“When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad.” Psalm 126:1-3
In 2 Chronicles 12:1-6, after Israel abandoned the Law of God, the Lord sent His prophet Shemaiah to them. He said to the leaders of Israel, “Thus says the Lord, you have forsaken Me, and therefore I also have left you in the hand of Shishak.” Thankfully, the leaders of Israel responded appropriately to God’s Word. They humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is righteous.” Their response to God was appropriate. They humbled themselves. They agreed with what God’s Word had to say about them.
In 2 Chronicles 12:7-8, when the Lord saw their response, He spoke to them via Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves. Therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance. My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. Nevertheless they will be his servants, that they may distinguish My service from the service of the kingdoms of the nations.”
The Lord had them serve a corrupt and evil pagan leader for a season to help them realize how blessed they were to have God. King Shishak of Egypt confiscated their king’s treasures, as well as many of the treasures from the house of the Lord.
God sent His people into captivity not to destroy them, but to refine them. [2]
Their captivity was a type of death and their return to the Promised Land was a type of resurrection. When we think of dying, we may feel sad and deeply troubled, but when we believe that just as Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead, we too shall resurrect to new life, our sorrow turns to joy.
“The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad.” Yes, God’s Son, Jesus, lived a sinless life in human flesh, took our sin upon Himself on the cross, died, was buried, but after three days, He resurrected from the dead. When we believe in Him and profess Him as our Lord and Savior, He gives to us eternal life. In Ephesians 2:8, God tells us that eternal life is His gift to us.
In John 5:24-25, Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My Word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.”
“We were like them that dream.” The change happened so suddenly that at first they could hardly understand it. They wondered if it was really happening or if it was only a dream. Some understand this expression as meaning they felt like people who had been brought back to life or suddenly healed from a terrible illness. It was such a wonderful change that they felt as though they had entered a completely new world. [3]
This is how we will feel when we enter heaven. Heaven will surpass all our dreams. We will definitely feel like singing for all eternity once we get there. We will never again hunger, thirst, lack clothing, lack home or family. We will be in God’s family forever.
“Bring back our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the South.” Psalm 126:4
Although many Israelites had returned from captivity, the psalmist prayed for those who were still waiting to return. They verbalized their desire for their brothers and sisters to God. They believed that God would complete the good work which He had begun. [4] They expressed their faith in God by presenting their heartfelt petitions to Him for others.
In Matthew 25:34-36, Jesus taught that those who provided for the needs of the hungry, the thirsty, the naked and those in isolation would be blessed by His Father. In Matthew 25:40, He says to such caregivers, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.”
“Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” Psalm 126:5-6
Praise God that He sets a limit to the duration and intensity of our sorrow. God promises joy to those who have sown with tears. The tears represent prayers prayed during seasons of sowing.
The sower’s love for people puts him or her at odds with the devil who wants to destroy people. While we receive hatred and abuse from Satan’s agents, God’s Spirit moves us to forgive, pray, love, serve and continue to do what is right in God’s sight. Sowing seasons are opportunities to become more like Jesus. May the Lord help us to embrace His lifestyle of denying self for the sake of bringing forth a harvest of righteousness in the lives of others.
Psalm 126 speaks of death and resurrection. In 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, “The body is sown in corruption. It is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It is sown a natural body. It is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.” In 1 Corinthians 15:49, God promises us, “As we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.”
Jesus sowed in tears. He wept over Jerusalem. He wept at the tomb of Lazarus. Hebrews 5:7 says, “In the days of His flesh... He had offered up prayers... with vehement cries and tears...” Now, He has the joy of seeing souls coming into His kingdom from around the world.
In the Gospels, Jesus transformed funerals into celebrations. This was true for Jarius’ daughter, for the widow of Nain’s son, and for Lazarus.
Once, when D.L. Moody was asked to conduct a funeral service, he decided to use a funeral message by Jesus. However, he did not find one because at every funeral Jesus attended in the Gospels, He resurrected the dead!
Some Christians call funeral services “Celebrations of Life.” We celebrate the life of our departed loved one. We know for certain based on the Word of God that every soul who dies in Christ is alive in heaven with God. The Lord says to us in 2 Corinthians 5:8, “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”
[1] “The Song of Ascents” (Psalms 120–134) are songs to sing as one journeys toward God.
[2-4] Material developed, added to and edited from Matthew Henry’s Commentary
[5] Enduring Word Commentary
[5] Enduring Word Commentary
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