Asaph: Asking Forbidden Questions
Portraits of Biblical Failures – Part V
Psalm 73
Introduction
We are going to take an in-depth look today, in
our study of those who have failed, at a man who
failed in a particular area in which we all fail. He is
an individual who put into words, the silent struggle of
every believer who has ever walked planet earth. It is
a struggle that we would never have heard of, had he
not put it to music.
The man’s name is Asaph. We know, from
putting bits and pieces of the puzzle of his life
together, that he was one of David’s three chief
musicians. He was involved in leading worship at the
temple; he was involved in providing music for
worship at the Ark of the tabernacle.
Asaph, for many decades, had been one of the
men who was one of the three chief musicians or
worship leaders in Israel. Yet, this individual had a
secret struggle; a painful despondency that no one
would have ever known about unless he had decided,
one day by God’s Spirit, to put his struggle into
musical form.
It is song number 73 or, as we call it, Psalm
number 73. Turn to this Psalm and we are going to
look at the questions Asaph was basically asking.
These are questions that every believer is somewhat
fearful of asking, but does.
Questions Christians
Are Afraid to Ask, but Do!
For our study today, we will go through Psalm 73
and I will rephrase Asaph’s struggles and prayers into
the form of questions. We will look at ten questions
that he is asking.
1. Question number one, “Why does God
treat everyone else better than He treats
me?”
We could stop right here as this is the question we
have all asked. We will at least look at the next nine
questions, but let us study the passage with this
question first.
Look at Psalm 73:1-2.
Surely God is good to Israel, to those who
are pure in heart! But as for me, my feet
came close to stumbling, my steps had
almost slipped.
Now Asaph lets us know right away, that God has
pulled him through this slough of despondency into
victory. He will give the question to us, though, as he
expresses his pain for our benefit.
Asaph basically begins with the “poor me”
syndrome, saying, “God, You are giving everyone else
Your best, while You are giving me all of the
leftovers. Israel is receiving so much, but I’m having
trouble getting through each day. As a result, my feet
came very close to abandoning the covenant and my
commitment to You.”
This reminds me of the struggle of F. B. Meyer,
who was one of the greatest expositors and who
impacts me every time I study one of his works. He
would lament to God, as he would write in his journal,
“God, why is Your hand always on the other person?”
Have you ever felt this way?
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2. Question number two, “Why do I have
financial difficulties that others do not seem
to have?”
Look at Psalm 73:3
For I was envious of the arrogant as I saw
the prosperity of the wicked.
Now the key word in this phrase is “arrogant”.
Asaph is bitter, not just because someone is receiving
blessings from God, but because the arrogant are
receiving from God and they will never give God the
glory.
Asaph says, “Look, God, I’ll give You the glory –
give some of the blessings to me. Why are You giving
them to the arrogant person; the individual who will
never bow his knee in worship and thank the true
source of all the blessings that he has been given?
Why do I have difficulties that these people do not
seem to have?”
3. Question number three, “Why do other
people enjoy better physical health?”
This question is in Psalm 73:4.
For there are no pains in their death, and
their body is fat.
This is not a very good translation for what could
be rendered, “their bodies are firm”. This is a
reference to the kind of people who have no pain in
their death. It could be rendered, “their strength is
firm all the way up to the point of death.”
Asaph is saying, “I look at their lives and it seems
as if they are physically strong until the day they die.
However, we have all kinds of aches and pains.”
4. Question number four, “Why do
unspiritual people seem to have a troublefree life?”
Notice Psalm 73:5.
They [the wicked] are not in trouble as other
men, nor are they plagued like mankind.
A man who preached more than a hundred years
ago, by the name of C. H. Spurgeon, wrote a
commentary on this phrase. If we can get past the
English vocabulary, I think the point will be clear.
The prosperous wicked escape the killing toils
which afflict the mass of mankind. They have
no need to ask, “Where shall we get bread for
our children or clothing for our little ones.”
Ordinary domestic and personal troubles do
not appear to molest them. Fierce trials do
not seem to arise to assail them. They smart
not under the divine rod. This unspiritual
man is worse than other men, yet he’s better
off. He plows his field the least and yet, he
has the most crops. He deserves the hottest
hell and yet, he has the warmest nest.
Why do unspiritual people seem to have a troublefree life?
5. Question number five, “Why do evil people
get away with their sin?”
Psalm 73:6-7 says,
Therefore pride is their necklace; the
garment of violence covers them. Their eye
bulges from fatness; the imaginations of
their heart run riot.
Why do these people never seem to get caught?
Explain this to David, who has been chased by Saul
for years. Explain it to the underground church in
China, where the members get up every morning and
face the threat of martyrdom.
