Ecclesiastes Chapter Five
Ecclesiastes 5:1 Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil.
When we enter the house of God, we should have the attitude of being open and ready to listen to God, not to dictate to him what we think he should do.
Ecclesiastes 5:2 Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.
I have heard it said, “It is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and confirm it.” We often say things without thinking through it first. How many of us have made promises we could not keep? Or how many of us have said things we did not mean? How much more should we not do this before God? Let our words be few.
Ecclesiastes 5:3 For the dream comes through much effort and the voice of a fool through many words.
The Message Bible says it this way: “Over-work makes for restless sleep. Over-talk shows you up as a fool.”
Benson has said: “When men’s minds are distracted and oppressed with too much business in the day, they are frequently disturbed with confused and perplexed dreams in the night. And as such dreams proceed from, and are the evidence of, a hurry of business filling the head, so many and hasty words flow from, and are a proof of, folly reigning in the heart.”
Ecclesiastes 5:4 When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow!
Jesus said: "Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your statement be, 'Yes, yes' or 'No, no'; anything beyond these is of evil.” Mat 5:36-37
When you make a vow – you are expected to keep. Say what you mean and mean what you say.
Ecclesiastes 5:5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.
Solomon warns his readers about making foolish promises to God. In Israelite culture, making vows was a serious matter. Vows were voluntary, but once made, they were unbreakable. It is foolish to make a vow you cannot keep or to play games with God by only partially fulfilling your vow. It's better not to vow than to make a vow to God and break it. If you make a vow, keep it. This is plain advice.
Ecclesiastes 5:6 Do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice and destroy the work of your hands?
In the book of James we find: For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. James 3:2 (NASV)
Jesus said: "But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.” Matthew 12:36 (NASV)
It would seem that to keep from sinning in what we say is a very difficult thing to do. Be very careful what you promise to God.
Ecclesiastes 5:7 For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God.
Gill said: “Give no heed to dreams, nor to the many words of men, which are vain and foolish; but keep close to the word of God, and worship him internally and externally, in spirit and in truth; for herein lies the sum and substance of religion.”
Ecclesiastes 5:8 If you see oppression of the poor and denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be shocked at the sight; for one official watches over another official, and there are higher officials over them.
We should not be shocked or amazed when we see injustice in this world. Worldly systems will always fall short of justice and righteousness. It is a system where one person is over another person who has persons over them. When you have a fallen world and those in leadership proceed out of a fallen nature – how can anything be other that flawed?
Ecclesiastes 5:9 After all, a king who cultivates the field is an advantage to the land.
Clarke has said: “The earth, if properly cultivated, is capable of producing food for every living creature; and without cultivation none has a right to expect bread. Without the field he cannot have supplies for his own house; and, unless agriculture flourish, the necessary expenses of the state cannot be defrayed. Thus, God joins the head and feet together; for while the peasant is protected by the king as executor of the laws, the king himself is dependent on the peasant; as the wealth of the nation is the fruit of the laborer’s toil.”
Ecclesiastes 5:10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.
We always want more than we have. Solomon observed that those who spend their lives obsessively seeking after money never find the happiness it promises. Wealth attracts freeloaders and thieves, causes sleeplessness and fear, and ultimately ends in loss because it must be left behind. No matter how much you earn, if you try to create happiness by accumulating wealth, you will never have enough. Money in itself is not wrong, but loving money leads to all sorts of sin. Whatever your financial situation, don't depend on money to make you happy. Instead, use what you have for the Lord.
Ecclesiastes 5:11 When good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the advantage to their owners except to look on?
Clarke has said: “An increase of property always brings an increase of expense, by a multitude of servants; and the owner really possesses no more, and probably enjoys much less, than he did, when every day provided its own bread, and could lay up no store for the next. But if he have more enjoyment, his cares are multiplied; and he has no kind of profit. “This also is vanity.”
Ecclesiastes 5:12 The sleep of the working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much; but the full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep.
Trapp has said: “Sleep is the nurse of nature, the wages that she pays the poor man for his incessant pains. His fare is not so high, his care is not so great, but that without distemper or distraction he can hug his rest most sweetly, and feel no disturbance, until the due time of rising awakeneth him. These labouring men are as sound as a rock, as hungry as hunters, as weary as ever was dog of day, as they say, and therefore no sooner laid in their beds but fast asleep, their hard labour causing easy digestion, and uninterrupted rest. Whereas the restless spirit of the rich wretch rides his body day and night; care of getting, fear of keeping, grief of losing, these three vultures feed upon him continually.”
Ecclesiastes 5:13 There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches being hoarded by their owner to his hurt.
Hoarding can lead to hurt. That which arises from this practice of hoarding is - selfishness, greed and pride. If I have an abundance of wealth – why would I need anyone else?
Ecclesiastes 5:14 When those riches were lost through a bad investment and he had fathered a son, then there was nothing to support him.
That which is gathered can often be lost. A bad investment can wipe out a bank account. If the stock market should crash – one day a prince the next a pauper. What then will have left to leave your children?
Ecclesiastes 5:15 As he had come naked from his mother's womb, so will he return as he came. He will take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand.
Job said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD." Job 1:21 (NASB)
I came into this world carrying no wallet or purse. I will leave in the same way. That which is left in the bank account – will mean nothing to me.
Ecclesiastes 5:16 This also is a grievous evil--exactly as a man is born, thus will he die. So what is the advantage to him who toils for the wind?
That which is born must die – for to everything there is a season – a time to be born and a time to die. After all of the work and toil that is done on earth – everyone reaches the same end. What advantage does one person have over another?
Ecclesiastes 5:17 Throughout his life he also eats in darkness with great vexation, sickness and anger.
The worldling has no experience with the light therefore he “eats in darkness”. But the truth is – those who walk in darkness can see a great light if they will but open their eyes. Walking in darkness leads to sorrow, sadness, and sickness.
Ecclesiastes 5:18 Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one's labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward.
If there is no future life – you might as well enjoy what little you can while you can. There is no reward beyond that.
Ecclesiastes 5:19 Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God.
God wants us to view what we have (whether it is much or little) with the right perspective—our possessions are a gift from God. Although they are not the source of joy, they are a reason to rejoice because every good thing comes from God. We should focus more on the Giver than the gift. We should be content with what we have when we realize that in God we have everything we need.
Ecclesiastes 5:20 For he will not often consider the years of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart.
Matthew Henry has said: “Life is God's gift. We must not view our calling as a drudgery, but take pleasure in the calling where God puts us. A cheerful spirit is a great blessing; it makes employments easy, and afflictions light. Having made a proper use of riches, a man will remember the days of his past life with pleasure. The manner in which Solomon refers to God as the Giver, both of life and its enjoyments, shows they ought to be received and to be used, consistently with his will, and to his glory. Let this passage recommend to all the kind words of the merciful Redeemer, “Labour not for the meat that perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life.” Christ is the Bread of life, the only food of the soul. All are invited to partake of this heavenly provision.”
