How Do You Come Before the Lord?

I have come across many little verses in Ecclesiastes that I never thought I'd find. I almost dreaded going into it but it's really spoken to me, "Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather then to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil." - Ecc. 5:1

My study notes on this verse say, "Think about what you ought to say and do." They also say about worship that we need to be mindful of our worship. That our worship may be real and not superficial.

This reminds me of when Saul disobeyed God and spared Agag the king of Amalek and plunder that God commanded him, "Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him, but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey." I Samuel 15:3. And what did Saul do? "But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed." I Samuel 15:9

When God told Samuel of what Saul had done he was devastated and went directly to Saul. Upon entering his presence he hears the sheep and oxen and sees all that was spared and confronts Saul about it. Of course, Saul knows he's done wrong but begins making excuses for his actions. "They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; but the rest we have utterly destroyed." I Samuel 15:15. Notice here that Saul did not mention himself? He passed the buck. And we see that he does so again down in verses 20-21, "Then Saul said to Samuel, "I did obey the voice of the Lord, and went on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and have brought back Agag the kind of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal."

I can see why Samuel was so upset. Here Saul was going to sacrifice to God with the very things he sinned with! And this was Samuel's response, "Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed then the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king." I Samuel 15:22-23. Now that's powerful stuff. "Rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry!" That alone makes me stop and think about the countless times I've come before the Lord with sin in my life to sacrifice to Him in worship. And how do we "Guard" ourselves? By being in the Word, memorizing it, praying, being with the Body, OBEYING God and confessing our sins before Him. Then we can come before Him and worship Him as He intended.

Krista Jones
7.25.08


Bible Reading Guide:

Beginning to End: Judges 3-5
Old and New Testaments Together: Joshua 1-3 & Mark 16
Historical: Judges 3-5
Chronological: Deut. 24-27
Blended: Job 34-35 & I Cor. 11:17-34

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible