God heard, and despised them, and he reduced Israel exceedingly as it were to nothing.
שָׁמַ֣ע אֱ֭לֹהִים וַֽיִּתְעַבָּ֑ר וַיִּמְאַ֥ס מְ֝אֹ֗ד בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
6 Church Fathers comment on this verse
When God was scorned, who was able to rise above it by divine assistance? It is indeed at this moment that the completion of this plan is evident, during the time of Eli the priest, when the Philistines triumphed and seized the Ark of the Lord, resulting in a significant defeat. This precisely reflects the matter at hand.
God listened but rejected their pleas. In other words, He did not acknowledge His care for those who sought His help. The accounts found in the Book of Judges illustrate this more vividly; for God allowed them to fall into the hands of the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Midianites, and the Philistines, punishing them for their transgressions. And He greatly humbled Israel. This was the infamous nation, miraculously freed from slavery in Egypt, which caused the sea to retreat and the Jordan to turn back (Psalm 113:3) — this same nation was easily defeated by its surrounding foes.
God listened to them and rejected them. He heard their outcry, representing the sound of their iniquity, much like He heard the cry of Abel's blood and the outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah. Their sins themselves sent a plea to God for the accountability of those who committed them. The Old Testament often depicts God as hearing in a manner that prompts Him to seek retribution. He turned away from them and significantly brought low Israel. They were abased and deemed deserving of scorn. On various occasions and towards different nations, He subjected them to captivity, as recorded in the book of Judges.
When does God fail to listen? What need could there be for Him to listen, given that He is aware of our innermost thoughts? Nonetheless, it is stated that He does hear, for He does not allow anything to go unheard; rather, He is moved, demonstrating that He is indeed attentive. What action does He take upon hearing? He does not judge, but instead, He disdains; and to be looked upon with disdain by God is a weight far greater than any punishment, for our salvation hinges solely on His gaze. Look clearly at the suffering experienced by those who are held in contempt by God.
Once again, the Prophet reveals that God, witnessing the people recklessly pursuing sin and misusing His patience for wrongdoing, ultimately enacted severe punishment upon those who scorned Him. The analogy drawn from earthly judges is frequently found within Scripture, indicating that when Scripture attributes the ability to hear to God, it does not imply His need for investigation. Instead, it serves to illustrate that His judgments are neither swift nor arbitrary, preventing anyone from concluding that He is impulsive. Essentially, the people persisted in their wickedness, crossing the limits until their cries reached the heavens. The seriousness of their transgressions is evident from the harshness of their penalties.
When the Prophet declares that Israel, whom God cherished, had become detestable to Him, he notes that as a result, they were deprived of God's presence, which was their true well-being and comfort in their hardships. God's displeasure towards Israel was evident when He permitted the Ark of the Covenant to be taken by the enemy, indicating that through its removal from Judah to a distant land, He would turn away from the people. Although God was not inherently tied to a physical symbol, the Ark represented His covenant with them; its withdrawal signified His departure. The Ark had long resided in Shiloh, where the Philistines captured it (1 Kings 4:4), leading to it being referred to as the tabernacle of Shiloh, with Shiloh itself recognized as God's dwelling (1 Kings 4:4). This illustrates the extent to which the people of Israel angered God through their sins, compelling Him to abandon the location He had chosen for Himself. In the following verse, it continues, stating that He delivered their strongholds into captivity and their bounty into the hands of their adversaries. In this context, both strength and bounty refer to the Ark of the Covenant, whose presence instilled fear and rendered the children of Israel invulnerable to their foes until that point. Nothing adorned the kingdom of Israel more than the Ark of the Covenant, not due to its gold exterior, but because of the divine presence associated with it. It should not be assumed that the Philistines, upon capturing the Ark, seized God Himself; rather, the Prophet illustrates that the Israelites, bereft of Divine protection, fell into the hands of their enemies, akin to an army rendered vulnerable when its leader is captured.
This Psalm of David, rich with prophetic insight, was entrusted to Asaph, the chief musician, to convey its message to all for their understanding regarding the countless blessings bestowed by God Almighty upon the ungrateful nation of the Jews. It admonishes them for their lack of gratitude and serves as a reminder to others that they should express thanks for the unfathomable grace of God, particularly as manifested through Christ the Lord, who has faith in His name. In this psalm, the prophet David speaks as if representing Christ to the Christian faithful, encouraging them to pay attention to the law of the Gospel. The lessons contained in this psalm originally pertained to the Jews but now hold relevance for the believers in Christ: the old covenant foreshadows the new.
The Savior calls upon His followers to listen intently, to avoid experiencing the same consequences as the ancient Jewish people who failed to obey God’s commands. The Savior instructs them to diligently examine the law of the Gospel and to engage with the prophecy from within their hearts.
Even though the Jews held great strength, they faltered in the face of Christ's Passion due to their disbelief. The tribe of Ephraim, particularly unfaithful to God, had previously succumbed to the idolatry of the golden calf, drawing the other nine tribes into this sin. As a result of their betrayal, God stripped them of their valor: despite their proficiency in archery, they fell into timidity and retreated during battle. Consequently, they were taken captive and scattered among the nations. Yet, God showed mercy toward the Jews; He recognized their complete surrender to earthly wisdom and their reluctance to repent. Out of His immense compassion, He chose not to annihilate all of them in the wilderness but instead spared them. Humanity, in its flesh, shares in passions and corruption, and the Spirit, having departed from man, will only return at the second coming.
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS