Get Real November 23 Devotional
November 23, 2024
PSALM 137 | 1 By the rivers of Babylon—there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion. 2 On the willows there we hung up our harps. 3 For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 4 How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? 5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither! 6 Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy. 7 Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem’s fall, how they said, “Tear it down! Tear it down! Down to its foundations!” 8 O daughter Babylon, you devastator! Happy shall they be who pay you back what you have done to us! 9 Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!
There are defeats and then there are disasters. The Babylonians conquered Jerusalem in 587 B.C. and forced the political, religious, and military leaders of Israel into captivity. In one stroke, the nation lost its Temple to destruction and its priests, elders, king, and prophets to exile. There was no one to render judgements, no one to decide cases, no one to provide protection or defend against enemies, no one to offer sacrifices, and no place to perform rituals. It was a disaster in the Holy City.
For those taken to Babylon, it was worse. They suffered all the same losses as did their compatriots left in Jerusalem, but they also had to exist in a hostile state and foreign culture among the very enemies who had humiliated and defeated them. Psalm 137 reflects the state of anger, confusion, and depression they were experiencing.
What has been your most disorienting experience?
Have you ever been present in a disaster?
