Psalm 78 (Part 2), Our Story

We continue in Psalm 78, a teaching psalm of 72 verses. We considered the first 31 verses in the blog post from yesterday and now look at the second half of the psalm.

The Old Testament history is a cycle of deliverance, rebellion, oppression, pleading and deliverance again. This psalm, repeating that history, has this same cycle.

Psalm 78:32-37, Cycles of futility

In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; 

in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.

 So he ended their days in futility 

and their years in terror.

 Whenever God slew them, 

they would seek him; 

they eagerly turned to him again.

 They remembered that God was their Rock,

 that God Most High was their Redeemer.

 But then they would flatter him with their mouths, 

lying to him with their tongues;

 their hearts were not loyal to him, 

they were not faithful to his covenant.

The cycles of stubborness, repentance, salvation, stubborness are described as wasted years, years spent in terror. Alter points out the wordplay in verse 32, the Hebrew translated "futility" is ba·he·ḇel and the Hebrew word translated "terror" is bab·be·hā·lāh; rebellion against YHWH leads to 

days in ba·he·ḇel,

years in bab·be·hā·lāh.

Psalm 78:38-39, Flesh, a passing breeze

Yet he was merciful; 

he forgave their iniquities 

and did not destroy them. 

Time after time he restrained his anger 

and did not stir up his full wrath.

 He remembered that they were but flesh, 

a passing breeze that does not return.

The cycle here emphasizes grace, God's willingness to start over with Israel. Zoan is mentioned again, as the original place of wonders in Egypt, possibly in the Pharaoh's palace in Zoan/Tanis?

Psalm 78:40-43,

 How often they rebelled against him in the desert 

and grieved him in the wasteland!

 Again and again they put God to the test; 

they vexed the Holy One of Israel.

 They did not remember his power-- 

the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,

 the day he displayed his miraculous signs in Egypt, 

his wonders in the region of Zoan.

The cycle here emphasizes grace, God's willingness to start over with Israel. Zoan is mentioned again, as the original place of wonders in Egypt, possibly in the Pharaoh's palace in Zoan/Tanis. The Israelites are accused of forgetfulness, of seeing God's power and then not remembering it. (Which, of course, is very human.) Because of their forgetfulness, this teaching song will remind them.

Psalm 78:44-51, Plagues

 He turned their rivers to blood; 

they could not drink from their streams.

 He sent swarms of flies that devoured them, 

and frogs that devastated them.

 He gave their crops to the grasshopper, 

their produce to the locust.

 He destroyed their vines with hail 

and their sycamore-figs with sleet.

 He gave over their cattle to the hail, 

their livestock to bolts of lightning.

 He unleashed against them his hot anger, 

his wrath, indignation and hostility-- 

a band of destroying angels.

 He prepared a path for his anger; 

he did not spare them from death 

but gave them over to the plague.

 He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, 

the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.

Various plagues of Egypt are described here: rivers of blood, swarm of flies, swarm of frogs, swarm of locusts. hail, a plague (on livestock?), and the death of the firstborn.

Psalm 78:52-55, Guided out by their Shepherd

But he brought his people out like a flock;

 he led them like sheep through the desert.

 He guided them safely, so they were unafraid; 

but the sea engulfed their enemies.

Thus he brought them to the border of his holy land,

 to the hill country his right hand had taken.

 He drove out nations before them 

and allotted their lands to

them as an inheritance;

 he settled the tribes of Israel intheir homes.

After the plagues, we recall the safe travel across the Red Sea and the desert, to the border of Canaan.

Psalm 78:56-58, Yet rebellion

But they put God to the test and rebelled against the Most High; 

they did not keep his statutes.

 Like their fathers they were disloyal and faithless,

 as unreliable as a faulty bow.

 They angered him with their high places;

 they aroused his jealousy with their idols.

Despite all the miracles, the people were still stubbornly rebelling in the wilderness

Psalm 78:59-64, Ichabod

 When God heard them, he was very angry; 

he rejected Israel completely.

