Psalm 137 – When You Are Where You Don’t Belong

Mocked by captors. Told to perform like you used to perform at home. Ridiculed because the once glorious nation has been brought to its knees and the city with the symbol of your allegiance to the God who delivered you is left in smithereens. How can you sing indeed. 

Much weeping is indeed the right response. You remember where you were and where you are now. It’s not where you belong. Meanwhile those who captured you laugh you to scorn. “Where is your God now?” they gloat. So much for the conqueror of the Egyptians. So much for the one who defeated the Philistines. Where is He now? 

Yet even in the weeping of Babylon, there is a connection to that same God who has not forsaken the people in exile. Those who mock today will weep tomorrow as those who weep in the night find joy in the morning. They find the joy because they know even in exile they know where they belong and to Whom they belong. 

That’s why it’s important to remember where you belong. They may mock you now, but never forget where you belong. The city of God, the place where He dwells, is where you belong. The place of His presence is your home. There is the hope that as a pilgrim and a stranger making your way through, you are always on your way home where you belong, to Whom you belong. 

We can find home in Him and until we’re wholly His, we’re waiting and sometimes weeping, but there is the expectation. The expectation that one day  …

For His Name’s Sake 

Shalom 

C. L. J. Dryden 

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The Kings II 25 – Breakdown

He set fire to the temple of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down. The whole Babylonian army under the commander of the imperial guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem. (2 Kings 25:9‭-‬10 NIV)

The rebellion of Zedekiah was the final act of a monarch in any part of what was the land of Israel. The response of Nebuchadnezzar was brutal. Not only was the king and the lineage crushed, the city of David was also routed.

Among the clear signs of the crushing of the city was the demolition of the walls of Jerusalem – leaving the once impregnable centre of God’s people open, vulnerable and bereft of protection. The sign of the monarchy in terms of the palace was also demolished. Of all the buildings to be demolished the most significant was the temple of the Lord. Hundreds of years earlier when the people had again been unfaithful to the Lord, He handed them over to defeat by the Philistines and the ark of the covenant was taken. At that time the people mourned at how the glory had departed Israel. Now it was not just the glory that departed. No king, no viable city, no palace and no temple – no way of recognising what was once a significant presence of God in the world.

The exile of the people was not the end of God’s story with His people, but it was a certain end to the age of the Kings.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

 C. L. J. Dryden