Guard your steps as you go to the house of GOD, and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. Ecclesiastes 5:1 NAS
On all my travels, I cannot imagine needing to guard my steps as I go to GOD’s house. Where could I be safer? I go to GOD’s house to worship HIM; to hear a word, to have an encounter with the Creator of the Universe. And I’m supposed to guard my steps? Watch where I’m walking? Is there a crack in the road? An enemy waiting?
So I’m determined to watch my step as I go to HIS house (the Bible says it, I’m trying to follow it). There must be danger lying about, otherwise why warn me? I guard my steps as I physically approach the House of GOD. But what about spiritually? Do I come with an open heart? Or a heart wishing to avoid certain persons? A desire to worship? Or a desire to finish the argument that started as we left the house (I just thought of three more points in my favor!)? Right now I have a strong desire to sigh.
I continue reading the sentence. Draw near to listen. Listen? Of course I’m going to listen, that’s why I’m headed to HIS house, right? I have superior listening skills (I am a trained professional in real life). And then I realize I’m blogging. I’m using a medium where I don’t have to listen. I can lecture. Talk. Explain. Sermonize. Devotionalize. (And I can turn off the comments from others if I want to.)
All right. This is a little more difficult. Let’s go down the checklist. (1) Guard my steps as I go to the House of GOD. I will watch out for enemies and cracks in the sidewalk. Check. (2) Draw near to listen. I’ll close my mouth. I’ll hear what is said. Meditate on it? Draw near? Okay, I’ll leave my assigned seat in the back and move forward a row. Or is it more than just physical movement? Draw near as GOD whispers a word? Partial check—need to come back to this. (3) Rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools. WHAT? The sacrifice of fools?
I have no idea what that means. Time for research. I pull out my nifty Bible Reference. Sacrifice of Fools, Ecclesiastes 5:1, only reference. Not very helpful. I can look up Sacrifice or Fools in the concordance of my Bibles but not the phrase. Great. Now I look down the center area of my Bible which has references to other scripture. Hmm, maybe this will help. It says I Samuel 15:22. Interesting passage but I might have to read the entire chapter to understand it. Next reference Psalm 40:6-8. I read verse six. Sacrifice and offering YOU did not desire; My ears YOU have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering YOU did not require. (NKJV) Okay, this is odd. Entire books of the Old Testament (Can you say, much less spell, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy?) read as a “How to worship GOD through offerings and sacrifices” manual. Now it is saying GOD does not want them? Okay, must read more.
Back to I Samuel. GOD told Saul (through Prophet Samuel) to destroy the Amalekites, utterly. Kill everything including livestock. Saul goes down and destroys the Amalekites but not utterly. He spares the King, and the best livestock. When confronted, Saul claims “hey, I did destroy them utterly. Well, okay, some of the people kept the best livestock, but that’s all hunky dory because they are going to sacrifice the best animals to GOD” (my really bad paraphrase version). And Samuel responds Does the LORD really want sacrifices and offerings? No! He doesn’t want your sacrifices. He wants you to obey HIM. (CEV).
Whoa. The sacrifice of fools. Was Saul offering a fool’s sacrifice? If I’m reading this correctly, yes, he did. Samuel says GOD wants obedience not sacrifice. But we do not offer animal sacrifices today. I’m safe, right? But as I type that, I have a nagging feeling it is talking about something more than just the sacrificial system. GOD was specific with how sacrifices were to be played out. He outlined it to the smallest detail. Devoted three Old Testament books as a “how to” manual. Ritual. I’m thinking of rituals. The sacrifices had become a mindless ritual. They were no longer a way to seek GOD but had become a “if I do this, then GOD must grant what I ask for” formula.
We may not observe animal sacrifices today but we do have rituals. And one of my favorites is daily Bible Study. I must read my Bible every day. That is a ritual I use to seek GOD’s will. I read my Bible every morning, usually while I’m eating breakfast and wondering how I will complete my checklist for the day. I finish reading and do I contemplate what I have read? Meditate on the deeper meanings? Jot down notes for future study? Nope. I check “Bible Study” off my to do list. My Bible Study has become a mindless ritual where I no longer seek GOD’s will but place HIM on a checklist. And mark HIM “done” when I’ve completed my task.
The Sacrifice of Fools. Blind ritual versus obedience. Is ritual bad? Despite my earlier ramblings, I would say no. GOD designed the rituals in the Bible. Complete the ritual for an opportunity to seek HIS Will, HIS Face, HIS Word. Yes. With the right motivation (heart), offering our time, money and/or service in a sacrificial way? Yes. Sacrifice my resources as a way to entice GOD to grant my prayer? No. Complete the ritual for the sake of saying I completed it? No. Only a fool would sacrifice his time and resources for a temporal bragging right such as that.
Finally, completing the sentence for they do not know that they are doing evil (ESV). Not only does a fool complete a mindless task in order to check GOD off his daily checklist; he doesn’t even know he is doing evil. How very sad because I recognize myself.
I don’t want to be a fool. I don’t want to offer the sacrifices of a fool. What must I do? More ritual? No, I must obey GOD. I need to keep GOD off my checklist and keep HIM in my heart. As the Psalmist says, in HIS law meditate day and night (Psalm 1:2 NASB). Back to my partially checked off item, draw near to listen. Physically, emotionally, spiritually. HE is asking for my entire being to focus on HIM. HE is not a checklist item. He is the Creator of the Universe who has something to say. To me. My choice is to draw near and listen. And to obey.
What’s your choice? What word does HE have for you today? Will you guard your steps as you draw near to listen? Will you respond with a heart desiring to obey? Or will you offer the sacrifice of fools?
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