What does it mean to fear God? Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” If we want to be wise, then we need to understand this truth. In Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, Solomon describes three actions that demonstrate the fear of the Lord. Last week we saw that to fear God is to worship Him in humility. This week we’ll discuss the other two actions:
To fear God is to honor Him in prayer (Eccl. 5:2-3). Solomon warns us to not be rash or hasty with our words, especially when we’re talking to God. We don’t want to disrespect God with our words. Solomon is teaching us a lesson about prayer. When we talk to God in prayer, we need to carefully choose our words. Solomon says this is important because “God is in heaven and you are on earth.” God is transcendent. That means He is above all others. He is distinct from everything else. No one can compare to Him in power, wisdom, and authority. God is holy. He is perfectly good. As we’ve seen, man is not. Mankind is corrupted by sin. We should keep this distinction in mind when we address God. When we pray, we talk to the Sovereign Creator and Sustainer of the Universe. So, heed Solomon’s warning and let your words be few.
On the other hand, the fool is careless with his words. The fool is always talking and never shuts his mouth. Likewise, his prayers are filled with empty words and selfish demands. Jesus talked about this in Luke 18. Christ condemns those that come to God with arrogance and selfish desires. Christ commends those who humble themselves and approach God with reverence. We must be careful with our words in prayer. We don’t want to be the fool who heaps up empty phrases with no reverence for God. We want to honor God in our prayers by approaching Him with humility and awe.
Finally, to fear God is to promptly obey Him (Eccl. 5:4-7). Solomon demonstrates the necessity of quick obedience with the example of making vows. In those days, vows were made to God as a promise of obedience. They were usually made before a priest of the temple. In Deuteronomy 23, God’s people were warned about the seriousness of making a vow before God. Verse 21 says, “If you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.” Solomon is reminding God’s people to keep their vows with swift obedience.
The fool will make rash promises before God. God is not pleased when we fail to keep our promises because it’s contrary to His nature. He’s a covenant-keeping God. That means, the primary way that He interacts with His people is based on His promises. So when we fail to keep our promises, we’re acting against His holy nature.
We need to be careful with what we promise. If we don’t promptly obey God, then we subject ourselves to retribution. God will punish the disobedient and dishonest. We need to remember Proverbs 10:19 – “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.” Thoughtful words and diligent obedience demonstrate the fear of God.
We must fear God in humble worship, honorable prayer, and diligent obedience. Christians must seek to obey God with diligence. This means we need to study God’s Word so that we can live His Word. Our words are often vain and careless, but God’s Word is eternal, true, and powerful. To fear God is to obey Him by obeying His Word. All of God’s actions are to bring His people to fear Him. Our purpose on this earth is to fear God.