Apes and Peacocks

A study from the book of Ecclesiastes

The Magnificence of Solomon

It’s very interesting that right in the middle of the Bible there is an “income tax return” .It isn’t very long, but it is rather impressive. Sources of income are shown and then some entertainment items, apparently to be deducted, “Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and three-score and six talents of gold (2 Chron. 9:13). In our monetary standard, this adds up to $20,479,500; and even by modern standards and inflation, this is not bad!

“Beside that which chapmen and merchants brought ....” “Chapman” is an old English word for people who were conquered and taxed. Solomon engaged in various businesses, and the merchantmen who were in business with him also brought in money. “And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon. And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of beaten gold went to one target.” (verses 14,15)

When you get so much money, you have to do something with it. The ancient Greeks had a custom of converting a large accumulation of gold into shields and spears or other paraphernalia. Following this custom, Solomon made “three hundred shields of beaten gold; three hundred shekels of gold went to one shield. And the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon” (verse 16). This was one of his out-of-town hunting lodges.

“Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold” (verse 17).

The man about whom this is written was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Obviously, he was the most glamorous king that the Jews ever had. While we do not know exactly when he got out of fellowship with God, there are one or two passages of Scripture that give us some indication. One thing is clear from verse 17: an ivory and gold throne was not for comfort. For this, he would have chosen something like a rocking chair! Anyone who makes for himself an ivory chair overlaid with gold does so for one reason only — for a status symbol to satisfy the ego. Now the throne itself was only a part of it. “And there were six steps to the throne, with a footstool of gold fastened to the throne....” In other words, if you got that close to Solomon, you got there by kneeling. That footstool was for people to kneel in front of him! “...and stays (vails) on each side of the sitting place, and two lions standing by the stays: and twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps. There was not the like made in any kingdom” (verses 18,19).

Solomon also went in for some rather beautiful appointments for his banquet tables. “And all the drinking vessels of king Solomon were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold: none were of silver; it was not any thing accounted of in the days of Solomon. For the king’s ships went to Tarshish (Spain, one of the famous smeltering centres of the ancient world) with the servants of Huram (Hiram, king of Tyre); every three years once came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes and peacocks” (verse 20-21). Not elephants and lions, not tigers and pythons — but APES AND PEACOCKS! Can’t you just see one of these ships unloading? Peacocks strutting down the gangplank, each with a slave leading it; and large cages with ages scratching, howling (for they are not people, and never will be — there is a great gap between them)!

The apes and peacocks were the ultimate in status symbols, the final touch in Solomon’s extravaganzas. “And king Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom” (verse 22).

Now, this wisdom was from God:

“and all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, that God had put in his heart (mind) (verse 23).

A Guarantee For Happiness

As Solomon had approached the throne, he recognised immediately the magnitude of the task ahead of him. He sought the Lord, and offered burnt offerings unto Him at the brazen altar of the Tabernacle (2 Chron. 1:6). As a result, God appeared to him and offered him whatever he should ask (verse 7). Solomon answered, “Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great” (verse 10)? God was pleased with his request and granted him his desire above anything he could have dreamed: “Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honor, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like.” (verse 12).

Then God added a promise, which would be a guarantee for happiness: “And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days” (1 Kings 3:14). Solomon was to function daily under the “grace apparatus perception” — that is, he was to take in Bible doctrine, transfer it by faith to his human spirit, and exhale it toward God and toward man. Although Solomon was granted divine wisdom, like the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 2:40, 52), it had to grow and develop under Bible teaching, just as does ours (1 Kings 2; Prov. 1:1-5).

Solomon started out great: from Bible doctrine in his human spirit, he began to erect an “edification complex” in his soul. He was grace oriented: “Who am I, “ he said, “that I should build him (God) a house....” (2 Chron. 2:6)? He had the mastery of the details of life: “Because....thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honor...” (2 Chron. 1:11). He had a relaxed mental attitude, free from mental attitude sins: “There hath not failed one word of all his good promise, “ Solomon declared (1 Kings 8:56); and he admonished his people, “Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God.… to keep his commandments...” (1 Kings 8:61).

He demonstrated the capacity to love God when he determined “to build an house for the name of the Lord.” (2 Chron. 2:1); capacity for friendship (1 Kings 2:7); and he even had the capacity to love the opposite sex until promiscuity destroyed it. Finally, we see the “top floor” of his edification complex in the statement of the Queen Sheba in 2 Chronicles 9:7,8 - inner happiness: “Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee...” In other words, the Queen of Sheba realised that it is the wisdom of God which makes people happy. She saw the reflected glory of God through Solomon’s edification complex, and she believed in the Lord! (Matt. 12:42).

Unhappily, there came a time when Solomon’s head was turned, and he went on a carnal binge. “And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, harness, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year. And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses (quite a rancher!), and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. And he reigned over all the kings from the river (Euphrates) even unto the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycamore trees that are in the plains in abundance. And they brought unto Solomon horses out of Egypt, and out of all lands” (2 Chron. 9:24-28).

From this passage, you get the impression that Solomon was not only rich, but getting richer by the minute: yet somewhere along the line, the mental attitude sin of pride started him on a downward path. Now remember, he is born again; he is a saved man; but he got out of fellowship and failed to rebound. I don’t know exactly where or when; but I can tell you he was out from the “apes and peacocks.”

