King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. All these other kings sought audience with him to hear his wisdom and admire his opulence, Year after year people came bringing silver and gold, and rich robes, and weapons and spices, and horses and mules. Solomon had twelve thousand horses kept in four thousand stalls along with his thousands of chariots. These horses and chariots were scattered throughout the land in chariot cities. He ruled from the land of the Philistines to the border of Egypt. Silver became as common in Jerusalem as stones (from 2 Chron. 9:22-26).
I can understand gold, silver, ivory, and rich robes, but apes and peacocks? We know that Solomon had lions on each side of his throne (2 Chron 9:18) so perhaps apes and peacocks lent a certain exotic air. Some have speculated that the apes were a part of an ongoing research to combat the popular paganistic teaching of evolution in the surrounding area. As far as peacocks are concerned, even though they are dirty, obnoxious, and noisy, when the cock raises his tail one stands in awe of the splendor of its iridescent colors.
My personal opinion is that the apes and peacocks were strictly for display. However, in the end Solomon admitted that all this display was vanity and chasing the wind, and his final conclusion was, "Everything you were taught can be put in a few words. Respect and obey God! This is what life is all about. God will judge everything we do, even what was done in secret, whether good or bad" (Eccl. 12:1, 9, 12, 13, 14, Contemporary English Version). Solomon, the wisest man, admitted that all his possessions, all his wealth, all his display of lions, apes, and peacocks were worthless. Could it be that much of what we do and what we accumulate are of the same ilk? Yes, we live in a technological world of labor saving devices which are considered necessities, but we are prone to invest our time and resources in frivolity. Keeping up with the Joneses is still a tempting pursuit, and happiness through entertainment seems to be the goal of life.
Perhaps we, on which the 'end of the world is come,' need to reexamine our priorities so that we spend more effort and time in respecting and obeying God and His work and less on apes and peacocks.
