HEBREW WORD STUDY: BUILD- BANAH בנהה
Psalm 127:1a A song of ascents of Solomon. Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain…
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both. And be one traveler” Robert Frost
The word Unless im , has two possible roots. One, being a conjunction such as “unless”, and the second possible root can mean “a place where two ways diverge”.
I’ve heard it said that “The Road Less Taken” is both the most widely read and the most misunderstood poem. That it’s really not about choosing the path that most others do not take, but that it does have the idea that whichever road you choose, you’re sure to miss something good from the other. I believe life is full of give and take, and that no matter how well you balance things, you can’t always have it all. Lately, I’ve been thinking about what I’ve missed out on and of things that I will never have. I start to feel a little sad, but before it turns into full-blown regret I remember why I chose what I did, and it brings me back to peace. Every twist and turn I make on my life’s journey is guided by my desire to know God. I want God’s designs for my life, His blueprints for my “house”. When we’re at a crossroad, we have to choose based on what we value most and once we do, regardless of what the road looks like after that, there’s no turning back with regret. I’ve been listening to a song by Misty Edwards and meditating on a line in it “The reward of love, is love”. When I meditate on Jesus being my exceedingly great reward, I am content.
Both the words house and build come from the same Hebrew root word banah which basically means to build, construct or retore. I believe it is a play on words with Understanding bin which come from the same Semitic root and which would explain how God is doing the building. What’s interesting about this word understanding, bin, is that it has the same feel as the word unless im. It is a type of wisdom and understanding that comes from discerning and being the middleman or umpire choosing between two things.
Heart leb and house bayith are also considered to be related words as both can mean house and heart. Only Jesus can truly discern what the deepest desires of my heart are and to help me to choose accordingly. The word vain, shav can have the meaning of emptiness. What a sigh of ease we can breathe knowing that our life was designed by the Master Architect and does not have to be lived out in vain shav, with empty regret. The Lord builds with eternity in mind and much of the value of our choices can’t be fully realized until we’re on the other side of eternity.
The beauty is, it is NEVER too late to build with God and live the rest of our days filled with His peace and contentment.
Laura
Thank you Laura. Very good word study. Loved it.!!!
Thanks Tim, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I pray Gods perfect love fill your heart Laura. He loves you sooo much!! I have been divorced for 14 yrs. now. Was that Gods plan for my life? Not necessarily. But he saw it coming and knew He could use it for my good. I have not really lamented even for a second and thought that divorce is the road he chose for me but its a good road. God is all about marriage. But we need to be reminded that we have an advisary who is at work trying to steal and destroy that which is good. I had no control over my ex husbands choices. A heart sold out to the King of Glory and our eyes fixed on Him at all times brings no regrets. Thank you for your beautiful insights into Gods word. Blessings
Thank you for sharing Jenifer <3 and yes no regrets for choosing my life's path that brought me to my greatest desire...knowing (yada) Jesus!
