Sermon

Psalm 128— Biblical Motherhood: A Fruitful Vine

May 14, 2006

Recently folk at the website salary.com attempted to estimate the monetary value of the “mom job” of both a working and stay at home mom. First, they determined the top ten jobs that make up a mom’s job description. Surveying moms, they found that the job descriptions that matched a mom’s definition of her work to be (in order of hours spent per week):

Housekeeper;
Day care center teacher;
Cook;
Computer operator;
Laundry machine operator;
Janitor;
Facilities manager;
Van driver;
CEO;
And psychologist.

They then calculated that the real value of a stay-at-home mom would be $134,471 annually. Working moms would earn $85,876 in addition to their actual “work job” salary.

Long before Salary.com we find in Proverbs 31:10: “Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.”

Today I want to take advantage of our culture’s focus on appreciation for mothers to examine a Biblical picture of motherhood and family.

One of the most interesting and hopeful cultural trends of our day is that a rising generation of young American women, and Christian women in particular, are embracing the traditional calling of women as mothers and keepers of the home. Indeed there is no higher calling for a woman in life than to be a wife and mother and to provide a safe and nurturing and loving environment for her family.

There are many die-hard feminists who are extremely bothered by this trend. They cannot understand why a woman would be satisfied merely with being a wife and mother.

One of the most bothered feminists is Linda Hirshman, a retired distinguished professor at Brandeis University, who has expressed her dismay in a 2005 article in American Prospect magazine and in a subsequent book titled, “Get to Work: A Manifesto for Women in the World.” Back in February of this year she made a stir in two appearances on “Good Morning America” when she expressed her dismay at and disdain toward educated women who prefer their families over their careers.

It seems that Hirshman selected a sample of young brides whose weddings had been announced in the “Sunday Styles” section of the New York Times over the course of three consecutive weeks in 1996. She chose those she considered the most educated and accomplished. They included a vice-president of client communication, a gastroenterologist, a lawyer, an editor, and a marketing executive. In 2003-04, 7-8 years after their weddings, she tracked down and interviewed 30 of these young women who had since had children. She found to her horror that only five were still full time in the work force, ten were working part time, and 25 were staying at home to be with their children with no intention to return to their work.

Hirshman’s response was to say that “feminism has largely failed in its goals.” Women who choose family over career are “letting down the team.” She also said that motherhood as choice was “bad for women individually.”

She stated: “A good life for humans includes the classical standard of using one’s capacities for speech and reason in a prudent way, the liberal requirement of having enough autonomy to direct one’s own life, and the utilitarian test of doing more good than harm in the world. Measured against these time-tested standards, the expensively educated upper-class moms will be leading lesser lives.”

My guess is that when those mothers watched their children form their first words, take their first tentative steps, or snuggled with them on a leisurely morning in bed that they did not think of it as leading a “lesser life.”

One of the great ironies of modern feminism is that it measures the success of women based on the degree to which they act like men, rather than the degree to which they do the things that God has uniquely granted to them as women.

Psalm 128 is one place where the sacred Scriptures present a alternative worldview for the believer and for the Biblical family.

It is part of the Psalms of Ascent (Pss. 120-134). These were pilgrim songs sung by those going up to Jerusalem for worship.

It is a companion to Psalm 127 on the blessing of family.

We might call this psalm a beatitude (cf. Matthew 5:3-10) for it begins by telling how a men will be blessed in this life: “Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways.”

One is blessed who fears (has reverence for) the Lord. God is not a cosmic teddy bear.

Cf. Exodus 34:14: “for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous is a jealous God.”

Hebrews 12:29: “For our God is a consuming fire.”

We see the value of this experience of the “fear of the Lord” over and over in the Proverbs. A sampling:

NKJV Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

NKJV Proverbs 3:7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.

NKJV Proverbs 9:10"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

NKJV Proverbs 10:27 The fear of the LORD prolongs days, But the years of the wicked will be shortened.

NKJV Proverbs 14:26 In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And His children will have a place of refuge.

NKJV Proverbs 14:27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death.

NKJV Proverbs 15:16 Better is a little with the fear of the LORD, Than great treasure with trouble.

