The Destruction of the Temple
Notes
Transcript
Psalm 74
When you read Psalm 74 it’s clear the context is the destruction of Temple in Jerusalem. The difficulty comes in the authorship. The Psalm is attributed to Asaph. The problem with that is the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 BC. King David died around 970 BC and he is the one who appointed Asaph. Asaph would have been dead for a long time before the Temple was destroyed.
Some believe that Asaph refers to the “sons of Asaph”. These were descendants of Asaph who worked in the music ministry of the Temple (2 Chr. 35:15). Others believe that this is a prophetic Psalm. Asaph foresaw the destruction of the Temple and through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote with great detail about an event hundreds of years before it happened. This is Spurgeon’s view.
The Psalm is a lament. In it we see the grief of God’s people over the destruction of their beloved sanctuary. There is no repentance in the psalm. However, there is no self-righteousness in it either. It is simply the cry of a broken heart. Awful things have happened, and the Psalmist talks to God about those things.
Here is our outline:
The Psalmist questions God (1-3)
The destruction of the Temple (4-8)
The silence of God (9-11)
The power of God (12-17)
The Psalmist reminds God of the covenant (18-23)
1. The Psalmist questions God (1-3).
A. He wonders why the Lord has cast His people off for so long.
It appears as if the Lord has abandoned the people of God. It seems as if this trial isn’t going to end. He asks, “Why have you cast us off forever?”
A reference is made to the anger of God and smoke. In 2 Kings 25:9 we see Nebuchadnezzar burned the house of the Lord, the kings house and other houses as well. It’s likely with so many fires burning in Jerusalem that smoke would have continued to rise over the city for some time. The smoke was a continual reminder of the anger of God. Israel had provoked God with their sin. God responded to their rebellion with judgment upon the land. The judgment was severe. It got the people’s attention.
The Psalmists believes the people of God have been punished enough. He questions why God has not yet stopped with His judgment. It does seem that the blessings of God pass quickly but the discipline of the Lord drags along very slowly.
B. He asks the Lord to remember the past (2).
Israel belonged to God. They were His purchased possession. They were His inheritance. He has redeemed them. The language used is the same that is used in Exodus 15:16 in reference to the Exodus. God redeemed His people, delivering them from slavery.
He also asks the Lord to remember Mount Zion. This refers to Jerusalem, where the Temple was built. The presence of God dwelt there.
God had done so much for Israel. He led them out of slavery. He brought them into the Promised Land. He established the Temple in Jerusalem. Now it appears all of that has been in vain. The people of God and the Temple of God are laid waste.
C. He asks God to act in the present (3).
Here we have the first reference to the Temple. It is called the sanctuary. It lie in ruins because wicked men had destroyed it. The ruins looked perpetual or eternal. In other words, it looked as if this could not be fixed. It appeared that the Temple would never be rebuilt. The Psalmist invites the Lord to come to the site. He wants the Lord near this heap of rubble. Surely if the Lord were to come near to this place He would act.
2. The destruction of the Temple (4-8).
A. The Temple was desecrated (4).
When the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem in 586 BC, they had no respect for the God of Israel. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, was a Gentile who embraced the worship of false gods. The Babylonians believed Israel’s God was too weak to save them. Therefore, they did not hesitate to desecrate the Temple.
They roared in the congregation. They lifted their voices in contempt against God. In the place where prayer, praise and worship should be made they let forth their own war cries. Verse four also says they set up their ensigns for signs. These were probably objects of idolatry. They mocked Israel by placing their own gods in the Temple of God.
B. The Temple was destroyed (5-6).
They destroyed the Temple like one would destroy a forest with an ax. They went through the Temple knocking down walls and furniture as if it were nothing.
1 Kings describes the beauty of the Temple.
There were ornate carvings of cherub in the Temple (1 Kings 6:23-25).
There were carvings overlaid with gold (1 Kings 6:19-22).
The Temple was a beautiful place. But these madmen came in with their axes and hammers and destroyed it.
It took great skill and much time to build the temple. These ungodly men came in with no skill at all and destroyed it in moments.
C. The Temple was defiled (7).
Notice in verse 7 the phrases “Thy sanctuary” and “the dwelling place of Thy name”. We see this same type of language used previously: “Thy congregation” (2), “Thine inheritance” (2), “Thy congregations” (4).
The Babylonians didn’t just set a building on fire. They set God’s building on fire. This was a holy place. They defiled a holy place with their ungodly actions.
D. The people of God were detested (8).
It wasn’t enough to burn the Temple. They wanted to destroy God’s people. They wanted to destroy everyplace God’s people met to worship Him. The account of the invasion in 2 Kings 25 says they killed the king’s sons before his eyes. Then they cut the kings eyes out. The last thing he ever saw was the death of his own sons. The Biblical record says that men were running for their lives. Many people were killed, some got away and many were taken as slaves to Babylon. There was no mercy for the people of God. They were hated by their enemies.
3. The silence of God (9-11).
A. There was no Word from God (9).
Israel had at times of great calamity seen signs from the Lord. They had witnessed seas split in two, walls crumble down, the sun stand still, fire fall from heaven, the earth open up, etc. Now there was no sign from heaven. There was no miraculous rescue.
