Ecclesiastes 5

Ecclesiastes 5:1-20 .

1. From vanity connected with kings, he passes to vanities ( Ecclesiastes 5:7 ) which may be fallen into convinced of the vanity of the creature, wish to worship the Creator.
Keep thy foot--In going to worship, go with considerate, circumspect, reverent feeling. The allusion is to the taking off the shoes, or sandals, in entering a temple ( Exodus 3:5 , Joshua 5:15 , which passages perhaps gave rise to the custom). WEISS needlessly reads, "Keep thy feast days" ( Exodus 23:14 Exodus 23:17 ; the three great feasts).
hear--rather, "To be ready (to draw nigh with the desire) to hear (obey) is a better sacrifice than the offering of fools" [HOLDEN]. (Vulgate; Syriac). ( Psalms 51:16 Psalms 51:17 , Proverbs 21:3 , Jeremiah 6:20 , 7:21-23 , 14:12 , Amos 5:21-24 ). The warning is against mere ceremonial self-righteousness, as in Ecclesiastes 7:12 . Obedience is the spirit of the law's requirements ( Deuteronomy 10:12 ). Solomon sorrowfully looks back on his own neglect of this (compare 1 Kings 8:63 with Ecclesiastes 11:4 Ecclesiastes 11:6 ). Positive precepts of God must be kept, but will not stand instead of obedience to His moral precepts. The last provided no sacrifice for wilful sin ( Numbers 15:30 Numbers 15:31 , Hebrews 10:26-29 ).

2. rash--opposed to the considerate reverence ("keep thy foot," Ecclesiastes 5:1 ). This verse illustrates Ecclesiastes 5:1 , as to prayer in the house of God ("before God," Isaiah 1:12 ); so Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 as to vows. The remedy to such vanities is stated ( Ecclesiastes 5:6 ). "Fear thou God."
God is in heaven--Therefore He ought to be approached with carefully weighed words, by thee, a frail creature of earth.

3. As much "business," engrossing the mind, gives birth to incoherent "dreams," so many words, uttered inconsiderately in prayer, give birth to and betray "a fool's speech" ( Ecclesiastes 10:14 ), [HOLDEN and WEISS]. But Ecclesiastes 5:7 implies that the "dream" is not a comparison, but the vain thoughts of the fool (sinner, Psalms 73:20 ), arising from multiplicity of (worldly) "business." His "dream" is that God hears him for his much speaking ( Matthew 6:7 ), independently of the frame of mind [English Version and MAURER].
fool's voice--answers to "dream" in the parallel; it comes by the many "words" flowing from the fool's "dream."

4. When thou vowest a vow unto God--Hasty words in prayer ( Ecclesiastes 5:2 Ecclesiastes 5:3 ) suggest the subject of hasty vows. A vow should not be hastily made ( Judges 11:35 , 1 Samuel 14:24 ). When made, it must be kept ( Psalms 76:11 ), even as God keeps His word to us ( Exodus 12:41 Exodus 12:51 , Joshua 21:45 ).

5. ( Deuteronomy 23:21 Deuteronomy 23:23 ).