Bible Verse Synopsis 6-21-25
Ecclesiastes 5:
Verse 1 kicks off this chapter with a reminder about our behavior in the House of God. “Keep your foot when you go to the House of God, and be more ready to hear than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.” Be reverent and purposeful with our time in His House (this also applies to prayer). Be ready to hear God speak to you than to make the sacrifice. Everyone, even the fool, can make the sacrifice but few can hear God speaking. Listen for His instruction. And when we are there, the only Sacrifice we need to make is that of ourselves and our fleshly desires. The only
Sacrifice God will accept is that of Christ, otherwise it is a sacrifice of fools. What kind of sacrifice do you represent?
Solomon continues with his guidance to help us make headway around our lives. Watch your mouth, our words should be few. Let God speak for us. We don’t have to yell it from the rooftops that we are believers. If we are true believers, God will yell it for us. Verse 4 adds caution to our vows: “When you vow a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for He has no pleasure in fools: pay that which you have vowed.” If we make a vow, we must do it. Therefore be cautious of making a vow. Especially one that is hard to keep. This can get us into a quandary where our mouth will cause our flesh to sin. Are you allowing God to yell from the rooftops for you? Are your vows few and far between?
Verse 7 says: “For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.” This is the admission of the flesh creates its own religions around the experience of the flesh. The only “religion” that we are to have is the experience of a personal relationship with our Savior. A gracious servant hood to the Lord for guaranteeing our salvation. What is your relationship with God like?
Verse 9 & 10 reminds us of greed. 9: “Moreover the profit of the Earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.” 10- “He who loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver, not he who loves abundance with increase: this is also vanity.” The earth is not here for us to own, it is here to serve us and us to care for it. It is not to be taken advantage of. The earth serves everyone. Abundance is a natural enemy that we all take for granted mostly because of our society. We are all told to have abundance and seem more of it. Yet that doesn’t serve the Lord, that is service of the flesh. What good is the accumulation of the goods of the earth, food, property, etc if all we can do is look at it with our eyes? All it does is create more worry and cost us our sleep and our comfort. Verse 12 does a great job comparing the worries of different kinds of men; “The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, wether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.” Solomon knows this story all too well! This sadness deepens if all we have to give our children - and brother and sisters in Christ - are possessions. We are called to give Christ to ALL. What riches do you lay up to heaven? Our riches here will not make the travel to the Kingdom.
This is not to say that we are not to enjoy the world and allow it to nurture us. Verse 18 says: “Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor that he takes under the sun all the days of his life, which God gives him: for it is his portion.” God gives us a portion of the earth to enjoy. Some get the riches and others do not. The riches given by God are a gift and intended so that person can bless the Kingdom of God. Have you received riches from the Lord? Where do those riches go? Are they for the Kingdom or for the flesh?
Verse 20 caps a virtuous end to the chapter. “For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answers him in the joy of his heart.” We will fail to remember the bad things and our memories will be filled with memories that God has given us. What things has God given you that are gifts from Him and worthy of remembrance?