The Preacher now examines worship and religion. He explains the difference between the behavior of the wise and the foolish based on vows and promises—on sins of inadvertence, see Leviticus 4; Numbers 15:22-.
He speaks of the respect owed to the sacred place; he rejects inconsistency (Hos 8:18; Am 5:21-24) and values obedience (4:17). He emphasizes God’s transcendence (5:1; cf. Dt 26:15; Ps 115:3; Jos 2:11), hence silence is the most respectful way to address Him — as seen in the Egyptian instruction of “Ani” from around 1000 B.C. — and warns of the fulfillment of what is promised (5:3f). All of this is seasoned with sentences that sound like popular proverbs: “obedience is more acceptable than sacrifices”; “our concerns appear in our dreams”; “many concerns bring nightmares”… Finally, it alludes to the “messenger” (5:5), which may refer to the priest (Mal 2:7) or the angel before whom excuses are futile, since he keeps track of our deeds (Tob 12:12; Acts 10:4). It concludes that it is best to abandon vain illusions and fear God.
Vow fulfillment is common across all cultures (Gen 28:20-22). The importance of acting quickly to fulfill vows is already noted in Deut 23:22, which reflects an ancient wisdom tradition that often distances itself from ritual sacrifices. The argument is that God causes misfortune, but it is humans who bring it about (cf. Ex 32:10-14; Ps 106:23).
The words we find in this section are logical and full of common sense. For our reflection, consider the following example, which aligns with the previous sections: “Since there are vows and promises…,” obedience is greater, because those who act contrary to them are doing wrong.