Ecclesiastes Chapter Two... replacing the spiritual with the natural!

7    I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me:

Solomon's calling was first and foremost to be the shepherd of men; the nation should have been his flock that he cared for and influenced in the path of righteousness. Instead he dabbled in the buying and selling of slaves, cattle and flocks. God had much more in mind for this great king. God wanted him to be an influence for good in the kingdom. This is what happens when a leader backslides he begins to try and reproduce in the natural what he has lost in the spiritual. This is a tip-off for a leader; if he is being diverted to a natural representation of his call then perhaps he has lost sight of his calling. It should be a wake up call when this happens! The apostle Paul said to the Galatians (Gal 3:3) “…You began in the Spirit do you now resort to the flesh”? He also said 1 Cor 15:46 the natural first then the spiritual; we progress from the natural to the spiritual not spiritual then the natural; this pattern of Solomon's of replacing the spiritual with the natural violates spiritual precedence. When one sees their activities turning from spiritual things to natural things then it is high time to seek the Lord.

8    I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts.

“I gathered me also silver and gold...”; Solomon was a man of great wealth and treasure but we can see in this mournful book that his treasures had hold on him and added greatly to his sorrows (Eccl 2:18-19; 1 Tim 6:10). Whilst we must be good stewards of money learning to value every penny we also must have no place in our heart for wealth we must not be possessed of money, we must in fact at a certain level actually have a disdain for it. After all, it is referred to five times in the scriptures as filthy lucre (1Ti 3:3; 1Ti 3:8;Tit 1:7;Tit 1:11; 1Pe 5:2.)

“...and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces...” Solomon became a collector of peculiar treasures. One should be very careful in this area, careful that their collections do not become idols. An idol is anything that one devotes themselves to taking time, resources and more importantly our devotion and affection away from the Lord. God wants us to be His peculiar treasure, wholeheartedly devoted to Him.

“...I gat me men singers and women singers and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts”. Note this one phrase, “the delights of the sons of men”; another translation puts it like this, “...I had many wives who gave me great pleasure”. Solomon became addicted to pleasure; he would have participated in many orgies. Pleasure can be a real snare to those who are not careful; in fact it was Solomon himself who said, “he that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man” (Prov 21:17). In regards to pleasure we are told in 1 Thess 4:4 to learn how to possess our vessels in sanctification and honor. The man or woman of God should learn what it means to bring their physical body into subjection to the will of God lest when they preach to others they themselves become a castaway (See 1 Cor 9:26-27), lest they end up like Solomon addicted to pleasure.