Will the American home survive? More than 100 years ago Karl Marx said the time would come when the home would wither away and cease to be a social institution. The home has been withering away since World War II. The dysfunctional home is the number one tragedy in American life. The only homes that will survive and go into the 21st century are those homes built upon the impregnable rock of Holy Scripture. In Psalm 127 we have four characteristics of the home that will stand:
- THE HOME WILL STAND THAT IS DIVINELY FOUNDED (Psalm 127:1). God is the Founder, the Divine Architect of the Home. However, He works through two laborers, the husband and wife. Marriages are made in heaven, but they must be lived in the home.
- The husband and wife must be born again believers.
- They must marry in the will of God.
- They must follow God’s blueprint for marriage.
- THE HOME WILL STAND THAT IS DIVINELY FENDED (v.1b). God is the Divine Defender of the Home, but He works through two watchmen, the husband and the wife. The home must be defended against many enemies or it will be destroyed: alcohol, drugs, divorce, abdicated fathers, working mothers, television, material values to the exclusion of spiritual values. Therefore, the husband and wife must join as “watchmen” on the wall for the home.
- Husband and wife must be utterly yielded to the Lordship of Christ. In Colossians 3:15, “…be ye filled with the Spirit.” From the context it is quite evident that this injunction is not only addressed to the church, but to husbands and wives, to homes and families. The crying need of the home today is the right kind of Head. Christ is the rightful Head, but he can be Head only if the husband and wife acknowledge Him as Lord in every relationship.
- Husband and wife must establish the family altar. There should be family Worship. Billy Graham has said, “The oldest and most important church in the world is the church of the household. The husband is the divinely ordained minister of that church. If he is not discharging the duty of leading his family in worship, then he is miserably failing. He is putting his family in jeopardy. Thus any man who refuses to lead family devotions is dealing unjustly with his wife and children and committing a crime against God.” It was Joshua who said, “Choose ye this day whom you will serve. But as for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord.” Joshua chose the Lord for himself and for his entire household. The wife who will not cooperate with such a husband – woe be unto her – but most of them will.
- Husband and wife must train their children according to God’s ways. There must be family discipline. Proverbs 22:6 commands, “Train up a child in the way…” If you analyze the word “train” from a biblical point of view, you will discover that it has a three-fold meaning:
- Training by example.
- Training by instruction
- Training by discipline.
The husband and the wife must be living examples of discipline. Nothing we say is worth anything unless we demonstrate it in our conduct. The first word to parents is in Ephesians 6:4, “Provoke not your children to wrath….” This is the first word. Do not excite the evil desires in your children by bad example. Nothing discourages children so much, or leads them into sin so much as ungodly acts on the part of parents, including hypocritical actions. But positively, the Lord says, “Bring them up in the nurture and admonition.” This word “nurture” means discipline, chastisement or punishment. The punishment of children is not popular. But the Bible teaches conclusively that discipline is a must in training children. Proverbs 22:15, “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.” Surely there is a place for the rod when used prayerfully and intelligently. The phrase “admonition of the Lord” denotes instruction. Paul gloried in fact that Timothy had known the Scriptures from a child through the instruction of his mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5; 3:15).
- THE HOME WILL STAND THAT IS DIVINELY FURNISHED (v. 2). “It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so he giveth his beloved sleep”(Psalm 127:2). Solomon is saying here that the furnishings that really matter are not material things that are secured through ceaseless toil. They are rather those intangible gifts of God to those who rest and sleep in His will.
- THE HOME WILL STAND THAT IS DIVINELY FAVORED (3-5). “Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord; and the fruit of the womb is His reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children of thy youth” (3-4). Stephen Olford says, “The Scriptures make it plain that God will never favor a home where a man and his wife refuse the honor of parenthood, either because of selfish indulgence or the passion to become rich.” (SANCTITY OF SEX, Stephen Olford, p.116).
From our text we see that children are sent to reward the home. “The fruit of the womb is His reward.” What is more rewarding than the sunshine of little faces, the patter of little feet, the music of little voices, the pressure of little fingers, and the love of little hearts.
Please note further that our Scripture says, “As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children. The flight of an arrow depends upon the way it is produced and pointed. The tragedy is that so many arrows leave our homes today dipped in poison. Multitudes of children are corrupted by their homes and go out to pollute society and the world at large. Bossuet was absolutely correct when he said, “Great men are formed on the knees of their mothers.”
“Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate” (v. 5). This verse means that a father may have his false accusers, but if he has reared his children aright they will witness to the world that he was a man of integrity. The greatest credit to parents is what their children do.
Is your Home one that will stand? It will if built upon righteous principles. It cannot survive if built upon unrighteous principles of men. “The wicked are overthrown and are not, but the house of the righteous shall stand” (Proverbs 12:7).