Ecclesiastes 5-1-6, 7:1-14
Solomon’s life was governed by the statutes and ordinances of the covenant that God made with Israel but which no longer apply. What we are interested in are Biblical principles that bridge the covenants …and remain true.
Ecclesiastes 5:1-6 begins with matters of worship and the admonition to “guard your steps as you go to the house of God”. Solomon draws attention to both the seriousness of worship and the place of worship as an event in an otherwise godly life. Worship is a high privilege and not to be taken lightly. One ought to engage in it – fully aware of the person and presence of God.
Now Solomon used to go to the temple to worship. It was the place where God had caused his name to dwell. It was the one place where priest’s officiated in the presence of God. There was at that time…no other place on earth where God had taken up residence in this special sense. And that meant that there was no other physical place to which one could go and know that they were approaching God both temporally and spiritually. So Solomon says – guard your steps.
Now perhaps what he means by that is found in the very next phrase. “Guard your steps…and draw near to listen, rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools”.
The temple was to be a place of instruction. The priests were full-time educators. So, the person coming to worship, was advised to come as a listener…to hear what God has said and to get it straight from God’s word. God instructs and his people are supposed to listen. True worship always begins with the things of God. When God’s people gather before Him, God gets to speak first. And of course it just makes sense that we ought to pay attention.
This is an enduring principle. When we gather for worship, may we come with an open mind. May we give close attention to what God has said in his word.
The great danger is that I will arrive for worship intent upon my own interests…to speak my mind and to have my say – to voice a complaint or to make a petition. Solomon says….don’t do it. Accept God’s invitation into his presence, but do so on his terms.
As it turns out, those who remain uninstructed are also uninvited. Solomon says…that ignorance in worship, is no excuse. The fact that I don’t know any better, is no excuse. Solomon calls this kind of worship, the sacrifices of fools. Those who offer them – don’t know that what they are doing is evil. They offer to God what he has not asked for and he is not pleased.
The value of the offering is rooted in obedience. This is so, because God doesn’t actually need anything. What God really wants, is for his people to hear him and to believe him. And then as believers, to love him enough – to obey him.
Thus the caution – “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 earth, therefore let your words be few”.
When we come into the presence of God in the special way that we do in worship, let us not speak in haste…but be patient. The things that come to us on the spur of the moment – may be better kept to ourselves. Silence is often a sign of wisdom.
So when Solomon talks about bringing up a matter – in the presence of the Lord, it may suggest that I am here to make a case to the Lord. That I am here in his presence, to get what I want. Which is why I insist on speaking first, instead of waiting to be spoken to.
Imagine being summoned into the presence of royalty. Wouldn’t you wait to find out why you were there? And would not the sovereign speak first? Would not royal priorities come first?
Should the king ask you if there is some way that he can help, then that is the time to speak up. Solomon is not saying that one can never petition God, but there is a time to do it and a right way to go about it. The object of worship is God. The purpose of worship is to honour God. And the reason is obvious – because God alone is worthy of worship.
Priority is also given to God because our thoughts are not his thoughts. I am the creature and not the creator and lack the perspective of eternity and His scope of infinite knowledge. So, when we do come into the presence of God, may we keep our place. We are not there to lecture God. Our prayers do not inform Him nor is He wiser or morally improved by hearing what we have to say.
Remember Job…how he wanted to have his ‘day in court’? He wanted to put God on the spot for letting bad things happen to good people. But when that day arrived, Job didn’t have a word to say. God reminded him that He was in heaven and Job was on earth. Job could not even answer rudimentary questions pertaining to creation, let alone God’s supervision of justice on earth. Like Job, we don’t even know what the questions are, let alone the answers. So, when addressing God, may our words be few.
Solomon does not say that we must be silent, but that we ought to be brief. Jesus said something like that in Matthew 6:7-8
“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. “So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
God is not hard of hearing or inattentive. He is not impressed by empty repetition. He knows what we need before we ask. And he does want you to ask, because asking is one way of expressing our faith. Sincerity is not measured by the length of our prayers but the condition of our hearts.
When we come before God in prayer, let’s remember that he is pure and holy and that we are not. What we can do is to praise Him for his goodness, thank him for his grace and ask for forgiveness.
In verse 3, Solomon draws a parallel. He says: For the dream comes through much effort and the voice of a fool through many words.
Have you ever gone to bed with your head full of unfinished business? And then had a dream that made absolutely no sense at all? That is a lot like the mind and mouth of a fool who does not listen to God or have the sense to be silent – when in the presence of God.
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Verse 4, seems to change the subject…but perhaps not. The scene shifts from worship and prayer to the matter of taking vows.
A vow was a promise made in God’s name, calling God as witness or as our guarantor. Some vows were also made to God. The person taking the vow…not only promised something to God and also called God as his witness. Here is how that might connect with worship.
Hebrews 13:15 suggests that God accepts our words of praise as sacrifices to Him. Thus, words and promises can be sacrifices too. It’s possible that Solomon has thisin mind as he moved on to the subject of making vows. Thus, even a vow made to God may turn out to be a ‘sacrifice of fools‘.