 He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,

 the tent he had setup among men.

 He sent [the ark of] his might into captivity, 

his splendor into the hands of the enemy.

 He gave his people over to the sword;

 he was very angry with his inheritance.

Fire consumed their young men, 

and their maidens had no wedding songs;

 their priests were put to the sword,

 and their widows could not weep.

Kidner says that this section recalls the abandoned tabernacle at Shiloh (in 1 Samuel 4) when the Philistines captured the ark in battle and among the slain were Eli's two sons. Phineas's widow, pregnant and dying as she gives birth, names her son Ichabod, meaning "The glory of the Lord has departed."

Psalm 78:65-72, An then a shepherd-king

Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, 

as a man wakes from the stupor of wine.

 He beat back his enemies;

 he put them to everlasting shame.

 Then he rejected the tents of Joseph,

 he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;

 but he chose the tribe of Judah, 

Mount Zion, which he loved.

 He built his sanctuary like the heights, 

like the earth that he established forever.

 He chose David his servant 

and took him from the sheep pens;

 from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, 

of Israel his inheritance.

 

And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; 

with skillful hands he led them.

Just when Israel appeared to be destroyed, God answered the pleas, once again, of His people and raised up a king out of Judah. This king, David, and his dynasty, led to the sanctuary in Zion, the temple of Solomon.

The culmination of the history lesson is, of course, David, the one who planned (but did not build) the temple, one who wrote the numerous praise songs and established Israel as a godly nation most at that time.

Psalm 78 (Part 1), Our Story

A maskil of Asaph.

The psalms of Asaph are generally later than the time of David, sometimes even dealing with worship during or after the Babylonian Exile.

Psalm 78, 1-4, Teach these things to your children

 O my people, hear my teaching; 

listen to the words of my mouth.

 I will open my mouth in parables, 

I will utter hidden things, things from of old--

 what we have heard and known, 

what our fathers have told us.

 

We will not hide them from their children; 

we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, 

his power, 

and the wonders he has done.

This is a "teaching psalm", a song of instruction. The psalmist announces that we will tell the wonderful works of God, things we have heard from our fathers, and will pass them on to the next generation

Psalm 78, 5-8, Decrees for Jacob

 He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, 

which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children,

 so the next generation would know them, 

even the children yet to be born, 

and they in turn would tell their children.

 Then they would put their trust in God 

and would not forget his deeds 

but would keep his commands.

 They would not be like their forefathers-- 

a stubborn and rebellious generation, 

whose hearts were not loyal to God, 

whose spirits were not faithful to him.

God gave instructions to Jacob, passed them down to each generation, so that people would put their trust in God and remember both His works and His commandments.

It is admitted, in verse 8, that these generations should not be like their forefathers who rebelled against God. (If this is written at the time of the Babylonian exile, the psalmist surely has many examples of this rebellion.)

Psalm 78, 9-11, Men of Ephraim

The men of Ephraim, 

though armed with bows, 

turned back on the day of battle;

they did not keep God's covenant 

and refused to live by his law.

 They forgot what he had done, 

the wonders he had shown them.

The men of Ephraim are given as example of this rebellious behavior.  (If this is a historical battle, the exact event is not clear. Are the "men of Ephraim" an expression for the northern kingdom after Solomon, in their long rebellion?)

Psalm 78, 12-16, The Exodus

 He did miracles in the sight of their fathers 

in the land of Egypt,

 in the region of Zoan.

 He divided the sea and led them through;

 he made the water stand firm like a wall.

 He guided them with the cloud by day 

and with light from the fire all night.

 He split the rocks in the desert 

and gave them water as abundant as the seas;

 he brought streams out of a rocky crag 

and made water flow down like rivers.

Here the psalmist remembers God's deeds during the exodus, the flight from Egypt, the crossing the opened sea, the cloud and fire leading them in the desert, and providing them water in that desert. Verse 13, "He divided the sea ... made the water stand firm like a wall," remembers a line from the Song of Moses, Exodus 15:8.

