Today's Meditation
Read Ecclesiastes 5:1-7
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God; to draw near to listen is better than the sacrifice offered by fools; for they do not know how to keep from doing evil. 2Never be rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be quick to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven, and you upon earth; therefore let your words be few. 3For dreams come with many cares, and a fool’s voice with many words.
4When you make a vow to God, do not delay fulfilling it; for he has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill what you vow. 5It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not fulfill it. 6Do not let your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake; why should God be angry at your words, and destroy the work of your hands? 7With many dreams come vanities and a multitude of words; but fear God.
This passage from Ecclesiastes begins a whole chapter on being reverent before God, learning how to be humble in silence, and finding contentment in all that we have and all that we do. Verse one begins with "guarding our steps" when we come to the House of God and listening.
Solomon, the son of King David, who built the Temple in Jerusalem, spared no expense in creating the House of God. It was his personal crowning glory and sacrifice to the Lord of Heaven. He wanted it to be a sacred place for the people of God to gather in worship. Yet, this building, as magnificent as it was, falls in ruin when the Romans destroy it in 70 AD. Last year, we watched Notre Dame, one of the greatest cathedrals in the world, nearly be destroyed by fire. As we've also seen in this current pandemic and not being able to corporately worship together in our houses of prayer, we've discovered that perhaps the church isn't just a building. It's relatively easy to build a building, but much more difficult to "build" what happens inside. I think that is what verse one is referring to; "guarding our steps" when we come, being careful about how we live our lives when we come to the Lord in worship and in prayer.
The second part of that verse is about listening. We need to listen far more than we need to speak. Although it's trite it holds some truth - we have one mouth, but two ears; therefore, we should listen twice as much as we speak. Sometimes what speaks the most is silence.
I've learned to be comfortable with silence. This was not always the case, needing to fill every void with sound, even if it was only background noise. But, I've come to value the lessons I learn in silence, in the quiet, in the stillness of God - and listen.
This passage calls us to live a life worthy of God and to listen to God's still small voice.
No comments:
Post a Comment