God is in heaven. You are on earth. And what does life on earth look like? Wickedness exists in the places of justice and righteousness; the oppressed have no comforter; some toil endlessly in total isolation; and even approaching the temple, we must walk on eggshells. Where is God? Is God a non-interventionist? To answer that question, we must first understand the fear of God in Ecclesiastes.
Thus far, it sure seems as though God is some kind of non-interventionist. It is not clear whether God issue justice, at least in this lifetime (3:16–22). It is clear that some are uncomforted or isolated (4:1; 7–8). Now what? Despite those facts, Qoheleth advises reverence. If you go to the temple, you’d best be on your best behavior. And if you aren’t?
Destruction. Divine destruction. God may not directly intervene, and God may not directly comfort. But can God get angry and destroy the work of your hands? Qoheleth’s answer: yes— so why would you be so foolish as to provoke such divine wrath?
When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. for he has no pleasure in fools; what you vow, fulfill! It is better that you do not vow than that you vow and do not fulfill it. Do not allow your mouth to lead you to sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake; why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? ~Ecc. 5:4–6
Do not make promises you cannot keep. If you do make a vow, the solution is simple: fulfill it. Do not ramble or be rash with your words in the presence of God. And above all else, above all dreams and wishes, fear God (5:7).
As a reminder, the fear of God in Ecclesiastes is much different than the Sunday school versions you know and love. For some scholars, like Jacobus Gericke, it is “literal terror.” As Richard P. Belcher Jr., Professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary, argues, it is a “caution before a God who does not always deliver on his promise to bless the righteous.”
An authority whose governance is real yet morally unreadable.
The “Fear of God” in Ecclesiastes
Let’s have a little battle of the translations, shall we? The “fear of God” is a prominent theme in Ecclesiastes, with a key verse being 3:14. For whatever reason, the NRSVue—my generally preferred English version—translates it like this:
“I know that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it nor anything taken from it; God has done this so that all should stand in awe before him.”
I’m much more partial to the NIV iteration:
“I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.”
Up until the final clause, the translations are quite similar. The NRSVue is (more faithfully) present tense, while the NIV seems to be looking a bit more intentionally to the future.
However, those last few words are pivotal: she’yir’u, “so that they fear.” The Hebrew verb is not ambiguous. It is the ordinary verb “to fear,” making translations that soften it into “stand in awe” interpretive rather than lexical decisions.
A Note on Interpretation: Unorthodox Reverence
As in my last post, given the sensitive nature of the topic, I want to reiterate that this is solely my interpretation. I am not issuing an indictment against God or religious beliefs. This is my interpretation of one of many images of God preserved in the Bible.
As such, in the present post, I am not arguing that the “fear of God” is terror or fright across the biblical canon. In my view, this is unique to Ecclesiastes. This should not be surprising. As Jacobus W. Gericke, Professor of Old Testament at North-West University in South Africa, observes regarding Qoheleth’s declaration that all creation is hebel (1:2):
“Qohelet pronounces a universal value judgment on the entirety of divine creation. This is unrivalled in biblical-theistic chutzpah.”
The point I am trying to make is that Qoheleth is anything but orthodox. Let’s acknowledge that. Who else in the Bible says everything is something at worst “meaningless” (NIV) and at best “vapor” (a literal translation of hebel)? Why should we be surprised if Qoheleth is unorthodox in his conception of the fear of God?
That alone is not evidence to support my claim, necessarily. But it is helpful for grounding. For Qoheleth’s discussion on reverence in 5:1–6, he certainly guards his own steps. But, as Tremper Longman III, Distinguished Scholar Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Westmont College, and biblical scholar Peter Enns suggest, we should not interpret this as a return to traditional piety, since Qoheleth has hardly been “pious” thus far.
I find myself agreeing more with Gericke’s “literal terror.” If somebody is giving you the silent treatment, and you do something that you know will tick them off, you might fear how they may respond. Or better yet, you know the silence must be broken eventually… what will it look like when it does? Will silence erupt into fierce confrontation? That’s roughly what I find in Qoheleth’s “fear of God.”
