16 “There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.”
Continuing our thought from verse fifteen we see why Solomon had become a shell of what he once was, in his pride he strove for remembrance and praise. He had worldwide influence and yet we can clearly see his focus is all wrong. Solomon had the world in the palm of his hand, he could have (and should have) influenced the world for good. He should have promoted worship and priestly teaching and upheld the laws of his God and yet he sought for the honor and remembrance of his position. He should have focused on the fear of the Lord and using his influence and power to break the bands of oppression and wickedness as did Job (Job 29). How unfortunate that he sought the praise of men when he was the one who penned "before honor is humility". It is easy to criticize Solomon for his choices but we must be careful in our own world, are we sold out to the plans and purposes of God? Are we using our influence for the promotion and witness of the Lord? If we aren't doing it now then we won't do it when the Lord promotes us.
No comments:
Post a Comment