HARD QUESTIONS
In the early 1980s, the government of Ethiopia made plans to celebrate the regime’s rise to power. At about that same time, the rains essential for life in rural Ethiopia failed to come, resulting in the great famine of 1984–85.
With drought already ravaging the country, the unbending policies set by the dictatorial government made the famine dramatically worse. Even the poorest farmers were forced to sell their meager grain stores to the government at artificially low prices, regardless of the fact that they were starving. Despite the increasingly critical drought and famine, the regime announced its intention to spend 46 percent of the country’s budget on the military, not on relief efforts.1 Even donated food and relief supplies—intended to help the suffering and dying—were commandeered by the army. Adding insult to injury, the anniversary celebration preparations continued, funded by a $100 million budget.2 The combination of drought and destructive economic policies devastated Ethiopia. Estimates put the death toll between 400,000 and one million in a nation numbering less than 40 million people at the time.3
Such tragedies raise angry questions: Why do people who do such bad things seem to succeed and even prosper? Where is God? How and where can we find answers?
One place to look for answers is in the book of Psalms. They capture the depth of human emotions and captivate us because they put words to the anger, fear, and frustration we all experience.
One of the psalm writers was a man named Asaph. He penned Psalm 73 after life had forced him to ask deep and painful questions. Although the details that led to his crisis are unknown, Asaph did capture his reaction to what he witnessed and what he learned.
Feeling betrayed by life and even by God, Asaph’s expresses a depth of disillusionment that many experience but few admit. Why is this happening to me? I’ve trusted God. I’ve tried to remain faithful and to make good choices. Yet I’m overwhelmed with trouble while evil people prosper. IT’S NOT FAIR!
Why Doesn’t God Enforce His Own Rules?
In ancient Israel, people believed and lived by the law of fair returns They expected justice and balance. Those who did good would be rewarded proportionately, while the unjust and immoral would be punished. This wasn’t simply a clever philosophy or wishful thinking; it was based on the law given by God.
The New Testament has a counterpart to this Old Testament principle—the “law of sowing and reaping”: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap” (galatians 6:7–8).
These words offer truth and hope to the disheartened and suffering (as in Psalms 34 and 37). Wherever we find it, this principle was part of the framework through which an Israelite viewed life.
The belief that good is rewarded and bad punished exposes the problem that forms the backdrop of Psalm 73: Why do bad people seem to benefit while good people seem struggle and encounter difficulty?
This psalm is not a detached theological analysis of a theoretical problem. Asaph was wrestling with a personal crisis, one that threatened his faith in God. His words revealed the intensity of the emotions stirred by the questions deep in his heart.
In his struggle, Asaph can speak for us. Our lives may mirror his. He believed in God’s goodness and the principle of justice, but his experience didn’t match what he thought he knew.
Answers. If he was to continue believing in God, Asaph had to find answers.
The Rearview Mirror
One of my favorite quotes is, “Life must be lived forward—unfortunately it can only be understood backward.” In other words, our clearest understanding of life’s events comes only when we see those events through the rearview mirror. There is something about the “rearview” perspective that gives a more meaningful and accurate context to what we have experienced. Reflection, examination, and evaluation often clarify what at the time was difficult to understand. It was the backward look that helped Asaph understand his circumstances. Eventually he arrived at a time when he could look back on the doubts, pain, and despair, the times when he had wondered about the goodness and fairness of God. Finally, in retrospect the picture become clearer and more understandable.
Notice the opening words of Psalm 73: “Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart!” (v. 1). Asaph described his experience as he saw it in the rearview mirror—a vantage point that allowed him to see his emotions and responses more clearly.
Asaph’s heart had been a battleground. War over the trustworthiness of God raged in his heart. As he recounted his experience, he revealing his despair: “But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, my steps had almost slipped” (v. 2).
In the crucible of suffering his complaints had seemed appropriate, even justified. But now he could see them for what they really were—a dangerous temptation to reject God. He honestly recounted the thoughts assaulting his mind: “For I was envious of the arrogant as I saw the prosperity of the wicked” (v. 3).
Asaph confessed emotions we might feel but rarely acknowledge; his blunt words capture all too familiar thoughts. His self-disclosure encourages us to be honest with ourselves and with God. We too envy and resent prosperity, especially when it seems to come to those who do evil.
Describing those who seemed to have the upper hand for all the wrong reasons, he wrote:
For there are no pains in their death,
And their body is fat.
They are not in trouble as other men,
Nor are they plagued like mankind.
Therefore pride is their necklace;
The garment of violence covers them.
Their eye bulges from fatness;
The imaginations of their heart run riot.
They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;
They speak from on high.
They have set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue parades through the earth. They say, “How does God know?
And is there knowledge with the Most High?” (vv. 4–9,11).
