Psalm 137

I have been waiting eagerly for years to find this psalm.  Years ago, a friend of mine referenced verse 9 as the reason why he decided to turn away from modern Christianity.  Imagine my surprise when I “stumbled” upon it this morning!  I can also imagine your surprise when you read the psalmist’s closing words to murder babies.  Is this really the God we follow?  It is important to understand the context behind this psalm.  This is going to be a long one, so buckle up!

If you follow Jewish history at all, you will recall that the Babylonians ransacked Israel and took them captive.  In 2 Kings 24 and 25, we see the historical context of when Nebuchadnezzar 2 began to attack Israel (starting with Judah) until finally capturing the entire country and destroying the temple.  If you go back and read through the story, you find that Israel had turned to wicked ways and this was punishment for turning their back on God.  So, he let them reap the benefits of their wickedness and removed His hand of protection from them.

The time period from when the Babylonians began their assault, demolished the country, took everyone into captivity, were rescued by the Persians, returned to their homeland, and then the temple rebuilt, spanned 70 years as prophesied in Jeremiah 25:9-13.  This is important to note due to conflicting time periods that are recorded.  This entirety of the conflict until resolution spans approximately 70 years.  Once they returned, this is when Psalm 137 was written.

The psalmist wrote a reflection, albeit a brief one, of that entire time.  They suspect a priest wrote this, remembering the turmoil they experienced as they began to adapt to their renewed lives in their homeland.  He recalls the Babylonians trying to force them to sing worship songs.  These beautiful songs that were once played in the temple, worshipping God, exalting Him for His goodness, and praising God for His provision were now meaningless.  I can even imagine, on some level, it may have been a taunt by the Babylonians in a way of saying, “where is your God now? Sing to Him!”  They were known for their cruelty and this would by no means be outside of their purview. 

Verses 4-6 reveal their lament.  Even though this whole process was a punishment to Israel and it was even prophesied to happen, when they are in the midst of it, all they can see is their own torment.  In fact, I can imagine at that point they were embittered against God for allowing it to happen.  This, unfortunately, also is our great struggle today.  Sometimes, we bring about our own negative consequences because of our actions and then blame God for allowing it to happen.  To use an extremely simplified analogy, it is akin to a parent telling their child not to touch the hot stove because they will get burned.  Then, the child touches the stove anyway because they want to do what they desire. Once they burn their hand, they then begin to cry because of the pain and blame the parent for allowing them to get burned!  It is a simplistic picture, but unfortunately, we as grown adults behave the same way in our relationship to God.  He directs us in what He knows is best for us, creates guardrails for us to stay safe; He even tells us what will happen if we don’t stay within those safe boundaries, then we hop over them anyway, thinking we know better!  It is not God’s fault that we disobey, but we blame Him anyway when we get burnt.

The finishing lines, verses 7-9, reveal the heart of the captives.  Many times throughout the psalms, the writers talk about repayment to persecutors.  This is a result of human interpretation of the Jewish law, which was actually meant to create fairness in their judicial system for their own land. It was designed to make sure that nobody was punished too severely for crimes they committed, not as a measure of revenge.  The psalmist here, is either pouring out his heart and how he feels, or is seriously calling for God to exact justice on the Babylonians to repay them in the same measure they tortured the Jews.  The Babylonians, when taking over the country, tried to exterminate the next generation by killing their babies…this is why verse 9 is so disturbing!  He is asking God to do what was done to them.  

I think it is extremely important here to note something about biblical accounts.  Just because it is written in the scriptures does not mean that God condones it.  There is plenty of sin recorded in the bible, and we must be careful to understand the parts that are descriptive and not prescriptive, meaning it isn’t always what God says should be done.  Polygamy, murder, and slavery are just a few of these instances.  This is one of those instances, where the psalmist is sharing his heart, and even asks God to do it, but it doesn’t mean it will happen.

I would like to share what I read from Wiersbe on the matter, as he explains this with great scriptural reference and historical detail:

These three verses have been a serious problem for the unlearned and a target for the unbelieving who are at war with God and the Bible. However, once this passage is understood, it should encourage the faith of God’s people in times of upheaval when the Lord seems to be shaking everything (Heb. 12:25–29). The Babylonian guards were taunting the Jewish exiles, wanting them to sing about their God, who had not rescued them and their city, which was now a heap of ruins. This was not a matter of politics but theology, nor was it a personal vendetta but an issue between two nations. As individuals, we have the right to forgive an offender, but if the judge forgave every criminal who appeared in his court, the foundations of society would be undermined and chaos would result. 

