PM Home Bible Study Group; December 9, 2009
Ecclesiastes 4:13-16

Theme: “Under the sun”, power and influence over others does not satisfy the soul.

Dr. Billy Graham has perhaps had more personal contact than anyone else, over the past several decades, with the powerful and influential people in the world. He has rubbed shoulders with the ‘greats’ in such areas as politics, royalty, sports, business and entertainment. In his autobiography, Just As I Am, he summarized the five things he feels he has learned from such contacts:

First, leadership has its own set of special burdens and pressures. The life of a celebrated star or a powerful politician may seem glamorous and exciting, but in reality it seldom is. . . . Second, leadership can be very lonely. . . . Third, people in positions of influence are often used by others for their own selfish ends. As a result, they learn to be on their guard. . . . Fourth, people in the public eye are often looked upon as role models, even when they do not want to be seen in that way. . . . Fifth, many men and women who are leaders in secular fields have given relatively little thought to God. They tend to be preoccupied with this world instead of the next.1

Many people have aggressively sought power, fame and influence, as a means of fulfilling the deepest needs of their soul; and yet, so many have testified that, once they achieved what they sought, it proved to be empty and utterly unfulfilling.

Tonight, we read the thoughts of someone who had greater insight into the hearts of the great and powerful than even Billy Graham. King Solomon, as the Scripture tells us, “sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him. All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, submitted themselves to King Solomon. So the LORD exalted Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel” (1 Chronicles 29:23-25). And yet, his conclusion concerning it all—from the standpoint of both observation and personal experience—is that “this also is vanity and grasping for the wind” (Ecclesiastes 4:16).

Let’s look into Solomon’s ongoing search for meaning and satisfaction “under the sun” (that is, without humble trust and dependency upon God), and see how he came to this conclusion.

I. THE ADVANTAGE OF HUMBLE BEGINNINGS (vv. 13-14).

A. Solomon begins by saying, “Better a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more. For he comes out of prison to be king, although he was born poor in his kingdom” (vv. 13-14). Here, the situation is posited of an old, foolish king who—because of his arrogance, complacency, and confident security of position—will no longer be admonished, and who is stubbornly stuck in his ways.

1. Some have asked, “Is this story based in actual history?” This is very possible. After all, Solomon’s father (David) was under the rule of stubborn King Saul—a man who clearly would not hear the wise admonitions of those who were around him; and who, because of his stubborn foolishness, ultimately came to ruin. He was admonished by the prophet Samuel—both in his admonishing of all the people (1 Samuel 12:13-15, 24-25), and in his rebuke of Saul’s sinful rebelliousness directly (13:11-14; 15:22-23). And Saul demonstrated his foolishness through his own patterns of behavior (14:24-46; 18:8-11; 20:25-33; 22:17-19; 27; 3-25; 31:4-6).

2. But the words at the beginning of our passage may also be an autobiographical expression of Solomon’s own patterns of foolishness. Though he was the wisest man who ever lived, he too became a foolish old king who would no longer hear admonition (1 Kings 11:1-13; 12:40).

B. Thus, a poor but wise youth is in a greater position of advantage than such a king. The youth, at least, has the humility because of his station in life to be admonished—and hear the admonition in such a way to rise out of his foolishness into a position of fame and power. He can come out of prison to become king, though born poor in the kingdom.

1. Again, this may be illustrated in the life of David, who—through wise and godly conduct—rose from a position of obscurity and service under Saul to the position of king over Israel.

2. But it can also be illustrated—in the case of Solomon—by Jeroboam, whose father (Nabat) was a servant of Solomon (1 Kings 11:26-28). If this is the case, then “prison” would probably refer to Jeroboam’s time in exile in Egypt when—after God had revealed that he would receive a portion of Solomon’s kingdom, Solomon tried to kill him.

II. THE PRECARIOUS POSSESSION OF POWER (vv. 15-16).

A. The above descriptions may have been drawn from specific histories; but the principles they illustrate can easily be found repeatedly in history in general. Solomon, as has already been shown (see 2:12, 25), was in a position of great advantage in being able to observe the course of human affairs—and the ways of power and influence in particular. He was able to say that he saw “all the living who walk under the sun” (v. 15a); and was thus prepared to make an accurate generalization about what he saw.

1. He implies that, for every young man who comes out of prison to become king—and who, eventually, becomes himself yet another “old and foolish king who will be admonished no more” (v. 13)—there is another “youth” waiting in the wings. It may be David, as it was in the case of Saul. Or it may be Solomon (over and against Adonijah; see 1 Kings 1-2), as it was in the case of David. Or it may be Rehoboam (1 Kings 11:43) as in the case of Solomon. Or it may be Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:31- 39), as it was in the case of Rehoboam.

2. What’s more, the first king inevitably—and almost invariably—loses the heart of the people; and the people are drawn to his ‘potential replacement’. A ready example of this can be found in the life of the great king David; who—even in the time of his reign—began to see his support lost; and his ambitious son Absolom steal the hearts of the men of Israel (2 Samuel 15:1-6). We see this almost every election year. The people can’t seem to get the incoming president into the White House—or get the retiring president on Air Force One for the last trip home—quickly enough! As with the kings of old, “they were with the second youth who stands in his place” (v. 15b).

B. Solomon must have felt these observations personally. We’re told that, in 1 Kings 4:20, “Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand of the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing” at the time of his installation in the place of his father. But after his death, we’re told that the people came to his son Rehoboam and said, “Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you” (1 Kings 12:4). Though Solomon didn’t live to hear those words, he no doubt knew the sentiment that was represented in them. As Solomon says in our passage, “There was no end of all the people over whom he was made king; yet those who came afterward will not rejoice in him” (v. 16a).

C. Looking over it all, Solomon declares—as he has elsewhere in his search for meaning and fulfillment under the sun—the vanity of looking for happiness through such positions of power and influence: “Surely this also is vanity and grasping after wind” (v. 16b). Many before him, and many after, have believed that power and influence would fulfill the vacancy in their souls that only God can fill. No one could have known this better than Solomon; and yet he assures us that even this too will prove to be a great disappointment in the end.

* * * * * * * * * *

How many people would save themselves a lifetime of misery if they would only heed Solomon’s words! And after reading such a analysis, how good it is to hear the words of the true King of kings as He shows us the far better way. Jesus’ disciples were once jockeying for power over one another; but He told them,

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:25-28).

To know Jesus, and to faithfully follow His pattern of humble service—that’s the true pathway to happiness through “greatness” in His kingdom.

1Billy Graham, Just as I Am (HarperSanFransisco and Zondervan, 1997), pp. 685-88.