Now there is nothing wrong with having an income of twenty million dollars a year — even for a believer — provided he comes by it honestly. It is not a sin to be rich; but 1 Tim. 6:9, 10 says you have to be careful that money doesn’t turn your head. Two things got to Solomon: money and women! He had a thousand women and twenty million a year income, and the result was that he got out of fellowship; he quit functioning on the “grace apparatus for perception", and the erection of his edification complex came to a screeching halt!

The Grace Apparatus For Perception

God gives every believer a “grace apparatus” by which to learn and understand doctrine and by which to live in the angelic conflict. Although it was somewhat different in the Old Testament, every believer in the Church Age is the recipient of the human spirit and the indwelling Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation. This is strictly grace; no believer earns or deserves such a gift! The human spirit is the means of storing and using doctrine; the Holy Spirit is the means of understanding doctrine. God has further provided by grace the completed canon of Scripture, which is the “mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16); He has authorized the local church (Heb. 10:25) and the gift of Pastor-teacher (Eph. 4:11) to communicate doctrine in the local assembly by isagogics (historical background), categories and exegesis.

It is generally assumed that human I.Q. also determines the ability to learn in the spiritual realm. But grace would not be grace if every believer did not have the same ability to learn and understand doctrine. The difference in believers is in volition — whether they are positive or negative toward doctrine! When the grace apparatus is functioning properly, doctrine goes into the perceptive lobe of the mind in the filling of the Spirit; here it becomes “gnosis", or knowledge understood. This, however, is not the final target in “GAP”; for at this point you neither agree nor disagree — you merely understand what is communicated.

Now volition becomes an issue. Before doctrine can do any good, it must be believed. Positive volition expresses itself in a way compatible with grace, and that way is FAITH! Therefore, when the doctrine is believed, it is transferred automatically from the perceptive lobe of the mind to the human spirit, where it is stored and becomes “epignosis,” or knowledge fully understood and possessed (Eph. 3:16-19; Col. 1:9, 10). Now, naturally, doctrine is not just to be categorized and stored in the human spirit and left there; it must be utilized. It must be cycled back into the conscience or norm and standard lobe as a frame of reference for new norms and standards and for more advanced doctrine. “Epignosis,” or knowledge believed and fully understood, must also be exhaled toward God and toward man. When this grace apparatus for perception is functioning daily, the believer is built up in the faith and an edification complex is erected in the soul (Eph. 4:12,13; Col. 2:7).

Sin — mental attitude sin, overt sin, and sins of the tongue — put us out of fellowship with the Lord and shut down the function of the grace apparatus. However, the whole grace process can get cranked up again very simply by “rebound”: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). At this point we are filled with the Spirit again; and as we resume the inhale of doctrine, the grace apparatus functions. Solomon failed to rebound. As a result, he went on a carnal binge greater than any of the three or four in which his father, David, engaged. Yet out of his carnal binge came a message for us: the message of the “apes and peacocks.”

The Bible indicates that Solomon was the wealthiest man in the world in his day; yet eventually, he came to the place where everything bored him. He began to look for entertainment in strange and devious ways. Now it is a mater of speculation as to why the apes and peacocks; but here’s a man who had to have peacocks around like Chicago has pigeons; he had to have apes like people have dogs and cats. Why? Somewhere along the line, Solomon got out of fellowship and failed to rebound, with the result that he lost his perspective.

As people move on in the carnal binge, they have a tendency to begin to think and to act just like any unbeliever. Then, suddenly, in the scramble of thinking and acting like and in imitating an unbeliever, they begin to SEEK happiness or to try to create it. You see, when a believer forsakes the source of happiness, it eludes him.

As far as the world is concerned, everyone wants to be happy. Don’t you try to be happy? Perhaps you go out to the golf course because you think it will bring you happiness; but you get mad and upset, so you try do something else.… and something else.… and something else. Maybe it’s swimming, bowling, television, the theatre, clubs, bars, whiskey — seeking happiness. But when you get to the end of the bottle, there’s no happiness; when you get to the end of the day off or the vacation, there’s no happiness! Every morning when you get up, you are determined to find happiness; and every night when you go to bed, you still don’t have happiness. You begin to wonder, “what is this thing called happiness?”

The Place Of Happiness

The world is divided into two kinds of people: unbelievers, who haven’t accepted Christ as Savior, and believers who have: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36). For the unbeliever, the only way of happiness is to get into the “top circle” — that is, in union with Christ. There is no fellowship with God apart from Jesus Christ. The only issue for the unbeliever is a personal relationship to Him: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). The unbeliever can have a certain amount of happiness, but it is superficial and temporary and does not sustain in adversity. Human happiness is unstable and depends on circumstances, people or the acquisition of the details of life. Such happiness often depends on getting one’s way in life or not being crossed. However, boredom, restlessness, instability and frustration all neutralize this human happiness.

For the believer in Jesus Christ, the only place of happiness is in the “bottom circle,” in fellowship, where Solomon started. But don’t ever be deluded into thinking that there is such a thing as instant or automatic happiness, even for the believer. HAPPINESS FOR THE BELIEVER IS POTENTIAL!

The Design Of Happiness

God has designed happiness in the Christian life to be a permanent and stabilized MENTAL ATTITUDE, which does not depend on emotion, persons, things or happenings. Therefore, it is an inner happiness (+H) that sustains in the most difficult circumstances of life. From eternity past, God has always possessed perfect happiness. It is an integral part of His character. Grace is the expression of God’s perfect happiness; hence, grace is the source of our perfect happiness.

