The Meaning Behind Our Name
Who was Solomon?
Solomon was a king of Israel, the son of king David and Bathsheba. He is most notably known for his writings in Songs of Songs, Proverbs, and although contested by some, the book of Ecclesiastes.
As a young ruler, God appeared to Solomon in a dream asking, “What should I give you?” (1Kings3.5). King Solomon responded with great humility: “ - give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong” (1Kings3.9). Pleased by his answer, God blessed Solomon far beyond what he asked for. 1 Kings 10:23 states: “King Solomon surpassed all of the kings of the world in riches and in wisdom” and “the whole world wanted an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart” (1Kings10:23). 
Each year, King Solomon accumulated 25 tons of gold (1Kings10.14). Today, his net worth would be equivalent to 2.1 trillion dollars. During his reign, Solomon built a temple dedicated to the Lord. Pure gold overlaid the interior (1Kings6.21). Can you imagine such a place? He went on to build a grand palace for himself having every single household item fashioned from gold “because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s days” (1Kings10:21). To facilitate his wealth, King Solomon possessed a robust fleet of trade ships (1Kings9.26).
On top of King Solomon’s material wealth, his army was mighty and revered as they utilized advanced military technology in that day (ie. horses and chariots) (1Kings10.26). He owned vast stretches of land, lush vineyards, grand gardens, and numerous properties (Songs8, 1Kings7, Ecc.2.4-6). He had countless livestock, exotic animals, rare spices, precious jewels, and so much more (1Kings10.22,25). Being such a powerful, high status man, Solomon gained 700 wives and 300 concubines whom he loved, but sadly they turned his heart towards other 'gods' (1Kings11.3-4).
With Solomon’s abundance of wealth, honour, status, love and power considered, you might be asking: what didn’t Solomon have?
What does Solomon teach us?
“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?” These are the words spoken in the beginning of Ecclesiastes, presumably by this thriving King himself (Ecc.1.2-3). Solomon’s words may come as a shock seeing as this man possessed everything his heart desired. This begs the question: how do we find fulfillment if not by attaining our every desire?
Do you find yourself craving more wealth or financial security? More wisdom or the ability to attain personal goals? Is it fame, love, people's praises, or the perfect home that you desire? Have you ever said “If I just had (fill in the blank), I’d be content”? King Solomon had it all in his day and yet, after exploring every possible avenue, he did not see the things of this world as being the solution to fulfilling us. Over and over it’s repeated in Ecclesiastes that apart from God, everything is meaningless. In other words: everything in life lacks inherent purpose without a relationship with the one true living God - the One Whom all blessings flow.
Ecclesiastes teaches us that true fulfillment, contentment and purpose goes far beyond gaining or achieving our worldly desires: “when all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: fear God and keep His commands because this is for all humanity” (Ecc.12.13). True fulfillment, as Solomon urges us to know, is the result of fearing God, having faith in Him, and following Jesus Christ. If Solomon, the wealthiest and wisest of kings, experienced everything ‘under the sun’, shouldn’t his words give pause? Is there something we can learn from his lived experience?
What did Jesus say about Solomon?
Jesus declared that “not even Solomon in all his splendor” was adorned as magnificently as the flowers of the field (Luke12.27). King Solomon was wise, wealthy, greatly honoured, and powerful. We can imagine that his appearance likely reflected his status, yet Jesus stated it fell short to that of a flower. The Bible consistently reveals that you are worth much more to God than fleeting flowers. The greatest example of His love is this: "For rarely will someone die for a just person - though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom5.7-8).
Solomon wasn’t loved more by God because of the great things he did. His wealth, power, honour, or achievements could never bring him true fulfillment nor could they earn his way into a right relationship with God. Likewise, flowers don’t do anything to earn their beauty. They are simply beautiful because they are created by a loving God who chooses to make them that way. He sustains them, not because they deserve it, but because He delights in doing so. If that’s how God clothes the flowers, “how much more will he do for you - you of little faith” (Luke12.28)?
The free gift of eternal life that God offers to all through Jesus Christ is far greater than anything we could imagine. God dearly loves you because He created you (Gen1). He created you in His image for His good purposes (Phil2.13). His purpose for you is to know who He is and to experience His love and grace forever. Will you choose to live in light of that? Or will you live like Solomon, pointlessly searching ‘under the sun’?
♥ Shay & Danica Fehr