Walk Of Life – Day 2, February 2023 – Thoughts From The Book Of Psalms

Psalm 126 – He Remembers, He Restores

This psalm is seventh in the series of fifteen songs for pilgrims coming to Jerusalem. This song likely was composed in wondrous gratitude towards God after the exile returned to Israel and in prayer for his continuous grace to help them rebuild their country. The LORD has been zealous for his children right from the beginning, but when they repeatedly went after other gods and did not respond to his discipline, he chose to punish the Israelites for their unfaithfulness. HE sent them to exile and allowed the destruction of the temple that which brought honor and glory to his name. What God sought from his children was obedience and faithfulness, justice and mercy to be maintained in the courts, without which the replica of his kingdom on earth is lost.

• Prophesy – The release of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon and their return to the land of Canaan was prophesied centuries before it took place, Deuteronomy 30: 3-5. Much later, the prophet Jeremiah foretold the captivity of Judah and its release specifying the number of years the Jews would be subject to Babylon, Jeremiah 25:12; 29:10, 14. Over a hundred years before Jeremiah, the prophet Isaiah spoke of Judah’s return from Babylon to the land of Canaan mentioning ‘Cyrus’ as a shepherd who will do his will in restoring his children back to their land. Isaiah 44: 28; 45:1. Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi are the minor prophets of this restoration period.
• Fulfillment – The exile period was so long that returning to their land and having a normal life to see their children play in the streets, having family gathering all seemed to have become a dream. But God kept all his promises, rebuilding of the Temple was completed under the administration of Zerubbabel, rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem was undertaken by Nehemiah who also began religious reforms, emphasizing tithing, observance of the Sabbath, keeping the feasts and the prohibition against intermarriage with foreign women which was carried through systematically and zealously by Ezra who was a priest and scribe.
• Re-establishing the Ruins – This promise was kept by God even after many years when Jews were scattered again after the Romans conquest of Jerusalem. They destroyed the temple and once again the Jews got scattered and they often had to face persecution in different places. Years later God strengthened them and they started making alliances with other countries. In 1917, in order to win Jewish support for Britain’s First World War effort, the British Balfour Declaration promised the establishment of a Jewish national home in Ottoman-controlled Palestine. In 1920, after the Allies conquered the Levant during World War I, the territory was divided between Britain and France under the mandate system, and the British-administered area which included modern day Israel was named Mandatory Palestine. On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel with the support of U.S. President Harry S. Truman.  In May 14, 1948, official declaration was made in Tel Aviv about the termination of the British Mandate over Palestine in accordance with UN Resolution 181.

This psalm is a reminder that our God is a Promise Keeping God. Ever watchnight service, you are excited to receive the promise card but you often are forgetting to claim your promises. You might forget what God has promised you because it was not fulfilled in your expectation but He remembers all his promises and He will fulfill them perfectly when the time is right. So, continue to wait upon him.