Eccl 5_1-7
As I read Ecclesiastes I can imagine Solomon walking around Jerusalem making observations.
· In chapter 1 it sounds like he is in the library of a university. He looks around at the collection of human wisdom and knowledge and he realizes that education is not enough to satisfy the soul. He concludes. I applied my heart to know wisdom . . . I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind. (1:11)
· In chapter 2 he is back in one of his palaces. He looks over the grandeur of the buildings and gardens and says in 2:11 I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, He had everything the world had to offer but it did not give his life meaning and purpose.
· In 3:20 he seems to pause by a graveyard and he’s reminded that All are from the dust and to dust they shall return.
· In chapter 4 he stops in the market and watches people doing their business. He says “Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work comes from a man’s envy of his neighbour”. He observes a man working alone and then others working together and he concluded that Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil.
· From the market place he walks over to the government buildings and it gets him thinking about the need for wise leaders. He says in 4:13 Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king.
· Then in 5:1-7 Solomon approaches the magnificent Temple that he has built for the Glory of God. This place is special and Solomon reminds us of the proper way we are to come into the house of God. (READ)
There is a serious tone to Solomon’s opening words. v.1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. In the days of the Old Testament God dwelt among His people at specific locations. First it was at the Tabernacle and then in the days of Solomon it was the Temple in Jerusalem.
When Solomon finished dedicating the Temple it tells us in 1 Kings 9:2-3 the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. And the Lord said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you have made before me. I have consecrated this house that you have built, by putting my name there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time.
In the New Testament something even more amazing took place. Because of the Lord Jesus Christ God dwells not in a particular location but among a particular people; His people the church. Listen to 2 Corinthians 6:16
For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
When we gather together like we are this morning the Lord is present in a special way, not because we are in a church building but because we are gathered in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Q: Can I ask you; Have you been guarding your steps as you entered God’s presence here this morning?
These opening words of Chapter 5 are very piercing. The grammar shows that Solomon is pointing to each of us individually and saying Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.
Q: How do we do that? Solomon gives us three ways to guard our steps in these verses. It has been on my heart this week that this may be one of the most important sermons we hear from the book of Ecclesiastes.
I. You can guard your steps by drawing near to listen. v. 1
v. 1 To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.
A. To listen has a double meaning in Hebrew. It means to obey as well as to hear. (ILL) This double meaning is possible in English as well. We might say I am listening to the radio (meaning I’m using my ears) or a parent might say to a child you are not listening to me (in other words the child is not obeying).
When we come into God’s presence it’s vital that we do both. We need to listen to the Word of God and then we must obey what we hear. James 1:22 reminds us to be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
As you listen to God’s Word it will call on you to obey.
· It might call on you to correct a wrong understanding you have of the Lord and His ways.
· It might point out a sin in your life that you need to confess.
· It might show you an area where you can serve the Lord better.
· When Solomon says draw near to listen, he is calling on us to pay careful attention to God’s Word and to put it into practice.
B. If you do draw near to listen you won’t be offering the sacrifice of fools that’s mentioned in verse 1. The sacrifice of fools is either the wrong sacrifice or the right sacrifice offered in the wrong way.
In the context of the Temple it would be foolish to offer a goat when the Law calls for a bull, or to offer the right sacrifice but with an insincere heart. As if all the Lord was interested in was the sacrifice.
Solomon says they are doing evil by offering the sacrifice of fools. Verse 1 implies they are making inappropriate sacrifices because they are not listening to God’s Word. Ignorance is no excuse when you have the Word of God and teachers you can ask questions to.
C. The principle you can draw from verse 1 is that listening to the Word of God will keep you from improper religious practice.
There is no longer a need to offer animal sacrifices to the Lord because Jesus Christ has become the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
But there are other religious duties that must be done in the right way. Paul told the Corinthians that all things should be done decently and in order. (1 Co 14:40)
(ILL) Some Christians might say “I like doing my own thing in church” What they should say is What does the Lord want me to do when I come before Him in worship.
The Word of God has specific instructions for us and it would be foolish to ignore them.
Not only should we do the right things when we gather together but our hearts must be in it.
· Your singing must be real. Sing as if the Lord were visibly present in the room.
· Make sure you are celebrating the Lord’s Table in a worthy manner. Which means you are mindful of what the symbols represent.
· When you listen to the preaching of God’s Word make sure your mind, heart and will are all engaged. Anything short of that is dishonouring to the Lord.
To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools.
II. You can guard your steps by offering considered prayers vs. 2-3
v.2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. v.3 For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words.
A. In prayer, do not let your mouth speak what you heart and mind has not considered
(ILL) I spent years of my life repeating the same prayers over and over again. Those prayers were mindless. They meant nothing to me and they certainly did not impress the Lord.
