I Do - Ecclesiastes Chapter 5

Before getting into it, let’s take a moment to stop and breathe, prepare our hearts for what God wants to say. Just as Solomon starts this chapter, let's get ready to step on some Holy ground. 

“I, Mateo, take you, Denesha, as my lawful wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad. I will love and honor you all the days of my life.” It’s not just physical intimacy that makes two people one. Vows aren’t merely words/promises you make, but we undergo a binding process with that person we’re making it with. Saying these vows to Nesha bound me to her. Not only wedding vows, but all vows, God takes seriously. James even goes to say, “But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No,’ lest you fall into judgment (James 5:12).” Solomon continues with an extensive warning about making vows you can’t follow through with. Then we get into dreams, and the futility of dreams. 

Is it that bad to dream? Well, let's relook at the life of Solomon and where he was at during the time of Ecclesiastes being written. He’s at an older stage of life while coming to the reality that a good portion of his life was vanity, meaningless, smoke. But Solomon’s life was full of great accomplishments that probably did require a lot of dreaming. His kingship even started off with God having a conversation with him during a dream. This is where the correlation of vows and dreams come into play: 

To dream without God is vanity. To vow to make a dream that is not from God come true is vanity. 

When we vow to make dreams come true, we bind ourselves to that dream. The ultimate variable is if God is in the middle of that vow or not. Go and study Genesis 11 and 15 side by side. We see a group of people on one accord who wanted to build this great tower reaching into heaven and make a name for themselves. Even God saw the work they were able to do and acknowledged nothing would be impossible for them. In result, He confuses their language and scatters the people all over the earth. Then we have Abram. God tells Abram not only will he receive a child, but his descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Abram receives his son 25 years later. About 600,000 of Abraham’s descendants, not including women and children, left Egypt. There are about 25.3 million Israelites around the world.  

What God establishes, He will complete. 

Solomon did a lot of dreaming and action apart from God. He is warning us to stay close to Him. Don’t let your dreams, hopes, desires stray you away from your first love. In fact, fear the Lord. Fear life apart from God. Take every day as its own and seek His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Even with my marriage vows to Nesha; I can’t fulfill them on my own. My marriage needs God in the middle to hold us together. If I stray away from God, that is a recipe for my marriage to fail. For my life to fail. Trust in God, let Him establish His will for your life, and don’t be afraid. 

for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. 

Philippians 2:13.