Keep your foot when you go to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with your mouth, and let not your heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven, and you are upon earth: therefore, let your words be few.
Ecclesiastes 5:1-2
One translation has it: “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Better to draw near in obedience than to offer the sacrifice as fools do, for they ignorantly do wrong.” Yet another says, “As you enter the Temple, keep your ears open and your mouth shut!”
Have you ever suffered the dreaded “foot in mouth” disease? I sure have. All too many times I have had to eat my words and believe me they were tough to chew, bitter to the taste and were hard to digest. I have said words that I immediately wished I had not said. Don’t you know that Jesus never had that problem? And, those who wrote the divinely inspired Word didn’t want or need to take back what God had given them to write. So, when the writer of the verses above said to “Keep your foot when you go to the house of God,” could it be that the Holy Spirit was bringing people into agreement with what Paul wrote many years later:
“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
Ephesians 5:15-16
The writer wrote, “Keep your foot when you go to the house of God.” The House of God is not just a place. It does not belong to you and me to do with as we please. It belongs to God. Yes, it is a building but it is as special building that has been dedicated to the worship and service of God. It is the same with your physical body. It is the tabernacle of God. It is God’s dwelling place and it belongs to God. Paul wrote,
“Don’t you know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body.
1 Cor. 6:19-20 (HCSB)
So, if you insist on putting your foot in you mouth it is recommended that you take your shoes and socks off first and by all means, watch your step. Just a thought. Amen and amen.
