When It's All Your Fault
Psalm 85:1-2, 4, 7-11, 13
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
See the pathway to restoration outlined here. The writers of the psalm are significant because Korah was the one who rebelled against the authority of Moses and Aaron in Numbers 16:1-40. In similar fashion, Satan also revolted against Jesus, the authority of God, and the angels of Heaven in Revelation 12:7. In the first case, Korah questioned if God really had sent Moses and Aaron to lead the people of Israel rather than himself. Partly right or not, Korah was misplaced in wanting the position and glory for himself; was it not the Lord's to begin with for he alone was the supreme leader of the people. All error contains a grain of truth which is why it is enticing without God's discernment and wisdom according to 1 Corinthians 3:19. For indeed, God has chosen the weak and foolish things of the world to confound the wise; for this reason he has set to naught the things that are so "no flesh could glory in his presence" as in 1 Corinthians 1:29. The law and leadership of Moses was flawed; it could never hope to save the people apart from the grace and intervention of God. To accomplish this, God needed the help of no other man apart from himself. From this background, Korah's sons and descendants found their way into the service of the Lord and not unto men. In God's time, he exalted them to positions of leadership and priesthood. See, this psalm is about their experiences with God which shaped their knowledge of who he is. Does not God show himself to each one differently. To the mighty he shows himself mighty, to the strong he shows himself strong as in 2 Chronicles 16:9. To the weak he gives "more grace" according to James 4:6.
You, Lord, showed favor to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. You forgave the iniquity of your people and covered all their sins.
We see the position of God in the beginning of the Psalm. God is referred to as the giver who exalts man to his rightful position under him. The sin and the curse are referred to as iniquity. Iniquity provokes an inquiry on two fronts. First, the offender determines if restoration is possible as in Genesis 3:10. Second, the offended party is God who responds by giving lavishly and in far more ways than just forgiveness of sin in Luke 15:22. The prodigal son found this out when he returned home; the father had prepared a feast and a blessing for him. He did not cease being his father's son just because he had fallen or run away. His father did not go out and appoint someone else to be his son because he had two and one ran away; if that were the case, when the youngest came back he would have found out he had two siblings instead of one. Instead of no longer even being a son anymore, he found restoration. Korah's family had seen God fulfill his promises to the people of Israel; however, they felt overlooked and neglected by God. Sin disrupts the relationship of man with God and can create distortions in perception which may or may not be true as in Genesis 3:11.
Restore us again, God our Savior, and put away your displeasure toward us. Show us your unfailing love, Lord, and grant us your salvation.
For instance, God had already restored the descendants of Korah to their rightful position but they had not perceived this yet. Their sin and the bitterness it created concealed this fact from them in James 1:5. Sin disrupted their relationship with God just as Adam ran and hid from God. Remember, in the Garden of Eden he had been naked the whole time. God is a good; "his mercy endures forever" in Jeremiah 33:11. These mercies" are new every morning" in Lamentations 3:23. Because of sin, Korah's descendants saw him as a God who was angry – very, very angry. So did Jonathan Edwards, an American preacher, who found out he was a sinner in the hands of an angry God. They found God to be punitive as someone who was keeping them from enjoying their blessings.
Rather, God had not moved; he still stretched out his hands to them and the rest of the nation all day long waiting for an answer in Romans 10:21. Their bitterness, generational sins, and their legacy of guilt kept them from experiencing God's goodness. They prayed in this psalm for God's unfailing love and his salvation when they already had both. They had the answer, the promise, the exaltation, the forgiveness, and the restoration already. Yet here they are praying for something that has already been done. Even though it is already done, God still understands our frame and he knows we are but dust as in Psalm 103:14. Sometimes we do not ask because we have not the promises of God according to James 4:2; rather, we ask him to manifest the supernatural in the natural realm through faith as told by Hebrews 11:6. God does not fault Korah's descendants for asking.
I will listen to what God the Lord says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants—but let them not turn to folly.
In verse eight, Korah's descendants finally heard what God already said to them. Prayer is talking to God not to be heard but to receive an answer from him. The blessings for which they asked were peace of mind and a blessing on their lives. Notice that they did not beg for the position originally contested by their ancestor. This position his descendants had already attained in the service of God. We see in this verse that the power of God will keep you. Isaiah 26:3 says he will keep you "in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee." See, talking to God turned into listening to him; listening turned into receiving and believing the word of God. Believing the Word allowed his promises to be worked out in the natural realm. Notice their prayer, 'Lord, keep us from folly. Give us just enough peace in our lives to enjoy them but enough of you to keep us from our foolishness.' Korah's descendants went from being convinced that God was angry and punishing them for their generational sins to faith. They had faith that God could keep them from foolishness and from falling from their position in the service of God.
Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.
"His salvation is near;" Korah's descendants are moving from a darkened knowledge of God to one of him as a deliverer. They now know him as a Savior for you cannot seek salvation if you have not experienced it. Even so, you cannot seek his glory if you have not seen it. They are believing that the promises, position, and power of God apply to them, not just to the children of Israel.
Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven.
The text says that "love and faithfulness meet together." You cannot have one without the other. You cannot have a God who loves you but will leave you tomorrow. This is creating an idol; an idol is a god made in your own image and likeness as in Isaiah 44:14-17. We see here the marriage relationship of Christ and the church arranged before the world or the church even knew about it. God invites those who seek him as the bride invited the bridegroom into the innermost chamber. We know his banner over her was love in Song of Solomon 2:4. Is it not funny how the descendants of Korah now know something by experience that they have not been told; they were not taught this. Such teaching also was not experienced by most of the other people at the time.
Again, the text states: "righteousness and peace kiss each other" while "faithfulness springs forth from the earth." God brings this to pass. These descendants showed their faithfulness to God in response to him. Then, his righteousness came down from Heaven upon them. Here they see the fruit of the blessing and the promise worked out in the natural realm for themselves. Such is their harvest. Determination in the supernatural precedes the natural breakthrough seen in the harvest. The people of God praised him for the answer before they even saw it worked out. Matthew 6:10 attests that his will is done in Heaven as it is on earth. Faith is seeing what had been determined in the supernatural; then it can be made real for you in the natural according to Hebrews 11:1.
Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps.
Who told these descendants of Korah that there was going to be a Savior? Isaiah had not come yet to announce this fact. These children did not have Isaiah 53 to tell them this. Yet they knew God was sending himself before it had even happened. See, no one told them but God himself. Righteousness by extension was as the light of God preparing the way for their steps so wherever they walked was in the footprint of God. We see the generational blessing which came from the curse. The goodness of God is on display for the nation in this family's life.