God is hidden and silent. And easily agitated; that is NOT uncommon in the Hebrew Bible. Will God break the silence? Possibly, if you piss God off enough.
A Time to Fear
There is a time for everything. Although my thesis does not explore the famous Poem on the Times or its discussion (Ecc. 3:1–15), it is imperative to consider this section. The verse I include in my dedication says:
“He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover, he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” ~Ecc. 3:11.
I rely on the NRSVue’s translation to preserve the sentiment my mother, to whom the entire project is dedicated, knew and loved. This verse was especially meaningful to her.
God is the Creator. God sets the times. But, frustratingly, God does not allow humans to “find out” such divine works. There are some things, some truths, that God has withheld from human understanding.
Inscrutable. Whether Qoheleth’s God is hidden, absent, or deeply involved in Creation, there is one thing perhaps all scholars agree on: Qoheleth’s God is inscrutable. And this verse is a major reason why. Humans cannot know what God has done. And for Qoheleth, this opacity is by design.
It is intentional, because this is how God keeps the “fear” alive in humans. As 3:14 argues, “God does it so that people will fear him” (NIV).
So, is this verse optimistic? That is where it gets cloudy. For Longman, an otherwise moderate interpreter, “God’s purpose is to frighten people. In Qohelet’s estimation, he is a cosmic bully (vv. 14–15).” The point of this specific verse, for Longman, is that no matter what, whether preferred or not, “humans cannot change their situation.” The fear of God, for Longman, is not to arouse a sense of awe or reverence, but to “frighten people into submission.” The fear of God in Ecclesiastes is not the fear of God elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible.
In another source, Longman asserts, “Qohelet advocates not the type of fear of God that can be described as reverential but rather the type of fear that would lead someone to avoid or run away from God.”
The fear of God in Ecclesiastes is not to arouse a warm sense of awe; it is the recognition that humans cannot change their situation under an unreadable sovereign.
Destruction and Fear
Ecclesiastes 3 is helpful for understanding the fear of God. But let’s return to the work at hand, in Ecclesiastes 5. God is in heaven, you are on earth, and it is better to keep interactions with this God brief. Furthermore, do not waste God’s time.
Verses 4–7 make the rules quite clear:
- Do not delay in fulfilling vows to God; God has no pleasure in fools (v. 4).
- It is better that you should not vow (v. 5).
- Don’t you dare let your mouth lead you into sin, and even still do not “say before the messenger that it was a mistake” (v. 6) Then we are asked a question:
Why? Why should God be angry and destroy your works? The question is not whether God can or even will destroy your work, but why you would invite such anger in the first place.
If you do these things, to quote Longman one last time, you might “draw the angry attention of the otherwise distant deity… the context indicates Qohelet’s fear of God has more to do with being afraid than reverence.”
Fear God. Not in a cutesy, PureFlix way. Fear God, because God has already made you ignorant, God has already withheld truth, and God is completely capable of destroying everything you’ve ever done. Praise be to God.
Conclusion: The World of Hebel, the God of Uncertainty
If you’ve been following my most recent posts, I hope I have drilled something into your head: in Ecclesiastes, all is hebel. Wickedness in the place of justice and right; hebel. The oppressed have no comforter; hebel. Somebody toils in total isolation; hebel. God is in heaven, you are on earth; hebel. And now, the appropriate response to the hebel world: fear God.
God is the Creator in Ecclesiastes. More so, God sets the times and withholds certain things from human understanding. Why does the world operate this way? To instill fear in the hearts of created beings. By Qoheleth’s time, God is giving us the silent treatment; one wrong move, and we may provoke the deity’s wrath.
So don’t make promises you can’t keep. Don’t ramble in your prayers. Do not make a theatrical show of your faith. Never be rash. God is in heaven, at a safe distance… but that safety turns into danger the moment you step out of line.
Because in this world, the hebel world, the God you stand before is at the ready to rain fire and brimstone upon “the work of your hands.”