Listen

Ecc 5:1 "Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil."

 

Back in Solomon's day, the place where people met with God was the temple. David wanted to build the temple, but God did not permit him to do this because of how he had lived his life, so David made preparation for his son to do it and Solomon built the house of God. Solomon had a warning for people who went there...guard your steps. Watch your feet. Why? Because when you are walking into the temple, you are walking into the very presence of the Holy One...so be careful. As you are walking you are coming close. You are drawing near. And why are you coming into God's presence? To impress Him with your offerings? To get God's favor because of how much you can sacrifice? This is foolish. God does not care about sacrifice. Rather God cares about a broken and contrite heart. "For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." Ps 51:16,17. God was not looking for the sacrifice of fools which came from a proud, evil heart. Rather God wanted brokenness. He wanted humility. He wanted people who were willing to shut up and listen, to hear, to obey.

 

Things haven't changed. No, we don't go to the temple any longer because we are the temple of God. And frankly, the church is not the house of God. We are all the house of God. (I Pet 2"5). So what does this mean to me now? Should I guard my steps when I enter church? Sure because where God's people gather, He is there. And how should I draw near? To impress people with who I am? No, I need to come close to listen, to hear, to obey. When God's word is preached, I need to pay attention.

 

But I think it goes beyond this. It goes into what I am doing right now. I am in God's presence right now. I am His temple. He lives in me. I am His house. I need to shut up and listen to what He has to say when I spend time with Him. I need to guard my steps every day. This thing that I do, spending time with Him in prayer and in His word is not something that I should do flippantly. It is not something that I should do just for sake of doing it. I need to guard my steps as I do it. I am in the very presence of the Holy One. I need to draw near to do one thing, shut up and listen, to hear, to obey.

 

Come humbly. Come with a broken and contrite heart. Come to listen.