NKJV Proverbs 19:23 The fear of the LORD leads to life, And he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil.

NKJV Proverbs 23:17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, But be zealous for the fear of the LORD all the day;

Note how the Psalmist draws a parallel between fearing the Lord and walking his ways. How do we show that we fear the Lord? By living it out in real time in our lives.

From the beatitude of v. 1, the psalmist moves on to describe exactly how a man will be blessed who fears the Lord. See v. 4: “Behold, thus shall a man be blessed who fears the Lord.”

First, he says a man will be blessed by enjoying the fruit of his labor (v. 2). It was part of the curse for sin in Genesis 3 that man would have to eat bread by the sweat of his brow. But note how God takes that curse and turns it around and makes it a blessing for men to enjoy and be blessed by their labor. The Bible prizes industry and ingenuity and skill in the labors of one’s hands. Paul told the Thessalonians that if a man does not work he should not eat (2 Thess 3:10). The Proverbs pillory the sluggard who folds his hands to slumber and wakes up in poverty (Proverbs 6:6-11).

Second, a man will be blessed by enjoying a godly family (v. 3). Here is where we get to the Biblical role of the wife and mother. “Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house.” What a lovely organic image for the wife and mother in the home! She is this lush, prolific plant, which produces beautiful fruit.

One of the things we should note here is that a woman’s purpose is presented in relationship to a man. Women were made to be a blessing to man. Recall the formation of Eve for Adam as “a help comparable to him” (NKJV; KJV: “ a help meet for him”). This is not an inferior calling for the woman. God’s calling is never sub-par.

Note that she is in the very heart of the house. She is at the nerve center, the backbone, the very core of the household. Nothing functions well if she is not functioning well.

This image of the woman as a lush vine also takes us back to the dominion mandate of Genesis 1:26-28:

NKJV Genesis 1:26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

Children are not to be seen as a burden but as a blessing.

On May 10th there was an intriguing article in the Los Angeles Times by David Barash a self-described Darwinian professor of psychology at the University of Washington. It was entitled, “Sex is essential, kids aren’t” and was subtitled, “Why are 30% of German women choosing to go childless.” In that article Barash noted the recent public discussion in Germany of the fact that it now reports the highest proportion of childless women of any country in the world, noting that this is “not the result of infertility; it’s intentional childlessness.” He takes special aim at those bothered by these statistics for the nation’s future, including those whom he calls “religious fundamentalists, distressed at the large numbers of women using birth control” (conservative Catholics).

As an evolutionary biologist Barash asks “How can this be?” How could so many be choosing not to participate in “life’s most pressing event.”

He attributes it to “that old bugaboo, free will.”

Barash writes: “For more than 99.9% of their evolutionary history, human have not had the luxury of deciding whether or not to reproduce: simply engaging in sex took care of that…. But then something wonderful came on the scene: birth control. Because of it, women (and men) can exercise choice, and, if they wish, save themselves the pain, risk and inconvenience of childbearing and child-rearing, indulging themselves rather than their genetic posterity.”

He goes on to distinguish between, as have some behavioral ecologists, between what are known as “r” and “k” strategies among living things. So, “r” strategies—like mice and rabbits—breed early and often, while “k” types—such as elephants and whales—breed later and more rarely, producing fewer offspring and investing more in each. He then proceeds to speculate that as human societies improve they tend to progress from an “r” strategy to a “k” strategy. The “child-wariness” of modern Germany is, thus, perfectly understandable and “profoundly human” according to Dr. Barash.

I wonder if Dr. Barash ever considered the myths that he has blindly embraced in constructing this interpretation? Among them would be the following:

All developments in life are an improvement.
Human beings are not essentially different from animals.
Pre-technological, primitive humans “breed” like rabbits, while technological, advanced humans “breed” like whales.

I wonder, for example, if he ever considered that even humans who have many children from a young age (the “r” stategy) also typically invest excessive individual attention to their children (the “k” strategy), thus destroying this absurd analogy.

