Today’s passage: Ecclesiastes 5:1-7
Helpful thoughts:
- In this passage, the Preacher reiterates the great commandment, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
- Israel was told to “Hear”. Solomon tells the reader to “Listen”
- The Lord is one (Undivided) and He requires our undivided love.
- A person with a seared conscience is able to do religious “Good” works without repentance. This is not pleasing to God. It is not undivided love. But the doer will feel like he has a clear conscience.
- God is real and He really hears and interacts with your prayers. He is actually grieved when you fail to follow through with your vows or fail to obey His commands.
- His grief is a loving grief! God’s commands give life. He wants you to have life and joy!
Questions to consider:
- When read and considered along with Ecclesiastes chapter 4, is it possible to do religious things out of envy and only for your own personal consumption? What will that result in? In those desires and actions, who is truly being worshiped?
- How do you know whether you have a seared conscious or a clear conscience if both of them feel the same? What outside source of information and authority do you have to consult for the right answer? Why is the study of God’s Word the only right way to train your conscience and your thinking?
- Why do you think we are so prone to stray from our commitment or our focus on God when our trials and suffering are alleviated? How is our view of God deficient when we respond that way?