Phrase by phrase, frustration by frustration, Asaph reflects on the luxury that seems to characterize the lives of those around him.
They seem to live such painless lives (v. 4). They die full and satisfied, enjoying life to the hilt every step of the way. “Their body is fat,” indicates great prosperity in an age when most people struggled just to survive. Indulgence in every delicacy was theirs on a daily basis, and their lifestyles reflected the means and opportunity to relax and enjoy the finer things.
They aren’t plagued like others (v. 5). They seem free to the difficulties, struggles, and toils of life. They seem immune to sickness and disease. Money and safety are the least of their concerns. Trouble doesn’t seem to touch those who prosper despite their wrongdoing.
Their pride and violence seem rewarded (v. 6). Asaph’s faith had taught him to believe that people who reject God will suffer. But as he observed life, it looked to him as if those who dared to be proud and oppressive were honored and rewarded. They seemed to have all the things that those who spent their lives in devotion to God wanted, wished for, and thought they were due.
Their abundance is unimaginable (v. 7). Asaph saw the outward display of their wealth. “Their eye bulges from fatness.” All the luxuries of life seemed to be theirs: comfort, safety, convenience, people and things to meet their every wish.
Their speech is filled with mockery, pride, and arrogance (vv. 8–9). The targets of their mocking were those who valued character. But what troubled Asaph the most about these prosperous people was their attitude toward God. They mocked Him in all they did.
Their prosperity led them to mockingly ask: “How does God know?
And is there knowledge with the Most High?” (v. 11). Bible commentator Allen Ross notes, “They seem carefree and unconcerned about tomorrow. For them life is now, and now seems to be forever.” They felt protected from the normal pains of life (vv. 4–6), so they assumed they were also invulnerable to any divine response.
As Asaph looked at the wealth and happiness of ungodly, self-centered people, he came to a discouraging conclusion: In spite of all their wrongdoing, those who live only for themselves still prosper.
No wonder Asaph was frustrated! Bad people thrived, apparently immune to the problems of life. They mocked God and seemed to get away with it.
Inequity and injustice motivated Asaph’s confession in verse 3: “I was envious of the arrogant as I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” Faced with similar circumstances, we too want to scream, “It just isn’t fair!”
But that was only the beginning. Though venting his frustration seemed natural and helpful, doing so led him down a dark and troubling path.
A TROUBLED RESPONSE
Have you ever wondered if the prize is worth the pain? Asaph expressed a similar concern in his song, Psalm 73: Is life worth it? Does it really matter that I have tried to live for God? The anguished question is clearly read in verse 13: “Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure and washed my hands in innocence.”
Asaph’s despair is clear. His anguish captures the essence of Solomon’s despair in the book of Ecclesiastes. When he cried, “All is vanity,” Solomon was reflecting on the value of life (1:2). Asaph strived for personal integrity and faithfulness. But now, in his despair, he wondered if his efforts had been pointless. The tremendous weight of resentful anger lies behind the words of verse 13. When it seems as if God is not in control, our doubts can make us want to give up.
Asaph became so disillusioned that he felt integrity and morality just weren’t worth it. In recompense for his spiritual commitment he was “stricken all day long
and chastened every morning” (v. 14).
Asaph’s Fear
The Four Feathers tells the story of Harry Faversham, a young man in the British army in the late 1800s. During that time, when the British Empire touched every inhabited continent, a man could bring no greater honor to his family than to serve in the military. Harry answered this calling and earned respect in his regiment.
Then came the day his unit received word that they were being deployed to quell an uprising in the Sudan. Harry was terrified. The thought of combat and the horrors of war paralyzed him with fear.
So Harry resigned his commission. The impact was sweeping. Rejected by his three fellow officers, they each sent him a white feather—their symbol for cowardice. His fiancée, who longed for him to be a hero, spurned him and also sent him a feather. And he was estranged from his father, a military man, who declared that he didn’t even know Harry. One single, fear-filled choice had a powerful, destructive impact on all the relationships in Harry’s life.
Asaph was David’s chief musician, a man of spiritual influence, a songwriter, and a prophet (1 chronicles 16:5; 25:2; 2 chronicles 29:30). Such a position entailed both privilege and influence. He was a spiritual leader in Israel and felt the weight of that responsibility. Yet he found himself doubting the goodness of God.
Notice Asaph’s reaction to his revelation: “If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the generation of Your children” (v. 15). He wanted to shout his disapproval of God’s handling of life (“thus” refers to vv. 13–14), but he stopped short. Poised at the edge of a canyon of disbelief and hopelessness, something slowly began to pull him back. But what was it?
