Ecclesiastes Part #7: The Meaning of Life: Joy and the Fear of God

 The Meaning of Life #7: Ecclesiastes Chapter 5: Joy and the Fear of God

Introduction:

About five years ago we started a series on the book of Ecclesiastes, written by Solomon the wisest man to ever live under the sun.  If you haven’t seen or listened to the first 6 installments called “The Meaning of Life,” they are available on our website: getabundantlife.com, our facebook page, and our youtube channel, and in written form on my blog: BucketFullofGrace.blogspot.com.  I’ve had a lot of appreciative comments from people about these over the last five years so I would recommend them not because they are things that I have said, but because I really think the Lord spoke to people through our extensive study of the book of Ecclesiastes so far in spite of me getting myself in the way, so without rehashing and reviewing too much of those first 6 sermons, I would remind you that Solomon tried everything possible to find happiness in this life under the sun, women, money, power, great works, military achievement, music, architecture, comedy, hard work, leisure, food and drink, wisdom and foolishness… every single thing and every combination of things that you could ever try and he found that none of it truly satisfied his soul and that it was all what he called chasing after the wind… a vaporous waste of a lifetime… and we find that this is the state of man without God… We find that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, we find that Jesus has come into the world to set the captives free… free from the struggle against sin that so easily entangles caught in the snare of this World we try to find what will make us happy, when really what we need is not happiness… it’s joy.  Joy that can only be found in surrendering our lives to Jesus Christ and following Him… so we will pick up the trail of what the Holy Spirit is teaching us through Solomon the Teacher, through the Word of God, and through Me.  

Let’s Pray

Prayer: Father, don’t let me get in the way of what you want to say today, but my prayer is that Your Wisdom, beyond even the wisdom of Solomon, for truly one greater than Solomon has come, Jesus will shine through and pierce our hearts today to make real movement in your kingdom, to draw us closer to you!

Amen.

Chapter 5 verse 1

5  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.

I have never been to the temple mount in Israel, but I have heard an interesting thing about the southern steps.  Did you know that they are incredibly uneven and irregular and were deliberately made to be that way.  There will be two narrow steps, then a wide step, then a slightly taller step, then two wide steps, then three narrow steps… etc… This was not a mistake or bad craftsmanship, it was genius.  The goal was that you would have to guard your steps as you went to the house of God or you would trip and fall. You weren’t there to see your relatives or buy and sell things to the crowds… you were climbing the steps to the temple of the living God.  You were drawing near to listen for the Words of the Lord, it was and is a Holy place, full of somber remembrance and joyful adoration.  The design of the steps was intentional so that worshippers would be thoughtful and reflective paying careful attention to their steps.  And, for us, it is not less of this, but actually should be even more.  You see, God doesn’t only dwell in the temple but if you’ve accepted Him then He is in you and in me and we are entering into His presence not only on Sunday morning, but every morning and in every interaction with each other… if we only recognized when we talk to each other that we are talking to a being that is GOING TO LIVE FOREVER IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD OR IN THE LAKE OF FIRE how much more then would we guard our steps when come to the house of the Lord?  People used to wear their Sunday best to church.  People used to go to bed early on Saturday night because “I have church in the morning.” Now, you can get legalistic about these things, they aren’t want saves you, but you get get complacent and take the house of the Lord too lightly too.

When we come to church and open our bibles to hear the Word of the Lord, we should say like the disciple did, “Where else could I go, for only you have the words of life?”  We ask you to bring your bibles to church… knowing full well that we will have the scriptures projected on the wall, and that your bible is probably a different translation than we’re using anyway.  Why do we do that? Why do we ask you to bring your bibles?  It’s part of YOU guarding your steps.  Do you know where  your bible is? Is there any reason really to not bring it?  Shouldn’t it be part of preparing to come to the house of the Lord?  Now, we shouldn’t be legalistic about this but we shouldn’t be complacent either.  We should want to bring our bibles.  We should want to be reminded of God’s Words to us in our quiet times.  We should want to write notes in the margins so that we are ready to hear from the Holy Spirit and retain it.  Not taking the Lord lightly. 

