Commentary - Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

Bird's-eye view

In this potent section, the Preacher pivots from his observations of a vaporous world "under the sun" to give intensely practical instruction on how a man should conduct himself before the God who is "in heaven." This is not a detour from his theme of vanity, but rather a crucial application of it. Because life is fleeting and full of frustration, the one thing a man must not do is treat God with the same casualness. The passage is a series of sharp commands and warnings against thoughtless, hypocritical, and garrulous worship. The central contrast is between the wise man, who approaches God with reverent fear, guarded steps, and an open ear, and the fool, who rushes in with a flurry of empty sacrifices, hasty words, and broken vows. The entire exhortation is grounded in the immense creational gap between God and man, and it culminates in the foundational principle of all true wisdom: Fear God.

This is a call to godly reverence. It addresses how we come into God's presence, what we do when we get there, and the integrity of the words we speak before Him. The fool is characterized by an abundance of activity and words, but a deficit of knowledge and integrity. The wise man is characterized by carefulness, attentiveness, and brevity. This passage serves as a permanent rebuke to all forms of religion that are more concerned with performance and pious chatter than with humble, obedient listening.

Outline

Context In Ecclesiastes

After surveying the endless cycles of nature, the frustrations of wisdom, the emptiness of pleasure, and the oppressive injustices of life "under the sun" in chapters 1-4, the Preacher now turns his attention upward. This passage is a crucial hinge. If everything on earth is vanity, one might be tempted to conclude that our religious duties are also meaningless. Solomon heads this foolish conclusion off at the pass. On the contrary, it is precisely because the world is a chasing after the wind that our dealings with the eternal God must be sober, careful, and filled with awe. This section on worship is not an interruption of the argument but the necessary consequence of it. It lays the groundwork for later discussions on wealth and contentment, showing that the proper orientation toward God is the prerequisite for navigating the vanities of life with wisdom and even joy.

Key Issues

The Beginning of Wisdom

The entire passage climaxes with the command, "Fear God." We must understand what this means. This is not the cowering terror of a slave before a tyrant, but the reverent, submissive, and joyful awe of a creature before his magnificent Creator. It is the kind of fear that casts out all other fears. The fear of God liberates you from the fear of man. The Preacher is telling us that the ultimate solution to the vexations of life is not found in philosophical cleverness or frantic activity, but in a right relationship with the living God. This fear is the "beginning of wisdom" (Prov. 9:10), and it is the foundation for everything else he says in these verses. A man who fears God will watch his step when he goes to church. A man who fears God will keep his mouth shut. A man who fears God will pay his debts, especially those debts he owes to God. Without this foundational reverence, all our religious activity is just noise, the sacrifice of fools.

Verse by Verse Commentary

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.

The instruction begins with our feet. Worship does not begin when the singing starts; it begins with the intentional act of going. "Guard your steps" means to go deliberately, thoughtfully, and with preparation of heart. You are not wandering into a theater; you are approaching the presence of the living God. And why are you going? Not primarily to perform, but to listen. The central act of worship is receptive, not expressive. It is to hear the Word of God read and preached. The alternative is to offer the "sacrifice of fools." This is religious activity without an obedient heart. It is going through the motions, singing the songs, and saying the prayers, all while your heart is far from God. The fool brings his own agenda, his own noise. The terrifying part is the fool's ignorance: "they do not know they are doing evil." He thinks his religious busyness is pleasing to God, when in fact it is an abomination.

2 Do not be hasty with your mouth or impulsive in your heart to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven but you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.

From guarded feet, we move to a guarded mouth. The Preacher warns against verbal diarrhea in prayer. Don't be "hasty" or "impulsive." Don't just blurt out whatever comes into your head. This is a direct assault on any form of piety that measures spirituality by the quantity of words. The reason for this verbal discipline is theological and profound: "For God is in heaven but you are on the earth." This is the Creator/creature distinction in its starkest form. He is transcendent, majestic, and holy. You are dust. This fundamental reality ought to have a humbling, silencing effect on us. The proper response to God's majesty is not a torrent of words, but a thoughtful reverence. "Therefore let your words be few." Say what you mean, and mean what you say. God is not impressed by your eloquence or your verbosity. He is listening to your heart.