It is the people who deserve perdition who are
reveling in prosperity. The people who ought to be
chased out of the world are instead, chased by the
world. Asaph could not figure this out and I do not
think we really can either.
6. Question number six, “Why do ungodly
people gain prominence in society, while I
am ignored?”
Note Psalm 73:8.
They mock and wickedly speak
oppression; they speak from on high.
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This is a euphemism for, “they speak as if they
were the gods.”
Continue to Psalm 73:9.
They have set their mouth against the
heavens, and their tongue parades through
the earth.
Why is it that the wicked get all of the media
attention? Why is it that they are the ones quoted?
They hate God. They do whatever they can to destroy
the faith that we hold dear. Why do they gain
prominence in society?
I was given a good illustration of this from
someone in our church last week. They handed me a
newspaper article out of the “News and ‘Disturber’,”
as it is sometimes called. It is a half-page article
entitled, “Tar Heel of the Week”. I will not refer to
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this individual’s denomination because it may be a
distraction from what he has to say. I will tell you
that he is not a Baptist. His name is John Shelby
Spong and he was given a half page to spout what is,
in effect, heresy. The article writes of him,
Bishop John Shelby Spong does not court
controversy, he leaps headlong into it. That
is why this prolific prelate, who suggested
that St. Paul is a homosexual in his last book,
is debunking the virgin birth in his next one.
He has upheld and taught a gospel message
based on responsibility and love, rather than,
what he sees as, outmoded doctrine and
obsolete morality. In his book, Living in Sin,
Bishop Spong suggests that the church’s
moral code is an antiquarian holdover from
the Middle Ages.
That is where I would like to send him, by the
way. The article continues,
In a time when wives and daughters were
treated as property, prescriptions against
premarital sex may have made sense. But in
today’s world, where puberty and marriage
can be separated by decades, where birth
control is available, and where the sexes are
equal, relationships need a new ethic. An
ethic that addresses responsible relations
between young unmarried people, unmarried
senior citizens, gays and lesbians.
Next summer he plans to publish the book he has
entitled, Born of a Woman, which basically, debunks
the virgin birth.
He writes for people who may be good
and caring, but who do not think the Bible
has anything to say to them. People like his
youngest daughter. She is a PhD and for her,
the church does not exist. It is not that she is
hostile, it is just that, as her scientific
education grew, the church had no relevance
to the world she was living in.
It makes sense to me why she would come up with
this conclusion.
During a recent book promotion trip to
Australia and New Zealand, he made 94
appearances in 21 days. He relished the
media attention and the overflow crowds.
This man got a half page. I got so bothered about
this that I called the “News and Observer,” but not to
get on to them about this article. I asked, “What
would it cost to get a half page in your newspaper and
tell people what the relevancy of scripture is all about
and that the church does have something to say?”
The man said, “Let me put you through to
advertising.”
He put me through to advertising and I finally got
in touch with the right person. I shelved the sermon
and asked, “What would it cost for me to get a half a
page in your newspaper?”
“Two thousand, one hundred eighty-three dollars
and sixty-three cents.”
That guy got free coverage. That really makes
my blood boil and I know it makes you mad too.
Asaph had the same problem. He was saying,
“Why is it that they speak as if they are the gods; as if
they have all wisdom and new ethics, even though they
lead in the wrong direction?”
7. Question number seven, “Why does God
not judge and silence the wicked?”
I am sure you have heard the news of “Magic”
Johnson that is so sad. I have always enjoyed
watching that man play basketball. I do not mean to
come across as unsympathetic, and I will not even
deal with the disease that he has (HIV positive), but
what really upsets me is the media coverage of what
he had to say. After hearing it, I just kind of, stomped
around the living room and preached to my wife for a
while. She sat there and nodded.
The first thing that hit my mind was that Satan
selects such choice spokesmen. This man is planning
to travel around the country and campaign for safe
sex. I think of all of the kids that look up to this man
and idolize him, and he is going to tell them that
something the Bible says is sin, is safe. If we could
somehow make it safe physically, what about
spiritually? The Bible lets us know that those who
habitually live as fornicators and adulterers will not
inherit the kingdom of heaven. Is that safe?
Asaph asked, “Why doesn’t God silence them?”
8. Question number eight, “Why is my
commitment to God not making life any
easier?”
This question gets closer to home. Look at Psalm
73:12.
Behold, these are the wicked; and always at
ease, they have increased in wealth.
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In other words, “I am serving God and I am the
one struggling. I seem to be groaning under my
burdens, while they take another vacation. And if I
remember correctly, it was about the time I committed
my life to God that some of this stuff started
happening. Why is it that the evening after I make my
commitment to Jesus Christ, ‘bang’?”
