At times it is not easy to follow what Solomon is trying to bring out. We know that he is speaking with his son Rehoboam in mind and concerned what kind of king he will be and what his responsibilities will be, but at the same time there are further ramifications that can be taken in that we too can learn from.

One truth that Solomon is trying to get across when it comes to his son being king and for any who are in a place of leadership is to see one’s responsibility, to be humble and  come to serve.

Verse 8 “If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still.” Like T.M Moore brings out in his interpretation of verse 8: “ How great is the king’s responsibility? Whatever goes wrong in remote provinces ultimately comes back to him.” Ultimately the king is responsible for his kingdom and what takes places in every part of it.

When I apply this to what has been taking place here in the States with the latest GSA scandal and how  lavishly tax payers money has been spent - it ultimately comes back to the President of the United States. He might not have been personally involved, but, like the king, he is responsible for ‘his kingdom’. Like President Truman said: ‘the buck stops here.’

This is also a lesson for anyone in leadership. It is important to realize our sphere that God has given us and to realize our responsibility within that sphere.

Verse 9 “The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.”  Not only do we need to recognize the parameters of our responsibility, but to succeed in leadership we need to keep in mind the need for humility and being a servant. In a country like the United States where we have elected officials it is important that they know they are there to serve not to dictate. Because of the fallenness of man it is easy to see leadership in terms of dictating rather than serving. Jesus was the perfect example of leadership - He came to serve.

Instructing his son Solomon is going beyond in just having power (being the king and how he needs to see that humility and servanthood makes for success), but also the love of money or wealth is another trap that many fall into. This is also vanity, so says the teacher.

Wealth attracts many friends, but how true is that kind of friendship? We see the reality of verse 11: “When goods increase, they are increased that eat them.” (ASV) We all want friends, because we saw in previous weeklies the importance of community, but we can never buy friends. True friends will come through humility (a strength under control) and learning to be a servant.

We have seen in earlier chapters of Ecclesiastes that wealth and riches will never bring satisfaction or happiness. Once riches have gotten us what we want, or think what we want, we soon find emptiness in our lives and happiness is gone along with our friends. The one who would know what he is talking about is Solomon. He had it all - he has been there and done that….

Solomon who has been through it all - power and influence, wealth, etc.- if these are the end result it will be nothing more than vanity. Not that there is anything wrong in these things individually, but if they are the end results then they become deceitful and destructive. We see this being played out here in the West through our materialism (abundance of things), relativism (no ultimate truth), narcissism (‘me’ generation) and superficiality (not really meaning what we say).

When we see the unhappiness in so many lives, broken homes, suicides and generally unhappiness among so many we realize the truth of Solomon’s words and the importance of a book like Ecclesiastes.