Welcome to this Daily PBJ devotional. Read 1 Chronicles 9 and 10, Zechariah 5, and Psalms 127-129. This devotional is about Psalm 127. Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat, for he gives sleep to his beloved. Children are indeed a heritage from the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward, like arrows in the hand of a warrior. So are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. He will not be put to shame when he confronts the enemies at the gate. This is God's Word. Human beings are builders. We build houses, cities, gardens, but also families, companies, and teams. There's something very satisfying about having an idea, formulating it into a plan, and then putting that plan into action, step by step, until it is finished. Once it is finished, the thing you build needs to be protected from thieves, vandals, and natural disasters. Solomon knew a lot about building. He built Jerusalem into a world-class city from the simple fortress town it had been when David ruled over Israel. Yet, as the wisest man who ever lived, Solomon reflected on all his projects and realized something profound. If God is not behind your project, it will not succeed. That's what he wrote here in Psalm 127 verse 1a. If God isn't defending it, all the elite guards in the world won't be able to protect what is so important to you, as Solomon told us in verse 1b. In verse 2, Solomon moved from general notions about building a home or defending a city to a more personal application to us all. He wrote this, this time from the NIV. But verse 3 says, in vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat. People work themselves to death trying to achieve their dreams or trying to avoid being a failure. But Solomon claims that it is useless. Vain is the word he used. to spend so much time and effort on projects in your life. And the reason that Solomon wrote this is in the last line of verse two, which says this, for he grants sleep to those he loves. The Hebrew in this verse could be translated one of two ways. It could be translated as the NIV reads, for he grants sleep to those he loves. Or it could be translated as the NIV's footnote reads, which says this, for while they sleep, he provides for those he loves. And I think that second option, for while they sleep, he provides for those he loves, is really the correct reading. I believe that because verse 3a says, So verse 2's, he provides for those he loves while they sleep, then, is a euphemism for sex, because sex is often a bedtime activity. So, the phrase God provides while they sleep, then, refers to the conception of children with your spouse. You and your spouse have sex, then you go to sleep. But while you're sleeping, the process of pregnancy is happening. And God is providing you with a new child while you sleep right through it. And that's why verse 4 talks about children being a gift from the Lord. People work so hard building a career, building wealth, building a company, creating whatever. Then they go home and they create what really matters, children, in between the sheets. It's not very hard work. And it is a gift from God. Both the intimacy that creates the children and the children that result from that intimacy are gifts of God. Solomon says they are God's reward for those whom he loves, according to verse 3. Verses 4 and 5 explain that one of the benefits of your children is that they will defend you when you are old and others try to take advantage of you. Your wealth may diminish over time. Your athletic achievements will be forgotten. You will someday retire from your stellar career, and the hobbies that take so much of your time will someday bore you to tears. It will be your children that matter to you when you look back at your life. They will care for you when you get older. And that's what this psalm is trying to tell us. Projects are good. They're important. But if God isn't in them, they're going to be useless. But one thing God always is in is family. That's what the psalm is telling us. The implication, then, is put your energy and effort there, in your family. You know God thinks children are important, as verse 3 says. So why not build into their lives while you work on other projects? This psalm says God will bless you. if you do. If you found this devotional helpful, go to my website, dailypbj.com slash subscribe, enter your email address there, and you'll receive an email from me every day containing a link to the daily scripture reading as well as these devotionals. 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