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NASB | Psalm 121:4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Psalm 121:4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber [briefly] nor sleep [soundly]. |
Bible Question:
Psalm 121:4 says that God doesn't sleep. However, Psalm 44:23 tells Him to wake up, "Arouse Yourself, why do You sleep, O Lord? Awake, do not reject us forever." Is there a contradiction here? |
Bible Answer: Psalms 44:23-26: Does God Sleep? Psalms 7, 35, 59, 73 and 74, also speak of God as sleeping or arising from sleep, just as other Near Eastern deities are said to do. Bernard Batto has attempted to argue that in Near Eastern mythology to sleep undisturbed was a symbol of the supreme deity's unchallenged authority. He further argued that the motif as applied to Yahweh expressed Israel's belief in Yahweh's absolute kingship. He could be counted on to "awaken" and to maintain justice and order. Elijah's taunt mockingly suggests that the prophets of Baal should call louder to awaken him, for he is known to sleep at times (1Ki 18:27) Psalm 44 is asking if the king and the people have been faithful to the covenant (Ps 44:18-22), then why was God unfaithful to his promise to deliver and defend? The psalm contrasts the glorious past (Ps 44:1-8) with some present disaster (Ps 44:9-16). God seemed not to have been with the army when they had gone out to battle (Ps 44:9). Israel's defeat had made them a reproach and the scorn of their enemies (Ps 44:13-14). All this had happened even though Israel had not forgotten God (Ps 44:17-18); nevertheless, God had crushed them with a humiliating defeat (Ps 44:19). In spite of all of this ignominy and shame, their prayer and hope still centered on the Lord (Ps 44:23-26). This prayer is phrased in military terms. The call for God to awake and to arouse himself here does not refer to sleep but to a military action similar to that in the Song of Deborah in Judges 5:12: "Wake up, wake up, Deborah! Wake up, wake up, break out in song! Arise, O Barak! Take captive your captives." Therefore, this psalm does not contradict the psalm which assures us that our God never slumbers or sleeps. He does not! That God sometimes defers his punishments and extends apparently unwarranted tolerance to the wicked and their evil indicates to the superficial observer that God sleeps and needs rousing. But such divine long-suffering and mercy must not be confused with indifference or unawareness on his part. Furthermore, the language is not the language of weariness or slumber, but the language of a call for God to march forth to defend his holy name and his kingdom. I got help from: Bernard Batto, "When God Sleeps," Bible Review 3 (1987): 16-23, and "The Sleeping God: An AncientNearEast |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Ps 121:4 | Author | ||
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Makarios | ||
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Searcher56 | ||
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Morant61 | ||
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Makarios | ||
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Hank | ||
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jily |