Go Near to Listen to God

IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Go Near to Listen to God

Date: Aug. 7, 2017

Passage

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 (ESV)

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. 2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. 3 For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words.

4 When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. 5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. 6 Let not 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 voice and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear.

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Daily Bread

Key Verse: 5:1b

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.

1. Guard your steps (1-3)

To guard your steps means to be careful in what you do. When we go to God, we should be careful that we are not just going through the motions. When we do this it is like making foolish offerings. It is useless. Rather, when we go to God, we should listen carefully to God's word. There is no need to speak many foolish words to God. He knows our hearts. We should be quiet and listen to God.

2. Fulfill your vow (4-7)

When we do speak words to God, we should be careful. We should not make vows to God that we have no intention to fulfill, or that we cannot fulfill. When we make a vow, we should do everything we need to do to fulfill our vows. The Teacher calls an unfulfilled vow "your mouth leading you into sin." (6) This makes God angry. Fulfilling our vows pleases God.

Prayer: Lord, when I come to you, help me to be silent and listen to your word. But when I do speak, help me to be a person of my word.

One Word: Listen to God and fulfill your vows to Him

Then You Will Know That I Am the Lord

Joel 2:18-32

Key Verse: 2:27

  You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
    and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else.
  And my people shall never again be put to shame.

Today's Question

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