Ecclesiastes 5:7

7

Ecclesiastes 5:7a “For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity;”

The first part of verse 7 calls back to verse 3:

Ecclesiastes 5:3 “For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words.”

There is much futility, vanity, when there is a lot of talking about things, dreams, but not a lot of doing, or following through on your plans and promises.

Proverbs 10:19 “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.”

Proverbs 17:28 “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.”

Proverbs 21:23 “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.”

James 1:19 “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;”

This whole section in chapter 5 talks about this from multiple angles and ways. Verse 1, listen to God to his statutes and not your own, or your own possibly incorrect interpretation. Verse 2, do not speak quickly, especially when talking to God. Verse 4, when you promise something to God follow through with it without delay. Verse 5, it is better to give your burdens to God without any conditions on your part, than to say your going to do something for God and not follow through with it. Verse 6, do not say to God that your promises are mistakes and incur the wrath of God for your sin of trying to deceive the all knowing God. As Christians our word is to be our bond because we know that giving false testimony, lying, is a sin. We are to be an example of Christ in this world, and we know Jesus did not and would never make a promise and not follow through on it, if he did then he would not be God.

Numbers 23:19 “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”

Titus 1:2 “in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began”

2 Timothy 2:13 “if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.”

The last part of verse 7 is a short and very important summed up statement as to why all of this is important:

Ecclesiastes 5:7b “but God is the one you must fear.”

This is not even remotely the only time in the bible God has told us to fear him:

Deuteronomy 6:13 “It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.”

Deuteronomy 6:24 “And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day.”

Joshua 24:14 ““Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.”

2 Kings 17:36 “but you shall fear the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm. You shall bow yourselves to him, and to him you shall sacrifice.”

Psalm 5:7 “But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you.”

Psalm 34:7 “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.”

Proverbs 10:27 “The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.”

Ecclesiastes 12:13 “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”

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.”

Acts 10:34–35 “So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”

1 Peter 1:17 “And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,”

Revelation 14:7 “And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.””

When we hear the the phrase fear God or fear the LORD, what comes to mind?

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.

Let us consider the unrepentant for a moment. We can truly say that they need to fear God in their unrepentant state, but that is the exact thing that they are unable to do, as they are devoid of the Holy Spirit. Their fear should be that they are Hell bound and due punishment for all eternity, because they of their own willful actions have committed a multitude of sins. They do not honor God, they make themselves their own God, and there is no fear in their eyes.

Romans 3:9–18 “...as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.””

Consider now the believer, how is and should our fear of God be different now that we are saved?

We have done nothing of ourselves to mitigate the wrath of God, all the peace we now have with God is due to God’s love and the work of Christ on the cross. The fear should still remain but also be comforted with the knowledge and penitent acknowledgement that we are now in Christ and it is only His work and His sacrifice and the solid, unshakeable assurance from God himself that we are no longer under condemnation.

Ecclesiastes 5:8 - 6:9

This next section of Ecclesiastes from 5:8 to 6:9 can be titled Grievous Evils, and Great Joys. It can be broken down in to seven parts that can if looked at as a physical structure form a pyramid, or temple, with parts one and seven being the base, two and sex the second layer, three and five the next and seven being the pinnacle. Going up parts one and seven mirror each other in their statements, two and six also, three and five similar but opposite views, and with seven being the resolution or pinnacle of the thought.

Part one 5:8-12 and seven 6:7-9 tell of the people who cannot be satisfied

Part two 5:13-17 and six 6:3-6, people who cannot enjoy

Part three 5:18-19 ask what is good and five 6:1-2 what is bad

and at the top, part four in 5:20, enjoy the moment

There is also a simpler way of looking at it as a five part pyramid, one and five say the love of money is a sad investment, two and four the love of money is a bad investment, and the top states that to trust in God is a wise investment.

Read 5:8-6:9