Zoan was a city in Egypt, on the Nile delta. The name plays on the word Zion; YHWH took the Israelites from Zoan to Zion.

Psalm 78, 17-20, But...

 But they continued to sin against him, 

rebelling in the desert against the Most High.

 They willfully put God to the test 

by demanding the food they craved.

 They spoke against God, saying, 

"Can God spread a table in the desert?

 When he struck the rock, water gushed out,

 and streams flowed abundantly. 

But can he also give us food?

 Can he supply meat for his people?"

Yet despite the miracles in the desert, the people whined and complained. A standard example of this is the whining at Meribah/Massah in Exodus 17:1-7.

The psalmist is reciting Israelite history, summarizing the events in the Books of Moses.

Psalm 78, 21-22, Anger 

 When the LORD heard them, he was very angry; 

his fire broke out against Jacob, 

and his wrath rose against Israel,

 for they did not believe in God 

or trust in his deliverance.

In response to the whining and rebellion, God become angry. A fire displaying His anger in the desert occurs in Numbers 11:1-3.

Psalm 78, 23-29, Rich gifts

 Yet he gave a command to the skies above 

and opened the doors of the heavens;

 he rained down manna for the people to eat,

 he gave them the grain of heaven.

 Men ate the bread of angels; 

he sent them all the food they could eat.

 He let loose the east wind from the heavens 

and led forth the south wind by his power.

 He rained meat down on them like dust,

 flying birds likes and on the seashore.

 He made them come down inside their camp, 

all around their tents.

 They ate till they had more than enough, 

for he had given them what they craved.

Despite the stubborness of the Israelites, God provided them manna and meat in the Wilderness of Sin (Exodus 16.)

Psalm 78, 30-31, Too much

 But before they turned from the food they craved,

 even while it was still in their mouths,

 God's anger rose against them; 

he put to death the sturdiest among them, 

cutting down the young men of Israel.

Despite these gifts, the stubborn Israelites still complained. In Numbers 11:31-34, the complainers were struck down with a plague even as they gorged themselves on quail.

The Old Testament history is a cycle of deliverance, rebellion, oppression, pleading and deliverance again. This psalm has this same cycle. It continues for 72 verses so we will break it into two pieces and continue with the second half in tomorrow's blog.

Psalm 77, Reaching Out at 3 AM

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A psalm.

Jeduthun, with Heman, is described in 1 Chronicles 16: 41-42 as one of those designated by David to lead music in the temple.

Psalm 77: 1-2, Stretching out hands at 3 am

 I cried out to God for help; 

I cried out to God to hear me.

 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; 

at night I stretched out untiring hands 

and my soul refused to be comforted.

The psalmist lies on his bed at night, reaching out to plead to God, unable to be comforted. Many of us have joined David, in the late hours of the night, lying awake, in distress.

Psalm 77: 3-4, Remember and groan

 I remembered you, O God, and I groaned; 

I mused, and my spirit grew faint.

 You kept my eyes from closing; 

I was too troubled to speak.

And so the psalmist remembers and yearns for God, still troubled. Indeed, the psalmist says that God propped his eyelids open.

Psalm 77: 5-9, Will God reject us forever?

 I thought about the former days, 

the years of long ago;

 I remembered my songs in the night. 

My heart mused and my spirit inquired:

 "Will the Lord reject forever? 

Will he never show his favor again?

 Has his unfailing love vanished forever? 

Has his promise failed for all time?

 Has God forgotten to be merciful? 

Has he in anger withheld his compassion?"

Selah.

"Remember when God blessed us! As He turned away forever?" asks the psalmist.

Psalm 77: 10-15, Remember the miracles

 Then I thought, "To this I will appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High."

 I will remember the deeds of the LORD; 

yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.

 I will meditate on all your works 

and consider all your mighty deeds.