There was no prophet. This didn’t mean that a prophet did not exist. There were prophets like Daniel and Jeremiah. But at this moment there was no word from any of the prophets. The people of God did not have personal copies of the Word as we do today. They depended on the prophets and the Temple ministry to hear from God. There was no temple and the prophets had no Word or even an ability to get that Word to the people as a whole.
No one knew how long this would last. This made the situation all the worse. Jesus said man can not live by bread alone. We need the Word of God to survive. There was a leanness of soul in the people because there was no Word from God.
B. There was no worry of God (10).
The Babylonians didn’t fear God. They blasphemed the name of the Lord. They spoke evil of God. The Psalmist wonders if the Lord is going to let the Babylonians do this forever. God, it seemed had nothing to say. God’s enemies had plenty to say. Living in exile Israel endured the blasphemy of their slave masters on a daily basis. It was probably difficult for many of the Jewish people to witness this. They had been raised to believe that blasphemy was a capital offense. They honored the name of the Lord. It’s likely many of them had never heard anyone take the name of the Lord in vain. Now they heard ungodly people mock God with what appeared to them to be no repercussions at all.
C. There was no wrath from God (11).
The Psalmist asks why God’s hand is withdrawn. He says the hand of God is resting against His bosom. It isn’t outstretched and ready to strike a blow against these enemies of God. We get the idea that the Psalmist is pointing out the enemies of God to God Himself while God sits there with arms folded.
4. The power of God (12-17).
A. He is a powerful King.
The tone of the Psalm changes. Now we see the Psalmist is reminded of the power of God. Verse 12 is an affirmation of faith. Israel’s God is the King of the earth and He will save His people. We are accustomed to people who fight and gain victory for their King. With Christ, He fights and gains victory for His people. Our King is not depending on us to secure His kingdom. We are depending on Him to secure the kingdom.
B. He is all powerful (13-14).
Verse thirteen is a reference to the dividing of the Red Sea. In verses 13-14 we see refences to sea monsters. The Psalmist uses poetic language to show that God destroys these creatures for the benefit of his people. What is the significance of these creatures?
They probably represent the false religion of the Egyptians and other pagan nations. The Canaanite myths contained stories about Baal defeating specific gods. The Psalmist wants to make it clear that the God of Israel is all powerful, even more powerful than Baal. Leviathan is found a few other places in Scripture (Job 41, Isaiah 27:1, Ps 104:25-26). It appears it was a large and ferocious sea creature of some kind. We can’t be sure what it was, but some believe it was a type of large crocodile and was associated with Egypt. What we know for sure is that people were deathly afraid of it. The Psalmist says God will break its head in pieces. There is no beast on earth as powerful as our God.
C. He is in complete control (15-16).
He is in control of the waters. He is in control of the greater waters (the sea) and the lesser waters (river and springs). He can dry up a stream or He can make water flow from a spring. In Exodus 17:6 the Lord made water come from a rock. In Joshua 4:23 He dried up the Jordan river.
We can’t do things like that. We have to drill where water is if we want a well. If we are drilling a well and hit a rock, we either have to find away through the rock or find somewhere else to drill. We’re not in control of the waters.
He controls the sun and the moon (16).
We can’t control when the sun rises. We can’t change the date of the full moon.
He controls the seasons (17). He made summer and winter. By the way, aren’t the seasons a beautiful thing. The way that they are spaced out. Each season has its own purpose as far as agriculture is concerned. But each season ministers to the individual as well. God has given us the smell of Spring, the warmth of Summer, the beauty of fall and the rest of winter. We see Divine intelligence in the seasons.
5. The Psalmist reminds God of the covenant (18-23).
A. Remember what your enemies have done (18).
The Babylonians have mocked God. They have blasphemed His name. These are foolish people who have no regard for the holiness of God.
B. Remember the weakness of Your people (19).
The enemies of God are likened to wild beasts. The people of God are likened to doves. The people of God are also called poor. They are helpless against the Babylonians. They need the Lord to deliver them.
The main difference between the Babylonians and the Jews was the Jews were in covenant with God. In verse 20 the Psalmist asks the Lord to remember the covenant. The covenant was made by God. It was a promise to Abraham and His descendants. Judah was weak but they were in covenant with the Almighty God. Notice the end of verse 20. Because of these evil men darkness was in the land. That darkness led to violence and cruelty. God had called Israel to be a light to the Gentiles. How could they do that if they remained in captivity?
The Psalmist wants the oppressed, the poor and the needy to praise the name of God (21). This is in contrast to the wicked who were blaspheming the name of God (18). Again, deliverance is needed so the weak can praise God for victory.
C. Remember the words of the wicked (22-23).
The enemies of God are loud. They scoff at His name. Their tumult continues day by day. They reproach God every day. An appeal is made for the Lord to rise up and defend His own cause. His people cannot do it. They have been defeated. They are slaves.
It sees as if the Psalmist may be afraid the Lord is going to forget the evil of His enemies. He reminds the Lord of all they have done. We can be sure the Lord does not forget. He has made a covenant with this world. The soul that sinneth it shall surely die. Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. We can rest in His promises.
Wicked men will attack that which belongs to God. They have no fear of God. We see the truth of God attacked today. The attack on the truth will get worse. We may see churches destroyed in America. We will surely see churches closed. We will see churches fined. Our government is growing increasingly hostile to churches that preach the truth of God’s Word. The good news is if we are in covenant with God we have nothing to fear. God will surely vindicate Himself and those who belong to Him.