SteemChurch:Prosperity comes from Jehovah

Prosperity comes from Jehovah - Psalm 127

A life project

According to Greek mythology, Sisyphus was the founder and king of the ancient city of Corinth. He had a reputation as a traveler, but also as a miser and a murderer. Homer tells The Odyssey that Sisyphus deceives the god of death, Thanatos, and manages to leave Hades and return home. As a punishment, the gods condemn him to push a huge stone uphill until, near the top, the stone escapes and falls down to the valley. So it happens again and again, for all eternity.

Albert Camus exploits the myth of Sisyphus to reflect on the absurdity in human life. The effort of man is useless because life has no meaning, says the French philosopher, apart from the sense that the person himself brings living all possible experiences. We must reject the moral standards imposed by society and try everything. The rebellious man will be the satisfied man.
It would have been easy for King David to end his life by drawing a similar conclusion. But the message he gives to his son Solomon is another: it is worth having a life project in tune with God. David had been a sheepherder, warrior, father of a family, and king. He had won great victories in military campaigns and then had been forced to flee from his own son Absalom. He had engaged with women and then lost women. Triumphant in public life and failure in private life, David had time to meditate on the different paths that people choose to make sense of their lives.

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David writes Psalm 127 for Solomon, and poetry is incorporated into the songbook of Israel as a "gradual song" or better, "canticle of ascents". It was one of the psalms that pilgrims sang when they went up to the city of Jerusalem to celebrate national holidays three times a year. It takes up a difficult but real fact: the believer is called to develop his life in a hostile environment. There are enemies. Things break down, rust, spoil, deteriorate. Life itself is extinguished with death.

In this environment contrary to human happiness, people are called to work to get ahead. Nobody is going to send the beans home. You have to make a living, fighting with the field, and then you have to make an effort to keep what you earn. Because there are mushrooms, rats, thieves, fires. But everything will be useless if the effort is carried out without counting on God. If God does not give his help and his blessing, all human work will end in loneliness and darkness, sadness and remorse.
(Pr 10:22) "The blessing of Jehovah is that which enriches, and adds no sorrow to it."
The detail that most attracts attention, however, is that the best weapon to overcome in this contradictory world is the family. The children-begotten and then educated-will be like arrows of a brave warrior. They are your weapons for the attack! The believer does not hide fearful in a bunker, asking for protection from the evils around, but takes initiatives to influence the world and change it for the better. Change it for God, change it for God, change it with God. Children are arrows that parents shoot into a world in darkness. All trades and professions will have their results, but what counts most is having influenced other people, because these will be eternal. The greatest influence and the greatest fruit is produced by investing time and effort in the formation of the closest people, who are the children.
David wants to convince his heir - and us - that it is worth proposing a life project. It is not enough to live only for the moment, inventing exits and looking for a bottled, instant joy. Nor should you let yourself be carried away by the current that surrounds you ("without more"), waiting for others to solve the ballot. It is much better, says the old king - as giving his last advice - to assume a solid point of reference to work a life with purpose. A life anchored in God and developed in harmony with God.

We have to count on God for the vital project.

