Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones
and dashes them against the rock!
Context is king. That is worthy of remembrance. If a murderer says, “I killed ‘em!”, slap the cuffs on him. If a comedian says it, congratulate him. Few verses in the Bible require more context than this one with its stark and abrupt exclamation of vengeance that horrifies mothers everywhere. The psalmist is crying out for the Lord to take vengeance on Babylon for their attack on Jerusalem and the temple. It seems hard even then to contextualize it until we realize that the psalmist is human and the things that were witnessed had never been seen before. J. M. Boice quoted Charles Spurgeon on this verse.
“Let those find fault with it who have never seen their temple burned, their city ruined, their wives ravished, and their children slain…”
How stark a reminder of current events this is! On October 7th, Hamas terrorists ravished wives and slew children in Israel, and in the most unfathomable way, burned alive in ovens and beheaded. This atrocity gives us a glimpse into the mind and heart of the psalmist and his visceral reaction because of the remembrance of even more carnage than we witnessed on the news.
The thirst for revenge is a human trait that God commands against. Vengeance is the Lord’s not ours. As much as we wish evil upon the perpetrators of evil in this world, Jesus commands us to forgive our enemies. This can only be done because Jesus will destroy his enemies, the last one being death. This is our hope this Christmas.
Dear Lord, thank you for hope. Help us to see this world and also see the world to come. Jesus, come soon. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church
P. S. Click on the link below and read Psalm 137 for context. It is a good practice to click these links daily! Thank you all for reading and sharing!