Firm Foundation
The most important thing in a construction of a building is its foundation work. I was told by a friend who witnessed the construction of the Petronas twin tower in KL. It took the contractor of the Petronas twin tower 4 years to complete the construction of the 88 storey building. However, 2 years of its construction period was used only to lay a solid and strong foundation for the 88 story tall building. This mean half of the total time required for its construction was channeled in laying its foundation. Why is it that the foundation work is so important that it takes relatively longer period than any other aspects of construction? If the foundation is not strong, then, the building that stands on that foundation will eventually collapse. It will not be able to stand the pressure that builds within and without of the structure.
Likewise, the Christian home should also be built on a strong foundation in order to stand the test of time. So, what is the foundation of a Christian home? Psalms 128 describe one of the most important foundational elements for a Christian family.
Main body
The theme of this Psalm is the fear of God is the basis for the blessed home or family.
The Psalmist has beautifully described the model of a blessed family that is build upon a strong foundation in this Psalm. Even though the psalm is addressed to a husband and father primarily, it is important to see that the blessing promised in verse 1 is for “all: who fears God”.
There is an important balance between this psalm and the earlier one. In Psalm 127 the psalmist wanted to show that all blessing are attributable to God alone. Unless God is working in us and with us, every human endeavor is in vain. Where else in Psalm 128, the psalmist reminds us that there is nevertheless an important responsibility that rest on the person who would partake of God’s blessing – that is to fear God.
The blessing that one will obtain out of fearing God can be seen as a complete form of blessing. The society in which the Psalmist lived in was a very family centered and orientated society (the ancient Near East). Thus, to be blessed is to have a good family life (wife and children).
Another form of blessing in the ancient Near East society is the economic form of blessing which was solely agricultural based. The people of the time were farmers who planted crop and tends animals. So, blessings are also counted from their many crops and the livestock that they owned.
And thus, the Psalmist describes the person who fears God to firstly reap the fruits of his labor. In another word he shall be productive and enjoying the prosperity that comes out of his labor. There are times though a farmer can work very hard but end of the day his crop are eaten away by insect and animals or even dies due to lack of water supply or for many other reasons that will cause the farmer to grieve. Nevertheless, here, we see that a man who fears God is assured to eat the labor of his hands in spite of all difficult circumstances that surrounds him and his crop.
In addition, this man is also assured of having a good and blessed family life. Reading of verse 3 shows us that such a man's wife will also be fruitful. Vines were everywhere in Israel, and grape production was one of its chief industries – this signifies blessing and prosperity. The implication of this statement is that the wife would bear children. In the Old Testament context, barrenness’ is seen as a curse (cf. Deut. 7:14; 28:18). Thus, to bear many children is a blessing from God (cf. Deut. 28:4; Psalms 127:3-5). Therefore, a man who fears God will also have children as a sign of God’s blessing upon him and his generation. Likewise, his children would make beneficial contributions symbolized by olives, another one of the most important crops in Israel. Olive tree is a very strong tree and it symbolizes longevity and productivity. Thus, the children of the man who fears God is not like a grass which is here today but will be gone tomorrow. Rather, they are like the olive trees that will stand strong and even last in an unpredictable climate. They will surround him like olive shoots and be his fortress and stronghold in his later days.
Today, what is the foundation of our families? Is it solely education and materialistic in nature? People of God, our families are God ordained institution. To maintain its sanctity we should all times fear Him and live a life in accordance to His commandments. The foundation of our homes must be build upon the fear of God.
What does it mean to fear God? To fear God is not to tremble or to be afraid as if we encounter an evil spirit in the night. But instead, to fear God is to give Him reverence and respect in all that we do and acknowledge that He is omnipresent and living according to His commandments. Therefore the word fear here is best translated to have a sense of holy awe and that leads one to have a proper God-directed attitude. The implication of this attitude is to have God as the central focus of everything we are, think or aspire to do. He must be our starting point for every project, the strength we seek for every valuable endeavor, the one we earnestly desire to please and honor as our goal. To further stretch this principal to our families. I am convinced that only the fear of God can sustain our families from being ruined by various factors.
In reading Ephesians 5: 22 – 6: 2, the Apostle Paul admonishes the wives to submit to their own husbands, husbands to love their wives and children to obey their parents. Paul’s emphasis on the family entity to be submissive, loving and committed to each other can only be attained if one would truly fear God. Marriage is a covenantal relationship. This covenant can only be preserved if both the husband and wife are well aware that God is the third person in the covenant. To break the covenant is to break God’s law. Thus, by fearing God, this covenant can be preserved and marriages can be saved from turning into a tragedy and divorce.
Likewise, the Christian home should also be built on a strong foundation in order to stand the test of time. So, what is the foundation of a Christian home? Psalms 128 describe one of the most important foundational elements for a Christian family.
Main body
The theme of this Psalm is the fear of God is the basis for the blessed home or family.
