The Vanity of Fear Under the Sun | Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

SUGGESTED VERSES FOR MEMORIZATION & MEDITATION

Ecclesiastes 5:1 | 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.

Ecclesiastes 5:7 | For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear.

OPENING THOUGHT

The book of Ecclesiastes was written by the Preacher (probably Solomon) to reflect upon his lifelong search for lasting meaning, purpose, and joy in life. But even after obtaining all the pleasure, wealth, sex, and power that he could possibly want, he comes to the conclusion that everything under the sun is vanity, a vapor that is here today and gone tomorrow. Of course, the key to properly interpreting Ecclesiastes is the phrase “under the sun.” Solomon’s ultimate goal is to show that nothing on earth can truly satisfy us. We need divine intervention.

In almost every book or sermon to be found on Ecclesiastes, the emphasis of these verses is placed upon how we worship God, and while worship does form the bulk of the discourse here, the point of this passage is more interested in why we worship than how we worship. The Preacher is diving at the heart behind our worship of the LORD, and the result is rather like a piece of classical music. Two movements are at play here describing how to properly worship God, and each movement ends with a refrain that muses over the vanity of dreams and many words. The piece then closes with a thunderous crescendo that is meant to cast a new light upon everything that came before. Like any complex work of art, the goal is for us to meditate deeply upon what lies before us. Here, specifically, we should consider what the repeated refrain is teaching us about how to worship God and how the Preacher’s conclusion changes how we worship by reminding us why we worship.

GROUP DISCUSSION

Read Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 and discuss the following.

Which verses stood out most to you as you read Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 this week? Why? What do these verses teach you about who God is?
Solomon presents five commands for worship: guard your steps, draw near to listen, avoid foolish sacrifices, avoid rash and hasty words, and pay your vows. Which of these most resonates with you? Why?
Why are we commanded to fear God? Why does the fear of the LORD cast out other fears? What fears and anxieties do you wrestle with? In what ways can you fight them by fearing God more?

PERSONAL REFLECTION

Because all Scripture profits us through teaching, reproving, correcting, and training us, reflect upon the studied text, and ask yourself the following questions about the present text.