Asaph’s Sense of Responsibility
Asaph wanted to vent his anger and frustration at the injustice and unfairness of life—to shout at the God who permitted it. But he resisted acting on all that was in his heart because he sensed the disillusionment and damage it could cause in the people of God who looked to his example. This is what he meant by the phrase “betrayed the generation of Your children” (v. 15). He knew that his questions, and especially his reaction to them, could and would have far-reaching consequences.
This was a critical point in Asaph’s journey. Here wisdom and faith flanked his agonizing questions, giving him perspective. Even in the middle of his struggle, Asaph tempered his reaction by reflecting on the effect his simmering envy, anger, and doubt could have on the lives of others.
Asaph’s Silent Suffering
Asaph couldn’t reconcile his doubts with his faith, but he was unwilling to endanger others by declaring what was in his heart. So he chose another path: “When I pondered to understand this, it was troublesome in my sight” (v. 16).
Asaph chose to suffer in silence. He saw the unfairness of life that caused him to struggle with his own fragile faith and must have wondered: Are there answers for my questions? Is there relief for my suffering? Will justice reign in the world? Will it ever all make sense?
There are questions that we simply can’t answer. Sometimes we don’t find the solutions we need until we find ourselves in the presence of God Himself. Asaph continued to struggle; “Until I came into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end” (v. 17).
Sanctuary
Sanctuary is a place set apart for spiritual protection, rest, and renewal. We all need such a place—a hiding place where our hearts and minds are restored and strengthened for the struggles of today and the challenges of tomorrow.
In the Old Testament the word sanctuary refers more to an idea than a place—the idea of the presence of God (see isaiah 8:14). It is what David longed for in Psalm 23 when he anticipated “quiet waters” (v. 2) where the Lord his Shepherd would restore his soul. It’s what Christ Himself sought when He moved away from the crowds, the work, and the disciples and went to a mountain alone to spend time with His Father. Asaph discovered sanctuary was the place where he would find answers and restoration.
Asaph went into the sanctuary of God and found new perspective and understanding. Until he entered the sanctuary, Asaph had been overwhelmed by the unfairness of present circumstances. But in the presence of God, everything changed. With his focus on God and not his own circumstances and perceptions, things came into clearer focus. In the sanctuary, Asaph saw the inequities of life from a different point of view—the day when justice prevails.
According to Derek Kidner in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, the resolution began when Asaph turned to God “not as an object of speculation, but of worship.” Bible commentator Roy Clements adds: “Worship puts God at the center of our vision. It is vitally important because it is only when God is at the center of our vision that we see things as they really are.”
BIG ANSWERS
Until I came into the sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their end.
Surely You set them in slippery places;
You cast them down to destruction.
How they are destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!
Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form (vv. 17–20).
In the first of several significant lessons, Asaph’s attention was directed to those he had envied. He saw their prosperity and became so envious that he almost changed teams, abandoning God and joining company with the wicked (vv. 2–3). But that was when he held a horizontal perspective. In the sanctuary, Asaph’s perspective turned vertical. He could finally appreciate what God sees and understand what was in store for those he envied—those who prospered while ignoring God.
Absence of Security (v. 18). From the world’s viewpoint, and in their own eyes, these individuals seemed out of the reach of trouble. But from God’s perspective, they were in “slippery places” and headed for destruction. When Asaph saw them as they would be on judgment day, he stopped envying them.
Absence of Anticipation (v. 19). Not only were these prosperous but wicked people headed for judgment, they also didn’t see it coming. Like the people of Noah’s day who resisted God despite years of warning, when judgment did arrive, it would be too late for them to do anything about it.
Absence of Hope (v. 20). When God moves against them, His judgment will be without appeal. In God’s time and wisdom, the principle of retribution that Asaph believed in will prevail. But God will set the time and place.
Along with the rest of Israel, Asaph understood the principle of fair returns. His confusion came from trying to distinguish God’s justice in a period of time marked by His patience and mercy. Only in the sanctuary did Asaph see clearly that the day of reckoning is as inevitable as the fulfillment of God’s promises to those who trust Him. But the timing will be God’s; He sets the clock and calendar of accountability.
Asaph’s new perspective changed his attitude. But the judgment that came into focus for him was certainly no cause for celebration. The coming judgment was a wake-up call. His anger softened and he came to a critical turning point. Now, instead of pointing his finger at those who seemed to be escaping the justice of God, he began to look at himself.
The Beginning of Wisdom
When my heart was embittered
and I was pierced within,
Then I was senseless and ignorant;
I was like a beast before You (vv. 21–22).
In the place of worship, Asaph discovered that his real complaint was not with rebels, or even with God. He had been focusing on the unfairness of life rather than on the One who would one day make all things right.
By allowing such a conflict of faith to overwhelm him, Asaph had been forfeiting the comfort and peace that faith is intended to bring. In verses 21–22, the psalmist’s spiritual return is complete. Notice the progression: Asaph saw what he almost did to himself, and he was concerned (v. 2). He realized what he almost did to his fellow believers, and he was silenced (v. 15). Finally, Asaph clearly saw his attitude and actions as an offense to the God who is perfectly just (vv. 21–22).
