Sometimes it’s good just to sit down & cry. That’s what Psalm 137 describes. That’s what the righteous remnant of Jews did when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C. and they were exiled and carted off to Babylon (as God had warned them). By the Tigris & Euphrates rivers and the various system of canals, these Jews “sat down & wept, when [they] remembered Zion,” their beloved Jerusalem (1). They hung up their lyres (harps), because they had no joy to sing, even when taunted by their tormentors (2-3). Their response of silent songs didn’t mean they didn’t want to sing “Yahweh’s songs,” such as Psalms 46 & 48. They could never forget Jerusalem. It was their greatest joy (4-6). But something else preoccupied their thoughts & memory – the betrayal of the Edomites (their cousins, the descendants of Esau), who conspired with the Babylonians when Jerusalem was destroyed. They wanted the great city razed to the ground (7). (Edom’s punishment for doing so is recorded in Obadiah.) And the righteous remnant couldn’t forget what the Babylonians had done to them (8). That’s why they invoked the law of retribution (the “lex talionis“), that basically said, “May what you did to us be done to you, even taking your little ones and dashing them against the rock (9). The Babylonians did that to them, because that’s what victors did with those they conquered (2 Kings 8:12; Isaiah 13:16).
As a Christian, I must remember that I am to love my enemies, bless those who curse me and pray for those who mistreat me (Matthew 5:43-48). Because of Jesus Christ and what he did for me on the cross, I am not to exercise the law of retribution. Rather, I leave all vengeance and retribution up to God (Romans 12:19). I am to respond contrary to my natural inclination & fleshly desire (Romans 12:20). I am not ignoring justice, but it is not mine to execute. I trust Christ to do that when he returns, as God’s word promises in 2 Thessalonians 1:5-9. When Christ comes, God will justly repay those who afflict his people. “In flaming fire” he will inflict “vengeance of those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” That day is coming, but in the meantime, I may lament and cry, but I will do so with hope of a better day coming.
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