God desired to share His happiness with mankind in time — “.… that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves” (John 17:13). To do so, God must share something of His mental attitude and character with man. In grace, God found a way to share His happiness; BUT THIS HAPPINESS IS CONFINED TO THE PLAN OF GOD. It must first of all come through salvation (Eph. 2:8-9), then through the daily function of GAP. The ultimate of inner happiness in time is the erection of the edification complex of the soul, and this is accomplished through the function of the grace apparatus. The +H or top “floor of the edification complex provides the capacity to enjoy both the details of life and at the same time to enjoy a relationship with God. “These things write we unto you, that your joy may be full” (1 John 1:4)

By his own volition, Solomon put himself outside the bottom circle, outside the plan of God for his life. He is under the concept of apes and peacocks; he is going to try to find happiness apart from God. He began his reign by building the house of God — the first Temple — and he ended it by constructing houses and palaces for himself and his own pleasure. He began his reign with revival, and he terminated his reign with entertainment. Some of the most fantastic entertainment offered in the ancient world was offered at Solomon’s parties, where he even turned loose apes and peacocks.

He began his reign by concern over spiritual things, and he ended by occupation with temporal things. Although he did not lose his salvation at any point, Solomon is one of those tragic cases in history of a believer with the greatest potential for reflecting the glory of God as few other believers have ever had; yet he failed completely and totally. There are two books that record Solomon, and his philosophy of life in seeking happiness is recorded in the Book of Ecclesiastes. We will take the latter, Ecclesiastes and see the story of the apes and peacocks.

Solomon’s Autobiography

The Book of Ecclesiastes is the autobiography of Solomon out of fellowship. What did he think? Well, he thought in terms of “apes and peacocks” .He became indifferent to spiritual things and went on a frantic search for happiness. The more avenues he explored for happiness, the more “scar tissue” he put on his soul. Scar Tissue on the soul leads to a frantic search for happiness in the details of life, and winds up in frustrated lusts, and finally, total misery. For the believer minus doctrine, the details of life only compound the misery; there is no capacity for either happiness or love apart from doctrine in the soul.

So the story of Solomon is the story of entertainment, the story of living it up, the story of having everything he ever dreamed about within his grasp; yet having these things, he did not have happiness. And this story is recorded in order to save you time and trouble and, if you have it, money; for Solomon tried everything, that is except the grace solution: rebound, faith-rest, occupation with Christ — the whole GAP process! In Ecclesiastes, he describes eight different things which he tried in order to achieve happiness; and in none of these did he ever find it.

The Man With A Message

Ecclesiastes 1:1: “The words of the Preacher.....” Solomon was not a preacher; he was a king; and Ecclesiastes is not the words of a preacher, unless the preacher is absolutely empty and totally devoid of doctrine, for nine-tenths of this Book records human viewpoint. Nine-tenths of the things in Ecclesiastes are contrary to the doctrine of the Word of God. They are IN the Word of God; they are a part of the Word of God; but this Book records what a person thinks when he is seeking happiness apart from doctrine, and trying with all of his might to find a substitute for fellowship with God. So, the first thing we have to do is to discover a more literal translation for the word “preacher” .

There is a phrase in the New Testament, “preach the word” (2 Tim. 4:2); but in the strict sense of the word, it isn’t a “preacher” who preaches the Word; it is a pastor, and he preaches the Word by teaching the Word. Solomon wasn’t a preacher; but he certainly had a tremendous message! That is what the word means here— “The words of the MAN WITH A MESSAGE.”

Now we know three things about Solomon: he was a king; he was the richest man in the world; and he had a message. His message was the testimony of a believer seeking happiness while he was out of fellowship. “The words of the man with a message, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.” Solomon renders the verdict from his testimony first: “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity” (verse 2). The word “vanity “ means emptiness", and Solomon concludes that all of the time that he logged out of fellowship was emptiness. Now this doesn’t sound like any glowing testimony — and it isn’t !This is the way a person feels when he is out of fellowship. Without doctrine, “What profit (happiness) hath a man of all his labor which he taketh under the sun?” Solomon asks (verse 3); and he will go on to demonstrate that there is none!

After stating his conclusion in verses 2 and 3, he continues in verses 4 through 10 to set forth his reasoning by four interesting principles from nature. Life out of fellowship with God is like cycles in nature which always go back to the same thing. “One generation passivity away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever” ( verse 4). With every passing generation, the earth keeps right on going. One generation comes along trying to find happiness apart from God, and it disappears. Another generation comes along and makes the same mistake; then another, and another; and history continually repeats itself, so that we conclude with Hegel: “We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.”

“The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose” (verse 5). Here is a description of the rotation of the earth. As the earth rotates, the sun goes down; and as it continues its rotation, the sun comes up, then down again. In other words, the earth is just going around and around and around — and so are a lot of people on it!

His next illustration is a cycle that the Air Force uses to a great extent — winds aloft. “The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north: it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.” (verse 6). The wind travels in circles or currents. This is just like a lot of people who are seeking happiness without God; they are going around and around and around, but always coming back to the same place — no happiness.

Finally, the last illustration: “All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full.....” Why? Because the sun hits it and evaporates the water. “… unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.” (verse 7). When the water evaporates, it goes into the air, it forms cumulo-nimbus, and it moves over land; it precipitates, then rolls down into the sea; the sun hits it, and it goes up again. So, as in the other cycles, it goes around and around and around. People seeking happiness without God are on a merry-go-round, a cycle, a rut; they’ll never get anywhere! “.… the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear fill with hearing.” (verse 8).

