"Longing for Zion in Captivity" Bible Study

Thehistorical background of Psalm 137 is very sad. The people of God had sinned and rebelled against Him and had failed to heed centuries of warnings and found themselves living with the consequences of disobedience. In 586 BC, soldiers from Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, the capital city of Judah and took the Jewish people as prisoners to Babylon. After seventy years in exile, in 536 B.C., every Jew who wanted to return to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and restore the temple was allowed to do so.

We can imagine the Jews in exile meeting by the Babylon and Tigris rivers, reminiscing about Jerusalem and Zion. Zion was one of the hills that they had built the city of Jerusalem on.

The psalmist spoke of the Babylonians taunting the exiled Jews to sing songs about their Lord while held captive, but they had hung up their harps because it was too painful to sing to the Lord in a foreign land. The Jewish people just wanted to hurt the people that hurt them and destroyed their city. Once the psalmist returned home to Jerusalem again, he hoped that somebody would destroy Babylon, since Babylon had destroyed Jerusalem. He was invoking God to fulfill the promise He had given to Jeremiah the prophet, to curse the nation that had cursed them. Jeremiah 51:56 says, “...Because the plunderer comes against her, against Babylon, and her mighty men are taken. Every one of their bows is broken; for the Lord is the God of recompense, He will surely repay.” God had promised to fully repay Babylon and to level its walls, which was no small thing, since Babylon was surrounded by a wall extending 42-45 miles, 11 feet thick and 75 feet high. And He did; in 516 B.C., Persia (now Iran) destroyed Babylon. Also, in Isaiah 13:16, Isaiah prophesied God’s judgment on Babylon because of her sins. He prophesied that their little ones would be dashed to pieces before their eyes… a cruel judgment, but Babylon would reap what they sowed. It is easy to identify with the psalmist’s anger. He cries out to God to act and judge Babylon’s evil. The entire human race has, at one time or another though, rebelled against God. There are nations standing in grave danger of God’s judgment now because of their immorality and lawlessness, unless there is widespread repentance and revival. Through His grace and patience, God offers the opportunity to repent. His plan is to bless those who bless His people and curse those who curse them.

When the psalmist prays for Babylon to have its children dashed against the rocks, he is asking that the law of retribution (re. Deut. 19:21: “Your eye shall not pity: life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”) be carried out through

God's means to punish Babylon. This is not the same as personal revenge on enemies, however. The Bible explicitly tells us to love our enemies. Matthew 5:44 says, “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”

We see that portrayed with Joseph and his love for his brothers, even though they threw him in a pit and later sold him for twenty sheckels of silver.

Also, David showed kindness to King Saul who was trying to kill him. On a personal level, both Jesus and Paul showed love for their enemies, but on a judicial level, they called down God’s judgment upon men who perverted God’s truth.

There are a few messages in this Psalm for us and one of them is to offer the free grace of God through the cross to those opposed to Christ. The same blood, however, that offers mercy to those who repent brings condemnation to those who refuse to repent. This Psalm opens our eyes to the horror of sin. The psalmist wants us to have an emotional reaction and to motivate us to action. Although to use violence to fight sin is wrong, so is passivity.

Just like Babylon taunted the Jews, the world taunts the Christian today. But it knows nothing of the joys of being a child of God. Even though we live in the world, we are not part of the world. The Jews stood firmly for the Lord, refusing to play their harps in Babylon.

In spite of Jerusalem’s defeat and Babylon’s power, there could be rebuilding and hope. You can trust in God’s promises, even when circumstances are bleak.

Mighty Babylon was destroyed, and Jerusalem was rebuilt. No matter how difficult our situation, we can always trust in the Lord.

“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. We hung our harps upon the willows in the midst of it. For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, and those who plundered us requested mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? If I forget you, oh Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! If I do not remember you, let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth – If I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy. Remember, oh Lord, against the sons of Edom the day of Jerusalem, who said, “Raze it, raze it, to its very foundation! Oh daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed, happy the one who repays you as you have served us! Happy the one who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock! (Psalm 137:1-9)