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. Ecclesiastes 5:1 (KJV)
Provan prefaces’ this verse through a categorical differentiation between ‘worship of Mammon,’ and ‘worship of God.’ (132) By worship of Mammon he refers to the pursuit of profit through ‘labour under the sun.’ And so, the utter failure of that pursuit, we now move towards ‘worship of God.’ The phrase ‘draw near’ has an interesting reading. The emphasis is on ‘to listen’ whereas, ‘to obey’ could have also been an appropriate response. (Seow, 194)
Comments: It seems to be a default response to turn to God when all human endeavour fails. But that is not the emphasis that Qoheleth seems to lay here. The emphasis is not on ‘turning to God’ but turning to God with the right heart; i.e., one that seeks an amend. (Bartholomew, 174) This also holds an interesting implication on the priority of ‘listening to God’ over ‘obeying Him.’ The worship of Mammon, so to speak, rests on our labour – to obey the science of ‘labour under the sun.’ The entire projects rests on the will, pride, and ability of men to do better in life. This is a stark contrast to what YHWH demands from us. He is not seeking our labour, and our sacrifices. He is seeking our heart(s); for us to rest on Him. And so, the phrase ‘draw near to listen.’ There is also a call for caution. And it directly refers to our inherent nature as ‘born sinners.’ The phrase ‘for they consider not that they do evil,’ highlights the absolute lack of our ability to recognise and acknowledge sin. (Seow, 195) Qoheleth is not saying we do not know how to do evil. But he seems to be saying, we lack the ability to recognise our own evil actions as evil. The wisdom that is worth highlighting here in this particular verse is that: it is better to draw near to God to listen than to draw near to Him with the intention of obeying Him. The desire to obey is egocentric; you are seeking things that you can do to mend your life. The desire to listen is theocentric; you are seeking God for the pleasure of knowing Him alone. The desire to obey results in sacrifices of fools. The desire to listen results in proper expression of love, awe, respect, and reverence for God; it is humble and cautious.
References:
Bartholomew, C. (2009). Ecclesiastes, Baker Academic
Provan, I. (2001). Ecclesiastes/Song of Songs: The New Application Commentary, Zondervan
Seow, C.L. (1997). Ecclesiastes, Yale University Press
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