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     Some months ago I wrote:

     “If it can be shown that the Bible is from a singular supreme deity and proposes a distinct purpose for mankind with a special standard of morality, then
      (1) it necessarily implies that all other religious writings are inventions of men and will mislead men regarding what the one supreme deity desires for mankind.
     (2) If the deity is our creator and has a purpose for us, then we are obligated to follow the inspired standard in order to satisfy the deity.”

     We have considered a series of articles on the evidences showing the Bible to be inspired by God.  As much as skeptics and atheists, through time, have attempted to discredit the Bible, the evidence for inspiration is irrefutable.  Thus, the Bible being God’s communication to mankind, we have to ask for what purpose did He give it to us?
     In the opening paragraphs, the Bible answers one of the first questions that each person has in his life, “Where did I come from?”  At some point later in life we all question the purpose of our existence — “Why am I here?”  As the Bible opens, the second and third chapter of Genesis give us the answer.  God had created Adam and Eve to obey His will, obvious by the one command He gave to them, “You shall not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil,” (Genesis 2:16-17).  This command reflects God’s intended purpose for man and the obligation each person has to Him.  At the giving of the command, Adam and Eve had fellowship with God, i.e. they had a harmonious relationship with Him.  Had they not eaten of the tree of knowledge, that fellowship would have continued forever.  Adam and Eve decided to live their life as they wanted, ate of the tree of knowledge, thus giving us our current chaotic world.
     Man usually searches for purpose in life by his own means.  Solomon, Israel’s king, who had been given endless wisdom and was the wealthiest and most powerful monarch of his day, wrote that he had set out to discover everything that had been done “under the heaven.”  Initially he stated that all was vanity — for nothing (Ecclesiastes 1:13-14).  He sought the purpose of life in knowledge (1:16) and in experiences of life.  Solomon expounded that he sought purpose in human wisdom (2:15-16), labor (2:9-21), human purpose (2:26), rivalry (4:4), greed (4:8), fame (4:16), gluttony (5:10), covetousness (6:9), frivolity (7:4) and awards (8:10,14).  Repeatedly, Solomon said that it was in vain.  At the end of his search, seeing that after man has lived his life, he dies, Solomon stated, “All is vanity.”  In his quest for purpose in earthly matters, he found none that gave happiness.  So what is our real purpose?  Solomon concluded, “the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

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