Ecclesiastes 5:7-12

7

Ecclesiastes 5:7 “For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear.”

When we have lofty aspiration and promise things we can’t or do not intent to follow through on, there is vanity and uselessness.

Matthew 10:28 “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Fear is not just reverence, we must always remember that there is an infinite chasm of difference between the creator and the created. We must always remember that we are not the main characters in this story, God is. God is gracious, merciful, and kind, but he is also holy, perfectly sinless, perfectly just and wrathful against any and all sin, not just the sins that we think are particularly egregious. Have great reverence, admiration, and worship for our Holy God, but also fear at his perfection and justness, and wrath, not terror. Also having a healthy fear of God is also fearing disappointing God in our disobedience.

8

Ecclesiastes 5:8 “If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them.”

9

Ecclesiastes 5:9 “But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.”

10

Ecclesiastes 5:10 “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.”

11

Ecclesiastes 5:11 “When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes?”

12

Ecclesiastes 5:12 “Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.”