God corrects and chastens His child, whom He loves.

Part 2

Yesterday:  God’s Chastening Brought His People to Tears
Asaph’s Psalm for Israel on her adversity.

Today:  Does God Bring Evil on His Child?

“Thou feedest them with the bread of tears.” (a)
Back home in Israel with their families, they had peaceful meals together.  Their food, with the love of family and friends, made for joyous times.  Do you remember God’s promise to the man, Adam, in the garden of Eden?

“…cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt, thou eat of it all the days of thy life” (Genesis 3:17).

“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Genesis 3:19).

Adam learned that preparing to make bread takes much toil.  The earth must be tilled, the seed planted, the tender plants cared for, the harvest reaped, the grain milled to flour, the dough made, and then baked…  Yes, “in the sweat of thy face,” we eat our bread.  Having food for the table to feed our families takes much labor.  Work is often hot, sweaty, dirty, and very tiring, but even so, our meals together are generally delightful times of blessing.

For Israel, under Assyrian tyranny, mealtime was anything but joyful.

“Tear-bread is, even more, the fruit of the curse than to eat bread in the sweat of one’s face…”[1] (Spurgeon).

Israel, who had at one time eaten the manna, the bread of heaven, for her daily food, now has only the bread of tears as the staple for her diet.

“[The] bread of tears— [is] still an Eastern figure for affliction”[2] (JFB).

“The situation was as if God (like a Shepherd) had been feeding His people tears”[3] (BKC).

Their plight was not for nothing.  The LORD wanted Israel to know that in these “evil things” that had befallen her, their afflictions were His doing.  He is responsible for them.  Yes, God can send either good or evil to His child, depending on their need.  His rebellious child will feel the sting of their Father’s chastening from His ever-loving hand (Hebrews 12:5-16).  When necessary, God will bring evil (harsh discipline), the bread of tears, to His own children.

Come back tomorrow as we think about why God gave “the bread of tears” to Israel.  This seems so incompatible with the actions of the loving God of the Scriptures.

Quote:  “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more” (Psalm 39:12-13).

[1] C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] JFB, Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997).  Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 371).  Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.  The emphasis is theirs.
[3] Ross, A. P. (1985). Psalms. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 852).  Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.  The emphasis is theirs.