Ps. 127-129
Any effort done apart from God is in vain. Got it. But how does this thought in the first half of Psalm 127 connect with the second half, which states that children are a blessing from the LORD? The connection, to me, is seen in the first verse, “Unless the LORD builds the house…” My mind automatically goes to the construction of the structure. But in the Bible, “house” refers to more than just the building. How many times do we read, “house of Israel” or “house of Aaron”? A “house” is also what we call a “home” or, even beyond that, our family line. So we build our house with children. And children are a heritage from the LORD. It is critical that we keep God in our homes, passing His Truth on to our children, because a life lived without God directing it is in vain.
Psalm 128 seems to take the opposite side of the same thought. Instead of pointing out the vanity of living without God, it stresses the blessing that comes by living for Him. Your labor and your family will be fruitful. You will see prosperity and blessing from God and will see His heritage in your children’s children.
Acts 18
Paul had a fruitful ministry in Corinth but he was initially rejected by the Jews. His response to them is a good example of how our job is to live and speak God’s truth and leave the results to Him. More than once in the Bible, God referenced the watchman on the wall – if he calls out the danger he sees but people don’t listen, their destruction is not on his head, but if he keeps silent the bloodguilt is his. This is what Paul was referring to when he said, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent.” It is good to know what we are and are not responsible for. We need to let go of feeling responsible for those we can’t persuade. But we likewise need to take very seriously our duty to testify in whatever way God has called us.
Another little thing I found interesting in this chapter – verse 5 notes Paul’s evangelistic ministry as “testifying…that the Christ was Jesus.” The last few verses introduce Apollos, a Jewish believer from Alexandria, who came to Ephesus and began teaching there. From the description, Apollos strikes me as more of an apologist (how appropriate) in his ministry. What I find interesting is that verse 28 notes his ministry as “showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.” Besides the slight distinction between the evangelistic and apologetic approach to ministry, it is very clear to me that the message was the same – the Christ is Jesus. Let us keep the main point the main point…always.