"Thou feedest them with the bread of tears and givest them tears to drink in great measure."
Psalm 80:5
Part 1
Today: God’s Chastening Brought His People to Tears
No one in their right mind enjoys going through hard times. It is a simple fact of life for God’s people that we all see affliction and adversity from time to time. Why do God’s people go through hardships? And let’s take this idea a step further, why will God actually bring suffering into His child’s life, as we see happen in the Scriptures? This does not have an easy or quick answer. Over the following days, we will look for Bible reasons for His child, whom He loves, to have afflictions and adversity.
In the Old Testament, from Genesis through Malachi, we see the Jewish people undergo afflictions. It seems that each generation often started well with the Lord. Unfortunately, things in their lives would quickly deteriorate into the old habits of the nation, and they turned their backs on God, as their forebears did.
Psalm 80 is “A Psalm of Asaph.” This writer was the latter of the two Asaphs, as the content of this Psalm tends to date it. With these beautiful words, Asaph is asking for Israel’s deliverance. Israel being the northern kingdom, who fell to the Assyrian armies in 721 BC (see Boice’s notes), Judah will fall later. Their demise did not happen overnight, nor did God rush in the second they sinned to punish them. But after generations of walking away from their long-suffering LORD, not heeding God’s mercy, and following after other gods, God brought His judgment on His people.
Asaph asked the LORD,
“O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?” (Psalm 80:4).
He recognizes that God’s anger is “smoking hot!” God is not even listening to their prayers.
“… O God, why hast thou cast us off forever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? (Psalm 74:1).
“How long shall the smoke of thy wrath drown the smoking incense of our prayers?… That God should be angry with us when sinning seems natural enough, but that he should be angry even with our prayers is a bitter grief.”[1] (Spurgeon)
At that time, God was standing against His people. Israel’s punishment under the Assyrians was almost more than she could bear. Asaph describes Israel’s reaction to God’s punishment in this way.
“Thou feedest them with the bread of tears and givest them tears to drink in great measure” (Psalm 80:5).
Israel’s sin has brought the nation to tears, and they are learning that God’s chastening is never easy.
Come back tomorrow as we look at Israel’s “bread of tears.”
Quote: “What soap is for the body, tears are for the soul”[2] (Jewish Proverb).
[1] C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] This quote was Downloaded: Saturday, July 31, 2021. From: https://www.wisesayings.com/tears-quotes/.