“When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion,

We were like those who dream.

Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

And our tongue with singing

Then they said among the nations,

“The Lord has done great things for them.”

The Lord has done great things for us,..” (Ps 126)

The class was willing but weak. There was a religious spirit hindering the flow. This is how it is at the beginning of each new step, or class, I should say. Today we moved to a higher spiritual altitude, following the songs of ascents. We began the study of Psalm 126. We called this level” Dreams come true!

The word ‘ascents’ means the beginning of a journey of faith, going to a higher level, a spiritual promotion. The beginning of each journey, even if it is a good one, has some anxiety attached to it. But as the Word came and we worshiped our Lord, the tension lessened…Praise God!

Historically speaking, this Psalm describes the joy of the exiles coming back home. The people of God proved to be proud and rebellious. They rejected God’s Word and the warning of His prophets. Eventually God allowed Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon to conquer them. Jerusalem was destroyed with fire. All the holy articles in the Temple of God were carried to Babylon. The priests, prophets and nobles were killed or carried as prisoners of war to Babylon. It was only some poor people who were left behind. Israel became a province of Babylon. They removed the capital from Jerusalem to Mizpah, a little town in Benjamin. The disgrace was total. This was the greatest tragedy the nation of Israel has ever experienced.

Once in Babylon, the people of God had to face the reality that their understanding of God was not correct. Their theology made them proud. They believed that no matter what they do, Jehovah shall always protect them, Israel can never be a slave to a pagan nation and Jerusalem will always be honored as the city of David.  It is this pride that made them rebellious against God’s Word. They refused to repent. They took their relationship with God for granted and eventually they had to face the truth. God’s Word said: if you obey, you shall be blessed; if you disobey, you shall be cursed. The fall of Israel to Babylon changed the people of God forever. But God did not abandon His people. He made the plan for their restoration even from the beginning of their bondage. Thru the prophet Jeremiah, God said that after staying in Babylon for 70 years, they shall start coming home (Jer 25: 9-11).

*This is the first lesson: God chastises His people when they become proud and rebellious. But God never abandons His children. He makes plans for their restoration that will increase His testimony among the nations.

*The second lesson is that our God us the God of the second chance, the restorer of the backslider. Praise God!

Historically, this is what happened. King Belshazzar of Babylon provoked God when he used the holy vessels that his father carried from the Temple of Jerusalem for selfish purposes. He was killed that night and the Persians took over Babylon. Later, the great king Cyrus of Persia changes his mind and decides to give freedom to all the prisoners of war in former Babylon. In particular, he shows great favor to the Jews, helping them to go back to Israel and to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. He contributes money and resources for this mighty work to be accomplished. Three main groups of Jews leave Babylon (now Persia). The first group was led by Zerubbabel. He was sent to rebuild the Temple of God in Jerusalem. The second group was led by Ezra, whose duty was to go back and restore the Word of God so that the people become strong again.  The third group was led by Nehemiah whose work was to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. These three groups of willing Jews came during a period of about 100 years.

*This is another great spiritual lesson: when God restores a backslider, the process is slow and requires the application of faith and patience.