The Psalmist has beautifully described the model of a blessed family that is build upon a strong foundation in this Psalm. Even though the psalm is addressed to a husband and father primarily, it is important to see that the blessing promised in verse 1 is for “all: who fears God”.
There is an important balance between this psalm and the earlier one. In Psalm 127 the psalmist wanted to show that all blessing are attributable to God alone. Unless God is working in us and with us, every human endeavor is in vain. Where else in Psalm 128, the psalmist reminds us that there is nevertheless an important responsibility that rest on the person who would partake of God’s blessing – that is to fear God.
The blessing that one will obtain out of fearing God can be seen as a complete form of blessing. The society in which the Psalmist lived in was a very family centered and orientated society (the ancient Near East). Thus, to be blessed is to have a good family life (wife and children).
Another form of blessing in the ancient Near East society is the economic form of blessing which was solely agricultural based. The people of the time were farmers who planted crop and tends animals. So, blessings are also counted from their many crops and the livestock that they owned.
And thus, the Psalmist describes the person who fears God to firstly reap the fruits of his labor. In another word he shall be productive and enjoying the prosperity that comes out of his labor. There are times though a farmer can work very hard but end of the day his crop are eaten away by insect and animals or even dies due to lack of water supply or for many other reasons that will cause the farmer to grieve. Nevertheless, here, we see that a man who fears God is assured to eat the labor of his hands in spite of all difficult circumstances that surrounds him and his crop.
In addition, this man is also assured of having a good and blessed family life. Reading of verse 3 shows us that such a man's wife will also be fruitful. Vines were everywhere in Israel, and grape production was one of its chief industries – this signifies blessing and prosperity. The implication of this statement is that the wife would bear children. In the Old Testament context, barrenness’ is seen as a curse (cf. Deut. 7:14; 28:18). Thus, to bear many children is a blessing from God (cf. Deut. 28:4; Psalms 127:3-5). Therefore, a man who fears God will also have children as a sign of God’s blessing upon him and his generation. Likewise, his children would make beneficial contributions symbolized by olives, another one of the most important crops in Israel. Olive tree is a very strong tree and it symbolizes longevity and productivity. Thus, the children of the man who fears God is not like a grass which is here today but will be gone tomorrow. Rather, they are like the olive trees that will stand strong and even last in an unpredictable climate. They will surround him like olive shoots and be his fortress and stronghold in his later days.
Today, what is the foundation of our families? Is it solely education and materialistic in nature? People of God, our families are God ordained institution. To maintain its sanctity we should all times fear Him and live a life in accordance to His commandments. The foundation of our homes must be build upon the fear of God.
What does it mean to fear God? To fear God is not to tremble or to be afraid as if we encounter an evil spirit in the night. But instead, to fear God is to give Him reverence and respect in all that we do and acknowledge that He is omnipresent and living according to His commandments. Therefore the word fear here is best translated to have a sense of holy awe and that leads one to have a proper God-directed attitude. The implication of this attitude is to have God as the central focus of everything we are, think or aspire to do. He must be our starting point for every project, the strength we seek for every valuable endeavor, the one we earnestly desire to please and honor as our goal. To further stretch this principal to our families. I am convinced that only the fear of God can sustain our families from being ruined by various factors.
In reading Ephesians 5: 22 – 6: 2, the Apostle Paul admonishes the wives to submit to their own husbands, husbands to love their wives and children to obey their parents. Paul’s emphasis on the family entity to be submissive, loving and committed to each other can only be attained if one would truly fear God. Marriage is a covenantal relationship. This covenant can only be preserved if both the husband and wife are well aware that God is the third person in the covenant. To break the covenant is to break God’s law. Thus, by fearing God, this covenant can be preserved and marriages can be saved from turning into a tragedy and divorce.
The only way for us Christians to save our marriages and families as a whole is to fear God. The fear of God helps us to love, tolerate and accept each other just as they are. Even in the worst scenario, when we truly fear God, the sense of accountability to Him will keep us faithful in the covenant relationship – marriage.
So, when the foundation of our Christian homes are build upon the fear of God, then, wives can truly submit to their own husband and husband can truly love their wives as Christ loves the Church and children can truly obey and honor their parents. For the fear of God is the basis of our faith and the strong foundation for Christian homes. When the foundation of our families is built upon the fear of God we will not only inherit Godly blessing but also fulfill His plans for humankind. May the Lord in His mercy bless each of our families as we built it upon the fear of God.
So, when the foundation of our Christian homes are build upon the fear of God, then, wives can truly submit to their own husband and husband can truly love their wives as Christ loves the Church and children can truly obey and honor their parents. For the fear of God is the basis of our faith and the strong foundation for Christian homes. When the foundation of our families is built upon the fear of God we will not only inherit Godly blessing but also fulfill His plans for humankind. May the Lord in His mercy bless each of our families as we built it upon the fear of God.
posted by Rev. Silvester L.M. David at 2:33 PM
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