In
the opening three verses of Chapter 5, the preacher counsels us believers on
two things we need to be watchful. Firstly, we must come to God with an attitude
that will make us attentive and receptive to His word. We are not to flippantly
approach our holy God. Then secondly, we must guard the words we say to Him.
God is all knowing. According to David in Psalm 139:4, he was sure that God
knows our conversation. So, he said, “Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.” It is so very
comforting to know that God knows every word from our lips. It’s an assurance
that He hears our prayer. However, it also instils a sense of cautiousness in
what we say. This is because God can hear all that we say, and we don’t want to
be caught saying the wrong thing. So, Solomon’s advice is for us to let our
words to Him be few but truthful words. Let us exercise
word economy in our speech.
This
caution is not so much about the number of words we use, but how sincere are
our words to Him. This is especially true when we come to worship God. Our Lord
tells us in John 4:23 that in this dispensation of grace, God is looking for
worshippers who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. This simply means that
He wants worshippers to come to Him with a right attitude and a heart of
sincerity. When we praise God or pray to Him, are our words spoken sincerely
from our hearts? Every song we sing and every prayer we pray, let us utter with
God in our mind and deep affection for Him in our heart.
When we come to Ecclesiastes 5:4-5, we are confronted by the issue of
acting on the word of God. Our attention is directed to what James said in the
New Testament, who tells us to be “quick to hear and slow to speak.” He also
exhorts us in James 1:22, not only to hear the word but also to obey and act on
it. This is precisely what Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 is saying to us. Solomon said, “When you vow a vow to God, do not delay
paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is
better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.” What
does he mean? He is not only concerned about what we say, he is also concerned
about what we do. He is talking about the promises we make to God – plain and
simple! We owe it to God to make good all the vows we make to Him. Interacting
with God is serious business. Let us not treat it as if we are playing games.
We must not let our mouth lead us into sin. Do not say something flippantly and
then justify by saying, “I was only joking.” Solomon strongly urges us in verse
6 not to be flippant with God and end up incurring His wrath. Here’s a word to
all the married couples – please take the vows you make to your respective
spouses seriously. They are a covenant not only with your spouse but with the
Lord who attended your solemnization service.
Let us tread gingerly before God.
A good session of introspection to keep short account with God is needful. We
seek His forgiveness for all promises we have made to Him but failed to do. In
verse 7, we are given a wise word to close up the call to be attentive to God
and to take what we say to Him seriously by remembering to keep our promises to
Him. “For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but
God is the one you must fear.” We must come before God with an attitude
of reverence in what we say to Him. It is emptiness and meaningless to say
words to God that we do not intent to keep. Next time when we go to church, go
with an attitude to offer truthfully what’s in our heart. Say to Him what we
mean and mean every word that we say. Let us honor Him with our heart and also
with our words!
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