“Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son
Enoch.” [1]
Being involved in a new
venture that will involve construction of a building (kingdomlink.ca), I
thought it wise to study the Scriptural principles for doing so. In my previous blog I wrote my 1st
reflection - this is the 2nd;
In seeking to understand
what the Lord thinks of our (or any) construction project, one must at some
point do a word study to see how the Biblical writers used the term “build”. When you do that you get some rather
disappointing results;
The first mention of the
term is in Genesis 4 (quoted above), after Cain (who had killed his brother
just a few verses prior) was sent out of the presence of the Lord. Cain determines to build a city and names it
after his son. What that tells us is
that Cain was seeking for his own fame and recognition – why else would you
name a city after your progeny?
The next is in Genesis 11,
when the descendants of Noah (who God had told to spread out and fill the earth
– see Gen 9:1) disobey Him and decide to build a tower to exalt themselves to
heaven. “Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a
tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and
not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” [2] Of course, we know that the Lord looks upon
their building project and confuses their language so that they cannot continue
it.
Looking at the two earliest
references, one finds that in both cases disobedient mankind is seeking to
create for themselves a permanent structure for their own glory – obviously not
something God approves of. One begins to
wonder what God’s viewpoint of our building projects really is.
The next instance of the
Hebrew term ‘bnh’ is in Genesis 16. In
this case the term is not used of construction per se, but of ‘building’ a
family. Here Sarai (now an old woman)
says to Abram (now an old man), “The Lord
has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I
can build a family through her.” [3] The reader will recall that in Gen 12, Abram
was promised a son through Sarai. In
their frustration at having to wait for the fulfillment of the promise, Sarai
takes matters into her own hands (so to speak).
God later makes it clear that the resultant child (Ishmael) is not the
child of His original promise (see Gen 17:20-21). He does bless Ishmael – but it would seem
that even the building of a family can be distorted when we seek to build what
God has not ordained!
In fact, the only time we
see Him blessing people after they build something is when they build an altar
to Him (a key principle we’ll explore later).
And the first time we see someone in Scripture building something (as opposed to someone) that God specifically blesses
is when Moses constructs the tabernacle in Exodus 40. Of course, that was built specifically for
God with instructions from God, and even it was a temporary building, being taken
down and set up every time His presence moved.
The next instance of God blessing something mankind constructs is when Solomon
to builds the temple of God in Jerusalem.
Looking back though the
lens of history, we can see that neither Cain’s city nor the ziggurat (tower)
of Babel lasted. Their glory began
fading back to dust from the moment the last stone was laid in place. Those things built without God’s purposes
in mind do not stand long.
The temple that was blessed
by God however, seems to be unusually persistent. It was built by Solomon, sacked by Egypt and rebuilt
by Jehoash King of Judah. It was sacked
again by the Assyrians and destroyed by the Babylonians, but then it was
rebuilt in Ezra’s day by Zerubbabel. It
was subsequently desecrated by Antiochus Ephiphanes, but restored & rededicated
by Judas Maccabaeus. It was sacked by
Crassus but rebuilt by Herod. Though destroyed
by the Romans in 70 CE, and though the Muslims (Ishmael’s descendants) built
the Dome of the Rock on or very close to the site in 691, the temple is
prophesied to be rebuilt in the last days.
Interestingly, this time it will be rebuilt according to God’s specific
directions (see Ezek 40-47) instead of Solomon’s plans.
All of this leads us to the
succinct principle for building we see in Psalm 127:1. “Unless
the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” [4] Something to think about.
[1]
The Holy Bible: New International Version.
(1984). (Ge 4:17). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
[2]
The Holy Bible: New International Version.
(1984). (Ge 11:4). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
[3]
The Holy Bible: New International Version.
(1984). (Ge 16:2). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
[4]
The Holy Bible: New International Version.
(1984). (Ps 127:1). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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