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Vanity of vanities…all is vanity said the Preacher in Ecclesiastes 1:2 from God's Holy Bible. King Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes under divine inspiration from God. Solomon was King David's son and began his rulership with a humble mindset pleasing God when responding to the dream one night where God appeared to him. Solomon chose wisdom rather than riches or long life as you can see for yourself in 1 Kings 3:5-14. How about us? If God offered and gave you whatever your heart desired over and above all else, what would you choose? It would be difficult to narrow things down to only one thing unless our circumstances were such that we had need of miraculous healing due to a terminal illness, whether of ourself or for a loved one. King Hezekiah was one such person who was granted his request in order to live a further 15 years (2 Kings 20:1-11).
In this example of selflessness we see that Solomon was greatly blessed even though his request was made to benefit his subjects. Would we do the same — consider the needs of others over our own desires? Meditating on this brings to mind scripture in Philippians 2:3-4 instructing us to esteem others before self. Solomon certainly did just that as he took up rulership to succeed his father David who set an excellent example for him to follow when it came to matters of being loyal and faithful to God with a repentant and obedient heart. David's son Solomon was known as the wisest man living in his time because God blessed him with wisdom and we have the book of Proverbs to read as a result. Solomon begins several of these (Proverbs 2 - 7) with instruction as from a loving father to his son. This is wisdom passed down from David to Solomon and reads for us as from God to His children. During King Solomon's life we learn from 1 Kings 4:32 "He [Solomon] spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five". Quite an accomplishment indeed. The 12th chapter completes the book of Ecclesiastes and leaves us with a summation of his wisdom which we would do well to heed.
Another example in the Bible which has always left a lasting impression on me is that of Agur in Proverbs 30:7-9 where the son of Jakeh says "Two things I request of You (deprive me not before I die): remove falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches—feed me with the food allotted to me; lest I be full and deny You, and say, 'Who is the Lord?' Or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my God". Agur made not one but two requests of God. He showed wisdom as the first request would keep deception away while the second part would ensure enough sustenance for each day. He did not want to be greedy and amass great wealth so that he could take his ease like that of the Rich Fool in Luke 12:15-21 where this parable is found. Solomon was the wealthiest man while he lived with 700 wives and 300 concubines who eventually turned his heart away from God in his senior years, and therefore he did not remain faithful to God like his father David. The astonishing evidence of this is detailed in 1 Kings 11. Such a tragically sad ending.
As we live on in these times of great abundance due to the blessings we receive from God and handed down to the English speaking nations because of Abraham, Father of the Faithful, it is quite concerning and rather troubling to see events celebrated by others such as parades of perverts full of pride attended by thousands, sadly with youngsters in tow too young to really understand what is going on. Thankfully our City of Adelaide is not involved with this annual event which boasts of celebrities from far and wide eagerly participating. What shocked me is the knowledge that our Prime Minister was in attendance smiling, waving, marching along in unity thinking he is doing a good thing by being "tolerant". Sorry, I lost all respect for his "better" judgement even though he may be an astute businessman with various talents. We see minds more and more perverted because that is how things go, for they do not stay the same, they increase in perversion and denigrate further, right down into the filthy trash heap where our adversary leads them and gleefully wants them to go.
While Sydney to me is a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah, Adelaide is not off the hook so to speak because we have an annual event going on right now called "The Garden of Unearthly Delights". Just the other day a bus whizzed past us on the road while we caught a glimpse of "The Garden" being touted and promoted in murals on its side. Apparently it is so popular we only need two words to recognise what the advertisers are referring to. On my part there has been no desire to attend anything that goes on in the East-end city parklands where events such as "Gluttony" perform their idea of what constitutes fun and entertainment. Some members of my family have attended and from the brief descriptions given it holds nothing of value to me. Just like God's beautiful rainbow being misused, now the enemy wants to counterfeit God's Garden of Eden and make this into a place of debauchery. Wickedness abounds — one might rightfully ask, what is next?
These days it can be rather challenging to find anything the world offers as wholesome with the tick of approval from God. Yet we are rather excited to learn of one event which recently came to light; that of a picnic on the lawns of Government House on the corner of North Terrace and King William Road right in the heart of our beautiful city. Here is a snippet from the information:
https://southaustralia.com/products/adelaide/event/lunch-on-the-lawns-at-government-house
The online brochure begins with a delightful image and the following welcoming words "Soak up the sunshine this summer on the lawns of Government House Adelaide, when Her Excellency the Governor opens the grounds for the public to enjoy their lunch picnic-style, accompanied by local musicians". Our Governor represents the reigning monarch King Charles III. We had the blessing of being able to have a tour of Government House and the vast grounds some years ago and viewed with interest the suite of rooms where Her Highness Queen Elizabeth II stayed while she visited South Australia. It has been a rather exciting time for me this past week or so anticipating this outing, which incidentally is a free event, with some of our spiritual family who are able to attend. The weather is projected to be warm and gorgeous as the first flush of Autumnal days have begun along with the stunning array of seasonal colours as God changes the leaves from green to orange, red, yellow, and many shades in between. Perhaps we will sit under the shade of one of their beautiful and majestic fig trees enjoying good company, good food, the tasteful music and atmosphere, God willing. Let us make the most of these occasions while we still can.
Until writing this piece I had no real memory of contemplating what I could possibly ask God for if He appeared to me in a dream like that of Solomon. Possibly because it would be too hard to decide or figure out what to ask for. But now I know — the request that came to mind is simple and so obvious now — Revelation 22:20-21.