Cycles of oppression and deliverance
Psalm 14:1 is famous for the line, "Fools say in their hearts, 'There is no God.'" This is the psalm often cited where the Lord looks down on mankind and sees that "there is no one who does good." We evangelicals use the passage to point out that no one can be good enough to earn their way into heaven. However, there is another theme in the psalm. In spite of the apparent negative judgment on all of mankind, God still has His people, and those who call on His name are often persecuted, sometimes for long periods of time, by the fools who deny God's existence. The question arises, "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" (v. 4). 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 th...