Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your
Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at BibleStudyHeadquarters.com. You're listening
Speaker 1: to the Chapter a Day Audio Bible. I'm John Stonge
Speaker 1: and today we're in Ecclesiastes chapter 5 and we'll be
Speaker 1: reading from the English Standard Version. Guard your steps when
Speaker 1: you go to the house of God. To draw near
Speaker 1: to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools,
Speaker 1: for they do not know that they are doing evil.
Speaker 1: Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart
Speaker 1: be hasty to utter a word before God, for God
Speaker 1: is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore, let
Speaker 1: your words be few, for a dream comes with much business,
Speaker 1: and a fool's voice with many words. When you vow
Speaker 1: a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for
Speaker 1: He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow.
Speaker 1: It is better that you should not vow than that
Speaker 1: you should vow and not pay. Let not your mouth
Speaker 1: lead you into sin, and do not say before the
Speaker 1: messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be
Speaker 1: angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands?
Speaker 1: For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity.
Speaker 1: But God is the one you must fear. If you
Speaker 1: see in a province the oppression of the poor and
Speaker 1: the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed
Speaker 1: at the matter. For the high official is watched by
Speaker 1: a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them.
Speaker 1: But this is gain for a land in every way,
Speaker 1: a king committed to cultivated fields. He who loves money
Speaker 1: will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves
Speaker 1: wealth with his income. This also is vanity. When goods increase,
Speaker 1: they increase who eat them. And what advantage has their
Speaker 1: owner but to see them with his eyes? Sweet is
Speaker 1: the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much,
Speaker 1: but the full stomach of the rich will not let
Speaker 1: him sleep. There is a grievous evil that I have
Speaker 1: seen under the sun. Riches were kept by their owner
Speaker 1: to his hurt, and those riches were lost in a
Speaker 1: bad venture. And he is father of a son, but
Speaker 1: he has nothing in his hand. As he came from
Speaker 1: his mother's womb he shall go again, naked as he came,
Speaker 1: and shall take nothing for his toil that he may
Speaker 1: carry away in his hand. This also is a grievous evil.
Speaker 1: Just as he came, so shall he go. And what
Speaker 1: gain is there to him who toils for the wind? Moreover,
Speaker 1: all his days he eats in darkness, in much vexation
Speaker 1: and sickness and anger. Behold, what I have seen to
Speaker 1: be good and fitting is to eat and drink and
Speaker 1: find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils
Speaker 1: under the sun the few days of his life that
Speaker 1: God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone
Speaker 1: also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and
Speaker 1: power to enjoy them and to accept his lot and
Speaker 1: rejoice in his toil. This is the gift of God,
Speaker 1: for he will not much remember the days of his
Speaker 1: life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.
Speaker 1: Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your word, and
Speaker 1: we thank you for the wisdom that you grant us
Speaker 1: through your son, Jesus Christ, whom we have the privilege
Speaker 1: to trust. And as we look at your word, Lord,
Speaker 1: by the power of your Holy Spirit, you grant us
Speaker 1: understanding into it. Lord, we pray that our lives wouldn't
Speaker 1: be spent chasing after vanities. We pray, Lord, that our
Speaker 1: lives wouldn't be spent focusing on the things of this
Speaker 1: world in an unhealthy, unrighteous, and ungodly way. but that
Speaker 1: we would recognize that in Jesus Christ we have all
Speaker 1: that we truly need. And Lord, we pray that throughout
Speaker 1: the course of this day and throughout the course of
Speaker 1: every day that we would honor you and put you first.
Speaker 1: We love you, Lord. We're grateful for the life that
Speaker 1: you've blessed us with. And we commit this day to
Speaker 1: your care and pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.