When Envy Meets Eternity: Learning from Asaph in Psalm 73
by Cait James
‘Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.” Asaph is
wrestling with this foundational truth. The observable world around him has stirred
up a great storm within his soul.
“Why do bad things happen to good people and why do good things
happen to bad people?”
The exact wording of this question is not found in scripture, but it aligns with
the thoughts and questions in Psalm 73 as well as is a common question in our
modern world.
Truly God is good to those who are pure in heart, but why does it seem like
he is even better to the wicked? They die peacefully, their actions have no
consequences, they are well fed and happy—and their lives are so observably good
that they are described as wearing a necklace of pride as their wickedness only
increases and expands to the people around them.
It is easy to envy the wicked.
Verse 11 references the evil people saying, “How can God know? Is there
knowledge in the Most High?” Does God see? Does he care? Is he as infuriated at the
evil around us as we are?
Asaph’s despair continues as he begins looking at his own life. “I have kept
my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been
stricken and rebuked every morning.” (vs 14) These thoughts and feelings could
continue forever, for us and for Asaph. However, he went seeking truth. He went to
the sanctuary. He was with the people of God.
Because of Asaph’s obedience and faithfulness to the Lord, his mind was re-
established with truth. He found understanding.
Those wicked people? Walking on a slippery slope set for absolute ruin. The
illusion of ‘goodness’ that those people were experiencing was absolutely
obliterated while standing in the The Truth. Their wicked lives were fragile and the
goodness in them was not any good at all.
Then comes the repentance. We see Asaph describe himself as a ‘brute beast’.
Much like Job in Job 42:3, Asaph acknowledges who God is. He receives an eternal
perspective and begins to cling to the hope of what the pure in heart inherit when
they enter glory. What started with eyes being focused on the wicked, becomes a
heart and eyes solely focused upon God himself.
As the Psalm ends, it is stated that “it is good to be near God.” It is good for us
to draw near to the Source of all good, who is goodness fully within Himself. As we
draw near, as Asaph drew near, we find that our eyes are less likely to wander, our
hearts are satisfied and we are unable to stay silent about all God has done for us. To
end the same way we began.
"Truly God is good to us."
These articles follow our church-wide reading plan. To read with us, click here.
wrestling with this foundational truth. The observable world around him has stirred
up a great storm within his soul.
“Why do bad things happen to good people and why do good things
happen to bad people?”
The exact wording of this question is not found in scripture, but it aligns with
the thoughts and questions in Psalm 73 as well as is a common question in our
modern world.
Truly God is good to those who are pure in heart, but why does it seem like
he is even better to the wicked? They die peacefully, their actions have no
consequences, they are well fed and happy—and their lives are so observably good
that they are described as wearing a necklace of pride as their wickedness only
increases and expands to the people around them.
It is easy to envy the wicked.
Verse 11 references the evil people saying, “How can God know? Is there
knowledge in the Most High?” Does God see? Does he care? Is he as infuriated at the
evil around us as we are?
Asaph’s despair continues as he begins looking at his own life. “I have kept
my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been
stricken and rebuked every morning.” (vs 14) These thoughts and feelings could
continue forever, for us and for Asaph. However, he went seeking truth. He went to
the sanctuary. He was with the people of God.
Because of Asaph’s obedience and faithfulness to the Lord, his mind was re-
established with truth. He found understanding.
Those wicked people? Walking on a slippery slope set for absolute ruin. The
illusion of ‘goodness’ that those people were experiencing was absolutely
obliterated while standing in the The Truth. Their wicked lives were fragile and the
goodness in them was not any good at all.
Then comes the repentance. We see Asaph describe himself as a ‘brute beast’.
Much like Job in Job 42:3, Asaph acknowledges who God is. He receives an eternal
perspective and begins to cling to the hope of what the pure in heart inherit when
they enter glory. What started with eyes being focused on the wicked, becomes a
heart and eyes solely focused upon God himself.
As the Psalm ends, it is stated that “it is good to be near God.” It is good for us
to draw near to the Source of all good, who is goodness fully within Himself. As we
draw near, as Asaph drew near, we find that our eyes are less likely to wander, our
hearts are satisfied and we are unable to stay silent about all God has done for us. To
end the same way we began.
"Truly God is good to us."
These articles follow our church-wide reading plan. To read with us, click here.
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