What does “keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God” mean?

“Keep thy foot” is a picture for watching how you come before God. It is not about how you walk, but about your heart and attitude. When you go to worship, you should come with respect, thinking carefully about why you are there. The passage says you should be more ready to hear than to bring a careless offering. So this verse is calling you to come prepared, to listen to God’s word, to turn from sin, and not to rush into empty words or outward religion without a sincere heart.

What is the “sacrifice of fools” in this passage?

The “sacrifice of fools” is any act of worship that is only outward and not from the heart. Fools think they are doing something good just by bringing an offering or going through a ritual, but they are not truly listening to God or turning from sin. They “consider not that they do evil.” This can be rushing into worship, praying without thinking, or using religious acts to cover a stubborn heart. The passage says it is better to listen and obey than to offer such empty sacrifices.

Why does the passage say to let our words be few before God?

The passage reminds us that God is in heaven and we are on earth. That means he is great and we are small, and we should not speak to him carelessly. Letting our words be few does not forbid long prayer, but warns against hasty, thoughtless, or showy speech. Many words can cover a wandering heart. God listens for faith, honesty, and reverence, not for noise or repetition. So we should slow down, think about what we say, and speak to God with a humble, sincere spirit.

Why are vows to God treated so seriously here?

Vows are treated seriously because they are promises made directly to God. The passage says that when you vow, you should not delay to keep it, and that God has no pleasure in fools who promise and do not pay. It is better not to vow at all than to vow and break it. A rash promise can lead you into sin, and trying to excuse yourself later as if it were a mistake does not remove the guilt. This teaches that our words before God matter and that honesty and follow-through are part of fearing him.

Who is the “angel” we are told not to speak carelessly before?

This verse has been understood in more than one way, but the main idea is clear. The “angel” likely means God’s representative in worship, such as a messenger or priest who would hear about your vow. The warning is not to say in front of this messenger, “It was a mistake,” as if that could cancel your promise. Whether the word points to a human or heavenly messenger, the point is that your vow has been made before God himself, and you cannot treat it lightly or talk your way out of it.

What does this passage teach about loving money and wealth?

The passage says that the one who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver, and the one who loves abundance will not be filled by increase. When goods grow, more people gather to consume them. Riches can cause worry, sleepless nights, and even harm when they are hoarded. They can vanish through trouble, leaving nothing for the next generation. In the end, we leave this world as we entered it, with empty hands. So love of money is called vanity, like chasing the wind.

How does the passage compare the rich and the labouring man?

The labouring man is pictured as sleeping sweetly, whether he eats little or much. His simple, honest work brings rest. In contrast, the rich person with great abundance cannot sleep. His wealth brings cares, fears, and often overindulgence, which disturb his rest. The teacher is not praising laziness or condemning all wealth, but showing that a simple life with work, daily bread, and quiet sleep can be better than anxious riches that rob a person of peace and joy.

Why does the writer call hoarded riches a “sore evil”?

Hoarded riches are called a “sore evil” because they often harm the one who keeps them. Instead of being used for good, they are piled up, feeding greed and fear. Those riches can be lost through trouble or bad events, leaving the owner and his children with nothing. After a life spent grasping for gain, a person still leaves the world naked, taking nothing in his hand. All that labour is like working for the wind. It brings darkness, sorrow, anger, and sickness, not lasting gain.

What does it mean that enjoying work and wealth is a gift of God?

Near the end, the writer says it is good and fitting to eat, drink, and enjoy the good from our labour, because this is our portion from God. When God gives someone riches and also gives the power to enjoy them, to take their share and rejoice in their work, that joy is God’s gift. Such a person is not crushed by the shortness or hardness of life, because God fills the heart with gladness. The focus is not on hoarding wealth, but on receiving daily good things with thanks and fear of God.

How should a believer today respond to the call to “fear God” here?

To fear God in this passage means to treat him with deep respect, trust, and obedience. It ties together all the warnings given: be careful in worship, think before you speak, keep your vows, do not be swallowed up by dreams, words, or greed. God sees injustice and judges what is done on earth. He also gives daily bread, work, and joy. So fearing God today means taking him seriously in every part of life, turning from empty religion and love of money, and receiving what he gives with a humble, thankful heart.

Eccl.5.1

Ecclesiastes 5:1

KJV

Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.

Approaching God with Awe

1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.

2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.

4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.

5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

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?

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

The Futility of Wealth

8 ¶ If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.

9 ¶ Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.

10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.

11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?

12 The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

13 There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.

14 But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.

15 As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.

16 And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?

17 All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.

18 ¶ Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.

19 Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.

20 For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.