(Ps 127: 1-2) "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain, and the LORD guards the city in vain, but keeps watch over the rest of the night. rest, and eat the bread of sorrows, for God will give his beloved the dream. "
David is coming to the end of his life. Reflect on his childhood and youth in the house of Jesse, taking care of the flocks while his older brothers were engaged in more important tasks. He remembers the visit of the prophet Samuel when he told him that he was going to reign some day, the fight against the Philistine Goliath, the time of service in the court of Saul and after the king's envy. Review in your mind the hard years of flight in the desert, how the Lord guided you in each moment and met all your needs. Later he ascended to the throne and was crowned king of Israel. Saul had died and the Lord gave David spectacular victories over the surrounding enemies. At one time, his greatest desire had been to build a fixed temple for God to replace the portable tent that had served as a sanctuary until then. But God had told him, "You will not build me a house, but I will build you a house" (2 Sam 7:11).
By remembering his past - with all its lights and shadows - this message from the Lord on the subject of a house would surely stand out. David had dreamed from a young age of building a fixed building to channel the worship of Jehovah and had shared that desire with others (Ps 132: 1-6): "behold, we heard it in Ephrata." The tabernacle had fulfilled its function. As a mobile structure, he had conveyed the message that God accompanies his people throughout their earthly pilgrimage-everywhere-and that everywhere anyone could access their presence through sacrifice and priesthood. Now another message was necessary. Now an announcement was required-David thought from his youth-that there is a stable, permanent place where the Lord can always be accessed. God will not disappear in the fog, but will leave a place where anyone could seek his face and ask for his blessing. It would be the temple, the house of the Lord, the place where He manifested.
The Lord had said to him, "You shall not build a house for me, but I will build you a house." There is a play on words, where the structure and the family are exchanged. "You will not build me a house" refers to the structure: a building, the temple. The attached promise "I will build you house" refers to the family, the descendants, the lineage. God promises that he will raise a royal dynasty from the offspring of David. A descendant of his will reign over all the earth. It would be the Anointed One.
In the case of the temple, David's dream, the Lord tells him no. He is not allowed to build a temple. Without the approval and help of the Lord, no human project will move forward. It is like the sigh of Moses: "The work of our hands confirms us" (Ps 90:17). On the other hand, regarding the lineage, the Lord says yes. David's union with Bathsheba had borne the sour fruit of a dying child, but then Solomon was born. The Lord explicitly confirms his love for Solomon by giving him a name that means "beloved of the Lord", "Jedidiah" (2 S 12: 24-25). With that change of name, David gets the message: the promised lineage will not come through his other sons-neither those born in Hebron, nor those born in Jerusalem-but through Solomon. That is why he assumes a full commitment with Bathsheba. The amorous frenzy that had characterized him in other times gives rise to the strictest matrimonial fidelity, to the point that when they bring a virgin to warm her in her last days of life, David refuses to touch her (1 Kings 1: 4). ).
David writes Psalm 127 to convey to his son Solomon the conclusions he had reached after meditating on the trajectory of his life. The first reflection is that you have to count on God to carry out your life project (Ps 127: 1-2). This supposes several things:

1. You have to have a vital project. Not everyone understands that their life has a purpose. If they are young people supported by their parents, it is easy for them to live only for the immediate moment: study, go out with friends, enjoy as much as they can afford. If they are older and have to cover their own expenses, they might think that life only consists of looking for a job in order to buy a house some day, start a family, go on vacation when it is time to play, and then retire with a decent pension. It's about getting love, health, money to achieve happiness and pull ahead, year after year.
   However, the Word of God ensures that God has something in mind for each person:

(Job 23:14) "He, then, will finish what he has determined of me, and many things as these are in him."
(Ps 138: 8) "Jehovah will fulfill his purpose in me ..."
(Eph 2:10) "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
(Ps 139: 16) "My embryo saw your eyes, and in your book were written all those things that were then formed, without missing one of them."
In the quote from Psalm 139, there is a word in the Hebrew text that does not appear in our Spanish version: "the days" ("All those things were written in your book, the days, which were later formed ...") . The idea is that God prepares beforehand not only the genetic code of each person, but also the succession of events that will mark their experience on this earth.

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If God has a plan for each person, if He has prepared good works beforehand, if He pours out grace in His own that materializes through concrete capacities (Eph 4: 7) (1 Pet. 4:10), all this means that we are called to discover the unique and special plan that the Lord has for our life. It is a vital project.
The vital project has the participation of the person. You have to build. When you discover the good works that God has prepared beforehand, you have to walk in them. Counting on God, consulting with God, trusting in God, there is a work to be done.
The psalm also talks about building a house. It refers to the same "house" that David has in mind when he addresses this psalm to Solomon: the family, the offspring. The individual raises the formation of a group of people, knowing that people are eternal. There are many activities necessary to earn sustenance and shelter, but in the midst of it all are the people who climb the stage of your life. The material world will end, but people will live forever. Our life project revolves around the people in whose lives we exercise some kind of influence for good, throughout our days.
This concern led the Son of God to become incarnate as Jesus Christ. Before the incarnation, speaking as the personification of divine wisdom, he says: "I rejoice in the habitable part of his earth, and my delights are with the sons of men" (Pr 8:31). Touching lives was what gave meaning to the whole career of Jesus Christ. Growing up in Nazareth and working in Joseph's carpentry were means to an end: to bless many by carrying out the plan of redemption. Everything revolved around this purpose, and the Christ who lives in us implanted the same vision.
If David starts talking about building a house, then he goes on to talk about saving a city. The scope grows from "home" to "city". There is an expansive dynamic. At first there are few people, then there are many. "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life" (Pr 11:30), because the circle of blessing expands with the passage of time.

