Zion's Restoration

INTRO

This week we’ve talked about Psalm 119, the longest psalm, which focuses on how the Word of the Lord carries us through the daily activities of life. From Psalm 120 through Psalm 134 are the Songs of Ascent, which the people of Israel sang as they went up to Jerusalem to praise God for all He had done. Psalm 126 is the seventh Psalm of Ascent. While we don’t know the author, Nelson’s Commentary says the psalm “comes from the time of the restoration of Jerusalem following the Babylonian captivity,” most likely during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah.¹ Ezra 2:1; Nehemiah 7:6; and Isaiah 10:22 describe times when small groups of Jews returned to Jerusalem.

Scripture describes three specific returns.² The first, found in Ezra 1—6, was led by Zerubbabel, roughly around 538 BC. The second, described in Ezra 7—10, was led by Ezra in 458 BC. Another wave of returning Jews came with Nehemiah around 445 BC, as described in Nehemiah 1—2. After 70 years of captivity, the Jews were coming home! This psalm tells of their joy in returning home to Jerusalem—home to where they believed God to be.

TEACHING

Psalm 125:1-3: What the Israelites experienced was so unexpected, it felt more like a dream than a reality. They were back in the land God had said He would give them. Warren Wiersbe described these verses: “Within us is the joy of freedom.”³ Psalm 126 also describes what people experience today through salvation. When you’ve been in bondage, and then you’re set free, you experience the joy of the Lord. When you encounter the King of Glory, Jesus Christ, who sets you free from whatever it is that binds you (pride, addictions, lust, eating habits, anything), you no longer have that pain or weight. You finally experience freedom and wonder if it’s really a dream.

As Israel began to shout with joy, other nations began to realize what God had done for them. Yes, God had kicked them out 70 years before, but now He had brought them back. God truly received the glory of bringing them out from bondage and setting them free. Isn’t it great to be filled with laughter? When you’re in the middle of God’s will, and you know it, it’s so refreshing.

Where else have we seen believers wanting something, talking to God about it, and then when it happens, wondering if it was really from God? Acts 12:6–11 describes the time when believers prayed that Herod would release Peter even though he’d just put James to death. An angel set Peter free from his chains and captors, but even as it happened, Peter thought he was seeing a vision. Any obstacle that was in Peter’s way, God took care of it. When Peter realized what had happened, “he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were praying” (Acts 12:12). Even though they were praying for Peter’s release, they couldn’t believe he stood at the door (Acts 12:13–17).

In Psalm 126, the Israelites had longed for their release, and even though it felt like a dream when it happened, they rejoiced, and the nations recognized that Israel was filled with the joy of the Lord. Do you live a life of joy? Verse 3 says they told others God had done great things for them. When you actually believe God has set you free, then you walk with the joy of the Lord.

Psalm 126:4–6:According to Wiersbe, these verses convey, “Around us is the promise of life.”⁴ The people of Israel prayed for God to restore their fortunes (v. 4). “Watercourses in the Negev” referred to streams in the southern part of Israel. It was an “arid region south of Beersheba called the Negev which is utterly dry in the summer, but whose streams quickly fill and flood with the rains of spring. In this manner, the psalmist prays that Israel’s fortunes would rapidly change from nothing to everything.”⁵ In verse 4, there was this mentality about what the highways from Babylon could become with God’s further blessings. As the people returned to Jerusalem, they could become like the flood—travelers moving back into the land as the first people to occupy Jerusalem again. They were asking God to flood this community with His people again, to restore them back into His place. With remnant mentality, they started off small but asked God to restore them as He wanted them to be. Nelson’s Commentarysaid: “Ultimately, this is a prayer for the coming of Jesus, who will complete God’s work among His people.”⁶

Three waves of people returned to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah. During this time frame, they rebuilt the temple. We know that, in time, this temple was eventually destroyed, and a third temple will be built during the time when the Antichrist makes a deal allowing the Jews to rebuild the temple. The Antichrist will come into that temple and cause problems, but in all of this the King of Glory will come back. Hold onto that picture as we tie all this together.

When Jesus came the first time, He restored us from bondage to freedom. In John 7:37–38, Jesus invited anyone who was thirsty to come to Him and drink. He said, “The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” So, Psalm 126:4 is a picture of Christ coming and restoring us, with the water flowing freely through us.

In Ezekiel 47:1–12, Ezekiel experienced the events described in these verses in a vision. The water described in verses 3–5 flowed from the Temple—from the presence of God. The water flowing from the Temple—from Jerusalem—went from his ankles to his knees to his waist. The water soon flowed deep enough to swim and became a river that could not be crossed on foot. The water flowed from the Temple all the way down into the Arabah to “the sea of foul water”—meaning the Dead Sea (Ezekiel 47:6–8). When this fresh water pours into the Dead Sea, the Dead Sea becomes fresh. And since the water became fresh, there will be life everywhere the water goes (Ezekiel 47:9). This living water produces fruit—nothing dead. Each month there will be fresh fruit for food and leaves for healing because the water comes from the sanctuary (Ezekiel 47:10–12).

In Psalm 126, the people asked God to restore everything that was dry. They were coming out of bondage and wanted to experience new life. When we ask Jesus to do this for us, He gives us living water. Ultimately, we will see the temple again, and according to Ezekiel 47, it will bring life to the land. Within us is the joy of the freedom we can experience. Around us is the promise of life that is coming through Christ and the third temple. Wiersbe said, “Before us comes the challenge of work.”⁷ Verses 5–6 explained that those who “sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.” Farming is a hard pursuit at times. The ground is hard. It takes work to see fruit. Nelson’s Commentarysaid the people of Jerusalem went to Babylon in tears, which led to repentance. Because of this repentance, at the end of 70 years, they experienced a tremendous reward.⁸ The Lord truly came to rescue His humble and repentant people. But that reward didn’t come without work—confession and repentance.

CLOSING

The Lord wants us to reap a harvest of rejoicing, but it only comes when we are willing to submit ourselves and do the work of asking the Lord to release us from the things that have kept us in bondage. It actually takes work. Galatians 6:9 confirms this promise. Too many of us quit before we experience the rewards in life that are around us. You have to keep walking this out to experience more of Him!