Chapter 74
Psalm 74...Asaph
Attributed to Asaph, who lived a very long time before the destruction of Jerusalem...I think. So this would have been a prophetic psalm by one we don't often consider to be a prophet. MSB agrees...if this is about the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC, and is indeed written by Asaph, it is a different Asaph. MSB does NOT make Asaph of old a prophet in addition to being a priest. But...that sure seems a better explanation than two different Asaphs writing psalms...
2022 - Here's the thing. The Temple was "invaded" by foreigners many times, not always as part of the total destruction of Israel. Gold was taken as tribute by foreign Kings on more than one occasion. If I knew the history better, I would be able to point to the "first" invasion of Israel that resulted in stolen temple items. Asaph was after David, I believe, and possibly after Solomon. There was no invasion during Solomon's time, but the kingdom split right after that, making it a ripe target for invasion. This could be about that period of time.
Seems to be a recounting of the destruction of Judah, with details of the Temple's destruction. And the repeated asking of God "Why?" Says the Temple was brought to the ground. Fir. Wood chopped to pieces. Total destruction. No prophets in the aftermath to tell them how long. This verse:
9 We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long. [Psa 74:9 ESV]
But there was a prophet. A pretty well known prophet still lived and prophesied after the fall of Jerusalem. His name was Jeremiah. And Jeremiah had also told them exactly how long they were to remain captive in Babylon, and that they would definitely return. So how can this psalm be about 586 BC? It seems much more about 70 AD. So...what is this psalm about and when was it really written. After 70 AD, there was no prophet...except those gifted with prophecy which in 70 AD was a different kind of thing. Maybe this was written by the original Asaph - or recorded by him from someone else, and is in fact prophetic in and of itself.
2021 - Sure seems like a prophecy of the Temple destruction in 70 AD. Here: 4 Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place; they set up their own signs for signs. [Psa 74:4 ESV]. Romans in the Temple, setting up Roman gods, sacrificing pigs. Also this verse: 7 They set your sanctuary on fire; they profaned the dwelling place of your name, bringing it down to the ground. [Psa 74:7 ESV]. The Romans burned it all when they finally overcame. Babylon didn't burn the temple. They looted it, but it wasn't burned was it? Or maybe it was. It did have to be rebuilt under Ezra and Nehemiah. But this thing about no prophets in the land...that just was not true of 586 BC. There were constantly prophets, though many were false.
vss 13-17, Creation. God's power, his authority by right of creation. As a potter the vessels he makes.
2021 - This interesting verse:
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness. [Psa 74:14 ESV]. "Heads" is plural in all translations I checked. An animal with many heads? Or many dead Leviathans?
2023 - Looked at BLB a little for some of these answers. I find Hebrew a lot more difficult than Greek, but it seems to me that heads is plural, and Leviathan is used to describe a class of creatures, all of the same kind. It is singular, in that we are only talking about Leviathan's but this particular usage does not imply that Leviathan had many heads. The heads of many of these Leviathans were crushed. Look at the last phrase though...Leviathan's are sea creatures. How did they get into the wilderness to serve as food? What is that about? And look back one verse: 13 You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters. [Psa 74:13 ESV]. The word for sea monsters is a completely different word than Leviathan. But again, this is about sea creatures. No mention of land creatures. The land equivalent of Leviathan is Behemoth. I always thought Behemoth was a dinosaur. What I am thinking here is that during the flood, giant creatures were all wiped out. Land animals drowned, and the climate of the earth was so different afterward that the dinosaurs - the large ones - no longer grew so large and perhaps went extinct because of the new climate. But giant sea creatures wiped out? Why would that be? Fresh and salt water combined and they couldn't tolerate the mix because of their mass? Their bodies left to rot in dry places as the water receded...but that wouldn't make sense. They'd be rotted before carnivores from the ark got to them?
2023 - Perhaps this is a prophecy of a time yet to come? Maybe it's not 586 BC OR 70 AD. Will Ezekiel's Temple fall? Does it mean that the rebuilt Temple in the future will be taken over by the MoL, and he will set himself up to be worshiped there? It could mean that. That works. When the 2nd Trumpet sounds a third of the sea creatures die...but it doesn't say they become food in the wilderness. BUT, there could be a big tidal wave from the mountain that hits the waters, and that could carry a lot of large sea creatures very far inland. There is a LOT of unsupported speculation in this "interpretation" of the verses. I wouldn't hang my hat on any of it, but the problem is that there doesn't seem to be any compelling interpretation. This one seems pretty wide open.
2023 - Note where this Psalm shows up in the Chronological Bible. They put it back in Jeremiah, near 586 BC. And it may well belong there. But if so, we don't know much about when the demise of these sea creatures takes place, because it certainly was not in Jeremiah's time.
vs 20, An appeal to God to remember the covenant, to remember His people.
2024 - So the keys to "when" are these: Israel rejected. That doesn't narrow it down much at all, but still, the whole nation is in trouble. 3b - the enemy has damaged everything in the sanctuary. 4a - the enemy has roared in the middle of the sanctuary. 4b - they set up their standards - their flags maybe - in the sanctuary and remove what was previously there. 7a - they burned the sanctuary to the ground. 8b - they have wiped out the secondary places of worship also, attempting to totally eliminate any worship of God. 9 - no prophets who can say how long this goes on.
So this is all of them as I read it. 3b and 4a and b require that an invading army completely sack the city of Jerusalem, and occupy it. They enter the Temple, profaning it by their very presence. 7a really narrows down the possibilities. The Temple was only burned by the Babylonians and the Romans. Only in 586 BC and 70 AD. So by process of elimination, it is one of those times in view, or it is a prophecy still of things to come. The Temple will not be burned down once Christ is on the throne in the Millennial. So it would have to be before that. The SoP WILL be standing where he ought not...always we interpret this as a new Temple, restored in the end times. He will occupy that Temple...so that works. And at some point, perhaps as Christ returns for Armageddon, the SoP will burn the Temple as he is forced to abandon it? A temple, really, not THE Temple? And then Jesus divides up the land and Ezekiel's Temple gets built? This too has some holes, but sure seems to be on the right track. Biggest hole is why would there be no prophets at that time? Because Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem is imminent? This implies a longer time period between the SoP burning down this temple and Jesus arriving for Armageddon though...Hmm. Once the Jews recognize the Antichrist standing where he ought not, they will begin to convert - to recognize and follow Jesus - in massive numbers. They will be looking for deliverance from his rule, and want to evict him from the temple. As they increase in numbers, and begin to "push" on Jerusalem, perhaps the SoP will be forced to abandon it for his headquarters in Rome? And as he leaves he burns it, leaving the newly converted Jews in confusion, since they won't recognize how events are leading to the Second Coming and the Millennial kingdom. I think this works. This needs to go in my Revelation notes somewhere.