Chaim, Thank you, thank you, thank you for having taken the road that you have. In the first dream that I had in which I saw Yeshua, I was in my late 30’s and married to an emotionally abusive husband. My self esteem was extremely low and I felt that there was something very wrong with the way that I was. I had driven my car into a dark underground parking garage. When I got out of my car, I was extremely afraid. In the corner of the garage, there was only one light hanging on a chain from a metal fixture that was over a staircase – so I started walking toward the light. Suddenly when I got to the light, it became the risen Jesus. At first I was startled and felt ashamed and unworthy, but only for a brief second. The eyes of Jesus are both beautiful and penetrating. I knew that Jesus was looking in to my heart and soul and that He knew absolutely everything about me and yet His eyes conveyed His complete love for me. And within my spirit, He told me that he had made me the way that I am for His purposes and that He had not made any mistakes. Chaim, it seems very little in my life path would be considered the “normal” most taken path. And I guess, it has been so different, that Jesus came to me twice to reassure me that I was on the path that he wanted me to go on. In my prayers, I had said, Thy Will Be Done, and so I don’t think that I was really the one making the decisions about what path to take. And when I went off in a direction that YHVH did not want me to go, which to me looked like the usual Christian path, then He would cause all kinds of obstacles that would cause me to take the direction that he wanted me to take. Years ago, I had really gotten in to Hebrew study and I had purchased all of your study materials. But I have not had the time to pursue my study the way that I have wanted to, mainly because I have been studying the electronics that has to do with setting up emergency radio communication. But I know like I know, that I am doing what the Lord wants me to do. I know like I know that you are doing what the Lord wants you to do. I depend on what you write to provide me with understanding. You encourage the ones that read what you write. I have written what I did yesterday and today in an effort to encourage and reassure you. I have seen the face of Jesus 2 times. When I read what you write, I can visualize Jesus saying those words. I do not feel that with other writers. I may see other writers like Michael Heisner or Jonathan Cahn as interesting and informative, but when I read what you write, I am able to feel the words of Jesus in my heart like I did in my dreams and I can also feel in my heart the love that Jesus has for you. YHVH has given us gifts and has put us exactly where He wants us to be even though neither one of us are on the stereotypical Christian path.
Hi Annie, thank you so much for your kind words and for sharing about yourself. I hope it won’t disappoint you to know that it was actually me who wrote the devotional. Chaim and I are very much alike though when it comes to our approach to life in Jesus and why we study and are in ministry together. It’s interesting that you mention your dream because this devotional is part of a dream interpretation I had when I first gave my heart to Jesus. I don’t know if you are part of the “All Access” group but I’m going to be doing some online meetings regarding dreams, and dream interpretation using Biblical Hebrew. I’m hoping others will share their dreams as well. Blessings, Laura
Why do you believe you will not have the things you hoped for? Aren’t we told the people in Nazareth didn’t receive what God had for them because they didn’t pisteo? Didn’t Jesus say to ASK ANYTHING so your joy would be complete? My precious brother, my heart aches for you. Unless the Holy Spirit specifically confirmed to you something of your heart’s longing wasn’t in His plan, (and even then we have examples of those who changed God’s mind ….although in Hezekiah’s case it may have been shortsighted for his people) I am believing that His “huperperisseuo hesed” will either fulfill your heart’s desires or change them to where you are fulfilled in what He is bringing you. If your Abba RAN to the son who squandered and misused his inheritance, and told the other son who thought he had to earn it (never asking the Father or believing for a fatted calf party), how much more would He do for you, His beloved that is the one who Yeoshua loves?
Since I’ve followed you this year over been soooo blessed by many of your insights and keep having visions of you having a much larger platform to share the gifts He has given to you. THAT is what I keep praying for you. (Isn’t the verb tense “to say to the mountain” imperfect? (I’ve also asked Daddy that it wouldn’t take 108 years and a rain delay.) :-)
Hi Jim, It was actually me, Laura, who wrote the devotional. I think you might have missed the point as though I appreciate your concern, there is no need for it. I don’t want to change God’s mind and I trust His wisdom for my life. Let me give you an example of what I meant
. I desired children, yes, but what I desired more was the destiny God had for me which in my case did not include children. While that is God’s will for many and it wouldn’t have been wrong for me to get married and have children, it simply wasn’t the plan God designed for me. While the thought of not having children may make me sad for a second, I remember why I don’t, and that is that I chose God’s design which is the ultimate desire of my heart. So no, you can’t have everything but you can have what you ask for and desire most and for me, that was following God’s design for my life which did not include having children. Also, in no way am I saying that I feel God designed some type of “lesser” life for me. There are pros and cons to everything, and while I always thought I’d have children and I love children, I have to say that it has been awfully nice spending my life just Jesus and me. I am very content and do not have regrets. With that said, I believe that poem is one of the most widely read because I think most of us at times wonder what it would have been like if we chose differently and I don’t think that’s a bad thing as long as long as it’s just a passing thought.