Our culture has lost the fear of God. In ages past, most people had some sort of respect for a higher power that is holier than mankind. However, in a postmodern and anti-God world, the fear of God is hardly even in our vocabulary. Sadly, the church has followed this trend. An easy way to see this is to observe modern worship styles. Do they communicate proper respect for the God of heaven and earth that conquers kingdoms, brings tyrants to their knees, and devours His enemies like a consuming fire? Many modern worship songs speak of God as a boyfriend rather than the Holy Creator and Sovereign King. This is because people don’t fear God. 

 

In Ecclesiastes 3:14, Solomon said that all of God’s actions are to bring people to fear before Him. What does it mean to fear God? After considering the depravity of mankind, Solomon transitions back to the solution. If all of God’s actions are to bring Him fear, then what does that look like? Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 answers this question by describing three actions that demonstrate the fear of God. Today we’ll look at the first action:

 

To fear God is to worship Him in humility (Eccl. 5:1). Solomon tells us to consider our hearts before we go to worship by guarding our steps. We need to evaluate our lives before we approach the Holy Creator. The section before this taught us about the sinfulness of mankind. We should keep this in mind as we approach God in worship. You shouldn’t worship God flippantly or carelessly. To properly worship God, you must humble yourself and approach Him with reverence. 

 

This concept was seriously important in the Old Testament. Remember Leviticus 10:1-2 – “Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.” We’re not given a lot of details about this story but they’re sufficient. Nadab and Abihu offered strange or ‘unauthorized’ fire to the Lord and the results were catastrophic. They didn’t approach God in a proper manner, and it cost them their lives. Aaron’s response to this is even more striking, “Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” And Aaron held his peace” (Lev. 10:3). Aaron made a lot of mistakes, but he made the right choice here. He didn’t lash out or curse God. He held his peace because he knew that God is holy, and His judgment is holy. God determines how we approach Him in worship. Sadly, Nadab and Abihu got it wrong and were killed for it.

 

Furthermore, Solomon says that worship should take place in “the house of God.” In those days, they would worship and offer sacrifices in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem. This massive temple would have been a reminder to Israel that their God was infinite and holy. Today God’s people worship in the local church. The church is the house of God because God’s people are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. 

 

Hebrews 12 tells us that as we gather to worship, we come before the living God and Judge of all the earth, before the angels in festal gathering, before the assembly of saints that have gone before us, and before Jesus the mediator of the New Covenant. The author concludes in verses 28-29, “Therefore… let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” We should prepare our hearts before we worship, and we should worship in God’s house. 

 

Solomon says it’s better to draw near to listen than to offer the sacrifice of fools. It’s foolish to irreverently approach God in worship. The fool offers sacrifices, but his heart is far from God. He’s ignorant of his sin even though God’s law clearly reveals his depravity. Solomon says it’s better to not bring a sacrifice and to just listen to God’s Word than to offer a foolish sacrifice with an impudent heart. God desires our hearts more than our hands. That is, He wants our love and submission more than our sacrifices. God wants us to have a heart of humility when we come to Him in worship. This humility clearly demonstrates that we fear God.