My summer class on O.T. Poetry began this morning; we talked about the psalms all day. The material holds my interest, which is good. One of my "classmates" is a girl named Jessica Ross; in October last year, I had a crush on her and made several advances, eventually freaking her out and landing flat on my face. I must confess that I am ashamed of how dumb, naive, and amateur I was. If freshman year taught me anything of... practical... value, it is this: "It is good to be single, and girls are not necessary." I made my advances on her when I was dying for a girl; I regret it all now. I'm not like that anymore. Anyhow, there is a slight atmosphere of tension between us, and it's all my fault. If only you could rewind the past and do things over again, you know? Oh well. I deserve it, such is life, and in a weird sense, it is pretty funny.
One of the psalms we looked at in class is Psalm 137. It seems very... out-of-place... in our scriptures (read it and find out why). It was written during the Babylonian captivity; can't you taste the bitterness and angst in the Israelites' weeping and cursing?
One of the psalms we looked at in class is Psalm 137. It seems very... out-of-place... in our scriptures (read it and find out why). It was written during the Babylonian captivity; can't you taste the bitterness and angst in the Israelites' weeping and cursing?
Alongside Babylon's rivers we sat on the banks; we cried and cried, remembering the good old days in Zion. Alongside the quaking aspens we stacked our unplayed harps; that's where our captors demanded songs, sarcastic and mocking: "Sing us a happy Zion song!"
Oh, how could we ever sing GOD's song in this wasteland? If I ever forget you, Jerusalem, let my fingers wither and fall off like leaves. Let my tongue swell and turn black if I fail to remember you, if I fail, O dear Jerusalem, to honor you as my greatest.
GOD, remember those Edomites, and remember the ruin of Jerusalem. That day they yelled out, "Wreck it, smash it to bits!" And you, Babylonians--ravagers! A reward to whoever gets back at you for all you've done to us; yes, a reward to the one who grabs your babies and smashes their heads on the rocks! (the Message)
3 comments:
i just don't understand how christians can worship a God who would bash the heads of babies against rocks. It is just sickening.
Too bad you went "flat on your face" with that girl. But indeed if we could only erase the past, life would be a lot easier. But it's not and most of the time you learn from your mistakes :)
The psalms, I never really had "a good look" at them.
Anonymous, I guess I should have explained what this psalm is all about :). This is an imprecatory psalm, a psalm where the writers are crying out to God for judgment on their oppressors. In a sense, they are asking God to deal with their oppressors justly. Are they really asking God to take the heads of the Babylonians' babies and smash them against the rocks? Perhaps, but the more plausible scenario is that this is an example of what is called in Latin "lex talionis", which is the technical word for the whole "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" thing. Chances are the Israelites are not asking for a literal judgment as described with the babies but a JUST judgment; as the saying goes, "The punishment must fit the crime," and the scriptures echo this. The Babylonians would take the babies of their enemies, grab them by the legs, and swing them backwards so that the backs of their heads would smash into rocks. It's a horrible thing, yes, and the Israelites no doubt suffered this abuse. They are just broken, terrified, angry people crying out to God for justice. We do the same, whether we use "lex talionis" or not. Besides, let us remember, these people are real people, not just words on paper. They experienced all kinds of emotions, just like you and me. If I had my child bashed against a rock, I would want the same to be done to the one who did the terrible deed!
Inaya, the psalms are beautiful. Because they are in English (at least for we folks here in America), a lot of the beauty of the psalms in the original Hebrew language is lost. I am taking a class right now and we covered the psalms; if you get the background of the psalms, it is simply amazing.
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