 Your ways, O God, are holy. 

What god is so great as our God?

 You are the God who performs miracles; 

you display your power among the peoples.

With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, 

the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

Selah.

The psalmist sings about the miracles of long ago, how the "mighty arm" of YHWH saved the people of Israel (Deuteronomy 4: 34.)

Psalm 77: 16-20, God over sea and storm

 The waters saw you, O God, 

the waters saw you and writhed; 

the very depths were convulsed.

 The clouds poured down water, the skies resounded with thunder; 

your arrows flashed back and forth.

 Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, 

your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked.

 Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, 

though your footprints were not seen.

 You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses andAaron.

God rules over the chaotic sea. He controls the thunder and lightning. This is the God even of Moses and Aaron. And the God on which the psalmist trusts!

The "mighty arm" phrase in verse 15 harkens back to the exodus from Egypt and the verses that follow might remind us of the dramatic parting of the Red Sea and crossing it with Moses and Aaron. If that passage recalls the Red Sea crossing, it also hints at a cosmological battle in which God is always victorious over Chaos, represented by the sea.

The Cornerstone Collection (out of Grand Rapids, Michigan) has a version of Psalm 77 here  put to music as part of their Cadillac Collections. (I write this blog just a few miles north of Cadillac....) 

In the TV series The Chosen, Season 3m Episode 8, Sustenance, has Psalm 77 as the background theme, beginning and ending with people reciting this psalm.

Psalm 76, Lion of Judah

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph. A song.

Psalm 76: 1-3, In Judah

 In Judah God is known; 

his name is great in Israel.

 His tent is in Salem, 

his dwelling place in Zion.

 There he broke the flashing arrows, 

the shields and the swords, 

the weapons of war.

God is focused on Judah, on (Jeru)Salem/Zion. They know Him; they lie under His protection, defended against the weapons of war.

Psalm 76: 4-6, Light, majesty, victory

 You are resplendent with light, 

more majestic than mountains rich with game.

 Valiant men lie plundered, 

they sleep their last sleep; 

not one of the warriors can lift his hands.

At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, 

both horse and chariot lie still.

 You alone are to be feared. 

God walks in magnificent light, while warriors who would attack Judah sleep in death. Kidner suggests that this song may recall the defeat of the Assyrians in Isaiah 37: 36. Alter instead looks back to the song of Moses and Miriam in Exodus 15.

Psalm 76: 7-10, God stands up to judge  

Who can stand before you when you are angry?

 From heaven you pronounced judgment, 

and the land feared and was quiet--

 when you, O God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land.

Surely your wrath against men brings you praise, 

and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.

Horse and chariot cannot prevail against the God of Judah. When God stands up to judge, justice and victory are given to Judah.

Psalm 76: 10-12, Follow YHWH 

 Make vows to the LORD your God and fulfill them; 

let all the neighboring lands bring gifts to the One to be feared.

 He breaks the spirit of rulers; 

he is feared by the kings of the earth.

Only YHWH is worth following; one should make promises to YHWH and keep their promises; even the other lands should turn to Him and follow Him. The other choice, opposition to YHWH, is the path of fear.

Although there is no mention of lions in this psalm, I like Kidner's title for this psalm, for it is about the Lion of Judah.

Psalm 75, Horns Lifted Up

For the director of music. [To the tune of] "Do Not Destroy." A psalm of Asaph. A song.

This psalm bears the same tune as Psalms 57-59.

Psalm 75: 1,  God near

 We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks, 

for your Name is near; 

men tell of your wonderful deeds.

This song, of Asaph, begins with thanksgiving and praise. God's Name (and thus His Presence) is near and the psalmist is eager to sing praises.

Psalm 75: 2-7, Appointed time

 You say, "I choose the appointed time; 

it is I who judge uprightly.

 When the earth and all its people quake,

 it is I who hold its pillars firm.

 To the arrogant I say, `Boast no more,' 

and to the wicked,`Do not lift up your horns.

