Christian Mission and Poverty

Chapter 6: A Protestant Response

127

labor in vain; where God does not protect, our worry is futile. And he speaks thus: 1a. Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. 1b. Unless the Lord watches over the city,

the watchman stays awake in vain. 2. It is vain that you rise up early, sit up late, and eat the bread of sorrow; for to him who enjoys his favor, he gives while he sleeps. 3. Lo, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. 4. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of youth. 5. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; They shall not be put to shame when they speak with their enemies in the gate.

First we must understand that “building the house” does not refer simply to the construction of walls and roof, rooms and chambers, out of wood and stone. It refers rather to everything that goes on inside the house, which in German we call “managing the household” [ haushallten ]; just as Aristotle writes, “ Oeconomia ,” that, is pertaining to the household economy which comprises wife and child, servant and maid, livestock and fodder. The same term is used by Moses in Exodus 1[:20–21], where he writes that God dealt well with the two midwives and “built them