Bible Men: King Solomon: Notes On the Meaning of Vanity

In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. 1Ki 3:5 

God the Father

God is a gracious giver because he’s the Father and we are his children. It is his nature to give because he’s caring. Like a young chic we open our mouths daily expecting that he will give us food.

I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. Psa 81:10  

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Mat 7:11 

To Abraham he said: “For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever” (Gen 13:15).  And to Joshua he said: “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.” (Jos 1:3). And to Moses he said, “What is that in thine hand?”

God is quite prodigious. He gives and gives and gives. He sows even among thorns and the hedge ways. Where are you right now and what do you want?” The whole accent of the scriptures is predicated on asking.

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: Mat 7:8 

Pray (ask) without ceasing. Do not faint.

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Jer 33:3  

And the apostle encouraged: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Php 4:6).  

God has opened his heart. So why don’t we ask?

We Fear to Ask Because We Fear to Be Known

Partly I think it’s because we don’t know God. And from childhood we are taught to be suspicious of strangers. The other reason is pride. Who is God that I should obey him? “So he died to save me? Did I ask him?” Children have asked their parents harder questions. And Cain asked God: “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Why We Are All Prodigals

This young man sat down once and thought hard on life. He was a man at last and capable of thinking for himself. The world was beckoning and the atmosphere at home was stifling. So he stood up and faced his father. “Give me what is mine.” A true African father should’ve killed him on the spot. But his father gave him. He brashly asked for it and he brashly spent it.

Nevertheless the prodigals make very loyal believers once they have come to themselves. They have been to the pigsty and they know how it smells. It’s why the Father never gives up on them. It’s why he goes out hunting for the one lost sheep even up to this day. It’s why he’s ever on the lookout. It’s why every day he whispers: “Where art thou?”

The Fall and Vanity

Being vain therefore has the spiritual sense of being separated from God (living as strangers), or being alien to what is good, to embracing a life that is “useless.” As long as the prodigal was at home living with his father he was doing well. His journey to being vain started when he left.

So after the fall man inherited the world of “thorns” and “ashes and dust” to this day (Gen 3:14-19). The heart of man became inclined more towards evil than good. “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do” (Rom 7:19). In short man became vain and only God can save him from his condition.

For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope. Rom 8:20 

I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. Ecc 3:10-11    

Asking is easy, but sin has made it harder. It is the dust which has settled on the heart’s window sill. You brush it off today but following day there’s another layer.

Solomon started well. The heart was young and the dew of youth kept it cleansed. But he grew big, and the ruts of the heart grew wide. Vanity crept on him without his knowledge. Fortunately God rescued him just before the world completely swallowed him.

God means that we should all be happy up to this day. He didn’t leave us alone but he gave us Christ our “hope of glory.” His wish is that no one should perish but that all should inherit eternal life in the end (John 3:16).

Do you know what you want from life and have you asked God for it? Please keep asking and don’t give up until you get it.

Desiring God is the Chief End of Man

To some the idea of being intimate with God sounds scary. To say like David “Thou hast searched me, and known me” feels too intimidating. Why? Because we fear to come to the light. We fear our deeds will be known. So we spend our days as a tale that is told. It sounds liberating, but in truth it’s a terrible jail.

In contrast it is the life of being known that’s really liberating. Just try lying and see how soon one gets tied in knots. That’s why Christ came to get us out of our prisons. He came so our true potential may come out of hiding. So if God appeared to you in a dream tonight saying: “Ask what I shall give thee” what would you answer him?

Bartimaeus knew. He shouted over the din of the people that he might see and Christ granted him his wish. God grant that no fear will prevent you from asking what you want too.