Ecclesiastes 5:1 - Meaning and Application

Solomon wants us to turn away from the world by showing how empty it is. He does this so we will turn to God and to our duty, and not walk by the world’s standards. He wants us to trust in the good things God gives, not in wealth or worldly success. So he sends us to the house of God, the place of public worship, the temple he built at great cost.

When Solomon looked back on his other works, he spoke of them with regret (Ecclesiastes 2:4). But he did not speak that way about the temple. He remembered it with pleasure, though he did not boast about it. He points people there who want to learn more about the emptiness of the world and find the happiness they keep chasing in created things. When David was troubled, he went into the sanctuary of God, the holy place of worship (Psalm 73:17). When our hopes in created things fail, that should turn our eyes to the Creator. We should go to the word of God’s grace and to the throne of his grace, asking him for help. In the word and in prayer, there is healing for every hurt.

Solomon also tells us to behave rightly in God’s house, so we do not miss the good we came for. Religious acts are not empty in themselves, but they become empty to us if we handle them badly. So we must come with seriousness and care. “Keep thy foot” means, do not come carelessly or slowly, as if you are unwilling to draw near to God. Look closely at your steps, and think about the path you are taking, so you do not make a false move. Come to worship with a solemn pause. Take time to prepare your heart, and do not rush into it. Keep your thoughts from wandering and your affections from running toward wrong things, because there is enough work in God’s house for your whole self.

Some think this also points to Moses and Joshua being told to take off their shoes as a sign of reverence and submission (Exodus 3:5; Joshua 5:15). It may also echo the command to keep the feet clean (Exodus 30:19). The point is clear, we must approach holy things with care and humility.

We must also make sure the sacrifice we bring is not the sacrifice of fools, meaning the worship of wicked people. Such people are fools, and their sacrifice is hateful to the Lord (Proverbs 15:8). We must not offer what is torn, lame, or sick, because God has already said he will not accept it. So it is foolish to bring it. We must not rest in the sign, the ceremony, or the outward act, while ignoring its meaning. If that is all we bring, then it is the sacrifice of fools. Outward religion alone is a joke. No one but a fool would think they can please God this way, since he is a Spirit and wants the heart. Such people will see their folly after they have spent so much effort for nothing, because they lacked sincerity.

They are fools because they do not see that they are doing evil. They think they are serving God and helping themselves, but in truth they are insulting God and deceiving their own souls with hypocritical worship. People can be doing evil even while they claim to do good, and even while they do not realize it. Or, as some read it, they do not know enough to do right. Wicked minds cannot help but sin, even in acts of worship. Or they go through worship without any real care, as if it does not matter whether God is pleased or not.

To avoid bringing the sacrifice of fools, we must come to God’s house with hearts ready to know and do our duty. We must be ready to hear. That means we must listen carefully to the word of God read and preached. We should be quick to hear the explanation the priests gave about the sacrifices, since that explained their meaning and purpose. It is not enough just to look at the outward actions. Worship must be thoughtful and real, or else it becomes the sacrifice of fools. We must also be ready to obey what God makes known to us. In Scripture, hearing often means obeying, and obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22; Isaiah 1:15-16). We come to holy duties in the right frame when we say in our hearts, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” A good man said, “Let the word of the Lord come, and if I had 600 necks I would bow them all to its authority.”

We must also be very careful and thoughtful when we come before God. We should not be rash with our mouths when we pray, make promises, or speak words of devotion. We should not let our hearts hurry to say anything before God. When we are in God’s house and gathered for worship, we are in a special way before him. He has promised to meet his people there, his eye is on us, and our eyes should be on him. We do have something to say before God when we draw near in holy duties, because we have serious business with him. If we come without a purpose, we will leave without blessing.

What we say before God must come from the heart. So we must not let our mouths run ahead of our thoughts in worship. The words of our mouths should come from the thoughts of our hearts. Thoughts are words to God, and words are only empty sound if they do not come from thought. Lip service, no matter how polished, is wasted work in religion (Matthew 15:8-9). And even when our words do come from the heart, they must come from a settled heart, not from sudden emotion or passion. As the mouth must not be rash, the heart must not be hasty. We should think, and think again, before we speak, whether we are speaking for God in preaching or to God in prayer. We must not say anything careless or unformed (1 Corinthians 14:15).

We should also use few words in God’s presence, meaning we should be reverent and careful. We must not talk to God as boldly and carelessly as we talk to each other. We should not say whatever comes into our heads, or repeat ourselves pointlessly, as people often do in ordinary speech. When we speak to God, we should remember that he is infinitely above us. God is in heaven, reigning in glory over us and over all people. He is attended by countless holy angels and is far above all our praise and blessing. We are on earth, under his throne. We are low and weak, unlike God, and completely unworthy to receive any favor from him or to have fellowship with him. So we must be grave, humble, and serious. We should speak to him with reverence, as we would to a great man far above us. For that reason, our words should be few, so they may be chosen well (Job 9:14).

This does not condemn all long prayers. If long prayers were wrong in themselves, the Pharisees would not have used them as a show, and Christ would not have prayed all night. We are also told to continue in prayer. But this does condemn careless, empty praying and vain repetitions (Matthew 6:7), like repeating prayers by number without thinking.

Let us speak to God, and about God, in words that fit his truth, words Scripture teaches us. Let our own added words be few, so that we do not speak without care and say the wrong thing. The warning is against praying without attention, not against praying with length when the heart is engaged.

The piling up of words in prayer makes such prayers the sacrifices of fools, (Ecclesiastes 5:3). As confused and troubling dreams show that the mind has been crowded and unsettled, so many words and rushed words in prayer show foolishness in the heart. They show ignorance of God and of ourselves, low thoughts of God, and careless thoughts about our own souls.

Even in ordinary speech, a fool is often seen by many words. Those who know least often talk the most (Ecclesiastes 10:11), and this is especially true in prayer. A prating fool, one who talks on and on without sense, will surely fall (Proverbs 10:8, Proverbs 10:10), meaning he will fall short of acceptance. Those are truly fools who think they will be heard in prayer because they use many words.