Approach God With Reverence (Ecclesiastes 5:1-7)
Transitions from value of community (4:9-16) to the proper way that community is to approach God (5:1-7).
Pray & Read Ecclesiastes 5:1-7.
One week after our wedding, Carrie and I left the church I had attended for twelve years. That Sunday, August 1999, the church began “The Decades Series” (50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s):
- Entrance: Two convertible Chevy Bel Airs.
- Greeters (Grease): Poodle skirts, jeans & leather jackets.
- 50s Themed: Skit > Songs > Lesson (major events/people).
- Local News Station was there recording footage for a segment that would air that evening.
Apparently, our itching ears craved laughter rather than maturing through sound teaching. Our departure was as much about what we saw as it was about what we didn’t see, the Bible. We had no need to open our bibles because there was only one brief reference to a Psalm that I had to think hard to recall when Carrie asked me. Great entertainment =/= reverence for God and love for His Word.
The antidote to entertaining worship is true worship with reverence and awe.
I. Listen Carefully (1)
God is mentioned 6x in this passage. Various elements of worship are mentioned. It considers our attitude before God. It’s about how we approach God in worship.
1 Pay attention to God’s Word. The Word is to be preached, sung, read, prayed, and consumed! The fool enters the temple without thinking/knowledge, unaware of his offensive approach. He would be much better off simply observing and listening rather than participating.
Always a learning curve. My first time visiting Sierra View PCA was challenging. I don’t recall hearing a “Call to Worship” or a “Benediction” prior to that Sunday. Why did the pastor raise his hands during those elements but put them down during the singing? What did he think of the end times? Gifts of the Spirit? Why do you baptize babies? I had many questions, but one thing was clear—reverence. No poodle skirts! Distractions were minimal. The Gospel was central.
Nitpick aspects, not attitude. Come with reverence, never indifference! Are you listening? Distracted by sitting/standing > bathroom. 1 Stop. Solemn opportunity before your God (Exod. 3:4-5). Holy God worthy of full attention (Boot Camp Grad.: Video games > focused). God > drill sergeant.
Christ = example, hope.
Ryken “This is part of what it means for us to know Christ: our imperfect worship is accepted by the Father because of the perfect worship offered by the Son.”
II. Speak Infrequently (2)
Why is reverence lacking today? Manmade gods are loving, but not angry; they are forgiving, but not just; they are good, but not holy. There is no reason to fear that god.
2 Know the difference between you and the true God. Enter with reverence because God is in heaven and we are on earth. Let your words be few. Fools speak hastily and frequently. It’s like they have to prove their worth to God/others.
Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father in heaven…” Jesus Cleared Temple: Drove out with whip, overturned tables. They had dishonored the meeting place between God and man. “My house shall be called a house of prayer.” Zealous for God’s House (marketplace > theater). Same leaders heaped up “many words” in prayer. Speaking =/= obedience (Matt. 7:21-23). Jesus warns that we will give an account for every careless word (Matt. 12:36).
Ryken “Every time a mouth is open, a heart is on display.”
Do you recognize the difference between God and humans when you enter worship? Not peers, but adopted children.
Do you mean what you sing/confess/pray? Bulletins.
James 3:2 If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man.
Only one person fits that description. Jesus was never rash, he always spoke the truth. Only by his grace can any of us speak what is true in worship.
III. Vow Accordingly (3-7)
A fool comes before God without thinking and starts making vows. Instead of observing and reflecting, the fool jumps in and participates in an unworthy manner. Fools make extravagant vows in public, but recant in private.
3 & 7 What do dreams have to do with reverent worship
Longman “Work leads to many dreams; foolishness leads to many words.”
- Problem: Many dreams/words > vanity of life.
- Solution: Fear God (cf. 12:13).
Israel trembled before a trembling mountain where God met with Moses. They didn’t want to meet with him in person (Ex 20:19-20). That’s safer than entering his presence with indifference. How should we approach God? (Heb 12:28-29). There is a trembling that isolates us from God, and a trembling that accompanies reverence/awe.
Consider the vows we have sung and prayed today. Did we make them with integrity and a sober mind? Targets all of us!
Kidner “The well-meaning person who likes a good sing and turns up cheerfully enough to church; but who listens with half an ear, and never quite gets round to what he has volunteered to do for God.”
Christ alone kept every promise. His greatest vow was the promise to his Father that he would suffer the wrath of God in his death on the cross…for us!
Conclusion
Listen carefully, speak infrequently, and vow accordingly. This passage gives new meaning to the phrase “Prepare your hearts for worship.” Begin the night before!
The antidote to entertaining worship is true worship with reverence and awe.
Why can’t I just be myself? Why can’t I casually speak to Jesus? Because God is holy, great, and mighty. While we should prize intimacy with God, it should never displace any of his attributes.
Thankfully, we have a great priest through whom we “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Heb. 10:21).