 Do not lift your horns against heaven; 

do not speak without stretched neck.'"

 No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man.

 But it is God who judges: 

He brings one down, 

he exalts another.

The first words of verse 2 in the NIV "You say" are not really in the text but are implied. The text in verse 2 switches to first person and it is clear God who is speaking.

God chooses the appointed time. Even if the earth is shaking, it is God who holds its pillars and keeps it from crumbling. The arrogant and wicked eventually will see God's timing. 

Animal horns are a sign of power. The arrogant start to lift up their horns towards heaven but God witll bring them down.

The middle stanza above gives a warning to the arrogant.  It is God who lifts up people and brings down others. This is distress for the wicked but the psalmist exults in this reminder.

Psalm 75: 8, Wicked drink the wine of wrath

 In the hand of the LORD is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; 

he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs.

God prepares a drink of foaming wine for the wicked and they gulp it down. (This image of a wine glass for the wicked appears in the New Testament in Revelation 14: 8-10.)

Psalm 75: 9-10, But I will sing praises

 As for me, I will declare this forever; 

I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.

 I will cut off the horns of all the wicked, 

but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.

While YHWH prepares this cup for the wicked, Asaph will instead praise God and rejoice. He rejoices that God will someday cut off the horns of the wicked but lift up the horns of the righteous.

Psalm 74, Amongst The Ruins

A maskil of Asaph.

This is one of eleven psalms "of Asaph" in Book III of the Psalms. It is a psalm  of supplication and thanksgiving, a request for help followed by praise for the help that arrives. The plea appears to come as a result of walking through the ruins of the temple.

Psalm 74: 1-2, Purchased of old

 Why have you rejected us forever, O God? 

Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?

 Remember the people you purchased of old,

 the tribe of your inheritance, 

whom you redeemed--

Mount Zion, where you dwelt.

The psalmist begs that YHWH remember his people, the people (Israel) whom He purchased long ago. He asks if the current rejection and attendind destruction is "forever", a question of despair.

Psalm 74: 3-8, Everlasting ruins

 Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins, 

all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.

 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.

Walking among the ruins of the temple, the psalmist recalls the violent destruction, an army of people who, with axes smashed the walls and paneling and burned the temple to the ground. The violent vandalism described here most likely occurred in the sacking of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. If so, the author is a descendant of the Asaph of David's day and is one of the exiles returning with Ezra or Nehemiah.

Psalm 74: 9-11, No prophets left

 We are given no miraculous signs; 

no prophets are left, 

and none of us knows how long this will be.

 How long will the enemy mock you, O God? 

Will the foe revile your name forever?

 Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? 

Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them!

There are no longer miraculous signs or powerful prophets. God is silent -- and this silence is especially painful. The enemies of Israel mock God, says the psalmist, and God seems to do nothing!

The root word translated "signs" in verse 9 is oth. Both Kidner and Alter point out that this is the same word as appears in verse 4, where the complaint is that the enemy has planted their standards "as signs." The psalmist laments that the only oth they see anymore are not God's prophetic signs but the flags of the invader.

This cry of despair (says Kidner) is similar to that in Lamentations 2:5-9, where the prophet also laments the destruction of Jerusalem and the silence of God. In addition, the lament psalm in Lamentations 5 has some similarities to this song, as that too recalls the destruction of the city and asks God to "remember" His people.

Psalm 74: 12-17, Eternal king

 But you, O God, are my king from of old; 

you bring salvation upon the earth.

 It was you who split open the sea by your power; 

you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.

 It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan 

and gave him as food to the creatures of the desert.

 It was you who opened up springs and streams; 

you dried up the ever flowing rivers.

 The day is yours, and yours also the night;

 you established the sun and moon.

 It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; 

you made both summer and winter.