Substitutes For Fellowship With God

Now we begin eight substitutes for fellowship with God. Here’s the story of apes and peacocks. Solomon, who had everything, was looking for something different, something new, something unusual, something to bring happiness, some fountain of youth, some source of perpetual stimulation — something whereby he could be happy without God, without concentration on doctrine, without the day by day by day inhale and exhale of Bible doctrine. He lets us in on a secret right from the start, for he soon discovered that “there is no new thing under the sun” (verse 9).

He began on a very high plane; but he got a little lower, and a little lower, and a little lower, until he hit bottom!

Education. He first came to the place where he decided that one can never be successful and happy in life unless he goes to college — and many people are sold on this today! Now there is nothing wrong with higher education per se. But sad to say, it has led a lot of believers astray, and it has confused many people for life. I had rather just be a graduate from elementary school and understand the true facts of life than to have been graduated from some “pinko” school and be confused about everything the rest of my life. I can say to you (because I have had lots of education) that all the education in the world is not worth one second of by-passing fellowship with God; and none of it can fulfil the soul of the believer. It takes BIBLE DOCTRINE to do that! Anything else turns sour and becomes misery.

Now let’s take a look at a man who had a lot more education than most than most of us: “And I gave my heart (mind) to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are under heaven....” (verse 13). To do that requires self-discipline and study, which caused Solomon to conclude, “… this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.” If you want to be educated, you have to study; but let me tell you, it is sore travail! In Ecclesiastes 12:12, Solomon tells what happens to the person who studies too much: “And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” You burn out!

The primary job of the ministry is to study, study, study. That sounds easy to many people; but try sitting down and studying five or six hours a day, and see what it is like! After a few months, you get burned out; you have to get away for a while. Now here’s a man who studied and studied and studied — everything but the Word of God! In fact, he tells us what he did study. But first he tells us his conclusion from all that studying: “I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, all is emptiness and vexation of spirit.” (Eccl. 1:14). “Vexation of spirit is literally “feeding on wind.” How would you like to join me in an eight course dinner made of wind? We’ll have hors d’oeuvres — wind! We’ll have a very special soup — wind! Then we’ll follow with a most unusual salad — wind! Next, we’ll have an entree, like chateaubriand, with everything around it — wind!. Then a marvellous dessert -wind — followed by finger bowls — wind! Finally, we’ll have a demitasse - wind! Then we’ll get up, filled and stagger out of the room. Is that right? I guess we’d say today “hot air” — all was emptiness and a lot of hot air!

Solomon started out in the right direction: he took math, and he turned out to be a great engineer. When he finally got into calculus, he experimented with some interesting projects. He tried to square the circle; and when he found out he couldn’t, he said, “That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.” (verse 15). He got into mathematics of infinity and could never catch up with himself!

He tried another field of study: “I communed with mine own mind, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have totted more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem; yea, my mind had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. and I gave my mind to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly....” (verses 16-17). In terms of modern education, we would say, “I studied psychology and psychiatry.”; “Madness and Folly 1-A; “Madness and Folly 1-B; “Madness and Folly 2-A”; “Madness and Folly 2-B.”

He took the whole course in psychology and psychiatry; and when he finished, he concluded, “I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit” (hot air- feeding on wind). “For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.” (verse 18).

Remember, there is nothing wrong with higher education; there are many advantages to it. But then, again, when any type of academic education becomes a substitute for doctrine or fellowship with God, it is all wrong. In all of his academic life, Solomon did not find the happiness he sought, for he had left God out.

Pleasure. From academics, he tried an entirely different approach to happiness — pleasure. This follows a logical progression. After you have studied all week in school, what do you do? You go out on the weekend and blow your cork; you go out and live it up — a complete change! And that’s exactly what Solomon did. “I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure (“I’m going to find happiness by living it up)....” (Eccl. 2:1).

He started out by saying, “You know, I’m too serious. All this academic training is making me a dull person. I need to relax a little, to laugh now and then.” But he soon discovered, “.… of laughter, It is mad; and of mirth, What doeth it.” (verse 2)?

Finding no happiness in having a laugh now and then (“behold, this is also emptiness” — verse 1), he turned to another form of pleasure: “I sought in my mind to give myself unto WINE, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they do under heaven all the days of their life.” (verse 3). “One day,” he is saying, “I sobered up and realised that I was getting nowhere. I looked around, saw all those empty bottles, and knew that I was wasting my time; that I was becoming nothing but a drunken bum. Oh, I am given a respectable term like “alcoholic.”

Maybe he got in his chariot and ran over a few kids; maybe he went down to the local pub and beat up a few people; maybe he was one of those “noble” alcoholics who quietly went home and beat up his wife — or wives, in this case. It would have been a long fight, for he had seven hundred. One day, he decided to straighten up; but he’s still on the pleasure kick — he’s just going to change his brand!

He decided to start building; and since he had already had a course in engineering, he would have a lot of fun with it. He built castles, aqueducts, roads, many types of building castles, aqueducts, roads, many types of buildings and houses. In fact, some of the things Solomon built lasted for many hundreds of years. He was the first person to find a system of irrigation. He found a way to bring water into Jerusalem so there would always be plenty of it; and he had a lot of fun! But he wasn’t happy!

“I made me great works; I built me houses; I planted me vineyards: I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruits; I made pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees” (verse 4-6).

He was trying to find happiness in ranches and farms. Maybe you have spent all your life in the city, and you long to get out into the wide open spaces, sit under your own fruit trees, and look over the expanse of your acreage! Nearly everyone wants to do that sooner or later. Well, Solomon did it — but it didn’t make him happy! He had to move on to something else.

