Psalm 78:56-72
Our third and final day in Psalm 78… The psalmist continues his discussion of Israel’s rebelliousness, but brings it closer to his present time – probably sometime after Solomon’s reign as king. His primary focus in today’s reading is showing God’s favor for Judah (David, Mt. Zion in vv. 68, 70, the Southern Kingdom) while also showing God’s impatience with Israel (Ephraim, Joseph, Shiloh in vv. 60, 67, the Northern Kingdom.)
Today I was struck by verse 65a, Then the Lord awoke as from sleep… And He put His adversaries to rout… (also v. 67a). We know that the Lord never sleeps (Psalm 121:3-4); certainly the psalmist knows that also, but he uses the metaphor to reflect the Lord (finally?) taking charge of a bad situation. I can relate to the psalmist’s reflection on the Lord finally acting. I feel the same, for example, when I see Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, wondering why the Lord does not topple Putin or otherwise defeat the Russian army and send their troops back to Russia. “Good vs. evil” seems so clear here. Where are you, Lord?? But I’m not God, and I don’t know His plan. And always, in my every prayer, (almost unwillingly) I end with “Your will be done.” But my heart still asks, “Why? When?”