Song of Ascents Psalm 128

 

Psalm 128 Blessings of Those Who Fear the Lord

1 Blessed is every one who fears the Lord,
Who walks in His ways.
2 When you eat the labor of your hands,
You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.
3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
In the very heart of your house,
Your children like olive plants
All around your table.
4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
Who fears the Lord.
5 The Lord bless you out of Zion,
And may you see the good of Jerusalem
All the days of your life.
6 Yes, may you see your children’s children.
Peace be upon Israel!

Many today say there is no fear of the LORD. Christians have downgraded the meaning of "fear" to only "reverence." The concept being that all fear is a negative thing and we should all focus on the goodness of God.

When God made man and woman, He made them to carry different aspects of His own nature. Women carrying His nurturing goodness, men carrying the aspects needed of His authority position - His gravitas, if you will, to be the judge of the family.

I know that doesn't set right with women these days, but it is absolutely what God's Word says about how man and woman carry different aspects of the Almighty's own nature. It is split between them so when they come together in marriage, they have the opportunity to reflect who HE is in the way their union impacts their family life.

Not only that but Messianic Jew and Christian Gentile also fit together like that.

Verse 3 shows there is no power struggle going on between the two sides of God in either the husband and wife, or the "one new man" of the Messianic Jews and Christian Gentiles who have come into a union bound by their faith in Yeshua/Jesus. It is a last days development for sure - as husbands and wives finding the same kind of mutual contribution and harmony. It sure isn't the vision of equality that has been propagandized to every woman and man for decades. God's vision is far more mutually satisfying and blessed than that!

When I started, I meant to say that the fear of the LORD has been downgraded to meaning only reverence. But the reality of the fear of the LORD is that for those doing wrong, they do so not realizing that God can terrify us when His judgment falls on our wrong doing. The fear of the LORD is beyond mere reverence, it can make you cry in great fear for months asking for His mercy to return to your life. That is more than reverence. He has the power of our lives in His hand - even our next breath, that calls for something more than mere reverence.

But also in verse 3 above, His mercy is expressed like a mother "In the very heart of your house," Between God's gravitas for judgment and His heart for mercy and FORGIVENESS, we also find "one new man" in the faith, Messianic Jew and Gentile Christian who are now in the final procession of ascending to Zion.