Psalm 74 – Rejected
In Psalm 74 – rejected, the writer asks why God has cast him off. Chances are you have experienced rejection at some point in your life. Never a pleasant experience. But what of the rejection felt by someone who has lost their church, their foundation? Who feel God has rejected them? Such is the situation in Psalm 74.
Psalm 74
Attributed to Asaph and written after the destruction of the Temple, in Psalm 74 – rejected, the writer feels that God is angry. Why else would God allow the Temple to be destroyed?
“O God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?” (1)
He calls upon God to remember: “Remember the nation you purchased long ago, the people of your inheritance, whom you redeemed—Mount Zion, where you dwelt.” (2)
And asks God to look at the destruction of the Temple:
“Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins, all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.
Your foes roared in the place where you met with us; they set up their standards as signs.
They behaved like men wielding axes to cut through a thicket of trees.
And smashed all the carved paneling with their axes and hatchets.
They burned your sanctuary to the ground; they defiled the dwelling place of your Name.
They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely!” They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land.” (3-8)
He asks God: “How long will the enemy mock you, God? Will the foe revile your name forever? Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?” (10-11)
Call to Remembrance
Asaph then calls upon both the people and God to remember all that God has done in the past.
“But God is my King from long ago; he brings salvation on the earth.
It was you who split open the sea by your power; you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.
It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.
You opened up springs and streams; you dried up the ever-flowing rivers.
The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon.
It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.” (12-17)
Certainly, God who conquered the sea, made the world and established the seasons could have kept the Temple safe. Why didn’t he? Why doesn’t God do something now?
Psalm 74 ends with a summation of what had been said and an appeal to God:
“Remember how the enemy has mocked you, Lord, how foolish people have reviled your name.
Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts; do not forget the lives of your afflicted people forever.
Have regard for your covenant, because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.
Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace; may the poor and needy praise your name.
Rise up, O God, and defend your cause; remember how fools mock you all day long.
Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries, the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually.” (18-23)
Rather than ending in words of praise and thanksgiving as is most often the case, Psalm 74 ends with a desperate appeal.
Importance of the Temple
The task of building the Temple in Jerusalem was assigned to Solomon, David’s son. David wanted to build a Temple. “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent,” David told the prophet Nathan. But God had other ideas.
As recounted in Chronicles 28:2-3, “King David rose to his feet and said: “Listen to me, my fellow Israelites, my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, for the footstool of our God, and I made plans to build it. But God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood.’”
David wanted to build a house for God, but his plans were rejected. As one commentator states: “God wanted a man of peace to construct the temple, not a man of war. His house was to be “a house of prayer for all nations” (Isaiah 56:7) (Why didn’t God allow David to build the temple? | GotQuestions.org.)
The Temple was the focal point of worship for the Jewish people. It symbolizes the eternity of the Jewish people and the splendor of Judaism. “For a thousand years, the Temple was a hub for offering sacrifices of all sorts (peace offerings, thanksgiving offerings, atonement offerings and more) every day of the year. On the three annual pilgrimage festivals — Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot — all Israel was invited to ascend to Jerusalem to offer special sacrifices and celebrate. The Temple also served as an important administrative center of the Jewish people.” (12 Things To Know About the Temple in Jerusalem | My Jewish Learning)
The Destruction of the Temple
All of this was changed after the second destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 CE. The first destruction of the Temple and Babylonian exile began the diaspora and spreading of the Jewish and later Christian faith to far reaches of the world. Since the second destruction the Temple has not been rebuilt. Synagogues have become the place of worship for the Jewish people.
As I read the verses describing the destruction of the Temple, my mind turned to the destruction found in war torn areas of the world, particularly the Ukraine and Gaza. Rubble where once stood buildings, homes, churches, synagogues, hospitals. What can the survivors do in the face of such devastation? What can we do? Even the writer of this psalm struggles. All he can do in the end is call upon God.
Rejection
The experience of rejection remains a common one. Most of us have been rejected at one time or another. As a writer, I am no stranger to rejection.
Sometimes rejections lead to something else, something better. The job you didn’t receive, you later realize was not right for you. Instead, another position comes along that maybe you were not sure about at first, but after you get into it, you realize it was just the right one for you. The prospective partner that you thought was perfect for you, rejects you, but then another one comes along and you realize how fortunate you were that you were not in the first relationship.
But what of feeling rejected by God, seeing your place of worship destroyed? Or your homeland? How does one respond to that? Certainly, it is a far worse rejection than anything I have experienced.
Psalm 74 – Rejection
The Temple is destroyed. In its place came synagogues and a faith not so firmly rooted in Jerusalem, thereby allowing the Jewish/Christian faith to expand beyond its boundaries. Was this God’s plan all along or just God bringing good out of a challenging situation? We don’t know. But what we can do is trust that the God who brought salvation to the earth will not abandon us.
Psalm 74 – rejection, ends with an appeal to God. The problem is not resolved. Like so many of life’s challenges, we are left with more questions than answers. Left to wonder why God allowed this, all we can do is pray and trust that God, who has never rejected his children, will not cast us off.
What has been your experience of rejection? Have you ever felt rejected by God?
(For another take on this psalm, see Psalm 74: Where was God? – Patricia M Robertson)
This post is part of a series of blog posts on the Psalms. Sign up to follow this blog and and receive a free copy of Still Dancing, the second book in my Dancing through Life Series. click here to sign up
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