Asaph wrote this psalm during a period of trouble for Israel. Since the twelve tribes are experiencing the problem, the time of the psalm is probably when the Assyrian empire was threatening the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, with perhaps the northern kingdom having been captured.
Asaph is aware that God is the royal shepherd of Israel reigning over his people from his throne on the ark of the covenant. Such a description usually points to the Lord as merciful since the throne was the mercy seat. The tribes Asaph mentions are those descended from Rachel, perhaps referring to them because the births of Joseph (the father of Ephraim and Manasseh) and Benjamin were the outcome of much prayer, but also a reminder that the divided tribes were really one people. The prayer that Asaph offers is for the Lord to respond according to the Aaronic blessings in Numbers 6:25 (vv. 1-3).
Their prayers for restoration had been made for a while. Yet instead of answering them, the Lord had allowed their troubles to increase. The divine response revealed that he was angry with his people, and his anger was shown in difficult providences that caused great internal distress for his people and disdain from their enemies, which was the case when Assyria attacked the northern kingdom and later the southern kingdom. Still, Asaph knew that the Lord could yet come in blessing (vv. 4-7).
Asaph knew the appropriate arguments to make in prayer. He reminded the Lord of his actions in the past in bringing the Israelites out of Egypt and giving to them the promised land. Because of God’s power, they had been able to conquer the land and extend its territory to the Euphrates. But circumstances were now very different for them. God’s power on their behalf had been withdrawn and they were now defenceless against anyone who attacked them (vv. 8-13), even the powerful boar from Assyria.
So Asaph asked the Lord to observe what the enemies have done with his vine. Their actions deserved a powerful divine rebuke that would reduce their power to zero. His desire was that the Lord would bring about different circumstances, but this would only occur if the Lord lifted his hand of blessing on them again (vv. 14-19)
There is disagreement as to what Asaph meant by ‘son of man’. Some argue it refers to the king of Judah, others refer it to the nation as a whole, and others say it is a prediction of Jesus. The description ‘son of man’ points to great dignity, and the nation was regarded as God’s son (v. 15). So in the immediate context, it looks as if Asaph is praying for the restoration of the kingdom from its current state of weakness and imminent decline. Should that happen, they would be restored and once again depend on the Lord and worship him.
If the background situation is the attack by the Assyrian empire, then we can see that Asaph’s prayer was partially answered in that while the Lord allowed the northern kingdom to be captured he preserved the southern kingdom for another century. Partial answers to earnest prayer are often the experience of God’s people.
This does not mean that Asaph was wrong in his requests. He prayed according to his circumstances and what he knew of the Lord’s revealed will. But prayer must always be qualified by the recognition that the Lord may say no or that he may not respond in the exact way that we requested.
No comments:
Post a Comment