Encouragement

NEVER HANG YOUR HARPS

by Ezekiel Olukolajo
07/14/17
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NEVER HANG YOUR HARPS!

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land? Psalm 137:1-4;

The captivity of the children of Israel in Babylon was not without God’s knowledge. As a matter of fact, it was God that permitted their captivity in Babylon in order to discipline them for forsaking Him and serving other gods. Before the eventual destruction of Jerusalem and carrying away of the children of Israel to exile in Babylon, certain false prophets had prophesied to offer them false hope and security. While the children of Israel reveled in the false hope of safety, the word of the Lord came expressly through prophet Jeremiah that they should willingly submit themselves into captivity and continue to live normal life in Babylon for that was the will of God for the moment. God equally indicated that their captivity in the land of Babylon would not end, until seventy years have expired.  

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon; Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD. For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29: 4-11;

It is true that the circumstance that led to Israel’s captivity in Babylon was not a pleasant one. Nebuchadnezzar humiliated them, plundered their land, displaced them from their inheritance and treated them like common bondmen and women. Notwithstanding, the frustration of the children of Israel would not have been much, if they had realized that God had a purpose for the situation they found themselves. Rather than accepting the situation with delight and look for ways to make most of their sojourn in Babylon, the children of Israel resigned to self-pity and continued to grief throughout their stay in Babylon; their lives were very miserable!

Majority of the children of Israel ended up being miserable for the better part of the seventy years of exile in Babylon, not because God ordained it to be so, but because they failed to recognize that inspite of the seeming incarceration, they were on a mission in Babylon. Since they failed to see any good in their situation, they were continually dejected and depressed. For seventy years, they hanged their harps upon the willows and offered no songs nor experienced any form of excitement!  For seventy long years, they denied God praise through sounds of melody and music; for seventy years, God’s people, especially the sons of Asaph, whose primary responsibility it was to praise God with instruments and music, abandoned their God-given mission; for seventy years, their harps gathered dusts on the willows; for seventy years, grace of God upon their lives wasted away; for seventy years, heaven had no record of any positive impact and contributions to the kingdom on their part! It is obvious that the Israelites were not only in physical captivity, they allowed their destinies to be equally caged! What a pity!

It is worthy of note that one of the excuses the children of Israel put forward for hanging their harps for seventy years, was weaved around some form of self-imposed religious sentiments and baseless tradition. Their claim was ‘How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land’. While It may be true that songs dedicated to the service of the Almighty God and temple worship should not be rendered freely as a profaned thing among the heathen, but in any case, it is also not likely that God would be satisfied that songs of praise to Him should cease completely for seventy years of captivity in Babylon. Yes Babylon indeed was a ‘strange land’ but it was to be the home of the children of Israel for complete seventy years according to the counsel of God, as revealed through Jeremiah’s prophecy. The people failed to realize that praise to God has no season and is therefore not confined to the four walls of the temple in Jerusalem. It is on record that Daniel did not cease to praise and pray to God throughout his stay in the land of Babylon, so there exists no justification for the claim ‘how shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land’. If the people had really taken the presence of God with them into captivity, they would have been sensitive enough to recognize the pulse of heaven, that they could turn request by Babylonians for Zion’s songs to a concert to praise God and declare Him to the heathen nation.

One may argue that the Babylonians were requesting for songs of the children of Israel for mockery and entertainment, but even at that, an opportunity seemed to present itself here for God’s people to showcase their God and testify of His greatness through songs.  The children of Israel had the chance to turn this request to an occasion to rehearse the great works and deliverance wrought by God in their lives in times past, and at least draw the attention of the heathen Babylonians to the true God. If they had properly seized the opportunity, what was meant to be mockery, possibly could turn out to be a solemn assembly for the ungodly Babylonians to learn and know about the true God of Israel. Unfortunately, the opportunity was lost! The children of Israel were so engrossed with grief and self-pity for their condition that they lost all excitement including the opportunity to make their God known!  

In challenging and trying moments, your frustration becomes unbearable when you give room for exaggeration of the situation. The condition you find yourself may not be the best though, but that does not mean you should live your life continually in grief, self pity and endless mourning of ‘the good old days’! This appears to be the situation of the children of Israel throughout their captivity years in Babylon. They failed to come to terms with the fact that they were no longer in Zion but Babylon; they continued to remember Zion, not necessarily because they had so much love for God - after all it was their flagrant disobedience to God that brought them into captivity in the first place - but because self pity had taken better parts of them. This was why they seemed to have lost all hope totally and saw no reason for excitement, even when an opportunity presented itself for them to embark on a new vocation of proclaiming God to the unbelieving Babylonians through songs on harps.

Rather than accepting God’s will for the moment and continue to invest their lives in the newly discovered vocation, mourning the ‘good old days in Zion’ became the preoccupation of the children of Israel. The surest way to not lose today and its opportunities, is to stop mourning the death of yesterday! This brings to mind the story of Joseph. If Joseph had continued to grief and mourn over the circumstance that landed him in prison, he would not have discovered or keyed into the great opportunity to be a blessing to his fellow inmates. Joseph could have chosen to grief endlessly over the injustice that led to his imprisonment, but instead, he freed his mind of possible bitterness against Mr. & Mrs. Portiphar, forgot the past and moved on with life in his new found ‘home’, I beg your pardon, prison. From the first day he was incarcerated up to the time he was set free through divine intervention, Joseph never for once wore a long face. Having discovered the opportunity, he cared for his fellow inmates passionately, shared their burdens and put smile on their faces. He did not stop being a blessing; he displayed excellent attitude throughout and this made his stay in the prison very exciting and fulfilling. Joseph would never allow the situation or his incarceration in Egypt maximum prison to kill his God-given destiny; it is not surprising therefore that he rose from the prison to the state house. This was what the children of Israel failed to do in Babylon, they hanged their harps on the willows and had their destinies completely buried for seventy years of captivity! What a pity!

As God’s children, we must understand that God being the master planner, usually wrap challenges and disappointments in life with opportunities. It does not matter how horrible the situation we find ourselves may be, somehow, somewhere, there usually lies opportunity in one form or the other. The seventy years of captivity in Babylon could have been joyous and exciting moments for the children of Israel if they had not allowed grief, depression and self-pity to rob them. Their harps, which were supposed to be instruments of melody to their souls and praises to God, were hanged on the willows for several years! Through self-pity and grief, they robbed the Almighty God praises and worship on the harps, and also had to live in sorrow and gloominess. The moment praises cease in a man’s life, his downward journey into sorrow and hopelessness has begun!   

Dearly beloved, have you hanged your harps on the willows for one reason or the other? Have you abandoned your God-given purpose and calling because of the challenges you are currently passing through? Are you so depressed that God’s praises have completely ceased on your lips? It does not matter the situation you find yourself, one wise decision you will make is never to hang your harps. Harps are no harps if they’re hanged; harps can produce sounds of melody, only when they’re played and stringed with the fingers! It is within your power to trigger that sounds of melody that will turn your situation around and inject your life with excitement. Never hang your harps, praises and song of melody must flow ceaselessly and continually from you unto the Almighty God. Never hang your harps!  

Ezekiel Olukolajo
Copyright July 2017
Contact: [email protected]