Verses: 1-3: [1] By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. [2] We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. [3] For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
Various Bible teachers and preachers have for centuries debated over when this Psalm was actually written. This chapter describes life during the Babylonian captivity. At the least, this Psalm reminds us that all of the Psalms were not organized as a single book until after that period of time.
Babylon was an ancient city in what is today Iraq. The leaders of that city were a mighty power in that region around the 6th Century BC. The reason they conquered the Israelites was in effect because God allowed it to happen. Many centuries earlier, God used the Israelites to conquer their own land, because the original residents were so corrupt they were committing child sacrifices and having sexual relationships with animals.
By the time of the Babylonian captivity, the Israelites themselves had turned away from God so much, they were guilty of the same thing those original residents of the land were doing. Therefore, God used the Babylonians to judge the Israelites and kick them out of the land for the same sins as those original residents.
This leads us to verse 1. The Israelites as a nation were now relocated in the Babylonian Empire. What is interesting is while the Old Testament says a lot about this captivity, there is very little said about what happened to the Israelites during this captivity. This Psalm gives us a few clues as to what life was like for the Israelites during this time.
Verses 2-3 give testimony of these prisoners as they hung their harps on the willow trees. Their captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"
Picture if you please these Israeli musicians who carried harps with them wherever they traveled. Although they have their instruments, they have no song in their hearts. The point is the people who captured the Israelites said in effect, "Sing for us, whether you feel like it or not." The Israelites responded in effect with "We are going to hang our instruments in these trees and won't touch our harps because we are in captivity."
Various Bible teachers and preachers have for centuries debated over when this Psalm was actually written. This chapter describes life during the Babylonian captivity. At the least, this Psalm reminds us that all of the Psalms were not organized as a single book until after that period of time.
Babylon was an ancient city in what is today Iraq. The leaders of that city were a mighty power in that region around the 6th Century BC. The reason they conquered the Israelites was in effect because God allowed it to happen. Many centuries earlier, God used the Israelites to conquer their own land, because the original residents were so corrupt they were committing child sacrifices and having sexual relationships with animals.
By the time of the Babylonian captivity, the Israelites themselves had turned away from God so much, they were guilty of the same thing those original residents of the land were doing. Therefore, God used the Babylonians to judge the Israelites and kick them out of the land for the same sins as those original residents.
This leads us to verse 1. The Israelites as a nation were now relocated in the Babylonian Empire. What is interesting is while the Old Testament says a lot about this captivity, there is very little said about what happened to the Israelites during this captivity. This Psalm gives us a few clues as to what life was like for the Israelites during this time.
Verses 2-3 give testimony of these prisoners as they hung their harps on the willow trees. Their captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"
Picture if you please these Israeli musicians who carried harps with them wherever they traveled. Although they have their instruments, they have no song in their hearts. The point is the people who captured the Israelites said in effect, "Sing for us, whether you feel like it or not." The Israelites responded in effect with "We are going to hang our instruments in these trees and won't touch our harps because we are in captivity."