Jesus said in Matthew 6:7 And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.
As far as prayer goes, aim for quality over quantity. John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim’s Progress, wrote: “In prayer, it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart.”
B. Solomon says the reason we must offer considered prayers is because God is in heaven and you are on earth.
(ILL) I went to see the county manager a few months ago and I really thought through what I was going to say. In his office I was mindful of his position and I hope I spoke appropriately.
I’m sure you agree that there is no one higher authority than the Lord. (ILL) If you are careful in speaking to your boss or teacher how much greater should be your care in speaking to the Lord of the universe!
One man said: God is an infinitely exalted being, whom we should not approach without collecting our thoughts, and reverently lifting up our souls. (Delitzsch)
That doesn’t mean we have to be frightened or intimidated speaking with the Lord. Jesus told us we can address God as Abba Father. The author of Hebrews said we can approach the throne of grace with confidence but we must do so humbly.
In prayer we are not speaking on the phone to our buddy we are addressing the Holy God who sits enthroned above the heavens. You have been invited to speak but do so recognising the greatness of who you are addressing.
There is a proverb in verse 3 that is not that easy to understand. For a dream comes with much business and a fool’s voice with many words. The New Living Translation captures the meaning well. Too much activity gives you restless dreams; too many words make you a fool.
You can guard your steps in the presence of the Lord by offering considered prayers.
III. Solomon then addresses the subject of vows. He says you can guard your steps by keeping the promises you make to God. vs 4-7 (READ)
A vow is a voluntary promise made to God in gratitude for a blessing or in anticipation of a blessing you hope to receive.
(ILL) For example a farmer might say: Lord I thank you for the abundant harvest of my fields and I promise to give 20% of the profit for the advancement of Your kingdom.
The Bible has a number of examples of people making vows to the Lord.
· Hannah the mother of Samuel made a vow in 1 Samuel 1:11 And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life,
· In the New Testament Zacchaeus made a vow in Luke 19:8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.
· We hear about Paul keeping a vow in Acts 18 but we are not told any of the details. It could have been a vow he made before he got saved. The important thing to notice is that he kept it.
Vows were regulated here in Ecclesiastes and in the book of Deuteronomy 23:18, 21-23 (READ)
From these passages we can draw the following principles about vows.
1. In a vow you cannot offer God something you gained from illegal or immoral means. Deuteronomy mentions the proceeds of prostitution. You can add the proceeds of gambling or robbery to that. No good saying God “Lord if you let me win the Lotto I’ll give you half.”
Ill-gotten gain will not benefit you or the Lord’s work.
2. It is not necessary to make vows. Moses said it is not a matter of sin. Making a vow does not make you more holy.
I would put vows in the same category as fasting and tithing in the New Testament. You are free to do them but they are not required.
3. If you do make a vow you are under obligation to fulfil it. Proverbs 20:25 says Don’t trap yourself by making a rash promise to God and only later counting the cost.
Solomon tells us here in verse 5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. It is sin to break a vow. Solomon said in verse 6. Let not your mouth lead you into sin.
4. You must also fulfil the very thing you promised. Malachi 1:14 Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations.
When a vow was made publically there seemed to be some form of follow-up. In verse 6 it mentions a messenger coming to collect the vow. The word messenger here can refer to an angel or a priest. Most likely it’s a priest because priests are specifically called messengers of God in Malachi 2:6-7.
In verse 6 someone made a public promise in the Temple to give something to the Lord but when the priest went to receive it he was met with a lame excuse. It was a mistake.
God will hold a person to their promise. The idea of God destroying the work of your hands in verse 6 is that God will discipline the one who breaks a vow.
Warren Wiersbe adds this caution: If we made our vows only to impress others, or perhaps to “bribe” the Lord (“If God answers my prayer, I will give €500 to missions!”), then we will pay for our careless words.
5. If you have made a rash vow in your life you need to do what you can to carry it out. If that is not possible then you need to confess that sin to the Lord. There is forgiveness in Jesus Christ for any sin.
(ILL) Keep your head in any meeting where people are promising money or pledging to serve in a specific area of ministry like missions. Sometimes the pressure of a crowd can cause you to do something you might later regret.
If you do make a promise to the Lord make sure it’s thought through.
Solomon is telling us in verse 7 that the fear of God should cause us to consider carefully what we promise. For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear.
We are called on in this passage to guard our steps when we come into God’s presence. You can do this by listening carefully to His Word so that you worship and serve Him properly.
Your prayers must be considered. Always remember you are addressing the sovereign Lord of the universe. A God who also loves you and invites you to speak with Him.
Finally when God makes a promise He keeps it and so should you.
Paul told the Ephesians Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, (Eph 5:15).
Solomon has helped us to do that as we enter into the presence of the Lord.
Let’s pray!