Draw Near to Hear

 Hearing is very important. Just think of what life would be like without the ability to hear. Yes, I know that people learn sign language, so they can communicate when they are deaf. However, there are so many sounds they miss. It is impossible to hear the emotion in the voice of the speaker. Let's face it, we all benefit so much from being able to hear.

The Bible mentions this in relation to coming to the house of God. (Ecclesiastes 5:1) We are commanded to walk prudently when we go to the house of God and to draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools. For those people do not know that they are doing evil. That is a solemn admonition for all of us to consider thoroughly. Let's take it apart for a minute.

When we go to worship the Lord in a church building, we need to go prudently. We need to be conscious of what we are doing and why we are doing it. We must not go flippantly. We must not just go out of habit. None of those things are pleasing to God. Instead, we are to draw near to hear. Yes, we will hear songs of praise and sing along. We will hear prayers and testimonies. We will usually hear a sermon from a person who has been taught God's Word and how to share it. Hearing those things is not what this verse means.

We are to draw near to hear from God. He could speak through any or all of those parts of the service, but it is up to us to be intentional about going to draw near to God and to hear everything He has for us personally. Then, we go out to obey what we learned or to do what He said. If we just come to a worship service and depart, We might think we have worshiped God, but we have offered the sacrifice of fools, because we did not come in faith to hear from God and do His will.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Ecclesiastes 6-8.