Possessions. He thought, “What I need to do is to improve the inside of the house. There are lots of things details — which would enhance my way of life.” So in verse 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.” He was a great cattleman, but that didn’t satisfy. He went on to provide himself with all the details of life the human mind could think of.

“I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces…” “Peculiar treasure” means “gems, jewels and unusual, expensive things — apes and peacocks”) .And then he had his “hi-fi”: “I got me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments” (verse 8). In other words, he had two or three orchestras and chorales around. “So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me” (verse 9). This is the grace of God. God promised him he would always have this wisdom, and God “is faithful who promised” (Heb. 10:23)!

Finally in verses 10 and 11, he said, “I can’t go into every type of pleasure I tried — I tried everything — but I can give you a summary”: “And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my mind from any joy; for my mind rejoiced (was stimulated) in all my labor: and this was my portion of all my labor. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and , behold, all was “emptiness and feeding on wind” (all led to dead ends), and there was no profit (happiness) under the sun.” No type of pleasure, no matter how enjoyable it is at the moment, no accomplishment, will ever bring happiness apart from fellowship with God.

Heritage. Since Solomon has tried all these different things with no success, he now decides what he needs is a family; so he starts to have a lot of children running around. Surely this will make him happy! Why, I know people who have actually contemplated suicide because they didn’t have children. God has a purpose for everything. If you don’t have children, forget it! God’s will is best. God KNOWS what He is doing. Children are wonderful, and they are nice to have around; they can give you a lot of pleasure (and a great deal of misery, too); but children are NO SUBSTITUTE FOR DOCTRINE and no substitute for fellowship with God. You will never find happiness in children if you are seeking them just to be happy.

“Yea, I hated all my labor (he is thoroughly disgusted with all the wonderful things he had built) which I had taken under the sun; because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me” (verse 18). Solomon’s reasoning is very objective at this point: “I have built all these wonderful things, I have all this wealth, and now I hate it because I must leave it to my children.” Well, what’s so bad about that, you may be thinking! Suppose your son is a ne’er-do-well, a real jerk! It’s awfully hard to say, “My son is a jerk,” because when you say that, you are saying in essence, “I am a jerk.”

I like the way it is stated in the thundering diction of the King James: “Who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? Yet he shall rule over all my labor wherein I have labored, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is emptiness, too” (verse 19). Why was he concerned? Because he suspected that his son might be a fool; and he was so right! His son, Rehoboam, was such a fool that he split the kingdom. The split was never healed — even to the time the Jews went into captivity.

Although Solomon didn’t live to see how badly his son turned out, he lived long enough to know there was no happiness through heritage. The longer he had lived, and the more he had seen of his son, Rehoboam, the more he would have realised what a dead end having children was toward achieving his goal of happiness.

It is marvellous to depart from this life knowing that your children have done well, particularly as far as the Lord is concerned. But all the pleasure one can derive from children and seeing one’s children become successful, or well married, or whatever it is, will never make up for fellowship with God. It’s a dead end! It’s the same old story — apes and peacocks! Pleasure and boredom — always seeking happiness, but never finding it!

In writing his testimony, he recalls his father, David: “For there is a man whose labor (production) is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity (stability).… .” (verse 21). David had known how to perpetuate his happiness — by continual inhale and exhale of Bible doctrine. He left everything to Solomon; but Solomon has temporarily lost the portion of knowledge of doctrine, application and stability. “For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his mind taketh not rest in the night....” (verse 23). Self-seeking for happiness induces only misery.

Philosophy. Well, education, pleasure, possessions and heritage have been fruitless - what’s next? Philosophy! After you have gone this route, you have to become a philosopher, which is exactly what Solomon did. The entire third chapter deals with Solomon’s philosophy as a substitute for fellowship with God.

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Eccl. 3:1). While his philosophy incorporated considerable wisdom, it wasn’t God’s design for inner happiness.

“There’s a time for everything, “ he says. “A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant (work), and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill (war), and a time to heal (peace); a time to break down, and a time to build up (construction); A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance (recreation); A time to cast away stones (clear the field), and a time to gather stones together (to build); a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away (get rid of things)” (verses 2-6).

As he philosophised, he became aware of time. Life is made up of contrasts, and there is a proper time for everything; but it must not dictate your happiness. So, while Solomon found that there is a time for everything, it wasn’t the answer. This led into other types of philosophy. He became an evolutionist.

“For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath, so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast...” (verse 19).

Now this isn’t true; but it is what Solomon thought at this point. He went to common origin evolution, and therefore, he finally decided that men were animals and animals were sometimes more noble than people. That’s just a philosophy — human viewpoint. He probably had a fine, loyal dog. Everyone else might be down on him, but the dog always wagged his tail. He would pat his dog on the head and think, “People are animals; animals are people.” Did you ever get to that point with your dog or cat? Well, Solomon did, and he decided that they all had a common origin.

From evolution it is a simple matter to go into universalism. This is still off base. “All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again (verse 20). In other words, “We are all brothers under the skin; God is the Father of all, and all are the children of God.” With this view, he could have been president of the National Council of Churches. However, it is an entirely erroneous view. “Ye are all the children of God BY FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS” (Gal. 3:26).

Solomon goes from bad to worse now and gets into agnosticism. He says, “Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth” (verse 21)? He is still thinking of his good old dog — and consequently, he comes to the place of agnosticism. “Who knoweth?” He doesn’t know any more; he has come to the place where he wonders whether or not God really exists.

