Solomon s conclusion to his search of all things under Heaven Solomon was the son of King David. He was the last of the three kings to reign over the entire kingdom of Israel At the beginning of his reign God gave him the opportunity to ask for whatever he wanted. Instead of asking for wealth, long life or for the death of his enemies, Solomon asked for wisdom. 1
1Ki 3:9 "Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours? God granted Solomon s request and more! 1Ki 3:11 Then God said to him: "Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, 12 "behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. 2
13 "And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. Solomon used this great wisdom that God had granted him to make a search of all the things that man does on the earth. He recorded this search for us in the book of Ecclesiastes. Several times thru out the book he records the vanity of things in this life. The things of this life are vain or worthless because they are so temporary. Solomon gives the conclusion to his search in chapter 12 3
He begins chapter 12 with advice to the young. Actually this advice begins at the end of Chapter 11 Ec 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; Walk in the ways of your heart, And in the sight of your eyes; But know that for all these God will bring you into judgment. 10 Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, And put away evil from your flesh, For childhood and youth are vanity. He encourages the young to enjoy their youth while they can because it will not last forever. However, they must remember they will have to answer for the things they do even while they are young! Paul told the Christians at Corinth that all will be judged by how they lived their lives. 4
2Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Since we will have to answer for the things we will do in this life, Solomon tells the young they should put away evil! He continues his advice for the young in Chapter 12 Ec 12:1 Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, "I have no pleasure in them": The best advice ever given the young person is found in :1. Obey God while you are young! 5
Solomon encourages the young to remember their Creator. In the society in which we live many consider the idea of a Creator to be silliness. They believe rather than having a Creator that we have evolved into the beings that we are. If they accepted the idea of a Creator then they would have to accept the fact that we are not our own but instead we belong to the One who created us. If we belong to a Creator then we are accountable to Him. Many reject the fact of a Creator simply because they do not want to be accountable for their actions. All of us would do well to remember that God created us and that we belong to Him! Ps 100:3 Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 6
The young also need to obey God while they are young because you do not have the promise of growing old. We do not know what tomorrow may bring. Jas 4:13 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Pr 27:1 Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth. 7
We hear all of the time about young people passing away None of us are guaranteed tomorrow not even the young! We have wonderful examples in the scriptures of Godly young people who were faithful to God in the face of great problems. They should be a source of encouragement to all of us but especially the young among us! Joseph is one of those examples. He was sold into slavery because his brothers hated him He became a slave in the house of Potiphar in Egypt. He was living in a land where there were few if any followers of the God of the universe. A land very similar to our own in that respect In spite of his surroundings, Joseph did not forsake God. 8
Ge 39:5 So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had in the house and in the field. 6 Thus he left all that he had in Joseph's hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. 7 And it came to pass after these things that his master's wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, "Lie with me. 8 But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. 9
9 "There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? Under these horrible circumstances Joseph was concerned about not sinning against God! Doing what was right in this situation got him thrown in Jail! Joseph was probably about 18-19 years old at this time. David was another wonderful example of a young man doing what was right no matter what others thought about it. Much like Joseph, he had to make a stand for God alone. When David went to check on his brothers at the battle with the Philistines he heard Goliath s challenge to the army of Israel 10
Although the rest of Israel s army is scared of Goliath, listen to the young man David s response 1Sa 17:26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, "What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? David was scolded for this by his own brother. When King Saul hears what David was saying he sends for the young man. 1Sa 17:32 Then David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine." 11
33 And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth." 34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep his father's sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. 36 "Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God." 37 Moreover David said, "The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you! 12
We see David giving God the credit for his victories in the past and having faith that God will give him victory over Goliath! David went alone to face Goliath. No other man went with him. But he wasn t alone. He knew God was on his side! 42 And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. 43 So the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 And the Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!" 13
45 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 "This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 "Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD'S, and He will give you into our hands." 48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hastened and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 14
49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. What a wonderful example David is of a young man, probably 15, 16 or 17 years old willing to make a stand for God when no one else would! The Lord s Church needs some David s today! We need young people who are not afraid to take a stand for what is right when no one else around them will. Young Christians have to face a lot of Goliaths as they grow up in this wicked society in which we all live. They have to face the Goliaths of sin 15
So many terrible sins prevalent in our society have become the norm among young people of our country. The sin of drunkenness The sin of drug abuse The sin of homosexuality The sin of fornication The sin of filthy language These sins and more are being pushed on the young of this nation. Conclusion They are being pushed in the schools, on television, at the movies and in popular music. Sometimes it seems like everyone is involved in these type of sins. It s in times like these that you need to remember your Creator and being willing to stand for what is right even if no one else will stand with you! 16
Conclusion Remember the example of young people like Joseph, David, Esther, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego And remember to serve God while you still can. 17