Ecclesiastes 5:7 Commentary and Bible Study

He concludes by giving us the remedy for all superficiality and for all casual vows to God that we might utter: it is to fear God. This tells us what the real problem is in speaking to God as we do, and in allowing a mass of lightweight words to tumble out of our mouths. The problem is that we do not have sufficient reverence for God. If we did, we would be afraid to put our shallow thoughts and words alongside his. We would say, ‘Who am I, and what do I know in comparison to the Lord? Therefore, I will not utter anything in ignorance before him. I will keep my words few in case I say something which is foolish and I will be slow to speak and quick to listen to what he has to say.’ The only proper corrective to all this vanity is to fear God and to allow the fear of God to drive out all this nonsense. The fear of God will eat away at the vanity within us and dissolve it so that we start to see what we really are. In the face of God’s greatness and holiness, we dare not keep up a pretence any more. This spirit of humility is foreign to man, and so we know that wherever it is found, the Spirit of God is at work.