BUILDING A HOME

Unless Yahweh builds the house, they labor in vain who build it;

Unless Yahweh watches the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain. 

Psalm 127:1

A lasting home is built by God (vs. 1); it is balanced (v. 2) and it is blessed (vs. 3-5). Solomon knew 2 things that you and I also need to understand. A lasting home is not made of material substances like wood or brick. God doesn’t pick up the hammer and start framing on the foundation… though we would like that! Secondly, to erect a structure and live in it without God will be an eternally fruitless endeavor. When Solomon builds the temple; or, the house of God, he says this in 1 Kings 8:27: But will God truly dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built! The only thing that sets this temple apart from all other religious structures is the God who manifests His presence in it.

The word for house in verse 1, בַ֗יִת, is a generic term. It can be translated, “household, prison house, temple” or “family” depending on the context. And, in the Hebrew text, there is no article. So, Solomon is not describing the temple or a material house; he is talking about any house, household or family. בַ֗יִת can also be translated “dwelling” or “habitation.”

In true Solomonic style, we are told straight up that to build a home or to guard a city is vain; it’s empty; it’s like a soap bubble; it’s like a balloon without its skin…UNLESS the Lord does it. The eternal living God who never changes, who is never affected by the 2nd law of thermodynamics, who builds for eternity; He must be the architect and building contractor. Is that true of your home?

Ike Graham