Walk Of Life – Day 27, October 2022 – Thoughts From The Book Of Psalms

Psalm 79 – Prayer For The Exiled Nation

This psalm of Asaph is written after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian armies. This could be written either prophetically by Asaph or by one of his descendants who were functioning as late as the reign of Josiah. Asaph was among the most prominent temple musician who was appointed by King David along with Jeduthun and Heman to serve in the temple. Temple of God in Jerusalem was not just a place of worship for them but their home too. God had set them apart and they dedicated their lives doing various duties in the house of God. To see Jerusalem in rubble was devastating for the whole nation.

One may wonder how could such a powerful God who brought the Israelites out of Egypt by doing so many wonders let his chosen people and his glory to be destroyed by a pagan king. Understanding this is very simple, every child is identified with their parents as in by their looks, attitude, behavior, interests etc. Same way the Jews shared their identified with Yahweh and all the nations feared Israel because of this. But they started breaking the rules given by God by intermarrying women from foreign cultures who did not leave their old way of living. They started making altars in the high places which slowly started corrupting the nation as a whole. The people forgot God, defiled themselves by following pagan practices and lead an unholy and unrighteous life. When children with whom God wanted to dwell with rejected God again and again, with grief He rejected his sanctuary which was a symbol of his glory on earth.

Nothing is more important to God than your heart, beautifully architectured churches and orchestra during worship with many instruments, huge gatherings, monetary offerings, programs etc is of no value if the congregation do not have Christ like attitude in them. The every reason the temple was made is for God to dwell with his children and if are not living according to his statues, then for what is the temple for?

Asaph cried to the Lord as Israel was suffering politically, economically, socially, and religiously in the hands of the Babylonians. When God delayed their deliverance, he prayed. “Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake.” verse 9. Like a shepherd who leads the flock to the sheep pen safely when they go astray, God set a time for them to return home when they would gain oneness of heart.  “I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul. Jeremiah 32:37-41