To draw near is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.

Would it be better to just do whatever you want and live with reckless abandon?  To live as the unbelievers do? Or is it better to have rules and regulations, railings to stay within?  It says here, it is better to draw near to God.  It is better to know what you are doing that is evil by paying close attention in church, and in bible study, and in relationship with other Christians.  It’s not only ok that there are railings on what you should and shouldn’t do, it’s so much better to draw near than to offer the sacrifice of fools.  And, what is the sacrifice of fools?  Going to church without letting Jesus really be Lord of your life.  Saying you are a Christian without really being a Christ follower.  Faking it is the sacrifice of fools.  Come near to the Lord, learn at His feet, take notes, review them, apply them to your life, put railings on what you should and shouldn’t do.  It’s good for you.  It’s so much better than being alone in the wind a faker offering the sacrifice of fools..

You might think that you want freedom, but true freedom has direction and boundaries to it.  Are you really free when you are alone with nothing in the middle of the Ocean? You can go anywhere you want… you are free but it’s not good.  True freedom is when you are set free from sin, but you are only free from sin because you have come near to God and you’ve listened, and you’ve obeyed.  Only a fool takes the Lord lightly and comes before God with a foolish attitude.  

 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.

Prayer meetings are a wonderful thing… but… have you ever been in a prayer meeting where someone’s prayer goes off the rails?  They start hitting on all these things that are really opinions of theirs, political statements, gossip about people, or just repetitive going on and on, Lord Jesus, Mighty God, Prince of Peace, Lord Jesus, Oh Jesus, Lord Jesus… in some circles it becomes sort of a badge of honor to pray with many words, that you are somehow more spiritual by doing so.  But, think about this for a minute with me.  Jesus taught us how to pray in Matthew 6, let’s look at the context of the 53 word prayer that we call the Lord’s Prayer or the Our Father just 53 words short:

5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,

10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us today our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]
    but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’

14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Now, there are a lot of great sermons on this prayer and Pastor Dan has done a wonderful series on the Lord’s Prayer, but I just want to point out how what Jesus is saying here really matches up to what Solomon said, 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.

Are you rash with your mouth? Is your heart hasty to utter words before God?  I sometimes think, if I’m speaking to the KING AND RULER AND MAKER OF THE UNIVERSE, shouldn’t I carefully craft what I’m going to say?  Should I write down a few different versions and really get things just right before daring to utter a word before the KING OF THE UNIVERSE? Am I reverent enough? Respectful enough? Humble enough before GOD?  There are Jews to this day that will not say the name Yaweh, the name of God, they won’t even write it down with the vowels in it because it’s too precious, it’s too powerful, it’s too HOLY.  I want some of that awestruck nature of who God to filter into us today.

It happens to me a little every time we sing that song, let my words be few, Jesus I am so in awe of you.

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.

What does fear of God really mean?  If you made a vow to someone that you feared, would you fulfill that vow? When do we make vows to God, marriage, becoming a member of the church, baptism, baby dedications, when you become a christian and promise the Lord all sorts of things, we say to the Lord oh if you just get me out of this jam that I’m in I promise I’ll serve you, I’ll tithe 10% of everything I make pre-tax pre-anything, we make vows, I’ve even heard vows said like Lord if you will just make it so that my girlfriend isn’t pregnant then I’ll marry her… that’s trying to manipulate God to be ok with your sin, that’s not a real prayer… but these verses say, take your vow VERY seriously.  If you are ever going to go back on your vow to God then it would be better if you had just NEVER MADE THAT VOW TO BEGIN WITH BECAUSE IT WAS A LIE FROM THE PIT OF HELL AND YOU NEVER INTENDED ON KEEPING IN TO BEGIN WITH.  IT IS GOD THAT YOU MUST FEAR!

Be strong and courageous.  Fight the good fight. Run the race to win!  

