Ecclesiastes 5:1-15
1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
2 Do not be quick with your mouth,
do not be hasty in your heart
to utter anything before God.
God is in heaven
and you are on earth,
so let your words be few.
3 A dream comes when there are many cares, and many words mark the speech of a fool.
4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. 5 It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it. 6 Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? 7 Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.
8 If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still. 9 The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields. 10 Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. 11 As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them? 12 The sleep of a labourer is sweet, whether they eat little or much, but as for the rich, their abundance permits them no sleep. 13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners, 14 or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when they have children there is nothing left for them to inherit. 15 Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands.
Monday 12th September
1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
2 Do not be quick with your mouth,
do not be hasty in your heart
to utter anything before God.
God is in heaven
and you are on earth,
so let your words be few.
Qoholet (the Teacher) suggests that we examine our motives when we attend and participate in community worship. Why are we going in the first place – is it just to please others rather than to please God? And when we get there what do we hope to do? Do we want to be the centre of attention, to have others think what good people we are and to be the one who says all the right things? When it comes to praying in public, Qohelet’s teaching is similar to Jesus’ in Matthew 6:7. Jesus warns us against heaping up “empty phrases” and urges that prayer be something we do in secret. Why is that important? I suppose the temptation is always to say things because we feel we have to or because we want to impress others, or simply to repeat the kind of thing we’ve heard others say. Qoheleth suggests something else too – he warns against glib, thoughtless prayers and urges us to remember whom we are speaking to when we pray – the almighty God Himself. We should, he says, let our words be few. Given that both Qohelet and Jesus advise the same approach to prayer – how does this affect how you see your prayer life, or your life in church?
Tuesday 13th September
3 A dream comes when there are many cares,
and many words mark the speech of a fool.
4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. 5 It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it. 6 Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? 7 Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.
Wisdom literature contains a lot about not talking too much. In Proverbs 10:19 we read
“When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
but the prudent are restrained in speech (NRSV).
Does it mean that we should all keep quiet or just that we should all try to talk a little less? When we talk too much we run the risk of making blunders which can hurt others, and it is also possible that what we really want is to be the centre of attention. And that is precisely what both Jesus and Qohelet warn against with regard to corporate worship. It may be drawing us back to the idea that, when we are talking to and about God – we need to be careful, for we are talking to and about the Living God. Some of course, especially those in leadership, do have to talk in public worship. Take some time to pray for your church leaders today – that they will be able to speak wisely in a way that leads people towards God.
But what is Qohelet talking about when he refers to making vows? He is probably thinking of passages like Deut 23:21-23 which speaks of vowing to make offerings to God. In the time of Deuteronomy, this probably referred to vows to make sacrifices. In our day, is it possible for us to make rash promises to God and not fulfil them? This is another aspect of being thoughtless and glib when we speak to Almighty God. But these verses also suggest that God is gracious enough to know that we may well have a tendency to think that we can do things when we can’t. Praise God that he knows us better than we do ourselves.
Wednesday 14th September
If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still. 9 The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.
Qohelet (The Teacher) returns to the topic of people who are being oppressed. He has been thinking about recognising that God is God and we are not – emphasising the mystery of God. He has also been thinking about our motivations as we come into public worship. Worship which comes from right motives will result in care for others. However, he seems to be a bit fed up here – he seems to think that it is inevitable that our systems will be corrupt, and he knows that when this happens the people at the bottom of the social “heap” will bear the brunt of this corruption. Do you think corruption is inevitable in this way? What is your experience? How do you think Christians can help bring justice into our systems?
Thursday 15th September
10 Whoever loves money never has enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.
This too is meaningless.
11 As goods increase,
so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owners
except to feast their eyes on them?
Here again Qohelet’s words remind us of Jesus’ teaching. In his Sermon on the Mount Jesus teaches that the love of money is the root of all evil, and he also tells us that we cannot be both followers of God and of mammon (i.e. money and riches; Matthew 6 :24). Here Qohelet also speaks about the love of money (not money itself). He has watched over the years and seen that it is pointless to live lives which are driven by making money. This challenges us to think about the place of money in our own lives. Whether we have a lot, not much, or just enough, what is our attitude to money? As I write this, we are hearing a great deal about rises in the cost of heating over the coming winter months. Are you anxious about this? Both Jesus and Qohelet warn against making money the driving force in our lives. But Jesus also tells us not to worry, for God knows what we need (Matthew 6:31-32). Take some time today to ask God to help you be honest with yourself about your attitude to money, and the things that we need in life.
Friday 16th September
12 The sleep of a labourer is sweet,
whether they eat little or much,
but as for the rich, their abundance
permits them no sleep.
I have seen a grievous evil under the sun:
wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners,
14 or wealth lost through some misfortune,
so that when they have children
there is nothing left for them to inherit.
15 Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb,
and as everyone comes, so they depart.
They take nothing from their toil
that they can carry in their hands.
Qohelet is still thinking about the love of wealth. He is not against wealth as such but the mindset which allows wealth to become our preoccupation, and the problems that arise when this happens. The more material wealth we have the more energy we have to expend on trying to hold on to it. The rich person’s problems are far more than those of ordinary people who simply have to go to work to earn what is needed to live. Not only that, that person could, overnight, discover that all his or her wealth has gone and has nothing to pass on to the next generation. If that happened, they would be no different to those who had gone through life with no more than they needed. How do you react to this? In Philippians 4:12-13. There, Paul says,
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
Paul seems to have been able to learn the lesson that Qohelet is speaking of here. How do Paul’s words help you to think about your own situation?
We’ve been talking about our attitude towards our own circumstances – but Qohelet also wants us to think about others – ultimately, we are all the same in God’s sight, whether we are rich or poor. But are we able to have this attitude towards others – whether they have more than us or less (in material terms). Everyone is born equal and dies equal. Are we able to live with this, or do we resent people who appear to have more than ourselves?
Saturday 17th September
Isaiah 55:1-2
“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.
Sunday 18th September
Isaiah 55:8-9
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
