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Song of ascents, Likely sang annually on feast days and so this among other psalms should have been given as annual reminders
Song of ascents, Likely sang annually on feast days and so this among other psalms should have been given as annual reminders
This is a Psalm of Solomon, writer of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes
Vanity of Man’s Labors aside from the LORD
1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Solomon introduces us to an either or type statement
If B happens without G the result is V
If B happens with G the Result is L (not vanity, something lasting)
Both possibilities involve B
This is NOT an either or situation
It is not — God builds the house OR the builder builds
IT IS
The builder is building the house
or
The builder is building the house the LORD is building
The work is much the same
Planning, Gathering materials , establishing a foundation, cutting the materials, assembling the house , Putting a roof on top
Gathering materials
Planning
establishing a foundation
cutting the materials
assembling the house
Putting a roof on top
But it can be done in submission to the LORD or not
The result is very different
The result of mans work and toil is Vanity
Its pointless, to no account, no lasting value
The LORDS work, however, is not in vain but will last
So the man who builds what the LORD is building is doing something worth while, something of value.
Even though the actual “work” is not fundamentally different
Solomon the proverbially bad example
Solomon is one of those sad characters in the bible that puzzle us
he seemed to be doing so well and then he started multiplying wives and went downhill
1 kings 11 starts the downhill spiral of his reign
In typical sin fashion, there were other issues prior that exposed a gradual decline
We really see his failures starting in Chapter 4
26 Solomon also had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen.
And there are problems we see in the manner in which he built The Temple
16 Moses did everything just as the LORD had commanded him.
17 The tabernacle was set up in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month.,j
18 Moses set up the tabernacle: He laid its bases, positioned its supports, inserted its crossbars, and set up its pillars.
19 Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Throughout the the narrative recording the building of the Tabernacle
1 kings 6:38-
13 King Solomon drafted forced labor out of all Israel, and the draft numbered 30,000 men.
14
Throughout the building of the temple recorded in 1 kings and Chronicles there is not one mention that anything was performed “As the LORD commanded”
And so, the building of Solomon was vanity
It was not
He did it himself, it was not built by God which we see in God’s ultimate destruction of the Temple
The labor was In Vain
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
Same kind of statement as the first
Same basic point
A man watch over a city
looking for enemies
to protect it from attack
But unless the Lord is watching over the city what good is it?
Will it not be destroyed regardless?
But this also does not mean that a watchman should not stay awake
He is still to watch guard over the city
And so it is with us
We are to do
But if the LORD is not with us in what we do it is worthless vanities
And Solomon teaches this truth in these two hypothetical situations
But then it gets personal
He changes from speaking hypothetically in the third person To directly addressing his reader in the 2nd person.
2 It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
Solomon assumes that his readers are Laboring in Vain
He says “Your working long and hard hours because work is hard and painful , and stressful.
And by the way your hard work is pointless”
You are working in VAIN
Do you think this is an accurate assessment?
Is it For God or With God?
Solomon built a Temple for God
Moses built the Tabern
for he gives to his beloved sleep.
For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.
yes, he gives sleep to the one he loves.,q
when thus he provides for his beloved in his sleep.
I think the best way to understand this is: Why do you work so hard IN VAIN when God has given Rest to those he loves.
Are you tired, are you exhausted and worn out?
IS the burden heavy?
You do not have to be.
God provides rest.
Is Solomon recommending laziness?
Just do less and sleep in?
Is Solomon recommending laziness?
As we discussed in verse 1, what is the difference between working in vain and not working in vain?
Is it hard work vs slacking off?
Is Solomon recommending laziness?
He says here that those that are tired and exhausted are working in Vain.
It is because we are not doing the work that God is doing.
Any thoughts?
Our labors must be rooted in the Fear of the Lord and obedience
So if we are still to work and be diligent how are we to experience the Blessing of God’s Rest?
How can one experience the blessing of God’s rest by working in submission to God’s will rather than working in vanity?
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