Ecclesiastes Chapter Five cont...Keep your vows and work hard

6 “Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?”

Here we really see how God feels about one’s words, especially one's vows; in His eyes it is an unpleasant thing for one to break their vow or a promise. We have actually a warning here that if one makes a vow and subsequently breaks that vow then God is not pleased and will not bless the works of their hands. A perfect example of this is in the marital covenant. When one breaks their marital vows then God is not pleased, this is the reason the failure rate of second marriages is 67 % and it increases to 74 % for third marriages (CDC statistic). It is because God does not bless the covenant as a result of the first one being broken.

We have another revelation here and it is that angels are there to witness the making of vows that is what makes them binding. This why it is better to not vow at all than to vow and break it because the angels write down what was said. And finally, we see something of the nature of God (and praise His name for being this way) that He is a covenant keeping God. The Lord takes His promises very seriously; it is part of His nature to be faithful and true to His Word. What He says He will perform!

7 “For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.”

“For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities…” What an interesting verse, in the multitude of dreams and words there are many vanities (whims, fancies that lead people astray). There are those who are always following dreams and schemes, however, it is actually in the established things of life and the kingdom of God such as hard work and faithfulness that keep one in check and on the good path. They are the moorings that keep people from wandering aimlessly and crashing. It is principally thought a good thing to be a visionary; however, the most successful efforts of man do not neglect the things we know work; things such as character and morality, uprightness and righteousness.

"...But fear thou God!" This also is a wonderful antidote for vanities and for straying, walking in the fear of the Lord and considering the end of the race; where will the path I am on today take me tomorrow? In Proverbs we have confirmation that the fear of the Lord is what causes us to depart from evil.