As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God. Don’t make rash promises, and don’t be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth. So let your words be few. (Ecclesiastes 5:1–2)
So many of Solomon’s ideas and observations are horizontal musings of the bitter, barren, boring side of life seen through disillusioned eyes. But on a few, rare occasions the man breaks out of his cynical syndrome. Then his comments contain a remarkable vertical perspective that scrapes away the veneer of empty religion and takes us back to the bedrock of a meaningful relationship with the living Lord.
Let’s examine one of those insightful occasions, to refresh our spirits and restore our souls. Think of those special times when we step away from the press of our daily involvements and step into the awesome presence of our God to worship and focus our full attention on Him and Him alone.
Solomon is writing to people who are about to attend the place of worship. He warns, “As you are on your way to the place of worship, guard your steps. Walk gingerly. Stay alert!” It’s the idea of not being dull or insensitive. Even though you may have heard the things being said numerous times in your life, “guard your steps!” Fools are characterised by mental thickness. They hear words and turn them off.
God is speaking. That’s the reason for the command. The living God is communicating. Henry David Thoreau once wrote: “It takes two to speak the truth. One to speak and another to listen.” To have great messages from God, there must be a well-prepared spokesman and there must be an equally well-prepared congregation. They work in tandem with each other.
“For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God.” (5:7 NASB 1995). In other words, take Him seriously. I sometimes think about people that have been of great help to me in my spiritual life. I thank God for them. They were people who convinced me that I was to take God seriously. A lot of these people had a well-exercised sense of humour. But when it came to God, they modelled the same message: “We don’t play games here, Chuck! Get serious. If God says it, believe it! Do it!”
