What a Chutzpah! #1

We shall see in that book that incidents that happened in their country caught every one of them off guard, they do not know how to explain that which happened to them, because it was a chutzpah.

Chutzpah is defined as self-confidence or audacity to do what you like which people would be forced to accept.

The strangers invaded the city of God and destroy the city, as if that was not alone they also destroyed the temple of God, this was beyond their imagination and comprehension thus the author alongside others put their thoughts into letters to ask God to do something about the dastardly act.

The writer of the book of Psalms attributes this chapter to Asaph. And it is said that the Asaph who probably wrote this Psalm was an Asaph who lived at a later time because the known Asaph lived during the days of David and Solomon

“A Psalm of Asaph. O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.” (Psa 79:1)

James Montgomery B. says of this Psalm (Asaph) that “either this is a later Asaph, which is not unlikely since the name might have been perpetuated among the temple musicians or more likely, the name was a fixed to many psalms produced by dis body of musicians. We know that the descendant of Asaph were functioning as late as the reign of Josiah (2 Chro. 35:15”

Free bible commentary says that this incident happened about 600 years before Christ and this account was written by one of the prisoners, one of the people who have been led captive by the heathen who have invaded the country. It is said to be a prayer of imprecation by the author.

In elucidating on this topic I shall be writing on those things that happened which the author of the book documented that they were strange occurrence, and he has no other name to give unto it than that the enemies have the audacity to do what was not expected while they helplessly look on.

The author starts by telling us what happened, and it was that the heathens have entered God’s inheritance, which is God’s temple.

“A Psalm of Asaph. O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.” (Psa 79:1)

They perhaps have been thinking that though they have sinned, but the temple being a sacred place, holy place, even if the enemies and the heathens come to the country they would not move nigh the temple, they would set aside the temple, but they were grossly mistaken because those enemies did enter the temple.

Those enemies that are called heathen in verse one are called “גּי גּוי” in Hebrew when Romanized it becomes gôy gôy (pronounced as go'ee, go'-ee) which means foreign nation, a gentile, a troop of animals or a flight of locusts.

The author is saying it is not the enemy within who have done the dastardly act, but the enemies without, external forces.

The gentile nation, those who do not know Yahweh, or better put those who do not appreciate Yahweh as their God are the enemies that entered the nation and they do the followings.

The enemies that came to attack the nation were conglomerate armies from different nations but under the command king of Babylon who was the powerful king of the world then.

(a) They Defiled the Temple:

The Hebrew word for defile here is “טמא”, Romanized form is ṭâmê' (phonetic spelling is taw-may') which means contaminated, pollute, utterly destroy.

When they entered the country, they utterly destroy the temple of God, polluting the place.

(b) Destroyed the City – Jerusalem: Jerusalem the city of God was not spared by them, the city was destroyed by the enemies.

The blood of people were shed in the land, like water the author says the blood was flowing in the city to show the level of the destruction.

After destroying the city and pillaging the temple, they killed the servants of God in the land.

“The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth.” (Psa 79:2)

Fear couldn’t let them bury people who were being killed by the enemies.

“Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them.” (Psa 79:3)

Free bible commentary says, one of the worst things that could happen to the Israelis is not having a burial place, no sepulcher, they were not allowed to be buried among their people.

People value burial, having a sepulcher, in fact in this part of the country to which this writer hails from some people would be denied things that ought to belong to them if their parents are buried outside their town.

Burial place is for memorial, for remembrance and for connecting with those who have once trod the planet.

The habitation of the Lord becomes desolate, empty.

“For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling place.” (Psa 79:7)

All these they were doing with no one to curb them; their soldiers cannot confront them and thus they did carry this out without hinderance.

Having carried these out in the holy land without hinderance, the author looks to God for solution to what has happened, groaning with others like when they were in the land of captivity in Egypt before being delivered.

It should be noted that the enemies did not carry this out when they were in the right standing with God, it was because they had been out of tune with God that is why the enemies could perform their enterprise on them. In the next article I shall be talking about what they did that makes God to sell them without a price to the hands of their enemies.