The Beginning of Wisdom

“When my heart was embittered and I was pierced within, then I was senseless and ignorant; I was like a beast before You” (Psalm 73:21-22)

In the place of worship, Asaph discovered that his real complaint was not with the rebels, or even with God. He had been focusing on the unfairness of life rather than on the One who would one day make all things right. By allowing such a conflict of faith to overwhelm him, Asaph had been forfeiting the comfort and peace that faith is intended to bring. In verses 21-22, the psalmist’s spiritual return is complete. Notice the progression: Asaph saw what he almost did to himself and he was concerned (vs.2). He realized what he almost did to his fellow believers, and he was silenced (vs. 15). Finally, Asaph clearly saw his attitude and actions as an offense to the God who is perfectly just (vs. 21-22).

Asaph no longer saw himself as justifiably angry or expressing a measure of righteous indignation. He said, “My heart was embittered.” Asaph’s bitterness was directed against God. He said, “I was pierced within.” Asaph now endured the kind of pain that comes from self-inflicted wounds. Sometimes what we do to ourselves is far worse that anything someone else could ever do to us. We do this by questioning the goodness, character, and faithfulness of God. Then he said, “I was senseless and ignorant.” Much like Job, when Asaph’s perspective was changed, he realized that his wisdom paled in comparison to God’s. Job’s words could have been his own:

“I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me. I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You; therefor I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42: 3-6).

For us to question or criticize God’s wisdom, or attempt to judge God’s performance, is to attempt a task for which we are totally unequipped. His wisdom is both perfect and eternal, and He makes no mistakes. God says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways” (Isaiah 55:8). When we are tempted to question god’s handling of a situation, it’s helpful to remind ourselves that God’s work in the present can be trusted because He is the only One who has perfect knowledge of the future.

In vs. 22, when Asaph said, “I was like a beast before You,” he used the word “beast” in a metaphorical sense, but his words reflect what the prophet Daniel wrote about Nebuchadnezzar, the great king of Babylon. When Nebuchadnezzar proudly celebrated his own wisdom and glory, God gave the king the mind and behavior of a wild animal. Driven outdoors, he grazed on grass for 7 years. When God graciously restored the king to his right mind, Nebuchadnezzar made this profound declaration:

“At the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’” (Daniel 4:34-35).

We can’t understand all the ways of God. Like Babylon’s king, Asaph had learned to see himself as unqualified to judge god for being unfair because as Exodus 15:11 says, “Who is like You among the gods, O Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders.”

Tomorrow, we conclude by looking at the all-sufficiency of God…