Part 1 of 3
In this article and in the next two, we will be studying the first seven verses of Ecclesiastes chapter five.
One of the things I still look forward to every day is the arrival of the postman and then afterwards to check our letterbox to see if he has deposited anything interesting inside. These days, fewer and fewer things are sent by mail, but still, it is exciting to check the letterbox every day.
Now, imagine receiving, in your mail, a letter from the Prime Minister’s Office inviting you to the Istana on a certain day and at a certain time to receive a very prestigious award from no less than the President of Singapore himself. What an honour that would be!
But this passage that we are studying talks about going somewhere far more important than the Istana and meeting someone far more noble than the President, and hearing and speaking words far more significant than any conversation you can have with another human being! And the best part is that such an honour and privilege is available to not just a select few but to all who belong to Christ.
Here, at the beginning of Ecclesiastes 5, the preacher turns his attention to the house of God and gives instructions about approaching God in worship. This short section of just seven verses has six references to God. Clearly, the preacher has moved from the under-the-sun or the godless view of life found in the previous chapter to one that brings God into the picture.
There are two main parts to this section. The first, from verses 1-3, deals with worshipping God in the House of God, while the second, from verses 4-7, has to do with making vows to God. In both these parts, the preacher gives some admonitions or warnings followed by motivations for doing or not doing certain things.
First then, let’s consider what he says about worshipping God in the House of God.
Worshipping God in the House of God (vv. 1-3)
Verse 1, “Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God…” In other words, “watch your steps” or “guard your feet” or in simple terms “be careful” when you go to the house of God. The idea is this – that all who go to God’s house to worship Him should do so thoughtfully, cautiously, reverently, and fully conscious and aware of what they are doing.
When Solomon wrote this, he was thinking about the temple at Jerusalem, which was the most holy building in Israel. In those days, the people had to prepare themselves both spiritually and physically. They were to observe the ceremonial laws with regard to worship and sacrifice. They were not allowed to approach the holy place if they had become ceremonially unclean, for example, through leprosy or bodily discharge or touching a dead body etc, until they had observed the respective laws for purification.
Today, these laws do not apply anymore. In fact, this distinction between holy and profane places and objects has been abolished with the coming of Christ. There are no longer any holy buildings or holy ground or holy furniture in the New Testament. These things were meant to teach and remind the people of Old, in a very physical and tangible way, about the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man.
But while these things do not directly apply today, nevertheless, there is still a need for the people of God to be very careful and thoughtful and watchful of themselves when they approach God in worship, especially public worship, which is what Solomon is specifically addressing in this verse.
I wonder how many of us have these words in our minds as we come for worship week after week, both morning and evening. How many times have we come with little thought of where we’re going or what we are going to do? It’s so easy, isn’t it, to be caught up with our own thoughts and things even as we physically make our way to the place of worship, and to have very little thought of God?
Well Solomon goes on to give another important instruction in verse 1, namely, “and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.” Solomon is referring to the voice of God found in the Word of God.
When we come to the house of God, we come first of all to listen attentively to what God has to say to us. Time and again, the Lord, through His servants, called His people of old to hear His Word. We see that, for example, in Deuteronomy 5:1 and Isaiah 1:10.
But this call to hear the Lord’s word is by no means restricted to the Old Testament for we find it in the New as well. On quite a number of occasions, the Lord Jesus said to the people He who speaking to, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” or “If any man have ears to hear, let him hear” or similar words. And so remember that whenever we come to the house of God, we come first of all to hear the word of the LORD, and we need to be careful how we hear it.
But this word “hear” carries the idea of obedience as well. In 1 Samuel 12:14, the prophet Samuel told the people, “If ye will fear the LORD, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the LORD your God:” That word ‘obey’ is exactly the same word as ‘hear’ in our passage.
Drawing near to worship God involves hearing what God has to say and then responding to Him in swift obedience. This is very important. The opposite of this is described, in verse 1, as the sacrifice of fools, that is, the worship of those who do not have true faith and obedience.
These people are engaged in the mere outward and external form of worship without any heart and soul. Over and over again, the Lord tells His people that sacrifice without obedience is unacceptable and even hateful to Him. (See 1 Sam. 15:22)
The last part of Ecclesiastes 5:1 says, “for they consider not that they do evil.” This means that such worshippers are so foolish and blind that they are not even aware that their sacrifices are evil and offensive to God.
The classic example of this is found in the book of Malachi, where the people came to the temple for worship without having any reverence for God, and as a result, they brought sacrifices that were utterly unacceptable. And so instead of receiving a blessing, they received a curse.
The main thing that we learn from verse 1 of our text is that we must engage in worship thoughtfully and carefully and reverently. We must be ready and careful to hear what the Lord has to say to us and be ready to obey that word, and we ought to avoid all forms of careless, thoughtless, and mere outward worship, for such worship is offensive to the living God…