The verbs "edify" and "save" speak of a hostile environment. The material world does not make things easier. The earth produces thorns and thistles. Then enemies that lurk arise. The wolves are waiting for the herd, to steal, kill and destroy. This demands vigilance and attention. Carrying out a vital project requires maximum effort.

1. God has to activate the vital project. The psalmist says twice "if the Lord does not build, if the Lord does not keep." The Lord has to preside over the activity. He gives the gifts, he sets the circumstances, he opens and closes doors, he gives strength, and only he can give a good result. By recognizing these facts, the believer remembers that he depends deeply on the Lord at all times. As Jesus Christ says: "apart from me you can do nothing" (Jn 15: 5). Every time we breathe, every time we pump our heart to circulate the blood, it is only because God is there sustaining the work of his hands.

To count on the Lord in all the activities that make up the vital project means to consult with him, seek his light, ask for his direction, claim his wisdom for all things. It means trusting in him, carrying the burdens in prayer, all those obstacles that hinder the way. Singing this psalm with the other ascending psalms three times a year - going up to Jerusalem for the feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles - emphasized the importance of this felt dependence.
Having the Lord also means choosing the things you like, making the decisions in harmony with your will:

We can plant and we can water, but God has to grow the plant. We are mistaken if we only depend on our intelligence and our capacity, as well as if we remain praying without doing anything:
(Pr 21:31) "The horse is ready for the day of battle, but the Lord is the one who gives the victory."

1. The verbs "edificar" and "guardar" clarify the human part in the vital project. They tell us that an effort is required, but that wisdom is also needed. You have to learn to build well, to watch well. They speak to us of a process: the vital project develops through a time, it is not an instant miracle as if by magic. We need proof in the right direction.
   There is room for creativity in building and saving. Although the plans are given by the architect and divine builder (He 11:10), the way of execution can vary according to the ingenuity of each one. David served his own generation according to God's will (Acts 13:36), but every cultural context and every historical moment can demand different answers.
   The fact of building and keeping remembers the purpose of the life project. It is a family, a city. They are eternal people who associate in communities: as a village or a metropolis, or as a local church. Both the family and the church fulfill functions that invite us to edify well and to keep it with earnestness: they are a refuge against the storms of life, a school to train - educate and correct - members, a barn to meet the needs of others , a billboard to announce the values ​​that matter.
   The good news is that if the vital project is done in harmony with the Lord, there will be satisfaction in the soul and rest in its time: "for God will give his beloved the dream". David is thinking of his son, whose name "Jedidiah" means "beloved of Jehovah", but the promise is extended to all.

A vital project will have fruit in people

(Ps 127: 3-5) "Behold, the children of the Lord are an inheritance of the Lord: the fruit of the womb is precious: Like arrows in the hand of the mighty one, so are the sons of youth." Blessed is the man who filled his quiver of them, he will not be ashamed when he talks to the enemies at the door. "
The vital project has to do with the "house": with the closest people, who usually live together under one roof. It is about the children or others who, due to their closeness, receive affection and a similar formation. David encourages his son Solomon to remember that, in addition to governing the nation - which involves public works and the administration of justice, with the construction of the temple as God's house - his mission is to train the next generation. Later events show that Solomon will be short in the formation of his son Rehoboam. David's concern was a success.
The phrase "Jehovah's inheritance are the children" recalls that the greatest legacy of life are the children one leaves behind. It is worth thinking about this: that life on this earth is not a search for sensations, nor is it a blind ride, tumbling while moving from one casual circumstance to another. It is a project in harmony with God, in which you discern God's purpose for your life and raise as a top priority to influence the lives of others for the good: touching lives, helping people, blessing others. There are many trades and many professions, but the ultimate goal is not to carry out activities but to invest in people, in all those who by the providence of God have crossed your path.
The relationship between the life project and the people who receive blessing is described with three terms:

