Devotional Short Note to Psalm 137: I cannot think of any song that is so sad than this song, knowing what we do about the remnant of God. Not the unfaithful part of the remnant that acted as criminals in religion and towards God and His affairs, not the corrupted priests, prophets and kings that for centuries did not heed to any warnings of God but hardened their passions in conformity to evil. They deserved the 3000 km walking trip to the Tigris or Diglat river in Babylon. It is the faithful, like young Daniel and his friends and other faithful ones that bring tears to us reading these diary words. Surely, knowing the character of the Lord, He cried with them as well. How do I know that since 137 does not say that. It does not say that but Isaiah explained a situation that reveals that God was crying also. In Isaiah 16 the Lord is giving an oracle against Moab but in Isaiah 16:9-11 God says about Himself: “Therefore I will weep . . . drench you with My tears” for joy was taken away (verse 10a). God says His heart intones like a harp for Moab and He has inward feelings for Kirhareseth (16:11a-b). Satan rejoices in destruction, God laments for the human suffering.

They said that they sat down there on the banks of the river and hung their harps on the branches of the trees. The soldiers probably went for a swim to clean themselves and came back drying in the sun and relaxing on the grass, knowing their mission is accomplished and soon they will receive great salaries. They felt they need music to celebrate their sense of completion. It was cool under the Willow trees on the banks of the Tigris or Diglat river. The Akkadian form is Idiglat. That is why the Bible uses the form ḥiddeqel for Tigris. Music. They saw the harps and prompted the young Hebrews to sang them some songs. Some of them took the harps and started to play trying to sing. When they remembered Zion a lump came to their throats and it was not long when all were in tears. Homesick. In a distant land. When they remembered the days of their land, they started to cry.

There are three Phoenician loan pronouns (š- as relative pronoun ‘that’) in the Psalm at 137:8b “that repays…”; “that served us.. . “ (137:8c); “that takes. . .” (137:9a). It just so happen that these Phoenician loanwords appear in a curse-formula against Babylon for the monstrosities that they have done against these hostages. The difference between a hostage and a migrant is that the first one was forced to emigrate against their will and forced to stay where they were allocated to stay, even could not return. A migrant came willingly, emigrate and always have the option of leaving or returning anytime.

The curse sounds gruesome but scholars related to Jewish survivors of the Second World War reminded readers that when one returns to one’s home and it is all rubble, then these kinds of thoughts are normal. God says to Him is the revenge. It should be left to Him alone. Greater military powers which inflict harm on lesser powers or majority empowerment that oppress minorities are viewed by God according to the Bible in many places not without punishment, even annihilation. Their power will disintegrate, implode, taken away from them, their history eroded and forgotten. Where is Sumer today? Babylon? Hittites? But Israelites are still around. Hebrews are still around. Although in diaspora and these days Arabs of Islam is also in diaspora as predicted by Isaiah in 6:12: “The Lord has removed men far away.” There will be about 10% staying in the cities but it will also burn in persecution “will again be burning” (Isaiah 6:13b). Great migrations are predicted so that those in the east will want to stay in the west and those in the west in the east (Isaiah 24:1) “and scatters its inhabitants”. There is a worldwide leadership drain predicted (Isaiah 24:4) “the exalted of the people of the earth fade away”. Spiritual pollution will exist all over the globe “for the transgressed laws, violated statutes” (Isaiah 24:5). Why are the nations in turmoil? Isaiah said because of spiritual pollution of the earth, those who live in it are considered guilty and the “earth are burned and few men are left” (Isaiah 24:6). Global warming will take its toll. Harverst will suffer (Isaiah 24:7). The city of chaos is broken down (Isaiah 24:10). Desolation is in the city (Isaiah 24:12). This is not just one city that Isaiah is describing here “thus it will be in the midst of the earth” (Isaiah 24:13).

So in the Psalm they remembered Zion but not political Zion. Not any ethnic Zion or national Zion. Not the Zion of Zionists, namely that of Achad Ha’am and his cultural Zionism; A. D. Gordon and his socialistic manual labor Zionism; political Zionism of Theodor Herzl (1896); and the religious Zionism of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. Kook said “One can only understand what Eretz Israel means to the Jew through ‘the Spirit of the Lord, which is in our people as a whole’”. He almost preached a geographical Zionism with the land as a kind of mystical inspiration to the Jewish mind, a kind of lifegiver by itself. This is not what Psalm 137:4 says: the song of Zion is “the Lord’s song”. Why? The dwelling place of the Lord is in Zion which is heavenly Zion and the heavenly sanctuary is in heavenly Zion and so is the heavenly New Jerusalem.

But although these spiritual Israelites remembered their Lord in Zion and in Heavenly Jerusalem and the songs are from there, they had just lost an earthly Jerusalem in 586 BCE by the hand of the Babylonians. The Edomites were notoriously crying: “raze it, raze it, even to the foundation thereof” (137:7). Our actions against our enemies must be dignified, silent, even compassionately sorrowful. That will please God. But, joining in with powers of destruction to suggest further destruction will heap-up coals of anger and wrath with God. Even if the agent was sent by God to be an instrument for Him of punishment for hardnecked sinfulness over many years. Concern is needed. Horrified it was to see a military tank shooting one apartment after the other in Aleppo indiscriminately destroying them in stages non-stop. These kind of actions and men involved in it will be held accountable by God Himself. Regardless whether the enemy is in Aleppo or not. All military economies of the world need to keep this in mind. Who is going to built-up what is broken down with who’s money? Is there not a principle that whoever breaks is liable to compensate for repair?