Listen!

Continuing our study of Ecclesiastes…

Eccl. 5:1-3 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.

I liked the NLT translation for the first part of this section: “As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut!” Solomon seemed to understand well the importance of guarding one’s tongue. If he is anything like me, it is a lesson learned through painful experience. He referenced this truth many times in his collection of Proverbs.

Proverbs 21:23 “Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.”

Proverbs 18:7 “A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.”

Proverbs 29:11 “A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.”

Proverbs 29:20 “Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.”

He declares that the personal who is quick to speak without first considering, or carefully thinking about what they want to convey, how they want to be perceived, and whether or not the setting and timing are appropriate often “do evil” in the process. The Hebrew for “evil” has a broad reach; it references causing adversity, distress, grief, hurt, misery, sorrow and trouble.

I know that the context as we continue in this chapter is specific to one’s attitude toward entering the house of God as it applies to making vows to God, but the principle of thinking before speaking is just as important in all forums and situations involving communication with others.

The reference to “rash” speaking continues to emphasize speaking quickly without due consideration of your words. We are more likely to speak rashly when confronted with a situation that provokes our anger or hurts our feelings. Sometimes we are tempted to speak rashly in response to a desire to serve or meet a need without considering God’s will in conjunction with other priorities and responsibilities we have (a more likely application to the context). When we choose to take on more than we can handle, we either end up stressed out and doing a poor job at trying to meet all our obligations or having to go back on our word and admit that we took on more than we could handle.

I like the CJB translation of verse 3: “For nightmares come from worrying too much; and a fool, when he speaks, chatters too much.”

As I continued to think about the application to one’s demeanor upon entering the house of God, it made me think about the reason one would be going to the house of God. In Solomon’s time it was a place to come and offer sacrifices for sin and/or gifts of praise and worship before Him. It was also considered a “house of prayer” as declared by the Lord Jesus as he quoted Isaiah.

Mark 11:17 “And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer?”

Being “ready to hear” would seem to be a direct reference to hearing from God through the ministry of the Spirit as you listen to the reading of His word and in response to your time of prayer and worship. Aren’t we much more prone to want God to hear what we have to say to Him than to take the time to hear what He has to say to us? To be able to hear Him we need to be willing to allow Him time to speak.

I think there is also reference to the motivation behind the words that accompany one’s worship at God’s house. I remember from previous studies how God despised the people coming before Him with rote words and empty ritual and with the pretense of sacrifice by bringing blind and lame animals.

Isaiah 1:11-13 “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.”

Malachi 1:6-10 “A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts. And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts. Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.”

God wants nothing less than our best freely given from a heart of love and gratitude as evidenced by the poor woman and her mites.

Luke 21:1-4 “And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.”

I know I am wandering a bit, but in reading through the scripture again I recently ran across a section in Nehemiah that stood out to me regarding the right way to approach God in worship and with a desire to understand His word.

Nehemiah 8:5-12 “And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up: And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground. Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength. So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved. And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.”

Isn’t that a beautiful picture of a people gathering in reverence with a desire to know God’s word and responding with understanding in repentance for their shortcomings and in thankfulness and joy in the knowledge and understanding of God’s word? Oh that this was a picture of the “church” today.