Many false teachers of the 21st century have severely diminished God by their teachings. Some very popular teachers have even taught that God has a body only a little larger than our own, cannot act without our permission and that He has made us to be gods as well. These teachings serve to diminish God to our own level, paving the way for us to treat God with little or no respect and reverence.
This is not the God that Solomon is thinking of in Ecclesiastes. Instead he writes that we must guard our steps, that we must listen, that we must not be hasty and that we must stand in awe of God. These are not the words of one who believes God to be mostly like us. Instead Solomon reminds us, "God is in heaven and you are on earth so let your words be few."
Solomon encourages us that our relationship with God must be characterised by a sincere respect. We must always be careful to remember our place before God and worship God as the all powerful, glorious God of the universe.
Too often we can forget exactly who this God is that we worship and forget to worship with reverence and respect. This is what Solomon is talking about here in Ecclesiastes. When we forget to respect God we can go to God without carefully guarding ourselves before Him. We can forget to humbly listen rather than offer God our priceless nuggets of wisdom. We can offer hasty, unconsidered sacrifices without be conscious of our own sin and need for grace. We forget to guard ourselves as we come before a Holy, All-powerful God.
To counter this attitude occasionally we need to be put in our place and reminded about His power and might. God puts Job in his place in this way in the late part of the book. After Job and his friends have had a long discussion about Job's suffering and God's role in it God responds to Job. He begins with these words, words which are sure to make any man shake in his boots, "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you and you will answer me."
For the next four chapters God wows Job (and us) with His incredible glory and power. It is worth reading this section of Scripture regularly to remind us of our own place before our almighty God.
We must always come before God with reverent fear and sincere respect but this respect does not reduce our love and intimate relationship with God. If anything, it should heighten it.
It is one thing to imagine a small God, a little bigger than us, who would humble Himself to become a man and to suffer and die for us. It is another thing altogether to understand that the all-powerful, almighty creator God of the universe would humble Himself and die for us.
The band Ghost Ship put it beautifully in their song Orion: "The hands that hold the stars above will never let me go. The One who holds the heavens up In him I put my hope. Yet who am I that you should love And bind in your embrace? What God is this who holds the stars And guides me in his grace?"
Praise God today that He is the almighty, all powerful God of the universe who would humble himself for our sake.
Prayer: Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks:
Supplication:
- Pray for all those around the world who are under the influence of false teaching. Pray that each person would study God's word for themselves and come to a full and accurate understanding of who He is. Pray that those who teach falsely would be convicted and that their plans would be frustrated.
- Pray for the women in your church. Pray that God would encourage them and strengthen them as they seek to live for Him. Pray that they might find their value in Him alone. Pray that He would grow in their hearts a love for His word. Pray that they would be filled with passion for those who are lost and broken and that they would faithfully share Christ with those who don't know Him.
My Additional Prayer Points
Discussion Questions for families and groups
- What does it look like in your day to day life to have a sincere respect for God? What would it look like in your prayer? What about your worship? What would it look like in your relationships?
- How can you cultivate this sort of respect for God in your life?
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