Therefore – in the presence of almighty God – “let your words be few”. Don’t get carried away with the moment and make promises that you cannot keep. As you may be aware, promise-making and vow-taking are again in vogue. Young people vow to remain sexually pure until marriage. Promise-keepers take an oath to be faithful husbands and godly fathers. Goals are set and pledges made – often before God and in his name
But goal setting and vow taking ought to be two different things. Aspirations are one thing and performance is another. Taking a vow does not make it easier to do. Hasty decisions and impulsive words do not commend us to God. Better not to vow, than to vow and then not fulfill it.
It is always better not to promise more than God really asks. Some vows promise to do what God asks, and are thus the bare minimum that God requires. No vow is needed in addition to the decision to obey God. The life that he calls us to is already the highest calling. He does not need for us to improve on it or make it seem that we are going above and beyond – when we are doing no such thing.
So the principle was and is: don’t promise what you can’t deliver. But once promised, always deliver on your word.
The scriptures teach, that God is not impressed by boasting. He is impressed by humility, because that is the person that God can really use. And besides that, God has never commanded anyone to take a vow. The person who takes no vow has not sinned. But once taken, we are obligated to keep it. In the N.T., both Jesus and James said – that yes must really mean yes. Don’t say it if you don’t mean it. Don’t promise and then bail.
Solomon pictures the man who comes to the priest to bail out…to say “I am so sorry, I didn’t really mean it”. “It was all a big mistake”. God always keeps his word. According to the apostle Paul, God has kept all of his promises, in Jesus Christ (2nd Cor. 1:21). God has said yes’ in Jesus Christ. And God expects his people to keep their promises as well.
Promise-breaking…provokes God to anger. He will make it so that nothing that we do, succeeds. He will destroy the work of our hands…even it it takes a lifetime. Our words count…because God is keeping track. So James writes “let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger…”
It all comes down to one thing. Do we “fear the Lord?” Do we try to honour him in what we do and say? Or as Solomon puts it – even in what we don’t say? The fear of God really is the beginning of wisdom.
In Ecclesiastes 7:1-2, Solomon wrote:
A good name is better than a good ointment,
And the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.
It is better to go to a house of mourning
Than to go to a house of feasting,
Because that is the end of every man,
And the living takes it to heart.
These verses begin an extended study in contrasts. Solomon uses these to get us to look beyond that which is good to that which is best.
He argues first of all, for the value of a good name. Solomon compares internal things with those that are external, and to some degree he contrasts tangibles with intangibles.
Which raises the question for us: “upon which do we put the greater emphasis? Are we more concerned with appearances or substance? Do tend the outer man, and ignore the inner ?
The good ointment in this passage was probably medicinal. It soothed and healed, but couldn’t get through to the inner person. The inner person needed something else – he needed a ‘good name’.Solomon had said something like this already in Proverbs 22:1
“A good name is to be more desired than great wealth, Favour is better than silver and gold”
The principle is simple: a good and godly reputation cannot be bought. It has to earned one day at a time and one good deed at a time. It takes a lifetime to do that.
- A lifetime of honesty and dependability
- A lifetime of putting others first
- A lifetime used up in service to others while giving the glory to God.
Here’s what’s not fair – it only takes a moment to ruin a good name…to make it seem as if it has all been a sham. To leave the impression that up until that moment, you have been hiding the real you.
That is the reason why we must first pursue a good name beforeGod, for with God there is no pretense. God knows that there are no sinless men and women. He sees us for who we are. And he knows that while there are no sinless people, there are some who are blameless.
- Blameless because they are forgiven
- Blameless because they have made restitution.
- They are God’s people – who have not given up – but set out to do better.
For all of these reasons, a good name is worth more than silver and gold.
Solomon goes on to say, that the end of life is greater than it’s beginning. That the day of your death is better than the day of your birth.
And he follows that up with two parallel things.
“Better to go to a house of mourning than to a house of feasting”, and “sorrow is better than laughter”
What’s that about? We celebrate birthdays and mourn at funerals, so how is sorrow better than laughter?
Well, perhaps Solomon is still talking about a good name. That the reputation, or the good name that is so valuable – is the name that we leave behind…when we die. Life is not really over until its over…nor is a name actually a good one until the whole story has been told.
So when a person with a good name dies, they leave behind a good reputation and an example for others to follow. They have been obedient in life, making day of their death superior to the day of their birth.
- We remember and honour a godly life, for the outcome is no longer in question.
- In this sense, the day that you die is better than the day you were born
The apostle Paul captured this thought when he said: “I have fought the good fight, finished life’s course and kept the faith”. And the apostle John adds: “Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord”
Ecclesiastes 7:1 is about the person whose life is at an end while verse two is all about the living. Since death is inevitable, it is better to live with that fact always in mind. In this sense, a house of mourning is better than a house of feasting. Not many lives are changed for the better by partying.
But a funeral sobers us up. It is a time and a place for honesty. It is the ultimate ‘reality check’…that life is short and the life of the recently departed is over. May we say with the Psalmist: “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to you a heart of wisdom”.
Conclusion:
Here is the paradox of life and of living. Happiness is not found by pursuing it, but by living a godly life. And as Solomon reminds us, this occurs precisely at those moments when we are forced to “get real”.
- That’s why a sad face leads to a happy heart.
- Life is sweet, especially in the presence of death, for in that moment, we no longer take for granted the blessing of simply being alive.
As long as life persists there is opportunity and hope. If you have not yet become a Christian, that opportunity remains, and with it the hope of living forever more.
Barrie ON