The Songs Of Ascent – Part 13 – Psalm 129 – Israel Is The Most Persecuted Nation In History Yet The Lord Is Righteous – Part Three Of Three Series

THE SONGS OF ASCENT – PART 13 – PSALM 129 – ISRAEL IS THE MOST PERSECUTED NATION IN HISTORY YET THE LORD IS RIGHTEOUS – PART THREE OF THREE

Psalm 129 focuses on the persecution endured by Israel and in the two previous parts we looked into some of this. This last Part ends the Psalm but it still has persecution as the theme.

[A]. LET US RETURN TO PSALM 129 – PERSECUTION IS THE PLOUGH/PLOW

{{Psalm 129:3 “The plowers plowed upon my back. They lengthened their furrows.”}}

A metaphor is here used to demonstrate the work of the persecutors. Their work is likened to a plough raked across the nation’s back. Lengthened furrows further expand the extent of that persecution. All the evil that has been done to Israel in the past and in the present and in the future is being stored up by the Lord and it will burst on the world in retribution in the Tribulation. Another interesting observation on this comes from Jonathon Cahn - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viH03bO9gxg

The writer of this Psalm had no idea of the suffering his nation has endured for the past 3000 years. The Jews have been the most persecuted people through history and Christians are the most persecuted people today. The world hates God’s people because they are the antithesis of what the evil people are. There are only two camps – the righteous and the unrighteous. The unrighteous hate the wicked a bit like the man Esau hated Jacob.

I guess you know today that Christians are persecuted for not acknowledging homosexuality. Some are dismissed from their workplace and some professional sportsmen are sacked because they will not bow down to the Pride flag. Others are dismissed for not teaching WOKE and gender destruction in schools.

I mentioned earlier about doing research to find the persecution of Jews through the ages – the ploughing of long furrows across Israel’s back. Let me just share a few examples of those. These are from “Religious Tolerance.org Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance” and from “the Museum of Tolerance in Hollywood CA”.

[B]. PERSECUTION OF JEWS BY “CHRISTIANS” IN THE FOURTH CENTURY AD:

Initial persecution of Jews was along religious lines. Persecution would cease if the person converted to Christianity. These are the early days of persecution by the church and it continued from there to grow worse and worse. This was following the years after Constantine who was supposed to be the first Christian Emperor, but I think he was not a Christian, but used the Christian faith for his own advantage. He brought thousands of unconverted soldiers into the church and they brought along their paganism which like leaven, spread false doctrine and practices throughout and grew up into the great abuses of the Roman church. Here are some of the persecutions in the fourth century – just a selection -

306: The church Synod of Elvira banned marriages, sexual intercourse and community contacts between Christians and Jews.

315: Constantine published the Edict of Milan which extended religious tolerance to Christians. Jews lost many rights with this edict. They were no longer permitted to live in Jerusalem, or to proselytise. (Constantine was not a born again Christian).

325: The Council of Nicea decided to separate the celebration of Easter from the Jewish Passover. They stated: "For it is unbecoming beyond measure that on this holiest of festivals we should follow the customs of the Jews. Henceforth let us have nothing in common with this odious people . . . We ought not, therefore, to have anything in common with the Jews . . . our worship follows a . . . more convenient course . . . we desire dearest brethren, to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the Jews . . . How, then, could we follow these Jews, who are almost certainly blinded."

337: Christian Emperor Constantius created a law which made the marriage of a Jewish man to a Christian punishable by death.

339: Converting to Judaism became a criminal offense.

343-381: The Laodicean Synod approved Cannon XXXVIII: "It is not lawful [for Christians] to receive unleavened bread from the Jews, nor to be partakers of their impiety." 5

367 - 376: St. Hilary of Poitiers referred to Jews as a perverse people who God has cursed forever. St. Ephraim refers to synagogues as brothels.

379-395: Emperor Theodosius the Great permitted the destruction of synagogues if it served a religious purpose. Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire at this time.

380: The bishop of Milan was responsible for the burning of a synagogue; he referred to it as "an act pleasing to God."

How deep the plough has done its pernicious work. In following centuries it got worse and worse and worse and continues today.