Solomon - The Four Causes

Recently in a comment to a post, Michael Thompson revisited the topic of how to do the First Commandment. With this post, we can finally finish the model for the First Commandment...

In a previous post, we saw that Jesus' First Commandment is a cause and the effect is the Second Commandment. Jesus' First and Second Commandments are ONE because they are both halves of causality (cause and effect) . Loving the Lord thy God is a cause and the effect is loving your neighbor as yourself.

Notice, in Mark 12:30, Jesus says the following when explaining the First Commandment:
“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.”

Jesus lists four parts. Actually, every person is made up of these four parts:
Heart – emotion
Soul – spirit
Mind – mental
Strength – physical

From The Lord's Prayer post:
We see that Jesus covered all four areas when He explained to us the perfect prayer...the prayer with maximum profitability.
Mental: Thy Will be done
Physical: daily bread
Emotional: forgive us as we forgive others
Spiritual: lead us not into temptation

Not only are these causes for the individual, these are also causes for the "other body"...

From the The Acts Church post:
Paul refers to the New Testament church as the body. Now look at the four causes of The Acts Church! Acts 2:42 address all four areas for the New Testament Church (body):
Mental - Apostles' Doctrine
Emotion - Fellowship
Physical - Breaking of bread
Spirit – Prayers

Is it surprising that the same principle would be true for the New Testament Church (body) as it is for the New Testament individual body?

Whether it is the individual doing the First Commandment or the New Testament Church: When the body is operating in all four areas, then the effects of a believing body are seen:

Acts 2:43-47
“And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily as should be saved.”

In the article "Is God Judging the U.S.?" we saw that the Bible says God's judgment of Sodom was for four causes:
“Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and the needy.” (Ezekiel 16:49)

Notice, these four causes of judgment address the four areas:
Mental - idleness
Emotion - pride
Physical - fullness of bread
Spirit – not strengthen poor and needy

The same article shows how Jesus was the best at fulfilling the four causes and therefore was the best at the First Commandment. In fact, now we see why the post on Matthew 6 shows Jesus offering Spiritual Reward for helping the poor and needy.

If a person is doing these four causes of judgment, then God is not flowing through them. They are doing the opposite of the First Commandment and the proof is that the Second Commandment (love) won't show up in their actions. Can judgment be reversed?

In that same article on God judging the U.S., Nineveh is used as an example of how to overcome the judgment by addressing the four causes:
"After Jonah prophesied, the Bible says in Jonah 3:5-8, the king decreed people should humble themselves, fast, pray, and stop committing violence. Nineveh averted God’s proclamation to destroy their city by reversing at least three, and possibly all four, of the causes God gave for overthrowing Sodom."

If you look at Ecclesiastes, how many of the four causes did Solomon address? Here is a verse (or so) summary from Ecclesiastes in response to each of the four causes of judgment.

Mental - idleness
"For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow." (Ecclesiastes 1:18)

Solomon repeatedly states it is all pointless and unprofitable to try to understand.


Physical - fullness of bread
"There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God." (Ecclesiastes 2:24)

Solomon repeats this conclusion several times.


Spirit – not strengthen poor and needy
Solomon focuses on strengthening himself. Look at how each verse in Chapter 2 from verses 4 through 8 begin:
"I made me..."
"I made me..."
"I made me..."
"I got me..."
"I gathered me..."

Verse 9: "So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me."

Obviously this didn't make Solomon happy. So did he focus on giving to others? Notice what Solomon says when he recognizes there are poor and needy:
"So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter." (Ecclesiastes 4:1)

However, what is Solomon's solution?
"If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they. Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field." (Ecclesiastes 5:8-9)

Solomon begins by speaking about the poor being oppressed and somehow transitions to seeing the role of the king is to be served by all...not to serve. Clearly, Solomon is not a leader.

Why were ALL of Solomon's works focused on facilitating his own purpose and progress, instead of the purpose and progress of others?...especially the poor and the needy? When one reads Ecclesiastes with this thought, it becomes obvious that Solomon had a "blind spot" when it came to helping the poor and needy...yet he repeatedly states that he has looked into everything.


Emotion - pride
"I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit." (Ecclesiastes 1:14)

"Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity." (Ecclesiastes 12:8)

Solomon repeatedly says he has considered ALL and EVERYTHING, yet we saw that he didn't consider strengthening the arm of the needy and poor...

(Bonus: read Ecclesiastes and look at Solomon with respect to the four God-given principles. You will notice he is not contrastive: he didn't consider he was wrong and look to strengthen the arm of the poor...he didn't have anyone who could tell him he was wrong. He celebrates contradiction and lack of causality because his focus is physical. The contradictions are removed and events are knowable if he would account for the spiritual. His solution is to focus on comfort and give up growing because profitability isn't possible...which is factual if you only focus on the physical.)

Solomon was judged even though God gave him wisdom and blessed him. We saw that Ecclesiastes ends with Solomon having "head knowledge" of what is right...but it doesn't come out in his actions. In reality, Solomon valued the physical and measured progress relative to how well he and others were doing physically.

Some people want to believe that "Christians" can't get judged regardless of their actions as long as they say they are a believer. They want to say that Jesus' death prevented believers from having to pay for their actions against others. In effect, these people are valuing "head knowledge" over Fellowship with God.

The point of the judgment article was to say that God is judging the U.S. even though we are a "Christian" nation because we are opposing God's four causes of judgment...which are the opposite of the four causes for the First Commandment. Why would Jesus tell us to do the First Commandment, yet let us off the hook if we do the opposite of the First Commandment? We've seen God's metric is profitability...not appearance. This measure is still true for everyone...regardless of belief.

If you look at "Christians" today, how many of the four causes do we address?

Are we spending our time thinking about the Apostles' Doctrine, discussing it, changing our beliefs, and considering we are wrong? Or are we idle (unprofitable) in our thoughts because we think on tradition, appearance, and the physical?

Are we spending our time in Fellowship, inviting people to tell us where we are wrong, and considering we are wrong? Or are we in pride, not able to consider we are wrong, and focused on requiring others to forgive us while not forgiving others?

Are we spending our time truly helping people improve their lives, creating, and being profitable? Or are we focused on judging others, destruction, and justifying ourselves by pointing to a minority of people we've "helped" while a majority of the people we know are lacking in progress?

Are we spending our time breaking bread with others to discuss all of this? Or are we gluttons and loners?


David Taube (a reader) contacted me and shared the following:

"Faith and grace are key to the salvation model.

All the law hang on the two greatest commandments.

I saw faith in the first commandment because it deals with God, who is the substance of things hoped for, and the Bible is evidence of things not seen.

I saw grace in the second because if you grow in faith (obey the 1st, cause) you will be divinely influenced and its reflection is love (effect)."


It ACTUALLY is the perfect conclusion to the topic initiated by another reader (Michael Thompson). I suppose it is only fitting for a reader to conclude this topic when it was a reader who initiated this topic.

The ultimate proof that we have lost our way is a belief in "One Way Justice"...which we will cover tomorrow.

Next Post: One Way Justice