Thanksgiving for Return from Captivity.
A Song of Ascents.
126 When the Lord brought back [a]the captive ones of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter
And our tongue with joyful shouting;
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
We are glad.4 Restore our captivity, O Lord,
As the [b]streams in the [c]South.
5 Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.
6 He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
For anyone who had been paying attention, the captivity of Israel was no surprise. God sent prophet after prophet to tell them what was coming, and they were beaten, flogged, or even killed. It was God’s judgment poured out, and they would not have been crazy to think God had given up on them. So why not just settle in and get comfortable in a foreign nation? Would it ever changed, could they ever go back?
Again, for those who had been paying attention, whose number were probably increased in captivity, yes. God had promised they would go back, but seventy years is a long time. Even more so back then, when few would have lived long enough to see both ends of it. Yet the picture at the end is of those who did not give up. They did not settle for the idea that captivity in a foreign land was as good as it was going to get.
They kept the memory of “home” alive, carrying their bags of seeds, waiting for God to show mercy on them… and He did, because Babylon was never meant to be the end. He still had plans for Israel, though they weren’t easy years by any stretch. Like the Israelites, when God has promised something, don’t give up hope.
God’s timeline often doesn’t match ours, and He isn’t likely to tell us exactly how long it will be like He did with Israel–if many of them even remembered it. Yet He was faithful to them, He is faithful to us today, and He will continue to be faithful forever and ever. Hold on to Him, and you will not be put to shame, but will “come again with a shout of joy…”