A holy hatred?

Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. ‘Tear it down,’ they cried, ‘tear it down to its foundations!’ Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks. Psalm 137:7-9

One thing I value about the Bible is its honesty. Or perhaps I ought to say, I think I do; for I must confess that I wobble a bit when I come to passages like the end of Psalm 137. What terrible, horrible words these are! The image of babies being smashed to pieces by marauding soldiers leaves you just shaking your head, doesn’t it? What’s this doing in the Bible?

Answer: being honest, that’s what. This is exactly the kind of thing that happens in warfare, modern as well as ancient. Indeed, what drew me back to Psalm 137 today was the news from Israel/Gaza about children being deliberately targeted for destruction. Nothing changes when it comes to human sinfulness, nor will it until Jesus returns, as he himself makes clear (Mark 13:7). That’s just being realistic, being honest.

The psalm as a whole moves from a mood of beautiful, sad melancholy in verses 1-6 (“By the rivers of Babylon we sat; we wept when we remembered Zion (Jerusalem). There on the poplars we hung our harps…”) to what comes like a kick in the teeth in these closing verses. I find myself wishing it had ended at verse 6.

But it didn’t, so honesty forces us to look it full in the face and see how we can make sense of it. It is, after all, part of God’s word.

The historic background is what is usually called “the fall of Jerusalem”, God’s city, to the Babylonians, in 587 BC: “On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard… came to Jerusalem. He set fire to the temple of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem…” (2 Kings 25:8-9). And then he carted off the people into exile where, in this psalm, we find them weeping by the rivers of Babylon.

If you would like to know why the Edomites also came in for Israel’s censure (verse 7), the place to go is the little prophecy of Obadiah, especially verses11-14.

But I think the question we need to grapple with is: How should we as Christians respond to verses 7-9, given that they seem to exude nothing but raw hatred, a desire for revenge, and given that this is so alien to the spirit of Jesus, who has taught us to love and forgive our enemies?

I can only speak for myself, of course, and I claim no authority in doing so. But here are some thoughts that occur to me…

First, don’t try and sugar it over.

The fact that it’s in the pages of scripture doesn’t mean that “it’s all right, then”. The fact that the Bible describes such feelings of rage and vengefulness doesn’t mean it approves of them!

Second, remember that words spoken in the heat of emotion are not necessarily the final word in any situation.

Which of us, having seen the horrors of the fall of Jerusalem, not least the cruelty inflicted on children – especially perhaps if they were my children! – wouldn’t feel this way? Wouldn’t something be seriously wrong with us if we didn’t?

And similarly, who can blame people on both sides in the Israel-Gaza fighting who have understandable reasons for longing for revenge? Both sides have suffered injustice, whether a slow grinding injustice over decades, or a sudden appalling shock. Or both, of course.

You and I have probably known times in life when we too have suffered injustice, and it has left us seething with anger. Can we honestly claim that we have brought that anger to God – indeed, to the cross – and thus attempted to “process” it in a Christian fashion? Have we succeeded in draining every note of bitterness from our hearts, or are we still nursing dark, ugly secrets behind smiling faces?

The person who wrote Psalm 137 is unknown to us. But if we were to meet him we would probably find he was no different from you or me: that is, in great need of the grace and mercy of God in dealing with fierce but understandable anger.

There’s a third thing that needs to be said, but I’m running out of space – so I do hope you will join me again next time…

Father, our hearts are heavy as we follow terrible events in the middle-east and elsewhere. We pray that you will have mercy on us all, that you will raise up men and women who are true peace-makers, and that even through very sinful and imperfect national leaders you will bring a measure of peace and justice. Amen.