O God, why have You cast us off forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture? Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old, the tribe of Your inheritance, which You have redeemed. (Psalm 74:1-2)

In the previous psalm, Asaph addressed the suffering God’s people must endure  in contrast to the apparent care-free lifestyle of the wicked. In this psalm, he addressed the most obvious and most painful aspect of that suffering — exile and subjugation. In what seems to be a protest as much as a plea, the psalmist begins with, “Why have You cast us off forever?” Why, indeed, did God allow His people to be trampled under the feet of their enemies and shipped off to foreign lands?

The Creator Himself answers by saying, “Because they have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law. … Israel has rejected the good; the enemy will pursue him” (Hosea 8:1, 3). In rejecting “the good,” they rejected Him because, as Yeshua said, God is the only One that is good (Matthew 19:17). Therefore, God made it very clear that it wasn’t Him who abandoned His people; His people initiated a series of events when they decided to abandon the Lord. The culmination of those events was being pursued, overtaken and lorded over by the enemy.

It is a well established fact that God will allow some undesirable scenarios to touch the lives of those He loves, but not in order to destroy. On the surface it might look that way but, in the end, God’s purpose is to provoke a change of heart in those He rebukes. As it is written, “As a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you” (Deuteronomy 8:5). But as the psalmist also acknowledged, those who have been redeemed have been purchased that they might live and not die; that they may prosper and not lack.

No one enjoys having to endure God’s anger but, as it is written, “His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life” (Psalm 30:5). And if we are required to experience His anger for a moment, may we quickly turn our hearts back to Him believing in His overwhelming compassion and mercy. That is who He truly is — the only One who is good.

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill 

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