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was entirely due to disobedience to the Will and Word of God. From his own personal
case he views man as a whole. He weigh over "one by one to find out the cunning
device" which has ensnared them. It is always the same:--
"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be
tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man, but every man is tempted, when he is
drawn away by his own lust, and enticed . . . . . do not err, my beloved brethren"
(James 1: 13-16).
Ecclesiastes is a book in which the problem of good and evil is investigated from
many standpoints. It is a cause for thankfulness that this clear statement is found here.
Man, when he left the hand of his Maker, was upright. The devices for his own undoing
proceeded from himself. Mankind has sought out "many inventions". The apostle Paul
has given a more doctrinal setting to the theme in Rom. 6: & 7:, and speaks of the
dominion of sin in the members of the body, which dominion can be traced back to Adam
by consulting Rom. 5: Paul, James and Koheleth are at one in this, that God is not the
Author of sin or of moral evil. God made man upright. To each of us the experience of
Solomon should be a warning. We may not all be vulnerable at the same point. Solomon
seemed proof against the snare of riches and power. Many who may have been proof
against the alien woman would have lost their heads with half his riches or power. The
world is ever seeking access by means of our members and our carnal nature. We have
the clear word of God as to the character of our calling and the dangers of fellowship
with the unfruitful works of darkness. While we may not fully solve Solomon's own
peculiar enigma, let us see to it that we learn our own lesson, and profit by his example.
One concluding thought. It has been said that the writing of the book of Jonah argues
for his (Jonah's) repentance. The writing of the fifty-first Psalm proves David's deep
contrition. Shall we not also believe that Solomon's eyes were opened at the last, and
that these few verses indicate his justification of God and of the simple truth of His
Word?