Through the Psalms

Old Testament

God Has Removed His Protection Part II - (Psalm 80:12-15)

Daily Praise
Why have You broken down her hedges, so that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit? The boar out of the woods uproots it, and the wild beast of the field devours it. Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts; look down from heaven and see, and visit this vine and the vineyard which Your right hand has planted, and the branch that You made strong for Yourself.

Reading Notes
The vine in these passages represents the nation of Israel, God's chosen people. His personal vine which He Himself had planted. The imagery used here is that God by removing his protection from the nation had broken down the walls of the garden, thereby allowing evil in. In the ancient world much like today, the gardens were protected by a wall or a hedge, which enclosed the garden keeping animals out. The hedge was a symbol of protection. God, because of His covenant relationship with Israel had placed a hedge of protection around His people. However, because of their spiritual adultery, God has now removed that wall of defense. The nation as a whole rejected God, they pushed God out of society, the Lord sent prophets to warn the people, but they ignored, beat and killed those prophets. Therefore, God has given the people what they asked for, life without Him. Moreover, God used the pagan nations which Israel so desperately tried to imitate, to judge the nation. The psalmist then asks a rhetorical question why?

If God took so much time and effort to grow this vine, why let the walls fall down so the wild beast can come in and devour it? The obvious answer which the psalmist himself gave in the previous set of passages, was because of their unfaithfulness. As illustrated here God had planted, fertilized, nourished and watered the vine. Yet, as soon as it grew strong it rebelled against God and longed to be like the wild beast who would devour it. After ignoring the prophets God sent to warn them, after ignoring God's pleas to return, He gave them over to their lusts and removed His protection. God gave the people what they longed for, which was a nation without God. And by doing so the people could now see the true result of their unfaithfulness. By experiencing the destruction firsthand they finally understood how wicked they had become. It's important for us to understand that Israel was, and still are God's chosen people. They had a special covenant relationship with God. God called Israel to carry out a special destiny upon the earth. A destiny which led to the coming of the Messiah, who is Christ Jesus our Lord. Israel was called to be a nation of priests, called to tell the world of the living God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moreover, to fulfill that destiny, they were called to separate themselves from the pagan idolatry which was prevalent in the land.

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