687_Drawing near to listen (Ecclesiastes 5:1-7)
Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 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.
There was a young boy who loved to spend time with his grandfather. Every evening, they would sit together on the porch. The boy would chatter endlessly—about school, his friends, his ideas—barely pausing for breath. His grandfather would smile, nod, and listen patiently. One evening, after the boy had finished another long stream of words, he suddenly stopped and asked, “Grandpa, why don’t you talk more?” The old man replied gently, “Because I’m still waiting to hear you.”
That simple moment captures the heart of communication. We often focus on the part about speaking, expressing, and being heard. But true relationship, true understanding, begins when we learn to listen. And nowhere is this more important than in our relationship with God.
Ecclesiastes 5:1–7 reorients our understanding of worship. It calls us away from noise and toward attentiveness, away from many words and toward a listening heart. It shows us what it means to draw near to God—not with hurried speech, but with reverent silence.
The Preacher begins with the statement: “To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools.” Worship to us often means what we do—our prayers, our songs, our declarations. But here, the emphasis is not on speaking but on listening.
To “draw near” suggests a deliberate movement of the heart toward God, which demands, first of all, not expression, but attention. The word “listen” carries a deeper meaning in the Hebrew language. It is not merely hearing sounds; it is hearing with the intent to obey. It is the same idea we see in 1 Samuel 15:22, where Samuel tells Saul, “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.”
So the Preacher calls for active submission. Listening means allowing God’s word to shape us, correct us, and direct us. It means coming before Him not just with something to say, but with a readiness to be changed.
“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God,” the passage continues. There is a reminder that preparing to worship or to pray is not something to be taken lightly. It calls for awareness, humility, and preparation. In a world where so much of life is rushed and casual, this is a needed reminder. We can so easily carry that same hurried spirit into our spiritual lives—rushing through prayer, skimming through Scripture, filling every quiet moment with words.
But here the contrast is sharp: listening versus “the sacrifice of fools.” The “sacrifice of fools” likely refers to religious activity that is outwardly impressive but inwardly empty. It is possible to be busy with spiritual things yet remain distant from God in our hearts.
But God is not impressed by the quantity of our words or the activity of our worship. In fact, the Preacher warns us about our words: “Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God.” This is a correction of careless prayer. For, he continues, “God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.” God is always God – the holy Lord who is high and exalted. We are finite, dependent, limited. When we truly grasp this, it changes the way we approach Him.
It leads us away from careless chatter and toward thoughtful, sincere communication.
The comparison that follows is both vivid and insightful: “For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words.” Just as a busy mind produces restless dreams, a cluttered heart produces excessive speech. Many words need not indicate depth of thought; often, they are a sign of inner noise.
When our hearts are crowded, our mouths overflow, but not always with truth. There is very little room left to receive. But listening requires stillness. It requires creating an inner space where God’s voice can be heard.
The Preacher underlines the seriousness of words uttered before God: “When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it… God has no pleasure in fools.” Speaking before God without thought, without intention, without follow-through, is a serious matter.
For our words carry weight. And yet, how often do we make promises lightly? In moments of emotion, we may say, “Lord, I will do this,” or “I will never do that again,” only to forget those words soon after.
This reveals a deeper issue. Sometimes we use words to appear spiritual rather than to be truthful. We say more than we intend. We promise more than we are willing to fulfill. But careless speech will “bring guilt.” Better silence than empty promises. Better honesty than exaggerated devotion.
Throughout Scripture, we see the weight and significance of vows. Jacob, alone and afraid, made a vow to God after his vision at Bethel, promising that the Lord would be his God. Hannah, in deep anguish, vowed that if God gave her a son, she would dedicate him to the Lord. Jonah, from the depths of the sea, made a vow in desperation. In each case, these were not casual words. They were expressions of deep commitment. And so Scripture calls us to integrity, to sincerity, to faithfulness in what we say.
The passage concludes: “But God is the one you must fear.” This is the anchor of everything that has been said. To live in the fear of the Lord reshapes our life. We move from performing before men to listening to his voice, ready to obey.
To listen before God means being willing to be corrected, being open to His Word, yielding our plans and desires. It means saying, like young Samuel, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” It echoes the call to Israel: “Hear, O Israel.” And it aligns with the words of Jesus: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
When we come to God, we need not fill our mouth with vain words. We can open our hearts to scripture, seeking to hear what the Spirit says. We can reflect slowly and thoughtfully. We can weigh our words before God and before others. Are our words thoughtful, sincere, and true? Do we follow through on what we say?
We can also avoid spiritual performance. For the fear of the Lord is expressed not by how much we say, but by how well we listen.
Let us draw near to God—not with hurried words, but with a listening heart. Let us be still, opening our minds and our hearts to scripture. Let us speak sincerely, meaning every word. And let us respond when He speaks. For worship lies in the quiet, faithful obedience of a heart that has truly listened. God bless.
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