 The law God gave to Israel is based on the lex talionis—the law of retaliation—and retaliation is not revenge. It simply means “to pay back in kind.” In short, the punishment must fit the crime, and our courts still follow that principle. In eighteenth-century England, there were over two hundred capital crimes for which the culprit could be hanged, but no nation follows that pattern today. “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (Deut. 19:16–21) is not brutality; it is justice. A point that is often ignored is that, though Babylon was God’s chosen instrument to discipline the Jews, the Babylonians went too far and treated the Jews with brutality. (See Isa. 47:1–7; 51:22–23.) They abused the elderly, they murdered the babies and children, they violated the women, and they killed promiscuously. Though these practices may have been a normal part of ancient warfare (2Kings 8:12; 15:16; Isa. 13:16; Nah. 3:10), Babylon went to the extreme in their inhumanity. But let us be honest and admit that when nations today have done atrocious things—the Holocaust, for example—other nations have risen up in horror and demanded justice. If that response is correct for us, why is it wrong for the psalmist?

The psalmist knew from the prophets that God would judge Edom and Babylon, so he prayed for the Lord to keep His promises. Esau, father of the Edomites, was Jacob’s brother (Gen. 25:30), and Esau’s descendants should have shown mercy to their blood relatives. (On the future of Edom, see Isa. 63:1–6; Jer. 49:7–22; Ezek. 25:12–14; 35:1ff.; the book of Obadiah. As for Babylon’s future, see Isa. 13, noting especially v. 16; Jer. 50—51.) The psalmist knew these Scriptures and asked the Lord to fulfill them in His own time. “For the LORD is the God of recompense, He will surely repay” (Jer. 51:56 NKJV). Finally, the word blessed as used in verses 8–9 (NASB) does not mean “happy” in the sense of Psalm 32:1, or even “favored by God” as in Psalm 1:1. It carries the meaning of “morally justified,” as in Psalm 106:3—“Blessed are those who keep justice” (NKJV). It was not the Jewish people individually who punished Babylon but the God of Israel who answered their prayers and vindicated His people (Rom. 12:17–21). One day, He will vindicate His church and punish those who have persecuted and slain His servants (Rev. 6:9–17).”

Excerpt From
Be Exultant (Psalms 90-150)
Warren W. Wiersbe
https://books.apple.com/us/book/be-exultant-psalms-90-150/id502032527

So then, what can we learn from this?  It is important to lament.  It is also ok to cry out to God and totally expose your emotions.  He’s a big God, He can take it!  But also, we must read and judge the scriptures appropriately, understand who wrote it, why they wrote it, and to whom they are addressing it.  Otherwise, we may misunderstand the context and point of each passage and fall into the trap of being deceived about God’s character.

Now, as always, I want to leave us with something to reflect upon.  Have we too turned our backs on God?  Have we found ourselves in a place of despair and torment?  David writes in Psalm 139:23-24 Search my heart, O Lord, and reveal any wicked way in me.  I don’t think it is out of coincidence that we will be reading that one very soon.  Have we disobeyed God and now find ourselves in the consequences of our actions?  The bible instructs us of these things.  He tells us how to live and what will happen if we don’t abide by those guidelines.  That is one of the things I love about the scriptures, He doesn’t leave us to our own devices to learn by experience, unless we choose to.  Sometimes, those are the way we need to learn because we fall into the temptation of trying to be like God.  

I will add a caveat here.  Not all “bad” things that happen to us are a result of our own disobedience.  We are also subject to the disobedience of others as well.  Sometimes, bad things happen to us despite our own loyalty to God, because we live in a broken world surrounded by broken people.  Yet, it is important for us to ask God to show us what part, if any, we have to play in the wickedness, torment, and despair that comes against us.  In this case, we can see from the Babylonian captivity, that it was a result of their own disobedience.  Although, God was patient and gave them many times to come to their senses.  He warned them what would happen and they did not heed the signs and then became subject to the consequences.

So, in this sense, what is God warning you about?  Have you stopped listening to what He has been trying to tell you?  He is a loving parent who wants the best for us, but we have to be willing to listen and trust His words in order to benefit from His protection.  Once we ignore Him and stop listening, He will allow us to learn the lesson the hard way just like Israel did.