Daily Devotions
Ecclesiastes
"So I became great"
Text: Ecclesiastes 2:9
SEEKING GREATNESS
Some seek after greatness in life. Solomon was caught up with this vein of thought as well. And he achieved a great deal of greatness by human standards.
“So I became great and excelled more than all who were
before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.
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 labour;
And this was my reward from all my labour.”
Ecclesiastes 2:9-10
1. “So I became great”
a) There were others who may rightly be considered “great” as well.
b) Solomon wrote with candour and said plainly, that he excelled more than all who were before him in Jerusalem.
c) Greatness in the ancient days may be defined along the following lines:
i) Wealth
ii) Status in life
iii) Power
iv) Fame
v) Achievements
These continue to be the yardstick for measuring “greatness” even today.
2. Special notations:
a) “Wisdom remained with me”
Wisdom may be further defined as:
i) Intellectual capacity.
ii) Width and depth Knowledge.
iii) Discernment and perception.
b) “Pleasure”
i) He did not lose the joy of life.
ii) He was able to write that he was able to find pleasure in what he did.
c) “Joy”
i) His joy was found in his labour.
ii) His joy was well-earned.
iii) He saw joy as his reward for all the effort put in.
But had Solomon found what he was looking for in his life?