O God, You have cast us off; You have broken us down; You have been displeased. Oh, restore us again! (Psalm 60:1)
The tradition connected to this psalm says that David’s lament at the outset was in response to a military incursion launched by Hadadezer of Syria into the land of Israel. That he was initially successful in his efforts, easily breaking through Israel’s defenses and threatening to conquer the entire land, caused David to think God was displeased with His people and had “broken us down.” However, in the end, God did restore what had been lost as it is recorded: “David defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his territory at the River Euphrates” (2 Samuel 8:3).
There have been other frightening situations in Israel’s history when it seemed, initially anyway, that the enemies of God’s people had gained the upper hand and were poised to destroy Israel. One such recent event that comes to mind is the Yom Kippur War of 1973. While the Jewish people were in their synagogues “afflicting their souls” on this most solemn of days, their Arab enemies launched a surprise attack that came very close to overwhelming the Israeli defenses. However, after three days of intense fighting, the Israelis successfully stopped the advancing armies and regained lost territory.
When Israel was given the land deeded to Abraham’s seed, it was understood that the people of God were to live in such a way that they would be an example to the nations surrounding them — specifically, Syria, Ammon, Moab and Edom. However, when Israel ceased to be a light to those neighbors, God used those same nations to afflict Israel as a reminder to be who and what they were called to be. Likewise, there are times when God allows our enemies to shake us up; not necessarily allowing them to overrun us, but to have enough of an impact to provoke us to look inwardly and assess where we stand with the Almighty. This usually happens in times when we have grown stale and apathetic, not as alert and focused as we should be.
The point is that we should always strive to avoid spiritual apathy and laziness lest we find our enemies being able to break us down. Still, if that were to happen (God forbid), may we always be quick to cry out in repentance and call out to the Lord, “Restore us again!”
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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