Ecclesiastes 5

Ecclesiastes 5:1

E. The Vanity of Popular Religion and Politics (5:1-9)Man is instinctively religious, but that is not necessarily good. In fact, it may be positively bad. His very religiosity may hide from him his need of salvation as a free gift of God’s grace. In addition, man’s own religion may be nothing more than a charade, an outward show without inward reality. Vanity may seep into religious life just as much as in any other sphere, maybe even more so. So, in chapter 5, Solomon lays down some advice to guard against formalism and externalism in dealing with the Creator. 5:1 First, he advises people to watch their steps when they go to the house of God. While this may refer to reverence in general, here it is explained to mean being more ready to learn than to engage in a lot of rash talk. Rash promises are the sacrifice of fools. Unthinking people make them without considering that it is evil. 5:2 Worshipers should avoid recklessness in prayers, promises, or in professions of devotion to God. The presence of the Almighty is no place for precipitate or compulsive talking. The fact that God is infinitely high above man, as heaven is high above the earth, should teach man to curb his speech when drawing near to Him. 5:3 Just as a hyperactive mind often produces wild dreams, so a hyperactive mouth produces a torrent of foolish words, even in a prayer. Alexander Pope wrote that “Words are like leaves, and where they most abound, much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found.” Solomon did not intend verse 3 to be a full, scientific explanation of the origin of dreams; he was merely pointing out what seemed to him to be a connection between the whirring wheels of his mind during the day and the restless dreams that often followed at night. 5:4 In the matter of vows to God, simple honesty demands that they be paid promptly. God has no use for the dolt who talks up a storm, then fails to deliver. So the word is, “Pay what you have vowed.“5:5 If you don’t intend to pay, don’t vow in the first place. How well the Preacher knew man’s propensity to strike a bargain with God when caught in a tight, desperate situation: “Lord, if you get me out of this, I’ll serve you forever.” But then the tendency is to forget quickly when the crisis is past. Even in moments of spiritual exhilaration, it is easy to make a vow of dedication, or celibacy, or poverty, or the like. God has never required such vows of His people. In many cases, such as in the matter of celibacy, it would be better not to make them anyway. But where they are made, they should be kept. Certainly the marriage vow is ratified in heaven and cannot be broken without costly consequences. Vows made before conversion should be kept, except in those cases where they violate the Word of God. 5:6 So the general rule is not to let your mouth lead you into sin through shattered vows. And don’t try to excuse yourself before God’s messenger by saying it was an error and that you didn’t really mean it. Or don’t think that the mechanical offering of a sacrifice before Him will atone for careless breaking of vows. The messenger of God may refer to the priest, since broken vows were to be confessed before him (Lev_5:4-6). But this presupposes a knowledge of the Mosaic law, whereas Solomon is speaking here apart from revealed religion. So perhaps we are safer to understand him as meaning anyone who serves as a representative of God. The basic thought is that God is exceedingly displeased by insincerity of speech. Why then say things that are certain to anger Him? This will inevitably cause Him to obstruct, frustrate, and destroy everything you try to do. 5:7 Just as there is tremendous unreality in a multitude of dreams, so in words spoken unadvisedly there is vanity and ruin. The thing to do, says Solomon, is to fear God. However, he does not mean the loving trust of Jehovah but the actual fear of incurring the displeasure of the Almighty. G. Campbell Morgan reminds us that this is the fear of a slave, not a son. Unless we see this, we give Solomon credit for a greater burst of spiritual insight than is intended here. 5:8 Next Solomon reverts to the subject of oppression of the poor and perversion of justice. He counsels against complete despair if we see these evils in a province. After all, there are chains of command in government, and those in the higher echelons watch their subordinates with an eagle eye. But do they really? Too often the system of checks and balances breaks down, and every level of officialdom receives its share of graft and payola. The only satisfaction that righteous people have is in knowing that God is higher than the highest authorities, and He will see that all accounts are settled some day. But it is doubtful if Solomon refers to this here. 5:9 Verse 9 is one of the most obscure verses in Ecclesiastes. The reason is that the original Hebrew is uncertain. This can be seen from the wide variety of translations: JND: Moreover the earth is every way profitable: the king (himself) is dependent on the field. NASB: After all, a king who cultivates the field is an advantage to the land. TEV: Even a king depends on the harvest. NKJV: Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the king is served from the field.The general thought seems to be that even the highest official is dependent on the produce of the field and thus on the providence of God. All are accountable to God.

Ecclesiastes 5:10

F. The Vanity of Passing Riches (5:106:12)5:10 People who love money are never satisfied; they always want more. Wealth does not buy contentment. Profits, dividends, interest payments, and capital gains whet the appetite for more. It all appears rather empty. 5:11 When a man’s possessions increase, it seems that there is a corresponding increase in the number of parasites who live off his wealth, whether management consultants, tax advisers, accountants, lawyers, household employees, or sponging relatives. A man can wear only one suit at a time, can only eat so much in a day. So the main benefit of his wealth is to be able to look at his bank books, stocks, and bonds, and to say with other rich fools, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry” (Luk_12:19). 5:12 When it comes to sound sleep, a laboring man has the advantage. Whether he has had a banquet or a snack, he can rest without care or apprehension. Across town, the rich man is having a fitful night worrying about the stock market, wondering about thefts and embezzlements, and swallowing antacid to calm the churning sea of dyspepsia that is in his stomach. 5:13 Solomon saw that hoarding riches gives rise to disastrous consequences. Here is a man who had vast reserves of wealth, but instead of using them for constructive purposes, he kept them stashed away. 5:14 All of a sudden, there was some calamity such as a market crash, and the money was all gone. Even though the man had a son, he had nothing to leave to him. He was penniless. 5:15 Empty-handed he had come from his mother’s womb, and now empty-handed he leaves this world. In spite of all the money he had been able to accumulate during his lifetime, he dies a pauper. Cecil Rhodes spent years exploiting the natural resources of South Africa. When he was about to die, he cried out in remorse: I’ve found much in Africa. Diamonds, gold and land are mine, but now I must leave them all behind. Not a thing I’ve gained can be taken with me. I have not sought eternal treasures, therefore I actually have nothing at all. 5:16 Solomon says this is a severe evila painful calamityhe could have used his money for lasting benefit. Instead of that he leaves as empty as he came, with nothing to show for all his work. He has labored for the wind. 5:17 The tragedy is compounded by the fact that the closing days of this man’s life are filled with gloom, sorrow, worry, sickness, and anger. His life has been a reverse Cinderella storyfrom riches to rags. Of course, there is a sense in which every man who dies leaves everything. But here the Preacher seems to point up the folly of hoarding money when it could be put to useful purposes, then losing it all, and having nothing to show for a lifetime of work. 5:18 So the best strategy is to enjoy the common activities of daily lifeeating, drinking, and working. Then no matter what happens, nothing can rob one of the pleasures he has already had. Life at best is very brief, so why not enjoy it while you can? 5:19 Solomon thought that it was ideal when God gave a man riches and wealth and when at the same time He also gave him the ability to enjoy them, to be satisfied with his lot in life, and to enjoy his work. This combination of circumstances was a special gift of God, or as we might say, this was “the real thing.” 5:20 Such a man doesn’t brood over the shortness of his life or its tragedies and inequities because God keeps his mind occupied with the joy of his present circumstances.