The mood of the psalm changesd. Despite all the destruction, God is still in charge. He created the universe and He brings salvation. He displays His power over the chaotic sea, indeed crushing the heads (plural!) of the sea monster and the headds of Leviathan. Indeed, God can crush Leviathan and deliver this monster as food to desert creatures. He can open up springs in the desert while drying up rivers.  The eternal Creator determines time, the days and seasons.

For a similar statement on the sea monster and Leviathan, see Isaiah 27: 1. The Bible Project has a nice study on Leviathan and similar creature here. 

Psalm 74: 18-21, Protect your dove

 Remember how the enemy has mocked you, O LORD, 

how foolish people have reviled your name.

 Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts; 

do not forget the lives of your afflicted people forever.

 Have regard for your covenant, 

because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.

 Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace; 

may the poor and needy praise your name.

Israel is as vulnerable as a dove. The psalmist pleads that this fragile dove not be handed over to beasts who will destroy it. (Years ago on a spring day we had pigeons cooing in our backyard. Suddenly there was a squawk and I turned to see a cloud of feathers, all that remained from a hawk's quick grab of one of the pigeons. This image, only feathers floating down, is the fear of the psalmist for his people.)

Psalm 74: 22-23, Rise up!

 Rise up, O God, and defend your cause; 

remember how fools mock you all day long.

 Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries, 

the uproar of your enemies, 

which rises continually.

The song returns to the question about "forever", concerned that the adversary clamors "continually." It ends with a strong call for God to soon "Rise up!" and defend Israel.

Psalm 73, Almost Slipped

We begin Book III of the five books making up the Psalter.

A psalm of Asaph.

The first eleven psalms of Book III are by Asaph.  1 Chronicles 25 details the musicians David set up in Jerusalem.  Asaph is the first one mentioned. 

Psalm 73: 1, Good to Israel

 Surely God is good to Israel, 

to those who are pure in heart.

Asaph begins with a thesis -- that God is good to Israel and to those who are pure in their worship of Him. (Both Kidner and Alter point out that a slight change in the Hebrew of the Masoretic Text would change the first line to "Surely God is good to the upright", in parallel with the second line. But Israel, as the people worshiping YHWH, makes sense on its own and is in ancient MT.) 

Asaph states boldly that God is good to the pure in heart. But then he has a concern....

Psalm 73: 2-9, Almost slipped

 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; 

I had nearly lost my foothold.

 For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

 They have no struggles; 

their bodies are healthy and strong.

 They are free from the burdens common to man; 

they are not plagued by human ills.

 Therefore pride is their necklace; 

they clothe themselves with violence.

 From their callous hearts comes iniquity; 

the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.

 They scoff, and speak with malice; 

in their arrogance they threaten oppression.

 Their mouths lay claim to heaven, 

and their tongues take possession of the earth.

The evil seem so successful! They are arrogant, healthy, calloused.  They claim dominion over everything they see, heaven and earth. This complaint runs throughout the psalms and the book of Job. 

The psalmist admits that these thoughts almost led to ruin. It is so easy to be bitter about the success of the wicked! Yet that bitterness is unhealthy, indeed it can lead to spiritual ruin.

In verse 7, "from their callous hearts comes iniquity" is a translation from ancient Syriac or Septuagint (says an NIV footnote) but the MT essentially translates as "their eyes bulge with fat." Alter argues for the MT, writing that this is a satiric image of rich obese people.

Psalm 73: 10-12, Wealthy wicked

 Therefore their people turn to them 

and drink up waters in abundance.

 They say, "How can God know? 

Does the Most High have knowledge?"

 This is what the wicked are like--

always carefree, they increase in wealth.

God is far away, the evil say. This is an ancient complaint -- in Job 22: 13-14, Job's companion, Eliphaz,  raises up this complaint in an attempt to tear it down. 

Psalm 73: 13-14, Innocent Punished

 Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; 

in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.

 All day long I have been plagued; 

I have been punished every morning.

If the evil are so successful, why try to be good? The psalmist reviews his bitterness about the wicked.

Psalm 73: 15-17, Enter the sanctuary

 If I had said, "I will speak thus," 

I would have betrayed your children.

