Proverbs 2:3-5
“If thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.”
How many of us can truly say we are doing these things that are written within this verse? Are we crying out to God that He should give us knowledge? To lift our voices to Him in prayer that He should provide us with understanding? To seek this knowledge and understanding with the same passion men seek after silver? It goes on to say if we would search for this knowledge and understanding with the same passion as we would with hidden treasures, then we would understand the fear of the Lord and would find the knowledge of God. We are called to actively seek knowledge and understanding with the same dedication as searching for valuable treasure.
We can only imagine how many people envied all that Solomon possessed, or how many hearts desired to have what this man had, imagining that surely he must be the happiest man alive since he had everything earthly that a man could want. They did not realize that this man was to be pitied rather than envied. One of the most powerful influences that led to Solomon’s apostasy, was the pride of prosperity. As wealth and worldly honor came to him, he at first remained humble, but after a time he began to lose sight of the Source of his rare prosperity. The gifts of heaven were perverted for selfish purposes, separating him from God. Many of us are still running to and fro chasing after the things that Solomon did, do we not believe this man’s testimony? Surely if we did, our hearts would cease to chase after earthly things and we would set our minds on eternal things.
Colossians 3
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When we are raised with Christ our minds will automatically be set on things above because we have put on the mind of Christ and His mind was constantly focused on things above. The mind that we had is no longer in use for it is buried in the grave with the rest of our body. It is a miraculous thing when the earthly things you once chased after become dreadful and the heavenly things you once dreaded become a far greater joy than anything earthly that you have ever encountered.
Philippians 2:5
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
In other words, allow the mind of Christ to be in you, many refuse this mind, Many do not have faith that the mind of Christ can be replaced with their earthly, carnal mind and this is why they will find that their heart can’t stop seeking for happiness when it comes to the things of this world. When you allow the mind of Christ to be placed upon you you can’t help but be saddened and overwhelmed when you are surrounded by people that are frantically seeking to fill this void in their hearts with earthly things, that only our Redeemer can fill.
1 Corinthians 2
16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ.
The joy of communion with God, the glory, peace, and happiness, is only dimly comprehended by men. But these things have not been forgotten by Satan, who once was a covering cherub. He keeps many minds in a paralyzed state of mind, causing endless souls to place little value on heavenly things and to set the heart upon things of earth.
Ecclesiastes 2:10
Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, For my heart rejoiced in all my labor; And this was my reward from all my labor.
After he had fully proven that all the pleasures earth can give are empty and unsatisfying he further shows how impossible it is for the vanities of the world to meet the longings of the soul. All that the carnal heart could desire was at his command, yet he sums up his experience in this sad record.
Ecclesiastes 2:22-25
For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? For all his days are sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.
If our hearts are set on chasing vanity then our heart wont find rest even when we sleep because our whole body is in turmoil. Rather all our days will be filled with sorrow, another word for sorrowful is unhappy and depressed.
Ecclesiastes 2
“Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit.
“Vexation of spirit” means a deep feeling of frustration, dissatisfaction, and inner turmoil, often used to describe a sense of worthlessness or emptiness in life. “Vexation of the spirit” refers to deep emotional distress or frustration that can manifest physically in the body through symptoms like tension, headaches, fatigue, digestive issues, difficulty sleeping, muscle aches, and a weakened immune system; essentially, prolonged stress on the body due to emotional turmoil. Seems like King Solomon experienced anxiety and depression when he was chasing after the things of the flesh, may we not think that it will go any differently for us. We will be overtaken with anxiety, unhappiness, emptiness, and unrest, these will be the symptoms.
Ecclesiastes 2
I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth; [a]therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, this also was vanity. 2 I said of laughter—“Madness!”; and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?” 3 I searched in my heart how [b]to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.
Solomon went ahead and tested this mortal heart of ours a long time ago and this heart could not possibly be satisfied no matter how much he tested it. To his heart he said come, I will test you with laughter but came to the conclusion that this was madness. When it came to mirth, he had to ask this question what does it accomplish? Mirth means amusement, people say the best medicine is laughter but this king calls it madness. He tested his heart with all kinds of pleasure but realized that vanity was all that it was.
Ecclesiastes 2:10
Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them.
I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure,
For my heart rejoiced in all my labor;
And this was my reward from all my labor.
Ecclesiastes 2:17
Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind.
All these things only caused this king to hate life, he had the very best of everything yet he hated this life that the majority dreams about having. Our life here on earth will quickly fade and how unfortunate if we die and never get to experience the happiness that truly can be found in being a follower of Christ. How unfortunate if we allow ourselves to enter into that grave without giving our heart the most priceless treasure that has ever been known to mankind. Once He inhabits our heart it becomes so full that there is no room for anything earthly within. We will never find ourselves saying we want more of the world rather the continual cry of the heart will be, more of thee.