Ecclesiastes Part 08

In Ecclesiastes 5:1–7, Solomon discusses fearing God and the vanity of many dreams and words. The phrase “walk prudently” (verse 1) means “guard your feet” or watch your step. The context is that of going to “the house of God.” In Solomon’s time, that meant going to worship God at the temple. Today, the house of God is the spiritual temple made up of His people, which is the Church (Ephesians 2:19–22; 1 Timothy 3:15). The mention of God being in heaven (5:2) could signify that God’s heavenly abode is intended, so that the meaning could apply to coming before God anywhere, even in private prayer. Yet the fact that we are then told to “draw near to hear” (verse 1) would seem to indicate a place of instruction. Of course, people of that time typically did not have their own copies of the Scriptures, so they had to go to where God’s Word was kept and proclaimed to be instructed. Today, we still need to assemble to learn God’s ways, but we can also receive instruction from the Bible in private study.

Verses 2–3 state, 

“Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore, let your words be few. For a dream comes through much activity, and a fool’s voice is known by his many words.” 

As has been pointed out already, the answers to the problems of the human condition lie with God. We need to be mindful of what we say in prayer, being humble and teachable. The Creator and Ruler of the universe must be treated with humble reverence and submission. The latter part of verse 3 may also remind us of James 1:22, where we are encouraged to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” Faith and a right relationship with God require action too, not just empty words.

The “messenger” in Ecclesiastes 5:6 was a priest or other person sent from the temple to confirm or collect the vow. The trouble was that some people tried to get out of their commitments by producing all kinds of lame excuses. Of course, we will all have to face the ultimate Messenger of God, our judge Jesus Christ (Romans 14:10).

Ecclesiastes 5:7 says that the answer to vanity or a worthless life is to “fear God” and be in humble awe and properly concerned to not incur His disappointment and judgment. We should be deeply motivated to follow what He says, which is the very beginning of true wisdom (3:15). This is a preview of the conclusion of the whole book, bringing together its grand themes of vanity apart from God and the need to fear and obey Him. (Ecclesiastes 12:8,13).  

Ecclesiastes 5:8–20 goes on to look at the vanity of gain and honor, or of loving abundance. The translation and point of Ecclesiastes 5:8–9 is highly disputed. One way to read verse 8 is as a corrective to systemic corruption, that everyone is answerable to someone higher up. However, another way to read it is as a description of systemic oppression, where corruption persists at every level of authority. Others believe “watches over” here should be “watches out for,” meaning that government officials are protecting one another, thus preventing corruption from being rooted out.

In verse 10 we are told, 

“He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.” 

Money itself is not evil; however, the love or lust of money is! 1 Timothy 6:10 says, 

“for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through many sorrows.” 

It is not wrong to work hard and pursue success, but we do need to be careful so that we do not have a covetous mindset. The following verses tell us of some of the problems that can come with having an overabundance of wealth and possessions. Verse 11 tells us that others will take it, and verse 12 tells us anxiety can come from constantly worrying about our possessions and even losing sleep at night about them. Remember that this is coming from King Solomon, the richest man in the world!  

“When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand. As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, to go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labor which he may carry away in his hand” (verses 14–15). 

These next verses remind us that we should not let materialism overshadow the enjoyment that we get out of life and the most important things in our lives: our relationship with God, friends, and family. Anything physical that we have in this life will not be able to take with us into the Kingdom. It is so beneficial to share our physical blessings with others. Verses 18–20 return us to the refrain of Ecclesiastes, encouraging us to eat and drink and enjoy the good of one’s labor as the gift of God  

The Preach the Word commentary puts it well: “Some scholars find these verses so completely contrary to what the Preacher has already said that they think he must be speaking sarcastically, or at least stoically in pessimistically telling us to enjoy small pleasures amid dreariness and soon-coming death, yet when the Preacher calls life ‘the gift of God,’ he is giving it the highest praise. This is not stoicism or sarcasm but godly gratitude. The Preacher can say this because he believes in the God of joy. Earlier in this passage, when he was talking about the vanity of money, the Preacher hardly mentioned God at all. But in verses 18–20, he mentions him repeatedly. Whatever enjoyment he finds is God-centered. Without God, life is meaningless and miserable, especially if we are living for money. Yet when we know the God of joy, even money can be a blessing. To understand this, we need to pay attention to the phrasing of verse 19. Earlier the Preacher listed some of the many reasons why accumulating money is vanity. Yet here he tells us explicitly that if we are wealthy, we should enjoy it. It almost sounds like a contradiction but notice where the power of enjoyment comes from: it comes from God. Both having things and enjoying things are gifts from God” (Ryken, pp. 136–137).

Wisdom Literature is a course taught at ABC by Dr. Urwiller. Recordings from the 2018–2019 class year are available to listen to on the ABC website.

UYA Team | uya@ucg.org  

United Young Adults (UYA) primarily serves the 18–32-year age group for the United Church of God. There are three main areas of contribution to the lives of the young adults: Promoting Spiritual Growth, Developing Meaningful Relationships, and Making the Most of Your Talents. The Know Your Sword series is a daily expository message introducing God’s Word from a trusted perspective.