Israel: The Nation that Won't Stay Conquered
Psalm 137 © 2000 Graphic by Irv Davis
Psalm 137, probably written by the Old Testament prophet, Jeremiah, expresses the yearnings of the Jewish people in exile, following the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem in 586 BC; that the Jews would never celebrate again until they were back in their homeland.
The early lines of the poem are very well known, as they describe the sadness of the Israelites, asked to "sing the Lord's song in a foreign land." This they refused to do, leaving their harps hanging in trees. The poem then turns into self-exhortation to remember Jerusalem.
Today, Jews fast and read out loud the scroll of Lamentations on Tisha B'Av, a holiday that commemorates their exile from Zion.
The verses at the end, wishing for the children of Babylon to be bashed, is an indication of how much the author wanted revenge for the destruction of the Temple and for being torn from the land that God had given the Jews.
- submitted by Bob Diamond
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