- I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. -
“Hunter.”
“Yes, reader?”
“Please, how are you going to split the hairs between a vineyard and a garden?”
“One’s for commerce and the other is the ideal home for mankind.”
“Fine! Just get on with it!”
“Gladly.”
Kidding aside, you should pay attention when the Bible talks about gardens. Why? Well as I alluded above, they’re the place God made for us when everything was perfect!
Now what exactly is a garden? Sure, it’s a place where we grow plants, nicely done Sherlock, but there’s more to it beneath the surface.
Nature is a place filled with cruelty, indifference, sustenance, and serenity. Mankind’s existence has primarily consisted of harvesting the latter while keeping the former at bay.
A garden, especially one with walls, is precisely that action. It’s holding back the natural world while allowing it to flourish in a reasonable and useful system.
The Garden of Eden reflects this idea, except for one crucial difference; it was constructed by God.
Now Solomon makes both gardens and parks. What’s the difference?
Well, it’s slight, but a garden is typically used to grow vegetables and fruits whereas a park is used for recreation and leisure, though Solomon tells us he has fruit trees in the park too.
Solomon taps into the sustenance of a garden and the serenity of a park. Undoubtedly, his people were the beneficiaries of these achievements.
In addition, Solomon also provides them with their own water supply. He has made pools that either water the trees themselves or are close enough so servants can use the water efficiently.
With planning and foresight, Solomon has incorporated the best parts of nature with the best parts of culture. It’s what a king is supposed to do.
Now, what’s the vanity involved with these actions?
Well, we typically undertake projects akin to these thinking about future generations. We don’t just build parks and gardens for our needs now.
They are preparations for the future, one we hope will outlives us.
What happened to Israel after Solomon died? Yep, the entire kingdom split. A little bit after that, the Babylonians sacked it.
Perhaps the gardens and parks still remain today, but if they do, it’s in the form of a remnant, something unrecognizable or unknown to us.
What’s the idea here? The effort, know-how, and achievement of all those people before us, providing for generations to come by taming the cruelties of nature, has all fallen to ruin.
Look, this would be less sad if the gardens or parks were inefficient, and they were remade to take advantage of new technology.
That’s not what happened. They were destroyed or fell apart, best we can tell.
What’s the takeaway for us?
Don’t get too attached. This world is not our home.
Should you try to make this world better for others? Yes.
Does that mean you deserve a legacy? Nobody gets one of those given enough time.
Keep your focus on eternal matters and focus on the glory God is to receive.
Your role in this temporary life may be to lift someone up rather than be the person forgotten.