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| INSIGHTS FROM THE SCRIPTURE: Psalm 137 is a poem that points to a historical event more than most psalms in the Bible do, specifically the historical context of the Babylonian exile. The people of God had been divided into two kingdoms since 922 BCE. The people of the South, or Judah, watched as the people of the North, Israel, fell to Assyria in 722 BCE. The people of Judah became self-righteous as they analyzed the reasons why Israel fell. They assumed they were more righteous than Israel. Jeremiah and other prophets warned them that they would fall just like Israel, for they too practiced Baal worship and dealt unjustly with the poor and marginalized people. But most people took no heed of Jeremiah’s warnings. They had the Temple, priests in the line of Levi and a king in the line of David. They were secure forever. But the prophets were right. Babylon started to overtake them, deporting thousands of people and taking valuables from the temple. But still the people refused to repent. So, in 587 BCE, Babylon captured Jerusalem and completely destroyed the city and the temple. 99% of the people were deported to Babylon. It was a terrible journey, where many died along the way. So when Psalm 137 opens with the words “By the rivers of Babylon—there we sat down and there we wept,” it speaks of the real rivers of the Tigris and Euphrates and the real experience of the Babylonian soldiers mocking them to sing a Zion (Jerusalem) song. The poem comes to us in three parts. Verses 1-3 are about grief, verses 4-6 are about remembering and verses 7-9 deal with anger. Two theological truths pop out at the reader. First, there is a great irony in that Psalm 137 is a song about a group of people who can’t sing songs. It’s not that they have forgotten Jerusalem or their relationship with God; it’s this very memory that is so painful. They know that if they ever forget these same songs, if they ever really can’t sing them, they are doomed. There is such great importance in remembering. Continued... |
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