Ecclesiastes Chapter 5:1-7

Fear God

5 ^[a] Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. ^2 [b] Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. ³ For a dream comes with much business, and a fool's voice with many words.

⁴ When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. ⁵  It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. ⁶ Let not your mouth lead you^[c] into sin, and do not say before the messenger^[d] that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands?⁷ For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity;^[e] but^[f]God is the one you must fear.

In my Bible, verses 1-7 are summed up by saying, "In light of the futility of careless worship, Solomon sets forth an exhortation concerning proper worship."

In verse 1 we learn that we need to be careful, attentive.  

Verse 2 was kind of hard for me to interpret its meaning.  My footnotes say, "Do not make a rash or ill-considered bargain with the Lord, nor twist a wish into a demanding prayer (under the guise of "vision" or "faith").  Always be thoughtful and of few words when in God's presence."

This made me a little bit confused where is says to let your words be few.  I think what it means it that we need to acknowledge God's holiness, and not think of him too much as a "best friend".  Buuut, I'm not sure ;). 

On verse 7, my notes say, " There is vanity in preoccupation with one's work and in careless worship." Careless worship.  Think about all the times you go to church, and your heart is just not in singing the words to those songs.  For me, it happens quite a lot.  I might as well have ADD or something, because my thoughts wander to different things.  It's kind of ironic that I found this verse in this passage, because I've been thinking about what it's like to truly worship and be absolutely focused on God.  I've even done a little research on the topic.  But that will be for another blog post :).

- Mallory

Ecclesiastes Chapter 4

Oppression, Toil, Friendlessness

 ¹ Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun:

   I saw the tears of the oppressed—
   and they have no comforter;
power was on the side of their oppressors—
   and they have no comforter.
² And I declared that the dead,
   who had already died,
are happier than the living,
   who are still alive.
³ But better than both
   is the one who has never been born,
who has not seen the evil
   that is done under the sun.

 ⁴ And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

 ⁵ Fools fold their hands
   and ruin themselves.
⁶ Better one handful with tranquillity
   than two handfuls with toil
   and chasing after the wind.

 ⁷ Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

 ⁸ There was a man all alone;
   he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
   yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,
   “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”
This too is meaningless—
   a miserable business!

 ⁹ Two are better than one,
   because they have a good return for their labor:
¹⁰ If either of them falls down,
   one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
   and has no one to help them up.
¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
   But how can one keep warm alone?
¹² Though one may be overpowered,
   two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Advancement Is Meaningless

 ¹³ Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning. ¹⁴ The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom. ¹⁵ I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king’s successor. ¹⁶ There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

In verses 1-3 Solomon is saying that they would be better off dead than alive.  In verses 4-6 he describes a worker who becomes a workaholic because of competition.  Verse 5 talks about the opposite, a person who never works, and starves to death.

I really like verse 12: A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.  It's so poetic.  I suppose that poetry must have come first from the Bible.  :)

- Mallory