Approaching God With Care and Reverence
God’s Living Word – Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, NLT
Approaching God With Care and Reverence
5 [a]As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God. 2 [b]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.
3 Too much activity gives you restless dreams; too many words make you a fool.
4 When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. 5 It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it. 6 Don’t let your mouth make you sin. And don’t defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and he might wipe out everything you have achieved.
7 Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead.
Commentary
It is important to give God proper deference. After all He is our Sovereign God and creator of the universe. The focus of these scriptures is our vows and how they are offered and paid (Num. 30:3; Ps. 50:14; Prov. 20:25). It is important to approach God carefully and not be rash in making promises (Prov. 10:19). Because God is in Heaven and we are on earth, our vision is limited; He is the one who sees everything. If we could see what God sees, we would understand. (Commentary from Jeremiah Study Bible)
Food for Thought
Approaching God with care and reverence is terrific advice that transfers to any decision-making role. Without diminishing the importance of this message as it pertains to making promises to God, we should consider thinking about (Ecclesiastes 5:1-7) as a guide for making all decisions. (Notes from The Leadership Bible, NIV © 1998)
May God’s Living Word touch your heart in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen!
Brother Rubin for IBC