It is possible, even probable, that when a believer out of fellowship gets into certain types of philosophy, if he is a logical thinker, he is going to become an “unbeliever.” Yet believers who have become agnostics are still saved; they are still born again. You can even become an atheist; but if you once accepted Christ as Savior, you can’t lose your salvation, even though you deny God. This is the meaning of 2 Timothy 2:13: “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”

From agnosticism, Solomon gets to the lowest point yet — humanism. “Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him” (verse 22)? In the philosophy of humanism, man must achieve, man must do it! Humanism leads to socialism, new-dealism and communism. It is the basis of man’s attempts to provide the Millennium apart from the work of Christ. Solomon is born again, and therefore, he is designed for one thing only to satisfy his soul — Bible doctrine. No philosophy in life, no detail can become a satisfactory substitute for fellowship with the Lord!

Money. Unable to find in philosophy the happiness he seeks, he goes on to another experiment — money. Make money, have money, keep money, make more money! Well, let’s see what happens. Chapter 5, verse 10: “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he loveth abundance with increase: this is also emptiness.” His conclusion, then, is that money does not bring happiness; to love making money doesn’t make you happy; there is no permanent happiness in any detail of life.

“When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding with their eyes” (verse 11)? So you have a thousand of this, five hundred of that, and a hundred of something else — what can you do with them? You can look at them, and that’s about it! Did you ever collect stamps? So you had ten thousand stamps — great! You looked at your collection once in a while; then what did you do? You became bored, and you began to wonder into how much money you could turn it. Then you collected something else, and something else, and then what? There might have been a lot of interest while you were collecting certain things, but once you have them, you can just look at them, and that’s all.

One night Solomon took a walk. Since he hired 50,000 people at a time in his construction business, he was probably worried about his money — worried about his income tax. Unable to sleep, he took a walk down by the barracks where these thousands of workers lived. As he walked by, he could hear them snoring. These people had little or nothing — maybe a change of clothing and enough for the next day’s meal; but there they were, sleeping peacefully, while he, Solomon, the richest man in the world, couldn’t sleep!

This evoked the wistful comment of verses 12-15: “The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep (he has insomnia). There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. (In other words, he can’t take it with him.). As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labor, which he may carry away in his hand.”

In Chapter 6, verse 1, Solomon has another thought on the subject: “There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men (who make money).” Maybe right now you have been thinking that you would like to be a rich man. Why? Because you associate it with happiness. You may have wealth, but it will never be the means of a permanent or stabilized happiness. How do we know this? Listen once more to Solomon (and this is recorded for our learning — Rom. 15:4):

“A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is emptiness, and an evil disease” (verse 2).

The “evil disease” is ulcers. As Solomon sits at a table every night in the place of honor, he looks down the long table — 300 on one side, 300 on the other side. The guests are eating pheasant, “pate de foie gras” — everything you can think of that is delicious. He watches them eat and eat and eat, course after course, while he sits at the head of the table all evening with nothing but crackers and milk! “You think money makes me happy?” Solomon asks, “It’s no fun for me to see all that I have made. I buy the best of food, and hundreds of people eat at my table, devouring my food — and me? Well, I, the rich man, can’t even enjoy it!”

Reputation. Since money didn’t work, Solomon thought of something else. Sooner or later everybody with money tries this. “What I need for happiness is to have a great reputation.” So Solomon started working on reputation. It isn’t necessary to go into the details. It isn’t necessary to go into details, but I want you to look at what happened to reputation. “A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death (is better) than the day of one’s birth” (Eccl. 7:1). “If you die with a good reputation, you have it made,” he is saying. That is probably why many wealthy people give away a lot of money.

Solomon probably gave a lot of money to outstanding charities, established a fund at several universities, and put up plaques with his name on them. In this chapter, he says that he first had the idea that it is better to die a success than to go on living unsuccessfully. However, he began to change his line of thinking when making a name for himself didn’t produce happiness. “What’s a good reputation with man if you don’t have a reputation with God?” he reasoned. “The day of death is not better than the day of birth if you are an unbeliever and you are going to hell. What good is a reputation in hell?”

And with this, his thinking began to straighten out. “You know something? he said, “A reputation with man is no good; what you need is a reputation with God.” So in verse 20, he says, “There is not a just man upon the earth, that does good, and sinneth not.” No one has a reputation with God — except the believer in Jesus Christ; so reputation is not the answer. And again, he hit the same dead end — apes and peacocks! It didn’t mean a thing. Wherever you look for happiness apart from Bible doctrine, it’s always a dead end! THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD!

Sex. There is one thing he hasn’t tried yet — sex. The details of this are given in 1 Kings 11:3,4. These two verses describe how Solomon started collecting women. He married 700 of them, and 300 were concubines — one thousand women in his life! Whenever he saw a beautiful woman, he said, “I want her,” and that was it! What was his conclusion? “And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands (the conniving woman): whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her. Behold, this have I found, saith the man with a message, counting one by one (one thousand women all scheming to be first place with Solomon!), to find out the account: Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not; one man among a thousand have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions (ways to sin)” (Eccl. 7:26-29). In other words, he did not find happiness in women. In fact, the Song of Solomon is the story of Solomon’s discipline and misery from his attempt to find happiness in many women.

Perhaps you are thinking, “That’s all wrong. I have found happiness with a woman, or with the opposite sex.” Yes, but happiness must be in its perspective. This happiness cam to you as a by-product of Christianity.