Asaph no longer saw himself as justifiably angry or expressing a measure of righteous indignation. He said, “My heart was embittered.” Asaph’s bitterness was directed against God.
“I was pierced within.” Asaph now endured the kind that comes from self-inflicted wounds. Sometimes what we do to ourselves is far worse than anything someone else could ever do to us. We do this by questioning the goodness, character, and faithfulness of God.
“I was senseless and ignorant.” Much like Job, when Asaph’s perspective was changed, he realized that his wisdom paled in comparison to God’s. Job’s words could have been his own:
“I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me. I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You; therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes” (JOB 42:3–6).
For us to question or criticize God’s wisdom, or attempt to judge God’s performance, is to attempt a task for which we are woefully unequipped. His wisdom is both perfect and eternal, and He makes no mistakes. God says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways” (isaiah 55:8).
When we are tempted to question God’s handling of a situation, it’s helpful to remind ourselves that God’s work in the present can be trusted because He is the only One who has perfect knowledge of the future.
“I was like a beast before You.” Asaph used the word animal in a metaphorical sense, but his words reflect what the prophet Daniel wrote about Nebuchadnezzar, the great king of Babylon.
When Nebuchadnezzar proudly celebrated his own wisdom and glory, God gave the king the mind and behavior of a wild animal. Driven outdoors, he grazed on grass for seven years. When God graciously restored the king to his right mind, Nebuchadnezzar made this profound declaration:
At the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, “What have You done?” (daniel 4:34–35).
We can’t understand all the ways of the God. Like Babylon’s king, Asaph had learned to see himself as unqualified to judge God for being unfair.
The All-Sufficiency of God
Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
With Your counsel You will guide me,
And afterward receive me to glory (vv. 23–24).
Entering the sanctuary allowed Asaph to recapture a high view of God, and gratefulness and confidence overflowed from his heart. With bolstered enthusiasm he declared that God is with us continually. As Asaph reflected on his dark days, he saw that he was never alone. With the knowledge that God would never leave nor forsake him, Asaph emerged from the sanctuary with renewed courage.
This is the same assurance that Christ later gave His disciples when He said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (matthew 28:20).
Asaph could depend on God’s presence, and he could also rest in the confidence that the Lord would strengthen him—a comforting truth when life feels overwhelming. This is the same confidence the apostle Paul later expressed when he wrote, “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God” (2 corinthians 3:5).
Not only did Asaph have the assurance of God’s presence and strength, he could also count on the Spirit of God and the Word of God to lead him all the way home. “With Your counsel You will guide me, and afterward receive me to glory” (PSALM 73:24). Perhaps Asaph’s most wonderful discovery was that God’s presence, strength, and wisdom would never end. He knew that when life had run its course, God would fulfill His promise of a home with Him forever.
Does that sound like a God who has forgotten and abandoned us? Absolutely not! That is a God who will never leave us nor forsake us (deuteronomy 31:6, 8; hebrews 13:5).
In the closing verses of Psalm 73, Asaph recounted what he learned from his struggle.
#1: God Is More Important Than Anything Else in Life.
Whom have I in heaven but You?
And besides You, I desire nothing on earth (v. 25).
God was ultimately all Asaph had and all he needed. He could rest in God’s care and have the confidence that nothing else compared to his Lord.
#2: God Is All the Strength We Need.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (v. 26).
In those moments when Asaph would be tempted to rely on his own strength, he had discovered that only in God could he find the unending strength he needed.
#3: God Will Be as Fair as He Is Merciful.
For, behold, those who are far from You will perish;
You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You (v. 27).
Asaph had found himself envying the godless and their prosperity (v. 3). He struggled with the apparent inequities of life (vv. 4–12). He even came to the point of feeling that he had lived for God in vain (v. 13).
But in the end, Asaph acknowledged that those matters must be entrusted to God. As Abraham said, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” (genesis 18:25). Yes, and Asaph had learned to trust that the Lord, in His own timing and wisdom, would deal mercifully but justly with all the wrongs of life.
#4: God Draws Near to Those Who Draw Near to Him.
But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
That I may tell of all Your works (v. 28).
Asaph’s responsibility was not to pass judgment on the world or try to bring about justice on his own. Like James, Asaph learned that his responsibility in all of life was to “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (JAMES 4:8).
Asaph’s ultimate conclusion was that God, in His infinite goodness and wisdom, is in control even when we suffer and don’t know why. Although life in this fallen world is hard, God will always be just. By faith, Asaph arrived at a deep, personal conviction of the confession he alluded to as he began his story: “Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart!” (v. 1).
