Cycles of Oppression and Deliverance in Israel
Why does God allow his people to suffer and be persecuted? Psalm 14 offers us hope.
Psalm 14:1 is famous for the line, "Fools say in their hearts, 'There is no God.'" This is also the verse often cited where the Lord looks down on mankind and sees that "there is no one who does good. All have gone astray." Evangelicals use the passage to point out that all mankind is compromised. No one can be good enough to earn their way into heaven, so we must rely on faith. However, the psalmist, allegedly King David according to the attribution headline, is expressing his immense frustration over the constant repression of righteous people by wicked unbelievers. Taken out of context, the verse sounds like all human beings are corrupt by genetic disposition ergo we all need redemption. Well, we are and we do, but that is not what the psalmist is referring to here.
2 The LORD looks down from heaven
upon the sons of men
to see if any understand,
if any seek God.
3 All have turned away,
they have together become corrupt.
I personally think that making a faith dogma out of vv. 1-3 is unwarranted because it was written during a time of exasperation when corrupt people were in charge of living conditions, which would not always be the case. There are righteous people in the psalm, whom David calls "my people." It is the wicked who, due to their unbelief, have turned away from justice, oppressing those who lack power and weapons...people the powerful should be protecting. We don't know when these wicked ones ruled for certain, or exactly how they were oppressing the righteous, but if David is the author, the psalm could fit the era when his own sons were rebelling. David and his court and supporters were temporarily exiled while ambitious rebels vented their wrath against his administration. For a time, the ark of the covenant was in the hands of the enemy.
If David is not the author, the psalm fits better after 721 or 586 BCE when the Israelites were in captivity in a foreign land. Either way, the principal is the same.
4 Will the workers of iniquity never learn?
They devour my people like bread;
they refuse to call upon the LORD.
5 There they are, overwhelmed with dread,
for God is in the company of the righteous.
6 You sinners frustrate the plans of the oppressed,
yet the LORD is their shelter.
7 O, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion!
When the LORD restores his captive people,
Let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad!
So the good guys are the innocent ones being oppressed, those who look to God for refuge and vindication. And the psalmist is certain that in time, God will answer their cry.
Early in Israel's history, the shepherd-man David was anointed by the prophet Samuel to be the future king of the emerging state of Israel. David began well, striving to bring the kind of home rule that God would bless, but as the years rolled on, a woman's charms lured him into adultery, murder, and an attempt to cover it all over. David had become the very thing he hated. He was fortunate to have a prophet of God as an advisor. Nathan brought the rebuke that saved David's soul, but there were still consequences. God demanded accountability. (2 Sam. 12). Their newborn baby died. Three of David's own sons turned to crime and rebellion, costing each of them their lives. Grief raked David's soul, but he stayed true to God.
A chastened king, who had lapsed into jaded neglect, returned as a reinvigorated warrior for a better rule. David did not whine, "It's so unfair. I did nothing wrong. Evil counsellors turned my boys into hoodlums. Corrupt politicians are slandering me. I will be vindicated in court." Boo hoo! No, he fell on his face and repented. He allowed the story of his own rotten deeds to be written in the annals of history. There would be no more bragging of his own righteousness before God from that guy. In humbling himself, repenting, and confessing, David restored God's favor on Israel and prepared the way for a new temple.
So, oppression and restoration are the themes of the psalm. In David's case restoration came within his own life span. In spite of the apparent negative judgment on much of mankind, God still has His people, but those who call on His name are often persecuted...sometimes for long periods of time...by the fools who deny God's existence.
How can a mighty God allow His own people to suffer at the hands of evil-doers? "They eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon the LORD." Picture an Israelite woman in Egypt. She has just had a gorgeous baby boy who is perfectly healthy and shows signs of precociousness. The Egyptians burst into the house, rip the babe from her arms, and throw him to the alligators in the Nile. The baby screams until it drowns. The mother screams and cries, but it does her no good. An alligator notes the disturbance in the water and glides toward the little body. That is the time when one is tempted to curse God and give up their faith.
This horrendous persecution in Egypt may have gone on for decades before Israel became the only massive group of Asiatics (other than the Hyksos) to escape Egyptian bondage and become a major, persisten nation. Other states, other ethnic groups in the same region have faded into the mists of history, but the people of Israel, the Jewish people, still persist.
Comments
Post a Comment