O God, the nations have come into Your inheritance; Your holy temple they have defiled. They have laid Jerusalem in heaps. (Psalm 79:1)

This psalm is, in reality, a dirge about the destruction of Jerusalem and the Sanctuary. Being such, it is not something one would typically look to for inspiration or for a devotional thought. It is more likely that Asaph’s words were meant to provoke reflection and even lamentation. Nevertheless, if we care to look beyond the surface of the text, there is a lesson as well as inspiration to be found.

First of all, the lesson is that we should never think that we or our institutions are so important that God wouldn’t allow us or them to fall flat. Obviously, He loves us and wants the best for us but that doesn’t mean He will stand by idly if we are determined to walk contrary to His purpose; He will allow the nations to “come into Your inheritance.” If He would allow His Sanctuary — the place where He placed His Name — to be defiled by the enemies of His people, do we really think He is so impressed with our kingdom building that He wouldn’t allow it to crumble if we forget who we serve? He loves us too much to enable us to continue on the road to destruction.

So, where do we find the inspiration in this? When God allowed the stones of the Temple to be broken down and scattered, it was emblematic of His people being broken down and scattered as well. Though tragic, it nevertheless ended up serving God’s purpose in regard to others hearing the Good News and being invited to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. In short, He used something regarded as bad to bring about something definitely good. Yes, He allowed Jerusalem to be reduced to ruins and the people flung to the four winds — but wind scatters seed. When seed finds good ground it grows and produces good fruit. In the end, lamentation turns to jubilation.

Life is oftentimes laden with grief and loss; but in spite of that, the Almighty is able to produce joy, abundance, prosperity and blessing — i.e. life.  As tough as this may sound, we should want Him to demolish everything in our world that would prevent us from following Him. I say this with the confidence that once this is done, in its place, He will build those things He desires for us — those things that will stand the test of time.

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill 

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