Psalm 80 - The Vine

Psalm 80:1-9, 12, 14-15, 17-18 NIV

Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. 

You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, 

 shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. 

Awaken your might; come and save us. Restore us, O God;

 make your face shine on us, that we may be saved. 

How long, Lord God Almighty, will your anger smolder

 against the prayers of your people? 

You have fed them with the bread of tears;

 you have made them drink tears by the bowlful. 

You have made us an object of derision to our neighbors,

 and our enemies mock us.

Restore us, God Almighty;

 make your face shine on us, that we may be saved. 

You transplanted a vine from Egypt;

 you drove out the nations and planted it. 

You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land. 

Why have you broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its grapes?

Return to us, God Almighty! 

Look down from heaven and see! 

Watch over this vine, the root your right hand has planted,

 the son you have raised up for yourself. 

Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,

 the son of man you have raised up for yourself. 

Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name.

Psalm 80 is difficult to know the date and circumstance in which it was written. It's simple enough to understand that the psalm is about seeking God's help at a time when enemies have the upper hand. It may even be a time of exile, likely the exile of Northern Israel after the Assyrian invasion.

The psalm lifts intercession for the sons of Rachel, Israel's favorite wife. She bore Jacob two sons, Joseph and Benjamin. Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin. Joseph, because of his ability to interpret dreams and to administer wisely, became Pharaoh's right hand man. He married an Egyptian who bore him two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Joseph's two sons became tribes within the nation of Israel, representing his double portion inheritance as the favoured son, and Benjamin became the tribe which produced Israel's first king, Saul son of Kish.

There's a rivalry between Benjamin and Judah. Saul of Benjamin tried to kill David of Judah out of jealousy. This conflict continued long after these men were dead. Two generations after ten tribes beholding to the sons of Rachel seceded from the authority of Judah and the sons of David.

This psalm may be a prayer preserved by the ten tribes in the north, somehow surviving the exile under Assyria. It may be a prayer written by the Judeans in shock over the destruction wrought upon their estranged family to the north. Some scholars suggest that the mention of Benjamin, Manasseh, and Ephraim could be symbolic of the whole nation of Israel, both north and south. The reference points to the destruction under the Assyrian invasion as a way of commenting on the current circumstance of exile under the Babylonians. No one knows.

How can I pray this prayer? I think of the dream of the early Americans for a land blessed by God and a people free of tyranny. For a time we enjoyed the dream. Now life is a bit more complicated. We are slaves to credit as we spend more than we have. Our laws sometimes reflect the will of large insurance companies and other big money monoliths. Don't get me wrong. America still enjoys great freedom and abundance, but are we the people God intended when our forebears came to North America?

The language of the vine planted by God is of course a poetic way of talking about God taking the people of Israel from captivity in Egypt and bringing them to the Promised Land. Just as a gardener clears the soil of rocks and weeds, God drove out the nations occupying the land to make way for His vine, Israel. Israel prospered. But now they are in peril. The walls of the vineyard are broken down. The vine is trampled under foot. Israel is no longer thriving under God's protection.

As a nation we might pray Psalm 80 at a time of national crisis. As individuals we might pray these words when we feel abandoned, no longer cared for. When life seems brutal and cruel we might turn to God remembering how God's goodness has blessed us. We might ask why we suffer now. We might need to learn difficult lessons as God answers. But know that God remains faithful to His mission to bless the world with the knowledge of God and His son at His right hand, King Jesus the son of David, Son of Man, and Son of God.

May we all choose to join God is His sacred mission and be at peace, no matter our circumstance, knowing we are in His capable hands. May the Lord revive us that we might in one voice praise His name.