1. Children are an inheritance. They are the children themselves, but they can also be spiritual children, as Timothy was for the apostle Paul: "true son in the faith" (1 Tim. 1: 2). The word "inheritance" ("najalah" in Hebrew, which describes the lands that the children of Israel receive in inheritance) can be interpreted in two ways: as an inheritance that belongs to the Lord (his possession) or as an inheritance that the Lord gives (his gift).
   If we think of the children as an inheritance that belongs to the Lord, they are like the nation of Israel: "Blessed is the nation whose God is Jehovah, the people whom he has chosen as his inheritance" (Ps 33:12). This concept is accompanied by the idea that children born are the property of the Lord. They belong to him: "your sons and your daughters whom you had given birth for me ..." (Ez 16:20). The father and the mother receive a creature on loan to form it according to God and then throw it into the world. Samson's father says: "When your words are fulfilled, how should the child's way of life be, and what should we do with it?" (Judg 13:12).

The word "inheritance" can also be understood in the other sense: as a treasure that we receive from God, as a gift that he gives us. The Hebrew word to draw ("thing of esteem") means "salary, reward, reward, pay". Among all the goods that come from above, the most significant gift are the children. They are the greatest treasure. As any inheritance has to be managed (paying debts, being generous, and then investing to make it grow), the children require us to assume a philosophy about their education.

Some choose not to have children to live better: buy more things, travel, acquire a more spacious house. But if children are the greatest treasure that comes to us from God, this vision is wrong. Others decide not to have children so as not to bring offspring to this valley of tears. They say "the world is so bad that we do not want to add suffering by having children". But the psalm says that children are arrows in the hand of the brave. If the world is wrong, what you need precisely are children formed in faith and thrown for blessing!
Others sacrifice children born on a consumerist altar, leaving them in the care of third parties so that parents can dedicate themselves to earn more money. Others strive to make their children happy-shopping, vacations, extra-curricular activities-when what is really about is that their character is formed in the right direction. Others abuse their children physically or verbally, treating them with contempt, when a notion of their high value before God should inspire other behaviors.

1. Children are like arrows. "Like arrows in the hand of the brave" says the psalmist. Once again the war background is appreciated: the fallen world is a place full of adversaries. He who fears the Lord, however, knows that the life of God can do more! We do not have to tremble in a cave, but have a powerful weapon for good. They are the children, prepared for a while (as stored in the quiver) and then thrown into the world.
   Archery means influencing from a distance. That's how the children are. Parents throw them out of the house at the right time, and go much further than their parents could. To give in the bullseye means to discern and assume the call of God for their lives, in order to touch other lives for good. This means that during childhood we are preparing them to fly from the nest one day, to live independently as people of benefit. Parents will always have this perspective in mind, and therefore teach them a multitude of things: a work ethic, the management of money, the subtleties of human relationships, the right manners, an intellectual curiosity, an adventurous spirit in the face of the future, a commitment to service, a freely assumed and independent spirituality. So that they become independent of their parents and dependents of God, because they wish so.

The metaphor of the arrow and the importance of carving it well so that it flies right, suggest that the task of educating children includes several commitments: 1) the commitment to give a coherent, sensible, spiritual example; 2) the commitment to create an edifying environment in the home (especially in the relationship between the father and the mother); 3) the commitment to teach children, both in basic abilities to deal with the external world and in the knowledge of the Lord and his Word; 4) the commitment to give a push so that they walk alone on their life path. This could be an economic support to make a career, buy a house or start a business. The apostle Paul says it clearly: "The children should not be treasured for the fathers, but the fathers for the children" (2 Cor 12:14).
When the psalmist exclaims, "Blessed is the man who filled his quiver with them," he means a quiver full of arrows, not stones or potatoes. The blessing is not in having children, but in forming them. Generating many children, then leaving them to their fate, has no grace. Each marriage has to decide before the Lord how many children it can properly form-in the ways of the Lord and to walk wisely in the paths of life-and take appropriate measures in this regard.

The healing of souls begins with the healing of our own soul before the Lord. Looking in the mirror and with the Israel Hymnal in his hand, the believer in Jesus Christ can channel the sighs of his heart until he returns to the place of trust and renewed obedience. The God who chooses and calls is the one who helps in this restoration - "will comfort my soul" - and the one who fan the joy in God, a true, lasting and spiritual joy: "anoint my head with oil".
If you have God in your life project, your life will have fruit in people.