What is the meaning of Eccl. 5:1: “Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.”

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This verse deals with acceptable worship in the temple. In today’s setting it would refer to the church. True worshippers approach God in reverence, faith and obedience (i.e. ‘drawing near to hear’). The ‘sacrifice of fools’ is the opposite, viz., a reference to improper actions associated with worship. Such worshippers are unaware of the God in whose presence they stand; their sacrifices are mere form without substance. They come with offering in hand, but without obedient faith in heart (cf. 1 Sam. 15:12-23). Ignorant of God’s spiritual requirements, they fail to worship Him sincerely and intelligently. They sin in their self-imposed ignorance, and as a result their worship and their gifts—thoughtlessly offered—are unacceptable to God.