3 For the dream comes through abundant endeavor and the voice of a fool through abundant words.

Solomon now provides an analogy from common life to illustrate his point. Just as a day full of stressful, "abundant endeavor" leads to a night of troubled and nonsensical dreams, so a mind full of foolishness leads to a mouth full of "abundant words." The two are linked. A fool's inner life is chaotic and cluttered, and his speech simply reveals what is going on inside. His many words are not a sign of wisdom, but a symptom of his folly. The wise man has a settled heart, and so his words are few, measured, and meaningful.

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!

The Preacher now turns to a specific and serious use of words: making a vow. A vow is a solemn promise made to God. In moments of desperation or religious fervor, it is easy to make extravagant promises. But God takes our words seriously, even when we do not. The command is blunt: "do not be late in paying it." Procrastination in fulfilling a vow is a form of foolishness. God "takes no delight in fools," and a fool, in this context, is defined as someone who makes a promise to God and then defaults on it. The final command is an exclamation: "Pay what you vow!" There is no room for negotiation. Your word is your bond, especially when that word is given to God.

5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.

This is a piece of profound practical wisdom. God does not require you to make vows. They are voluntary. Therefore, it is far better to remain silent and make no promise than to make a grand promise and then break it. This cuts against the grain of all performative piety, which loves to make a great show of devotion. The Preacher is telling us that God is more honored by a humble man who keeps his mouth shut than by a flamboyant man who makes promises he cannot or will not keep. Silence is better than sacrilege.

6 Do not allow your mouth to cause your flesh 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 wreak destruction on the work of your hands?

Here we see the dire consequences of a rash vow. Your mouth can lead your whole person ("your flesh") into sin. First, you sin by making the rash vow. Second, you sin by breaking it. Third, you sin by making lame excuses for it. You go to the "messenger of God," likely the priest at the temple, and try to get out of it by saying, "it was a mistake" or "I didn't really mean it." This is trifling with God. The Preacher asks a rhetorical question: "Why should God be angry on account of your voice...?" Your words, your excuses, can provoke the righteous anger of God. And that anger has real-world consequences. God can "wreak destruction on the work of your hands." Your spiritual carelessness can lead to the ruin of your livelihood. God is not to be mocked.

7 For in many dreams and vanities are many words. Rather, fear God.

This final verse summarizes the whole argument. The world of the fool is a world of vapor and noise. It is full of fantasies, vanities, and, as we have seen, "many words." It is all insubstantial, like a dream that vanishes upon waking. The Preacher sweeps all this clutter aside and gives us the one thing that is solid, the one thing that is needful. "Rather, fear God." This is the anchor. This is the foundation. If you begin with a profound and reverent awe of the God who is in heaven, you will guard your steps. You will come to listen. You will bridle your tongue. You will keep your promises. The fear of God is the only cure for the foolishness of men.

Application

The warnings of this passage are as relevant to a modern evangelical church as they were to the ancient temple in Jerusalem. We live in a culture that prizes spontaneous expression and authentic feeling above all else, and this has bled into our worship. We are encouraged to be hasty with our mouths, to value quantity over quality in our prayers, and to make all sorts of emotional "commitments" to God that are forgotten by Monday morning. We are tempted to be the fool who comes to church to have an experience, to perform, to talk, rather than to listen.

This passage calls us back to sobriety. It calls us to prepare our hearts for worship. It calls us to shut our mouths and open our ears to the preaching of the Word. It reminds us that God is a holy and transcendent King, not our casual buddy. It calls us to a rugged integrity, where our "yes" is "yes," especially when we speak to God. The application is not that we should become stoic and emotionless, but that our emotions and our words should be governed by a deep and abiding reverence for the majesty of God.

Ultimately, our only hope for this kind of integrity is found in Jesus Christ. He is the only man who perfectly feared God. His words were never hasty or foolish. He made the ultimate vow, to drink the cup of God's wrath for us, and He paid that vow in His own blood. Because He was the perfect worshiper, we who are in Him are accepted. And now, by His Spirit, He enables us to put away the sacrifice of fools and to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, which is our reasonable service of worship.