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End-of-Life Reflections

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14

Solomon wrote three books in the Old Testament: Song of Solomon, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. Based on the subject matter of the books, we can generalize about when he wrote each. Song of Solomon was likely the first, written when Solomon was a young king who had fallen in love with a Middle Eastern maiden. Proverbs reflects the mature Solomon in the middle of his glorious kingdom years when his wisdom was known throughout the world (1 Kings 4:29-34).

Regrettably, the same king who wrote so eloquently about the fear of the Lord being the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10) lost sight of that truth. Solomon accumulated 700 wives and 300 concubines from the pagan nations surrounding Israel, making the same mistake Israel had made earlier in her history (Numbers 25:1-15). "And his wives turned away his heart [from the Lord]" (1 Kings 11:3). Not only did he marry non-Israelite women, he worshiped their gods and built worship centers in Israel for them. In doing so, he incurred the judgment of God (1 Kings 11:1-13).

Ecclesiastes appears to have been written by a man who tried to find satisfaction everywhere in life except in God: in money, in pleasure, in building a kingdom, in learning, in work—all legitimate pursuits except when they exclude God. By the end of his life Solomon appears to have realized his foolishness: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man" (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Wise is the modern man who learns from history's wisest man and doesn't repeat his mistakes.

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