Ecclesiastes 5:1-20
Chapter 5 seems a little disjointed until we find the common theme that unites it: temple worship (vs 1-7), the consuming power of bureaucracy (vs 8-9), and the frustration associated with the spending of wealth (vs 10-17).
In the first case a person makes a sacrificial commitment but, for whatever reason, doesn't keep it. What a terrible thing to do—to make a promise to God but not keep that promise. Apparently these people were led by the impulse of dreams (vs. 3 & 7). It is better to live in faith and fear of God than to make promises you don’t keep. In the second case the ever-present hand of taxes eats away at what has been saved. Taxes were taken from the local agent all the way up the chain to the king. In the third case is the man who feels he just can't get ahead. With passionate love for wealth, he pursues it but never gets enough. Sometimes it is an investment gone bad. In some cases it is that the more he owns, the more he must spend to keep or maintain his wealth. Verse 17 is a powerful warning picture of the person who makes wealth a priority.
So what is the answer? a steady life of faith, contentment, and work done for God's glory.
“Lord, let all that I am doing be done for Your glory. AMEN."
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