Marriage to the right man or right woman is a divine institution. When the right man marries the right woman, even though they are unbelievers with an otherwise empty life, both can find happiness in that relationship. The are very few instances such as this where any happiness outside the plan of God and the grace of God can actually exist. But here we have an exception: an unbeliever, or even a carnal believer, can find the right woman or right man and have happiness in the relationship.

“Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity (emptiness), which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy emptiness: for that is thy portion in life.” (Eccl. 9:9).

REBOUND

Solomon is a carnal believer, a believer out of fellowship and seeking happiness in sublimation and details of life. In none of the things he tried did he find fulfilment or happiness. They all added up to apes and peacocks — a search for happiness in the unusual, the exotic things of life! One day he woke up to the fact that old age had overtaken him. He realised with a shock that his youth was not only gone, but wasted. He was nothing but a miserable, old man! Was it too late? Was his situation hopeless? So long as you are still alive, believer, God has a purpose for your life.

“Therefore remove sorrow (self-induced misery) from thy heart, and put away evil (carnality) from thy flesh....” How BY REBOUND! 1 John 1:9..…

“Solomon got back in fellowship in his old age. But he left a message for youth. Before YOU get to be an old person, listen to what Solomon had to say:

“Remember now (wherever you are) thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days (old age) come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them” (Eccl. 21:1).

The Creator is Jesus Christ (Col. 1:16), and Solomon is actually saying, “Remember now, Jesus Christ!” How do you remember Jesus Christ?

First of all, if you are an unbeliever, it means to TRUST IN CHRIST for salvation. “Neither is there salvation in any other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). If you want to spend eternity with God, you must remember Jesus Christ NOW. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2). Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

Secondly, if you are born again, you remember Him through the daily function of the grace apparatus for perception: rebound whenever necessary; inhale of doctrine; faith-transfer to the human spirit; exhale toward God through the “left bank” of the soul; and the erection of the edification complex of the soul. This is the basis for fellowship with God in time, and it provides both the capacity and the expression of love toward Jesus Christ.

Description Of Old Age

In Ecclesiastes 12:3, Solomon begins a description of himself as an old man. “In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble....”

The “keepers of the house” are the hands. People often ask, “how old is old?” When you get up some day and discover you can’t hold your hands still — you’re old! You may be 25 years, you can be old! If you consume enough whiskey so that when you get up in the morning you can’t hold your hands still — no matter how many or how few years you have lived — you are old, old, old — miserably old!

We all have to face it, everyone gets old. Natural old age is nothing to fear. With doctrine, old age is the most wonderful time of life. It has been said that youth is wasted on youth; however, to the contrary, old age can be the best part of life. “....and the strong men shall bow themselves....” Strong men” are the legs. When you legs get weak, and you can’t walk a block, you are old. “.… and the grinders (teeth) cease because they are few....”

Teeth often come out in old age. Your physical body has numerous signals for old age! “.… __and those that look out of the windows (eyes) be darkened.” When your eyesight becomes dim, age has overtaken you.

“And the doors (lips) shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low (the digestive system is functioning poorly), and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird (insomnia), and all the daughters of the music shall be brought low” (verse 4). “Daughters of music” is an idiom for the ears. The hearing is bad, and you’re old.

“Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high....” Does it bother you to set up high and look over the tops of buildings? Do mountains bother you? You’re old! “.… and fears shall be in the way....” Do you get afraid about life? Are you fearful about retirement? You’re old! “..… and the almond tree shall flourish (white hair), and the grasshopper shall be a burden...” This describes loss of physical strength. So you can’t do 25 push-ups any more? You’re getting old! “..… and desire shall fail (loss of libido and the power of procreation) : because man goeth to his long home (death), and the mourners go about the streets” (verse 5).

“Or ever the silver cord be loosed....” That’s the spinal cord; your back is no longer straight. You have a permanent hump; and since you can’t straighten up without it hurting, you stop straightening up; you’re old!

“....or the golden bowl (mind) be broken, or the pitcher (heart) be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern (the cardiovascular system gives out)” (verse 6). “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was (the body becomes the chemicals of the soil once more) .....” And now notice, this man is a believer :.… and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it” (verse 7). Only a believer possesses a human spirit (1 Thess. 5:23).

That grand and glorious, glamorous person of the Jewish race — Solomon — is now old; but he has a message for youth: if you spend your youth trying to find happiness apart from fellowship with God, your old age will be miserable, miserable, MISERABLE! You will be miserable. People may bow and scrape in your presence; but behind your back they’ll say, “That old goat!” There is nothing more tragic than old people who no longer have youth or outer beauty as an excuse to get away with complaining, vindictiveness, temper tantrums, and all the other mental attitude sins and sins of the tongue. They have no happiness, no peace, no power. As Solomon put it, they are empty (verse 8).

Sometimes God has to take believers out of this world before they reach old age because they could never have a testimony in old age. But there is a tremendous sphere of spiritual life for older believers — a wonderful challenge — perhaps the greatest of all. We need senior citizens who can demonstrate that old age is the most beautiful time of life. But the one whose entire life has been characterised by selfishness and seeking happiness in the energy of the flesh apart from Bible doctrine, will never make it. Old age will be a dead end, the apes and peacocks will become gruesome, and life will be a complete disillusionment.

RESULT OF REBOUND

“Moreover, because the man with the message was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs (the Book of Proverbs). The man with the message sought to find out acceptable words: and written words of truth (literally)” (verse 9,10). In other words, the secret of happiness, peace and blessing is unbroken fellowship with the Lord. Rebound, and then get back into the Word!

