Psalm 120, being the first of fifteen Songs of Ascent, starts the journey to the throne of God where every journey up a flight of stairs must begin, on the bottom step. In fact, one could argue, given the tone and content of this psalm, that it begins on the floor prior to even ascending the first step. In either case, what we find in this psalm is a cry of distress, coming from a people still living under the control of their enemies, answered by God with a promise.
Given the likelihood that these psalms were written during the exile, the main enemies that first come to mind are Assyria and Babylon, the two empires which had taken Israel into captivity. Psalm 120:5 & 6 declares that the psalmist is presently in the captivity of the enemies in Meshech and Kedar. Meshech, a son of Japheth who moved to the north after the flood, was likely an ancestor of the Assyrians, and Kedar, one of Ishmael’s sons moving to the south and east following the flood, was most likely an ancestor of the Babylonians. The psalmist declares he has been dwelling with them for a long time (v. 6) and is tired of living with those who hate peace.
Even though Ezra and Nehemiah had been allowed to return to Jerusalem by the rulers of Babylon to rebuild the wall and the temple, these two empires were harsh and brutal in their siege and capture of the Israelites. The Babylonians, specifically, were known for horrific acts of cruelty in their sacking of Jerusalem including taking Israelite babies and smashing them against rocks at the base of the city walls. (This is a fact to which we will return when we reach Psalm 137.) It is most likely these are the enemies from which the psalmist seeks release.
The psalmist’s cries to the Lord in verses 1-3 asking to be delivered from his oppressors. One can almost hear echos of earlier psalms with their cry of “How long, O Lord…?” The psalmist, growing weary as he asks for deliverance from his oppressors, still waits on the Lord and ask both when God will judge his enemies and what God will do to them.
I would imagine all of us can relate to this as we have most likely asked when God will bring his justice to those who have harmed us, and what God is going to do about it. These are natural questions to ask when under the thumb of persecution and trials, but in this instance it also shows the psalmist spiritual maturity as well. The psalmist could easily have asked to take vengeance into his own hand, but he defers and leaves it in God’s. And God is not silent about how he will judge Israel’s oppressors.
Obadiah 18 gives us a glimpse of how God’s justice will be meted out to Israel’s oppressors when he says “As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head.” This seems to be exactly what God says in reply to the psalmist’s question when in Psalm 102:4 read “What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue? A warrior’s sharp arrows, with glowing coals of the broom tree!” While this may be somewhat obscure imagery for those of us living in North America in the 21st century, it was not for those living at the time. They would have understood this to mean that God would bring a total obliteration of the enemy. It should be clear what is meant by a “warrior’s sharp arrows,” but the “glowing coals of the broom tree” offers some difficulty.
The broom tree was (and still is) a tree well-known and highly valued for its use as charcoal. Once lit, it was able to sustain a burning ember for quite some time. In fact, one source I read indicated that once lit, it could glow and emit heat for over a year. (I’m sure that might cut into Kingsford’s annual sales profits!) With these images placed together, you get the impression that not only would the Babylon and Assyria receive back the sort of treatment they gave to Israel, but also that their destruction would be
This psalm, as the starting place for the Songs of Ascent, paints a bleak picture of a people in captivity who are lifted up by a promise of God’s retribution upon their enemies. It is the starting place for the remainder of the Ascent psalms, each of which brings us closer and closer to the very throne of God in his temple. But this psalm is not only for the ancient Israelites, it is for us as well. Many of us — all of us, if we are honest with each other — have found ourselves in this situation, oppressed by an enemy of some sort and we don’t know when the trouble will ever end. Many of us would be inclined to lift our head in hope, but there is none we realistically have on our own. The only real hope is that hope which begins when we return to God’s word. Psalm 119, a beautiful psalm praising the word of God as our only source of life, salvation, and redemption, precedes these Songs of Ascent because without God’s words and God’s promises, there is no hope for rescue. None.
