Dublin, OH
Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
79:5-7 How Long, O Lord, Will You Let This Go On? This section guides God's people in what they should feel at such a time. The right question is not, "How long will you let us suffer like this?" After all, they suffer because God is angry with their unfaithfulness. Rather, the question is, "How long will you allow the nations, who do not know you, to get away with what they have done?" Even though Jacob (i.e., Israel) has been unfaithful, the Israelites still belong to the Lord.
79:5 jealousy. God's jealousy is an analogy, based on the "marriage" relationship between God and his people (cf. "hold fast" in Gen. 2:24; Deut. 10:20). Unlike human jealousy, which can be irrational (cf. Num. 5:14), God's is a passionate commitment to receiving exclusive loyalty from his people--a commitment for their good. Cf. Ex. 34:14 and Ps. 78:58, where false worship provokes it. When this psalm acknowledges that God is jealous, it is admitting that the people have been unfaithful (cf. 79:8-9).