No believer can find happiness apart from Bible doctrine. The believer cannot find happiness by seeking happiness, no matter what he possess. But the believer with Bible doctrine will have the inner happiness designed by God for every believer, so that he will have the capacity to enjoy many things. I believe that this generation of believers has a wonderful opportunity to challenge the world with regard to the problem of old age. Believers living in the Word in old age can know great happiness, can have marvellous inner beauty and power, and can demonstrate in the angelic conflict that it is Jesus Christ and His Word that makes the difference — not the details of life; not the blind alleys in which people seek happiness.

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole of man (not duty; there is no word here for ‘duty’)” (verse 13).

What is the “whole of man” ?It embodies all the techniques available to believers of the Old Testament: rebound, faith-rest, living in the Word, and occupation with Christ, as He was revealed through the sacrifices, the holy days, the structure of the Temple, the written canon as it existed then, the spoken message of the priests, and the teaching of the prophets. Man is incomplete, man is never a whole; man is never happy without the Word of God, without doctrine filling the soul.

“For God shall bring every work (production) unto judgment (evaluation of the believers’ works), with every secret thing (the thoughts), whether good, or whether evil” (verse 14). The believer will be evaluated on the basis of his production (1 Cor. 3:12-15). Everything will be brought into view; everything will be evaluated according to whether it has been done in the filling of the Spirit or in the energy of the flesh.

If, as a believer, you persist in staying out of fellowship and ignoring the Word of God, your life will be characterised by the dead ends of unhappiness, disillusion, selfishness, unkindness, bickering, and self-induced misery. Nothing could be worse, except to lose the ability to think. But for anyone who knows Christ as Savior, this doesn’t have to be true. The answer is in the Word of God and in the grace of God — first in rebound, and then continuing in the daily function of the grace apparatus for perception. Therefore, make it a habit NOW to rebound every time you are out of fellowship; to get into the Word, to live by the Word, to believe the Word, to erect an edification complex in your soul, and consequently, to glorify the Living Word!

Summary of the Doctrine of Happiness

1. Happiness is related to the Essence of God: God always possessed perfect happiness in eternity past. This happiness is a part of the character of God. God is not only perfect, but He possesses perfect and eternal happiness. He is happy also with His perfect plan of grace. Grace is the expression of God’s perfect happiness. Hence, grace is the source of our perfect happiness, when acquired through the grace apparatus of perception.

2. Happiness related to the divine decrees: In eternity past God desired to share His own happiness with man in time. This is only possible through salvation (Psa. 51:12), plus the daily function of grace apparatus of perception in Phase 2 (the Christian life); (Neh 8:10).

3. Happiness is accomplished through grace: In grace God found a way to share His happiness with; therefore, not only is salvation through grace (Eph. 2:8,9), but perception of doctrine is through grace.

4. Such Happiness is confined to the Plan of God: Man enters the plan of God by faith in Christ (John 20:31). However, being saved means that happiness in time is only POTENTIAL — not a REALITY! Salvation does not imply instant or automatic happiness, though salvation may be associated with happiness. Potentiality of happiness only becomes a reality when a believer functions under God’s grace apparatus of perception, and as a result, erects an edification complex in his soul (ECS) (1 John 1:4)

5. The ultimate of Happiness in time: Comes in two ways: the filling of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22) and the top “floor” of the ECS (John 17:17). In eternity, perfect happiness will be automatic, since ultimate sanctification is accompanied by exceeding joy (Jude 24).

6. Recognition of Human Happiness in time: In the devil’s world, there exists a pseudo happiness, which is temporary and superficial. Such happiness depends on details of life or pleasant environment and circumstances. It often depends on getting one’s way in life, or not being crossed. However, boredom, restlessness, instability and frustration neutralize this human happiness. Therefore, human happiness in cosmos diabolicus does not sustain under maximum pressure or adversity.

7. God has designed phase two Happiness to be permanent and stabilized through the edification complex of the soul (John 17: 13,17): The inner happiness (+H) of the ECS provides both the capacity to enjoy the details of life and at the same time to enjoy a relationship with God. This happiness begins with the filling of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22) and reaches the optimum under the ECS; it sustains in the most difficult circumstances of life. Since GAP is the basis for the ECS, GAP is the key to happiness (1 John 1:4).

8. The problem of the plural in the languages: Both the Hebrew “ashere", and the Greek “makarioi,” occur under the translation of “blessed.” Both should be translated happiness’s (plural). The reason: there are two sources of happiness — the filling of the Spirit and the completed ECS.

9. The daily build up of Happiness: Under the priesthood of the believer, the daily function of GAP is the only source of this happiness (Matt. 4:4: Jas. 1:25).

10. Such Happiness protects from disillusion: In the circumstances of life (Phil. 4:11-12); in the details of life (Heb. 13:5,6); and relative to other believers (Heb. 13:5,6);

11. Inner Happiness enhances the capacity for love: Once the top floor of the ECS is constructed, the believer’s capacity for love is intensified. This results in maximum blessing. The fragrance of memory is the basis for happiness, peace and stability (Song, of Sol. 3:1; 4:6; 8:6).

12. Inner Happiness is commanded in the Christian life. (Phil. 4:4): The command is obeyed through GAP (Jer. 15:16: John 13:17: 1 John 1:4).

13. Inner Happiness is provided for phase three — eternity (Jude 24).