- The Sons of Korah are lamenting. They are remembering the stories of old, from David’s day and Joshua’s day. They have heard the stories of God’s deliverance.
- They aren’t seeing it for themselves. They are asking to come do for them the things they heard about. They say they are living rightly but have been given over to their enemies.
- If they had been scattered among their enemies and God is not delivering them, then there must have been some breach of faith, even if it wasn’t happening right then.
- I think of the times, like with Hezekiah, where God says that He will punish Israel for something that’s already happened or is happening, but that it will happen after Hezekiah dies. Sometimes we’re not seeing the problem causing the problem because it’s not there at the moment.
- But God is still just in what He carries out at the time and is doing it only for Israel’s good.
- My favorite part of this psalm is the beginning.
- “O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old: you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free; for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but your right hand and your arm, and the light of your face, for you delighted in them.”
- They didn’t save themselves with their own sword. We don’t wave around God’s word like a sword and save ourselves. We cry out to God, we pray, we look to our Savior and are saved.
- God treats His children differently than He treated His enemies. Israel was planted but the enemies were scattered. Israel was free, but the others were afflicted. Now, Israel is afflicted and scattered.
- While God loves even His enemies, He still treats Israel differently than the rest. They just need to remember that the pruning and the cutting can look and feel the same. But the cut branch gets thrown into the fire while the pruned branch gets new growth.
- They need to read some of David’s psalms and wait on the Lord with rejoicing.
