Partners with God
Secularism has made self-reliance more attractive than ever, but people have always been tempted to take charge and rely on their own smarts and strength. Solomon says we were never meant to live like that.
A Solomon song. A song of ascents.
1 Unless YHWH builds the house
the builders are just wasting their time.
Unless YHWH protects the city
the sentries may as well go on home to bed.
2 There’s no point
getting up early and staying up late—
running yourself ragged to provide for yourself
when God gives sleep to those he loves.
3 Our sons come to us as a gift from YHWH
those we produce as his reward.
4 The sons God gives us in our youth
are like the arrows in a warrior’s hand.
5 How fortunate
the man whose quiver God has filled with them!
They won’t have to back down
when they stand up to his foes at the city gate.
Most people rely on their own planning and hard work to make things happen in their lives. Solomon reminds us that all we do—from building a house and providing for ourselves to protecting a city from danger—is futile unless we do it in partnership with God. No amount of vigilance, self-effort, or self-sacrifice can make up for his blessing, guiding and empowering. Without him, we can never do enough. And the intolerable burden autonomy puts on us robs us of peace and drives us to workaholism and other forms of self-medication. Every so-called self-made man or woman around is living proof of that. By contrast, God wants us to rest (and sleep!) in the knowledge that he’s the only one who can bring our work to fruition.
No less jarring to modern ears than Solomon’s advocating dependence on God, against self-reliance, is his wisdom regarding families. Ancient Israel’s patriarchy made having strong young men in a family vital. For a man’s sons could back him up when people falsely accused him or his family of wrongdoing at the city gate, where such disputes were launched. Boys, like girls, are a gift to us from God, who partners with us in building healthy families too, forging the sort of strength that contributes to making a healthy, resilient society.
Without you I can do nothing, Jesus. Help me to surrender my will to you, trusting that you want what’s truly best for me and can help me long to please you. Your purposes cannot fail. Help me to rest in the knowledge that in partnership with you, I can do everything you want me to do. Amen.
In your free moments today, meditate on these words:
Unless YHWH builds the house
the builders are just wasting their time.
