Then the Lord God made (benah) a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. Genesis 2:22
God is Creator. In Genesis God created, or made, the earth, heavens, animals, trees – ex nihilo – out of nothing. God is also Builder and Designer. When He made woman, He built (benah) her from the substance of Adam. This is the first use of the Hebrew benah which we translate as build, make, or fashion.
The Bible uses this term in building cities, building families or lineages, and even building structures. It contains the root for “establish.” The concept of God as a builder is strong. It should be no surprise then that Jesus had the occupation of a builder (techton in Greek).
Because we reflect God’s image, we too are builders. The question is what are we building? Are we creating a structure reminiscent of Babel to glorify mankind? Or are we building to glorify God? Building a house, a school, or even a family, can be done in a self-serving way to meet my own needs, but those very same things can also be built to expand God’s kingdom and bring glory to Him.
God will work through us to build beauty – children, artistic expressions, communities, helpful structures, even His Body. I want to be a builder for Him, because at the end – everything else will be as ruins.
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