Through the Psalms

Old Testament

Destruction Comes When We Reject God - (Psalm 80:1-3)

Daily Praise
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, stir up Your strength, and come and save us restore us, O God; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved.

Reading Notes
Psalm eighty is a prayer sung as a song to the Lord for the restoration of Israel the Northern Kingdom. This was probably written shortly after 722 B.C., when the northern tribes were taken away forever by Assyria. God allowed this to happen because of their apostasy and rebellion against Him. The Lord allowed Assyria to judge the Northern Kingdom of Israel since they had rejected God and instead adopted idolatry. God had warned the people time and time again through His prophets, whom the people rebuked and killed. Here in the opening verses of this psalm we see a reference to the Ark of the Covenant with the mention of the cherubim. The Ark of the Covenant stood in the Holy of Holies the most inner chamber of the Temple of God in Jerusalem. This was the location where God met with His people. Moreover, this symbolized the nation's relationship with Him. Here the people are reminding God of His special relationship with the Jewish people.

A relationship the Northern Kingdom rejected, while doing their best to push God out of their society. Both the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah were in a covenant relationship with God. In God's eyes, they were one nation, all the descendants of Jacob. It was their wickedness and rebellion which created the two different kingdoms. They are asking God to come to the aid of the northern tribes of Israel. However the people had removed themselves from God's covenant by their continued rejection of the Lord over hundreds of years. In fact King Jeroboam I, the first king of the Northern Kingdom as one of his first acts as king, was to set up religious centers at Dan and Bethel using golden calves. He wanted the people to worship the calves instead of God in order to deemphasize Jerusalem and the Temple as God's primary worship center. God had sent many prophets to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and instead of listening to God's messengers they rebelled all the more and became more and more wicked. Until God, true to His word, removed them forever from the land. As a result the Northern Kingdom never returned from exile.

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