righteousness, the grave will have no power over you and the terrifying Day of Judgment will not terrify you.
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