“Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear than to give the sacrifice of fool: for they consider not that they do evil. 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. . . . for a fool’s voice is known by a multitude of words. 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. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. . . . wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?” (Ecclesiastes 5: 1-6 KJV).
What is the sacrifice of fools? It’s making a vow in which we’re not sincere. It is our emotionally driven attempt to manipulate God and to impress others, and then not keeping our promise. And that is an “evil” thing to do. To vow is “to promise solemnly; to give, consecrate, or dedicate by a solemn promise as to the Divine power.” Vows are voluntary and the expression of unusual devotion.
The vow in our text is one uttered spontaneously, rashly, recklessly while caught up in a moment by emotion, but without considering the demands and disciplines required to fulfill it or the consequences that would follow if it’s not fulfilled.
A vow is not required to live the Christian life, only sincere obedience to God’s Word. But once a vow is made it’s binding, and the one who makes a vow is obligated to fulfill it.
When we go to the place of worship we’re to “keep (our) foot” by keeping our mouth shut. In other words we are to refrain from obligating ourselves and be more ready to listen and learn.
Before we make a vow we should ask ourselves if we’re sincere, committed, and willing to pay the price for the consecration this vow would demand of us. If not, then don’t make it because we won’t keep it.
Just as we get angry when promises made are not kept, so God gets angry when vows are made to Him and not kept. He is then able to exact punishment.
