Ecclesiastes 5:1
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 7272
Steps: foot (by extension: any part of the foot or relating to the foot: toe, heel, sole or pluralized (feet, toes, heels, soles)
From the Hebrew word 'regel' (pronounced reh'-gel); footstep(s), journey (Genesis 29:1), pace (Genesis 33:14), follow (Exodus 11:8), times (Exodus 23:14).
So many seemingly different ways to express the word 'steps' and yet they all make sense. In our study today we learn how to guard our hearts when we approach God in His house, whether that house is His sanctuary in heaven, His designated house of worship or His presence (in prayer when we speak together).
In Exodus 3:5, when God spoke to Moses from the burning bush, He instructed Moses to remove the sandals from his feet for the place in which Moses stood was holy ground. Where God is is holy and nothing unholy can be where God is. Moses, just like Joshua, needed to be obedient to the voice of God or he would not be able to obey God. This same instruction would be repeated to Joshua (Joshua 5:15).
PREPARE TO MEET YOUR MAKER (James 4:7-10)
When we approach God we are to resist the temptation to turn aside from God. We choose to be resolute in our desire to hear what our God has to say to us. We put on our Helmet of Salvation, which blocks our 'hearing' what the devil is saying, for he can neither step into nor cross the blood which flowed from Calvary.
In our approach to God we are fully dressed in the armor of God, ready with our Swords (the Word of God) to repel the enemy of our souls, having fully applied said Word to ourselves.
We are to submit to God, with a desire to draw near to hear what He has to say to us that we might obey Him and do the work He has for us to do, whether it's cleaning the bathrooms or preaching from a pulpit, whether it's resting in His presence or fixing the roof. God has a work for us and we need to be ready to do it, according to the Word He gives us to do. (James 4:7)
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Approach God with clean hands (in good conscience [cleansed by faith, repentance and transformation into a changed attitude]) and a pure (sanctified) heart (James 4:8).
Grieve, mourn and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom. (James 4:9) When God sends afflictions (tribulations, persecutions, distresses) on us, it is to our benefit that we accept such trials and not rebuff them, nor be antagonistic against our persecutors (Matthew 5:11). Mourn and weep over our sins, and the sins of others, when we approach God. For it is God who turns our mourning into dancing (Psalm 30:11), it is God who wipes away our tears (Isaiah 25:8; Revelation 21:4).
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up (James 4:10). Both Moses and Joshua had to remove their shoes, a sign of humility in obedience to the voice of God. Both men were elevated to a higher place of position amongst the people they would be in charge of. While a higher position in this lifetime is not guaranteed to us when we obey God, the obedient Christian will still be in an exalted position during the millenial reign of Christ (Revelation 20:4. 6) . And 1 Peter 2:9 tells us that even now we are 'a royal priesthood, a chosen people, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession'.
OBEDIENCE BETTER THAN SACRIFICE (1 Samuel 15:22)
Having guarded our heart in such a manner, we are now prepared to enter His presence. Almost. This verse in Ecclesiastes tells us we need to obey God and not offer sacrifices to Him that will not be accepted. If God is telling us to do something and we are not doing it, no amount of 'sacrifice' on our part is going to be accepted by Him. King Saul learned this the hard way: he lost his kingship (1 Samuel 15).
Though animal sacrifices were instituted by God in the Old Testament under the Old Covenants, they were but shadows of the ultimate sacrifice which Christ would make when He became God's Lamb who once and for all Redeemed us to Himself.
Sacrifices done not according to God's Holy Word are not going to be acceptable to God at any time ever. Even before Christ arrived on the scene, David wrote in Psalm 51;17 that "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." A broken and contrite heart is the sacrifice God now requires of the people who want to be in His presence.
Broken spirit. Broken and Contrite Heart. Humbled, not self-centered. Not self-indulgent, not self-involved. Not a willful, disobedient heart, not a rebellious spirit. A God-centered heart. A heart and spirit that are ready to receive from God, not reject God. These are the sacrifices which God has approved for us. Anything less or more will be rejected by Him. We must prepare ourselves to be in His presence or we will not be allowed entrance through His gateway, His doors.
THIEF IN THE NIGHT (1 Thessalonians 5:2)
Are we ready now to approach God? Let us get ready. For the day is fast nearing when God will send His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to return for His bride, for His church, to bring her into the kingdom of heaven (1 Thessalonians 4:17). On the Day of The Lord, when He returns to set up His kingdom here, unlike His birth here, His arrival will be unannounced (1 Thessalonians 5:2).
TODAY IF YOU WILL DRAW NEAR TO GOD
The Word tells us we only have "Today" to hear God and obey (Psalm 95:7; Hebrews 3:7, 15; Hebrews 4:7). What will happen "Today" when we respond to God's voice? Hebrews 10:15-22
15. "The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First He says,
16. '“This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their hearts and inscribe them on their minds.”
17. Then He adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”
18. And where these have been forgiven, an offering for sin is no longer needed.
19. Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,
20. by a new and Living Way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,
21. and since we have a great Priest over the house of God,
22. Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
