The Return of Israelናሙና

Day 2 – A Reason to Rejoice

Psalm 126 was written when the people of Israel had returned from the Babylonian exile. King Cyrus had given the Jews the opportunity and means to return to the land and rebuild the temple there. After 70 years in exile, it turned out that the God of Israel had not rejected His people after all.

When Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed in 586 B.C., many thought that was the final end of the Jews, the land of Israel and temple service. But God’s special calling for Israel, the land and the city, was not over!

The Jews were allowed to return. It seemed like a dream, too good to be true. Their mouths were filled with laughter and their tongues with songs of joy. And you can see why! Despite everything, Israel was still allowed to be this special people in the Promised Land, a blessing to the whole world, just as God had promised to Abraham!

This Psalm has been quoted often regarding the establishment of the present-day state of Israel as well. Once again, the descendants of Israel were stunned when, so soon after the horrors of the Holocaust, they were given a national existence and a national future again. Still today Israel rejoices as the return of the scattered children of Israel to the land continues week after week.

As Christians, we can rejoice in this too. Let us be those Gentile nations who say of Israel’s return, “The Lord has done great things for them!” Furthermore, we rejoice in Israel's return because it affirms the reliability of God's Word and reminds us that the Kingdom announced by Jesus really is coming!

Thank God for the survival of the Jewish people throughout the centuries. Give thanks for the continued return to the Promised Land!