The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Psalm 74:1,
"O God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?"
In this psalm Asaph describes how the temple was destroyed by the Babylonians, "Your foes roared in the place where you met with us; they set up their standards as signs. They behaved like men wielding axes to cut through a thicket of trees. They smashed all the carved paneling with their axes and hatchets. They burned your sanctuary to the ground; they defiled the dwelling place of your Name. They said in their hearts, 'We will crush them completely!' They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land." Verses 4-8.
Asaph begins the psalm with the above question of why. Why did God reject them? From Asaph's perspective, it appears the Lord had rejected them "forever". In a sense Asaph's question is worded correctly - God had rejected his people "forever" from the standpoint of what they had made themselves into: a people who strayed from him and pursued the false idols of their neighbors. God would never accept them that way. He had his purposes for choosing a people for himself, and it was based on his covenant with them. They were to be the people of God, the people through whom he would provide redemption for all mankind, the people through whom he would bring his Son, Jesus Christ into the world to pay for all mankind's sins.
However, God had not rejected the Jews forever. He made some terrifying adjustments to the nation of Israel to bring her into line with his determined agenda. He decided to destroy the northern kingdom through the army of Assyria and destroy Judah, Jerusalem and the temple through the army of the Babylonians. A small remnant taken captive was all that remained in Babylon for seventy years before they were allowed to return. When they did so, and after an adjustment following their return, the nation no longer chased after false idols. God eradicated idol worship for good from Israel. This is how we find Israel (although not problem free) in the accounts of the gospels several centuries later. They still had their problems with God, but it was no longer idolatry. As Paul notes in Romans 10:2, "For I can testify about them [the Israelites] that they are zealous for God..."
So, the answer to Asaph's question as to why God allowed the temple to be destroyed by the Babylonians is that God was destroying Israel's proclivity to idolatry to help prepare the nation for her Messiah.
A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
"O God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?"
In this psalm Asaph describes how the temple was destroyed by the Babylonians, "Your foes roared in the place where you met with us; they set up their standards as signs. They behaved like men wielding axes to cut through a thicket of trees. They smashed all the carved paneling with their axes and hatchets. They burned your sanctuary to the ground; they defiled the dwelling place of your Name. They said in their hearts, 'We will crush them completely!' They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land." Verses 4-8.
Asaph begins the psalm with the above question of why. Why did God reject them? From Asaph's perspective, it appears the Lord had rejected them "forever". In a sense Asaph's question is worded correctly - God had rejected his people "forever" from the standpoint of what they had made themselves into: a people who strayed from him and pursued the false idols of their neighbors. God would never accept them that way. He had his purposes for choosing a people for himself, and it was based on his covenant with them. They were to be the people of God, the people through whom he would provide redemption for all mankind, the people through whom he would bring his Son, Jesus Christ into the world to pay for all mankind's sins.
However, God had not rejected the Jews forever. He made some terrifying adjustments to the nation of Israel to bring her into line with his determined agenda. He decided to destroy the northern kingdom through the army of Assyria and destroy Judah, Jerusalem and the temple through the army of the Babylonians. A small remnant taken captive was all that remained in Babylon for seventy years before they were allowed to return. When they did so, and after an adjustment following their return, the nation no longer chased after false idols. God eradicated idol worship for good from Israel. This is how we find Israel (although not problem free) in the accounts of the gospels several centuries later. They still had their problems with God, but it was no longer idolatry. As Paul notes in Romans 10:2, "For I can testify about them [the Israelites] that they are zealous for God..."
So, the answer to Asaph's question as to why God allowed the temple to be destroyed by the Babylonians is that God was destroying Israel's proclivity to idolatry to help prepare the nation for her Messiah.
A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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