Only a fool would take God so lightly as to make a promise and not keep it.  He is the Creator of the Universe.  He is in Heaven and you are on Earth.

Verse 8:

The Vanity of Wealth and Honor

8 If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them.      9 But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields. 10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. 11 When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? 12 Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

Notice that money isn’t evil, but the love of money, the desire for more money is the root of all sorts of evils.

Solomon is basically saying: Mo’ money mo’ problems.  Really though, this is real wisdom.  People want more money, but the rich are constantly worrying about their wealth and are never content with what they have.  

A few years ago I got interested in Cryptocurrency and was researching it and investing in it and I put a little money into it and it went WAY UP!  Guess what happened… did I have joy? Did I sleep better at night? NO!  THE EXACT OPPOSITE.  I was constantly looking at the prices, I wasn’t able to sleep at night, I was terrified that it would go down and I would lose this money, that wasn’t even real to begin with!  It was digital, just numbers on a spreadsheet, just code in the memory of a computer SOMEWHERE.  MONEY ISN’T REAL, NOT LIKE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LIVING GOD IS REAL!!!  I WAS CONSTANTLY CHECKING MY PHONE, EVEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT FRETTING OVER THE PRICE GOING UP AND DOWN!!!  What a picture, they eat rich foods and have a lavish lifestyle and live what they think is going to be a relaxing and wonderful life and… can’t sleep at night… and are constantly worried, but if you’ve done what we call an honest days work, you zonk right out at night, satisfied, sweet is the sleep of a laborer.  It’s interesting that what we think we want might not actually be what’s good for us.  The rich will often have more problems than the poor, more to take care of, more to look after, because everything in that lifestyle is more more more, and as Solomon explains, it’s all just chasing after the wind, vanity, worthless pursuits, it won’t make you happy, it won’t make you fulfilled.

Because verse 13:

13 There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, 14 and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. 15 As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. 16 This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind? 17 Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger.

When someone is rich, to lose their riches destroys them… but if you were already poor, you’ve got nothing to lose.  Now, I’m not talking about impoverished and starving people in need of help, I’m talking about the middle class people like us that are always wishing they were rich, it’s not better once  you are rich, stop dreaming of winning the lottery, there’s a reason that almost all lottery winners end of bankrupt and in drug rehab or prison.  Solomon is explaining here how it’s actually worse.

18 Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot.

You’ll sleep better at night if you work.  It is good for a man to work.  It is good to provide for your family.  It is good to fear God and not become complacent and not become worried that you’ll lose so much money that you won’t be living in leisure anymore.  You shouldn’t be living in leisure anyway.  It is selfish to live a life of leisure.  God has given you this one life, and do you really want to waste it laying around looking at your phone?  He says, you know what is best, FIND ENJOYMENT IN THE TOIL.  Elsewhere the bible says: Work as one working for the Lord.

 19 Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. 20 For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.

Has God kept you occupied with joy in your heart.  Well, he wants to.  And, He wants you to guard your steps as you come to the house of the Lord.  Something that Jesus saves us from is the desire to gain earthly wealth and turn it into leisure.  The work that we do doesn’t save us, but have you ever noticed that the thankfulness we have for the free saving Grace of the Lord is that WE WORK.  WORK OUT YOUR SALVATION WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING.  It is from this fear of God, Thankfulness to God, that we have Joy in worship and that we provide for our family.  It is out of joy that we tithe to the church.  It is out of fear of God, thankfulness to our Lord, and Joy in Him that we bring our bibles to church with us and write in the margins.  The Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.  And, the reward is joy unspeakable.

Prayer

Father, you are in Heaven and we are hear on Earth.  Holy is your Name.  We just ask today that Your Will be done in our lives.  Give us today just what we need, not we want and think we need.  And, forgive us for all the foolish fake sacrifices we’ve given in our pasts.  Lead us Lord into your Will that we would not much remember the days of our lives because you have kept us occupied with Joy.

And we pray this in the precious name of,

Jesus Christ

Amen