Solomon closes out his argument in the book with three admonitions.

For most of human history, the universe was considered timeless and unchanging; no longer. At the Space Telescope Science Institute, on the Johns Hopkins University campus, a constant torrent of data pours in from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Launched 13 months ago, Webb is orbiting 940,000 miles above the earth.

Solomon probes the providence of God and its relationship to human joy and wisdom.

The Social Media phenomenon is staggering in its cultural impact. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and other media forums dominate the time, the energy and the psychology of so many! For many teens, life without social media is unimaginable. When this phenomenon began, only a few years ago, no one envisioned how powerful it would become. Social media is not evil, per se, but it can be both enslaving and harmful. I am reminded of the Apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 6:12: “’All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful’ for me, but I will not be dominated by anything.” [ESV]

Solomon probes the value of living a wise life vs. a foolish one, including how the wise person responds to authority.

To fully understand the development of American civilization, one must come to terms with the strategic role revivals have played. Colonial America was shaped and transformed by the First Great Awakening of the 1740s and the Methodist revival that followed. America of the early national period (1815-1850) was impacted by the Second Great Awakening. You cannot understand the energy for the abolition of slavery, the passion for women’s rights, the temperance movement and other social reform movements without coming to terms with this revival. But what about what is now being called the Asbury Revival in Wilmore, Kentucky? Is this the first major spiritual revival of the 21st century?

Since God’s providence is real, does prosperity evidence God’s blessing and adversity evidence God’s anger?

The Bible has much to say about the careful management of money, property and about wisely preparing for the future. Scripture affirms the wisdom of a balanced budget—whether talking about an individual, a business or the government: Significant debt is unwise and foolish! A few years ago, columnist and economist Robert Samuelson poignantly observed that “It’s getting harder and harder to write these budget columns, because it must be obvious to almost everyone by now that hardly anyone in Washington (or perhaps any place) cares about the budget deficits.

Solomon further explores the mysteries of God’s sovereignty and providence, and the gift of joy that He offers humanity.

The 1973 Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, was a watershed in judicial history. The 7-2 decision established the right of a woman to abort her baby up to the point of viability, usually understood to be during the first trimester of the pregnancy. The Court also permitted other situations where an abortion could occur within the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. The result was that America had one of the most liberal abortion standards in the world. Abortion therefore has been at the center of the culture war battles since 1973.