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Psalm 74 depicts the consequences of sin.
Walk through the awful ruins of the city; see how the enemy has destroyed your sanctuary (v. 3, NLT).
God chose Israel and the Jews as His land and His people.
It’s the only land and people that God has chosen in history. Now, with the Babylonians destroying the temple, slaughtering many Jews, with others taken into captivity. . .
This Psalm depicts a crisis of faith for the survivors.
Imagine walking through Washington, D.C., a day after its destruction by enemies. The capital building — a hulk of ruins with a foreign flag atop a smoking rotunda. A bit further on the walk, we see the White House, with the Oval Office smashed with axes. Onward to the Lincoln Memorial with the statue of Abraham Lincoln toppled. And then we find the Washington Monument, now blown up with its limestone building blocks scattered across the landscape.
We would think, “How could this happen to the land with the inscription of ‘In God We Trust’ on its money?”
Or as Psalm 74 says. . .
Remember that we are the people you chose long ago, the tribe you redeemed as your own special possession! And remember Jerusalem, your home here on earth (v. 2).
They burned your sanctuary to the ground. They defiled the place that bears your name. Then they thought, “Let’s destroy everything!” So, they burned down all the places where God was worshiped (vv. 7-8).
How long, O God, will you allow our enemies to insult you? Will you let them dishonor your name forever? (v. 10)
God’s righteousness can’t be trampled without consequences. If judgment happened to Israel — God’s covenant people — in 586 B.C. by the Babylonians, how about America today?
How often do we sin, thinking God will just forgive? Or overlook impurity or rebellion in a false perception that sin requires no penalty? How about our faith today?
The survivors of Jerusalem’s destruction asked. . .
Remember your covenant promises, for the land is full of darkness and violence! Don’t let the downtrodden be humiliated again. Instead, let the poor and needy praise your name (vv. 20-21).
Yes, God had made a covenant with Israel. . .
If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world (Deuteronomy 28:1).
But there was a caveat …
But if you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and do not obey all the commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you (Deuteronomy 28:15).
and. . .
The Lord will cause you to be defeated by your enemies. You will attack your enemies from one direction, but you will scatter from them in seven! You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth (Deuteronomy 28:25).
Israel — the United States — the Church — Us? God’s grace can change us, eliminating condemnation, but only through repentance.