 When I tried to understand all this,

it was oppressive to me

 till I entered the sanctuary of God; 

then I understood their final destiny.

A transformation occurs as the psalmist enters the sanctuary and gets a different point of view. The tone of the psalm lifts from bitterness and despair up to a more healthy longterm view.

Psalm 73: 19-20, Make them slip

 Surely you place them on slippery ground; 

you cast them down to ruin.

 How suddenly are they destroyed, 

completely swept away by terrors!

 As a dream when one awakes, 

so when you arise, O Lord, 

you will despise them as fantasies.

Earlier, bitterly focused on the success of the wicked, Asaph came close to slipping. Now he asks that those who love evil be the ones who slip and are destroyed, that the wicked disappear like a bad dream does when one awakes.

Psalm 73: 21-24, A brute beast

 When my heart was grieved 

and my spirit embittered,

 I was senseless and ignorant; 

I was a brute beast before you.

Yet I am always with you; 

you hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel, 

and afterward you will take me into glory.

When Asaph was angry and bitter, he lost wisdom and control, he was like an angry animal, reacting senselessly, emotionally, in pain. But God held him by the hand. Different than the animals, the psalmist is capable of being guided into wisdom and eventually taken "into glory." It is not clear if the "glory" is an earthly one or a later time with God after death.  Kidner argues that this final phrase is similar to that by the Sons of Korah in Psalm 49:15.

Psalm 73: 25-28, My true wealth

 Whom have I in heaven but you? 

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

 My flesh and my heart may fail, 

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

 Those who are far from you will perish; 

you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

 But as for me, it is good to be near God. 

I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; 

I will tell of all your deeds.

The mood of the psalmist ends upbeat. Only God is his possession; that is all he needs.

The psalms has verse 1 and verse 28 as bookends, both verses praise God for being the refuge of the psalmist and of Israel.

Some Random Thoughts

As one who has wallowed in bitterness, I need the message of this song.

Long ago I came across the song, Whenever I Speak His Name, written by Tori and Russell Taff. I am reminded of it by this psalm. A YouTube version of the song is here. The lyrics are here.

Esther 10, Second in Rank

Esther and Mordecai have saved their nation.  The Feast of Purim is now part of the Jewish calendar. All the intrigues of Haman against the people of God have bounced off of them and returned to Haman and his family.  The man, Mordecai, that Haman most hated, has been promoted far above Haman's previous stature.

The book of Esther now ends quickly.

Esther 10: 1-3, Advocate

King Xerxes imposed tribute throughout the empire, to its distant shores. And all his acts of power and might, together with a full account of the greatness of Mordecai to which the king had raised him, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Media and Persia?

Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews.

This short chapter summarizes the episode and reports it as written in the annals of the kings of Media and Persia.  Mordecai, who was supposed to be hung on gallows, ends up being the king's second in command and is able to then be an advocate for his people.

Next: now that we have finished the historical books, we will return to the Psalms, looking at Book III, Psalms 73-106.

Esther 9, Purim

Esther has hurried to countermand the earlier decree to exterminate the Jews. But now the Jews have been given the right to kill their enemies.

Esther 9: 1-4, Tables turned

On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the edict commanded by the king was to be carried out. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them.

The Jews assembled in their cities in all the provinces of King Xerxes to attack those seeking their destruction. No one could stand against them, because the people of all the other nationalities were afraid of them. And all the nobles of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and the king's administrators helped the Jews, because fear of Mordecai had seized them.

Mordecai was prominent in the palace; his reputation spread throughout the provinces, and he became more and more powerful.

The tables are turned, the people are saved.  (The original Hebrew does not use the word "table", but merely that plans "were overturned".) 

The arrogant and ambitious Haman has been executed and Mordecai has risen to power in his place. There are nine months (says Huey) since the execution of Haman and Mordecai has risen to signficant power during this time.

