Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 5:1-3

The encouragement is to watch carefully where you step.  To sept into the presence of the Lord flippantly is a dangerous and foolish prospect.  The purpose of going is worship, to hear from Him.  He sees the intent of our heart.  We are told to listen, this is better than vain and meaningless sacrifices.  The 'sacrifice of fools' was one offered without obedience, empty of meaning and only given as a traditional religious expression. 

Few words are better.  It is better to remain silent and thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.   Yet, God won't be fooled.  We aren't to offer our opinion to God about how to run things or campaign to have our way.  God is in heaven because He is God Almighty, sovereign and all powerful.  You aren't, don't embarrass yourself.   Restraint of speech is wise; a fool becomes very evident.

Ecclesiastes 5:4-7

Unfulfilled vows were a serious offense. 

²¹ If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the Lord your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. ²² But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty. ²³ Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the Lord your God with your own mouth. (Deut 23:21-23)

Take vows seriously, don't let your mouth make a vow that you aren't sincere about in your heart.  Don't let your mouth write a check the rest of you can't cash.  We can't claim a frivolous vow as an accidental sin.  There is nothing accidental about it; to claim so is dishonest.  Solomon implies this will anger God and He'll destroy the work of our hands. 

Fear God.  Now that has meaning. 

Ecclesiastes 5:8-12

Solomon returns to his concerns for the oppressed; there seemed to be so many, in every direction you look.  We seem to have grown cold to this, we quickly look away and return to our affluent lives.  Solomon saw justice perverted and rights denied – "don't be surprised" he advised.  This is the effect of the bureaucracies made up of sin-fallen men.  Solomon knew what was in the heart of men.  Each layer of the bureaucracy was stacked on the back of the oppressed, each dependent on the work of the field.  The preacher-king caps off this thought by adding, 'the king himself profits from the fields.'  This is to say the king relies on the work that is done by those his bureaucracy oppresses (or doesn't, as the case may be).

The axiom that wealth will never satisfy is one that only a few of the wealthy understand and believe.  It is repeated often, throughout the bible, yet consistently a problem for mankind across the ages.  The accumulation of goods requires more people to produce, manage and guard those goods; thereby creating more consumers, more bureaucracy and more corruption.  In the end, what good is it to have the biggest barns, garages, bank vaults, arsenal and pantry.  Why is feasting our eyes on the accumulation seem valuable? 

Meanwhile, the laborer sleeps sweet and honest, deep; resting from a weary day and resting for another.  But this kind of sleep doesn't come to the greedy; to rest is to slow the pursuit, lose ground.  To sleep is to look away giving opportunity for theft or corruption to consume your goods. 

Ecclesiastes 5:13-17

This greed brings to mind more grievous evil under the sun.  He seems to have someone specific in mind; someone who spent their life hoarding wealth for the sake of possessing it.  With each passing year, this pursuit did a work on them, on their heart.  It becomes an idol, a cold dead god with no feelings, no heart.  It oppresses, destroys, corrupts at the hands of the greedy. 

Similarly, another comes to Solomon's mind.  The man who spent his life accumulating and chasing wealth, only to lose it in misfortune.  It's like Job, who in a day, lost it all.  It's the fire that sweeps across a property and consumes it all; or the tornado that carries it away.  It's a stock market or casino that made it all disappear like some inexplicable act of magic.

The end is the same for everyone.  We came into this world with nothing and we'll leave with the same.  Spending your days pursuing something that will be sold off, divided up or thrown into a dumpster is a sad pursuit indeed.  No doubt meaningless, futile and absurd. 

This is a grievous misery.  No matter what we pursue, we seem to be incapable of achieving any real gain in this life.  So, no matter how hard you work, in the end you lose it all.  All the work of the greedy is a 'toil for the wind'.   Their days are characterized as eating their meals under a veil of darkness filled with frustrations and anger, consuming emotions causing physical affliction.

Ecclesiastes 5:18-20

In response, maybe someone might even say, "why work at all?"  In contrast to verse seventeen, we see Solomon offer what he sees as the 'good'.

Learn to enjoy the gifts of God:

• Work – find something you enjoy

• Eat, drink and enjoy in thankfulness

• If God gives you stuff & wealth, enjoy it.

• Be preoccupied with 'gladness of heart' instead of greed.

It is our beautiful lot in life, to do these things in an otherwise dark, evil and meaningless world.

©2018 Doug Ford