My question is: Why would you accept this world view over a Biblical worldview based in the revelation of Scripture? The Bible says we were made to be fruitful and multiply. It tells us that children are a great blessing to the man who fears God. And when a culture decides that children are a nuisance and a hindrance this is evidence not of our evolution to a higher state but of our fall from and rejection of God’s perfect plan.

Here in Psalm 128, we have this wonderful image of children popping up from the vine. “Your children like olive plants all around your table.” If you are a parent you have seen this. Your little children, just budding and growing at the various stages of their formation. What a lovely picture of family life! These little ones are not an inconvenience!

Notice that at the center of this Biblical home is the family table. The Jewish home knew the value of the table as the crucial gathering place of the family. They were to eat together around the table and share their lives and talk about the things of God and pray. We have belittled the old saying but it’s true: the family that prays together stays together. Not long ago a study was produced that announced the startling news that children who ate their evening supper meal with their family were at significantly reduced risk of abusing drugs or alcohol. A Christian values the table not for some such pragmatic payoff but just because the Bible says it is right for a mother and father and their little sprouts to sit down and share their lives together.

Here in Charlottesville, we live not far here from Schuyler, Virginia, the real life setting for Earl Hamner’s Walton’s Mountain in the beloved television show, “Walton’s Mountain.” Several of our members grew up in that community. Why was that show so popular and why does its popularity persist? I think it is something more than just nostalgia for the depression. I think it is nostalgia for a time when families in this nation were stronger. When Dad enjoyed the fruit of the labor of his hands and mom was a fruitful vine and at the center of the home was the table where the children with which God had blessed the family gathered. Almost every person I know who grew up in a large family in the Depression is quick to tell you that though they had little in material goods they recall those days as some of the sweetest of their lives. If you have ever been to the real Walton’s Mountain and seen the actual house where the Hamners lived you will be surprised at how small that little house is. It is tiny. In those days it seems the norm was a large family and a small house. In our day, it is a small family and a large house.

Compare:

NKJV Proverbs 15:16 Better is a little with the fear of the LORD, Than great treasure with trouble.

NKJV Proverbs 15:17 Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, Than a fatted calf with hatred.

Psalm 128 ends in vv. 5-6 with a blessing for the pilgrims to Jerusalem. The Psalmist prays that they would see the good of the holy city of Jerusalem all their days. And the icing on the cake in v. 6 is that you would be able to see your grandchildren. And then he pronounces “peace” (shalom, wholeness) on Israel (v. 6b). Note that he does not wish financial prosperity or “fun” or leisure but peace on his people.

Former U. S. Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall lamented back in the 1940s:

Godly womanhood….the very phrase sounds strange to our ears. We never hear it now. We hear about every other typed of women: beautiful women, smart women, sophisticated women, career women, talented women, divorced women. But so seldom do we hear of a godly woman—or of a godly man either, for that matter. We believe women come nearer to fulfilling their God-given function in the home than anywhere else. It is a much nobler thing to be a good wife, than to be Miss America. It is a greater achievement to establish a Christian home than it is to produce a second-rate novel filled with filth. It is a far, far better thing in the realm of morals to be old fashioned than to be ultra-modern. The world has enough women who know how to be smart. It needs women willing to be simple. The world has enough women who know how to be brilliant. It needs some who will be brave. The world has enough women who are popular. It needs more who are pure. We need women, and men, too, who would rather be morally right than socially correct (as quoted in Anna Sophia Botkin and Elizabeth Botkin, So Much More, pp. 73-74).

On this Mother’s Day I hope that we will be able to see in Psalm 128 that counter-cultural picture of God’s desire for families. I pray that we would be diligent in putting this kind of picture before our own families and especially before our young men and women, our sons and our daughters. Especially today we want to commend godly wives and mothers who place a priority on being a blessing to their husbands and children in the homes and do not look on that as a lesser calling in life.

Jeffrey T. Riddle
Pastor, Jefferson Park Baptist Church

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Sermon

Psalm 128— Biblical Motherhood: A Fruitful Vine

May 14, 2006

Jeffrey T. Riddle Pastor, Jefferson Park Baptist Church

Jeffrey T. Riddle
Pastor, Jefferson Park Baptist Church