David Bahn – Reflections

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These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Ecclesiastes 5-7, Psalm 147.

Ecclesiastes 5:1-3

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.

When I read these chapters I began to think, Is this guy just jaded and cynical? It seemed to me that the writer is writing off every joy, effort at being a good citizen as a misguided fool’s errand. Why bother? We’re all going to die. And in the end we all go in a grave. He doesn’t even seem to have a view of eternity. There is no mention of the hope of the resurrection, no difference one way or the other whether one is righteous or wicked.

Before all this there is the prelude about going into the House of God. The advice is simple: keep quiet. Don’t open your mouth and prove to everyone that you are a fool. Listen. Learn. God is in heaven – over all – you are on earth – under God. Keep that proper perspective.

Years ago I found insights offered by the Church Growth Movement to be helpful and insightful. The main thing I got from the teachings of C. Peter Wagner, Eddie Gibbs, John Wimber and the like was that God wants his lost children found, and the church ought to align itself with God’s mission. This is a good reminder.

Sadly, however, this can go too far. We can turn mission and evangelism into a human endeavor and make the process of gaining converts into a matter of selling someone on religion. That was never the intent of the movement, but it sometimes had that unintended consequence.

The gravest consequence was that some people began to think they were somehow doing God a favor by coming to church, believing in him, or obeying his ways – as if God owed them salvation in return. Nothing could be further from the truth.

These verses offer a needed corrective for that attitude. We do not come to God as customers evaluating a product, negotiators striking a bargain, or benefactors doing him a favor. We come with nothing to recommend ourselves. God is in heaven and we are on earth. He is holy and we are sinners.

And yet, because of Jesus, we need not stay silent in fear. The Son who came down from heaven has opened the way to the Father. We approach not boasting of our faithfulness, but trusting in his mercy. Sometimes the wisest prayer is not many words, but simply: “Lord, have mercy.” And trusting that in Christ, he gladly does.

Click on the graphic below for the Bible Project overview of the book of Ecclesiastes.