Today’s lesson[i] made me think of the old hymn, “I Need Thee Every Hour.” We need God. That was the thrust of the lesson to me.

THE PUBLIC DIARY AND JOURNAL. We have “social media”, etc., today which in some cases is like a diary except it’s not private; it is made public. In some cases, this becomes unfortunate and embarrassing for the writer. Solomon left us a diary. He inherited a kingdom from his illustrious father King David who was perhaps the best king Israel ever had. Solomon was asked of God what he desired as king and his desire was to have wisdom to help him govern the people of his father’s kingdom. Solomon’s diary Ecclesiastes relates the results.

1 Kings 3 (NLT). (v5) That night the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!” (v9) “Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?” (v10) The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. (v13) “And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life!”

Heaven asks: What do you want, Solomon? “I need wisdom to govern.” “You can have it, Solomon, and I’m giving you all these other things that you did not ask for.”

Wisdom is something that we all can ask for and expect God to answer favorably. James 1:5, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking” (NLT).

LIFE MUST INCLUDE GOD. Solomon's “diary” ends with this conclusion in Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14 (NLT): “Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.” Fear God, i.e., reverence God; be in awe of Him. Obey preserve His every instruction. This is accomplished with God’s help. Therefore, we need God all the time and every hour.

Another book by Solomon is considered the Book of Proverbs. The problem with wisdom is actually applying it in one's life. That’s the purpose of Proverbs.

Solomon's answer to life is “Don't do as I did.” Solomon did everything except apply God's wisdom given to him. God also gave Solomon the possibility to taste of anything in this world. Solomon's eventual wisdom was “I wish I'd done better. I knew better but I sought to enjoy my fleshly wants rather than follow the wisdom God gave me.” As a result of the aftereffects Solomon could with authority write Proverbs. What Solomon perhaps lacked was what is called “prudence.”

PRUDENCE IS DESIRABLE WITH WISDOM. Wisdom is knowing what is best in a situation and prudence is mentioned in Proverbs 8:12a (KJV), “I wisdom dwell with prudence.” Proverbs 8:12a (NLT), “I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment.” Wisdom and judgment are partners. God abounds towards us not only with wisdom but with prudence. For example,

Ephesus 1:8 (KJV) “Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence.” These terms are closely related. Perhaps the best differentiation of these two terms is provided by the Greek philosopher Aristotle.[ii] “Wisdom is the intellectual perception of the truth of things whereas prudence is the practical application of knowing what to do.” In short, Solomon did not apply the wisdom God gave to him.

LIFE IS VANITY; TRANSITORY. Ecclesiastes 1:2 (NLT), “’Everything is meaningless,’ says the Teacher, ‘completely meaningless!’” The KJV uses the word vanity. 38 times. Brown-Briggs-Driver Hebrew Definitions defines it as “like a vapor; breath.” It is derived from a word that means “to lead astray.” This view of life is so discouraging but true; Solomon’s journals prove it. But they also give us the solution.

THE SOLUTION. Proverbs 3:5, 6 (NLT), “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.” We need God. We need Him every hour.

PROOF OF LIFE’S EMPTINESS:

LIFE OFFERS PLEASURES. Ecclesiastes 2:1,2. Solomon tried pleasure that was made available to him as a wealthy man. It did not satisfy.

HE TRIED DRUGS. He gave his heart to WINE. Ecclesiastes 2:3. Alcohol, partying, drugs. It was meaningless.

HE TRIED ETHETICS. Pretty environment. Ecclesiastes 2:4-6. Like Better Homes and Gardens. Redoing external applications to enliven his surroundings. For example, for thirteen years he spent time building his palace (1 Kings 7:1). But it did not work either. Meaningless.

HE TRIED GOLD and MUSIC. Ecclesiastes 2:8 King Saul had tried it with the harp. There were singers to perform for Solomon. He touched and used gold but again it was meaningless. He denied himself nothing.

MARRIAGES. Ecclesiastes 2:7. Servants; Solomon had 300 wives; 700 concubines. Meaningless.

HARD WORK. Ecclesiastes 2:11. Meaningless. There was nothing on earth worthwhile.

PLEASING OTHERS. He had turned his back on God in order to please others (e.g., his wives). He even built them places for worshipping idols. You will never find a meaningful life without the True and Living God.

Life without God tastes like aged milk. Life’s toys are fleeting. New things gained become old quickly. Happiness is not found in the external.

HAPPINESS CONCLUSION: Happy people are the ones that pursue God. True life is with God. People are made in the image of God. There is a void without Him. Be grateful for others in your life. Forgive others. Let fretting go. Rest in having peace with Christ. 1 John 5:12 (NLT), “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.” We need God and Jesus every hour. Temptations lose their power when we have God and Jesus in our lives.

Give your life meaning; obey God’s command to come to Jesus.

== GAYLON WEST -- beta ed. Janie Ruth Ward & Mary Lou West.