Study to be Quiet (Ecclesiastes 5:1-7)
The passage for this lesson deals with being rash with our mouth. Have you ever stopped and considered how many words that you say in one day or maybe even a week. I would imagine that most everyone would be surprised if they were all recorded and numbered and I do not know of anyone that would want them to be recorded.
In our passage Solomon gives warnings regarding being hasty with our mouth and our feet when we are at the house of God. While these things will apply at church they can also be applied other places as well such as work, school, etc.
Studying to be quiet (1 Thessalonians 4:11)
Paul give us a passage in the New Testament that goes with these verses in Ecclesiastes very well. It is interesting that Paul used the phrase “study to be quiet”. The word study only shows up three times in a King James Bible.
Ecclesiastes 12:12 (here it is much weariness of the flesh)
1 Thessalonians 4:11 (here it is connected with being quiet)
2 Timothy 2:15 (here we are studying the word of God in order to rightly divide)
These verses show us several things about being quiet. You must be quiet to study, which wearies our flesh. Studying engages the brain whereas talking most of the time does not. Hence, the phrase think before you speak. We must learn when to speak and when not to speak. The more we study the word of God the less we will have to study to be quiet.
Why should we study to be quiet? (Ecclesiastes 5:1-7)
1) Because God is Listening (Verse 2)
- One of the main reasons we like to talk is to voice our opinions or show what we know on a particular subject. But if we considered that God was always our audience we would definitely say a lot less (Isaiah 55:9)
2) God will hold us accountable for what we say (Verses 4-6)
- The passage is discussing making vows especially unto God and not paying them. Note how our mouths can cause us to sin (verse 6). I think it was Mark Twain that said, “if you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything”?
- Note the thoughts of Jesus regarding idle words in Matthew 12:33-36.
3) A fool is known by multitude of words (Verse 3)
- If you do not know anything be quiet and keep it to yourselves (Proverbs 17:27-28).
4) Word really hold no value (Verse 7)
- We need actions not words (Proverbs 14:23 ; 1 John 3:18).
Life lesson from this passage:
The less we speak the better off we will be in all aspects of life. This will not come easily or by nature but we must study in order to accomplish this task.