Esther 9: 5-10, Jews strike back

The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did what they pleased to those who hated them. In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha, the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not lay their hands on the plunder.
 

The Jews in Susa rise up and kill their enemies, but leave the plunder alone. Huey argues that this indicates that the less violent interpretation of the second edict is the correct one.

Esther 9: 11-14, Haman's family destroyed

The number of those slain in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king that same day.

The king said to Queen Esther, "The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman in the citadel of Susa. What have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? It will also be granted."

"If it pleases the king," Esther answered, "give the Jews in Susa permission to carry out this day's edict tomorrow also, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged on gallows."

So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they hanged the ten sons of Haman.

Esther asked the king for an extra day of killing. The retribution continues and the sons of Haman are killed and eventually "hung on the gallows." (This probably means that their bodies are impaled on stakes where all can see.)

Esther's request is problematic for many -- she seems to be rather bloodthirsty and the emperor seems unconcerned about the deaths in his empire. This is probably consistent with our image of the emperor, but not the image we want of Esther!

Esther 9: 15-18, Fighting in provinces

The Jews in Susa came together on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they put to death in Susa three hundred men, but they did not lay their hands on the plunder.

Meanwhile, the remainder of the Jews who were in the king's provinces also assembled to protect themselves and get relief from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand of them but did not lay their hands on the plunder. This happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy.

The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and fourteenth, and then on the fifteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy.

 

The killing by the Jews spreads to other provinces.  The number killed is given here as seventy-five thousand, an incredibly large number. The Septuagint has fifteen thousand killed instead of seventy-five thousand; the translation by Lucian of Samosata, from the second century AD has 10, 107 killed. Like many large Old Testament numbers, questions and interpretations abound.

The Jews in Susa have a day of feasting and joy. Because of Esther's request for an extra day of retribution, the celebrations in Susa are on the fifteenth day of the month, not the fourteenth.

Esther 9: 10-22, A day of joy and feasting

That is why rural Jews--those living in villages--observe the fourteenth of the month of Adar as a 

day of joy and feasting, a day for giving presents to each other.

Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, to have them celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor.

The joy of the feasting spreads to the villages, who celebrate on the fourteenth day of Adar, different from the date of celebration in Susa.

Esther 9: 23-25, Celebration of reversal

So the Jews agreed to continue the celebration they had begun, doing what Mordecai had written to them. For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the (that is, the lot) for their ruin and destruction. But when the plot came to the king's attention, he issued written orders that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should come back onto his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

This paragraph summarizes the story, emphasizing the "boomerang" of hatred and malice, coming back onto Haman's on head. The audience should understand that this is the final result of those who attempt to annihilate the Jews.

Esther 9: 26-27, Purim

(Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word 'pur'.) Because of everything written in this letter and because of what they had seen and what had happened to them, the Jews took it upon themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should without fail observe these two days every year, in the way prescribed and at the time appointed. 

These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never cease to be celebrated by the Jews, nor should the memory of them die out among their descendants.

This new festival becomes the Feast of Purim. The word "purim" is the plural of "pur", the word for "lot".  This reflects the fact that the date of the attack was chosen by Haman by lot, according to Esther 3: 7. Even the naming of the feast displays the irony of Haman's actions: Haman chose a date for the Jews to die; the Jews celebrate that day as a day of victory!

Because Susa celebrated on the fifteenth of the month while the outlying regions celebrated on the fourteenth, the celebration eventually becomes a two day celebration during the month of Adar (February/March.) Huey writes that by the ninth century AD Jews were celebrating the first day of Purim as "Esther's fast."

Esther 9: 29-32, Esther establishes Purim

So Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim. And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Xerxes--words of goodwill and assurance-- to establish these days of Purim at their designated times, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had decreed for them, and as they had established for themselves and their descendants in regard to their times of fasting and lamentation. Esther's decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, and it was written down in the records.

Esther makes the celebration of Purim official. The records mentioned here are probably the annals of the kingdom.