Daily Devotions
Psalms
Psalm 89:42a "You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries..."
Day 357 – Psalm 89
“You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries…” Psalm 89:42a
A PUZZLING THOUGHT
Ethan struggled much with what he saw. He could not fully comprehend why God would allow His people to go through so much pain and sorrow. As he thought further, he could not help but note that God seemed to be helping the enemy.
“You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
You have made all his enemies rejoice.”
Psalm 89:42
1. “You”
a) This was a reference to God.
b) Ethan raised the question of God helping the enemy.
2. “You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries”
a) Exaltation is a reference to victory over Judah.
b) Ultimately victory or defeat was attributed to God.
c) If Judah was defeated it was God’s hand.
d) If the adversaries had the upper hand (“the right hand”) it was also because of God.
e) Why had God done this? Ethan could not come up with an answer.
3. “You have made all his enemies rejoice”
a) One normal cause for rejoicing was victory over an enemy.
b) In this case Judah was not the victor.
c) The enemies of Judah were rejoicing at Judah’s expense.
d) Again Ethan could not come up with an answer for this dilemma.
RETURNING TO BASICS
Ethan did not return to basics. He would have done better if he had returned to the basic tenets of the Davidic covenant.
1. If Judah’s rulers turned their back on God, they would be chastised.
2. But if the nation was to return to God, it would have God’s help again. Judah chose to remain in sin.
Thus the nation that had rejected God continued to feel the heavy hand of its enemies.