How can we explain what happened to a pastor
that I heard speak a number of years ago? He gave
his life to work in the inner-city among the drug users
and pushers. Someone slipped drugs into his food and
he began to do all kinds of bizarre things to his family,
not knowing. He came very close to losing his mental
health for months.
How do we explain to the family of Glen
Chambers who went through seminary preparing for
the ministry in Ecuador and then, got on a plane
headed there for his first term and the plane crashed?
My response is, “Lord, take fifty pagans. We
need people like this minister.”
9. Question number nine, “Is living for God
really worth the effort?”
Look at Psalm 73:13.
Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and
washed my hands in innocence;
Poor Asaph, his sincerity is not bringing any
obvious blessing; his purity is not giving any seeming
advantage to him.
In the same way, we live for God and it is our job
that falls through, while the unbeliever gets promoted
over us. We live for God and it is our child who gets
sick.
Asaph says, bluntly, “I’ve just washed my hands
in this and seen it is in vain. I’ve kept my heart pure,
but what’s the use?”
Asaph is getting very, very practical, isn’t he?
This is right where we live.
10. Question number ten, “Is growing up
spiritually really worth the trouble?”
In Psalm 73:14, Asaph says,
For I have been stricken all day long and
chastened [disciplined] every morning.
In other words, there are crowns for sinners, but I
have a cross. This individual over here, who could
care less about God, seems to be singing, while I am
sighing.
Let us look at these questions one more time.
1. Why does God treat everyone else better than
He treats me?
2. Why do I have financial difficulties that
others do not seem to have?
3. Why do others enjoy better physical health?
4. Why do unspiritual people seem to have a
trouble-free life?
5. Why do evil people get away with their sin?
6. Why do ungodly people gain prominence in
society, while I am ignored?
7. Why does God not judge and silence the
wicked?
8. Why is my commitment to God not making
life any easier?
9. Is living for God really worth the effort?
10. Is growing up spiritually really worth the
trouble?
If anyone ever summed up the struggle of our
Christian experience, it was this song leader named
Asaph. These are all questions that we have asked at
some point in our lives, but have asked secretly.
These have been silent struggles; private pains that we
dare not reveal to anyone.
However, as Asaph did, we are to verbalize our
questions.
Look at his words in Psalm 73:15,
If I had said, “I will speak thus,” behold, I
would have betrayed the generation of Your
children.
Asaph says, “I can’t come out with this. I can’t
speak it. I’d better keep quiet.”
The Ingredients of Asaph’s Secret
Despondency
Now let us take a closer look at Asaph’s
despondency and try to uncover the ingredients; the
spiral steps downward that have brought him to the
bottom.
1. Ingredient number one is envy.
I think this is clear from Psalm 73:3. Look again
at this verse.
For I was envious of the arrogant as I saw
the prosperity of the wicked.
Shakespeare called envy, “the green sickness.”
Bacon wrote of envy that it, “takes no holidays.”
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Horace wrote, “Tyrants never invented a greater
torment.”
What is envy and how does it differ from
jealousy, especially? The New Testament use of the
words “envy” and “jealousy” help to show that there
is a distinct difference. Jealousy is wanting to be as
well off as another person; envy is wanting to have
what another person has. In other words, I can be
jealous of you because you have something, but if I
am envious of you, then I want to take something from
you so that you do not have it and I alone, do.
Asaph’s problem was envy. He wanted to take
what the wicked had from them, so they would not
have it and he would have it for himself.
Someone wrote that envy is forever reaching,
longing, squinting, thinking of how another person
should not have what they have and wishing to have it
instead.
2. Ingredient number two is loneliness.
Look again at Psalm 73:15. Asaph did not dare
tell anyone.
If I had said, “I will speak thus,” behold, I
should have betrayed the generation of Your
children.
Think of the fact that it is bad enough that Asaph
is fighting this struggle, but he is, at the same time,
leading worship. He struggles with these things and
then, he comes to the temple and leads people in song.
It makes his struggles even worse. He is leading
people in worship, yet he is doubting the very
faithfulness and goodness of God in his own life.
What a very lonely feeling.
Have you ever been involved in ministry and as
you are driving there, you are thinking, “Lord, I’ve
got the same questions I’m trying to tell people I have
answers to and telling them to pray for God’s grace.”?
I have felt this too.
3. Ingredient number three is bitterness.
Look at Asaph’s words in Psalm 73:21.
When my heart was embittered and I was
pierced within,
There are two key words, as we listen to Asaph’s
pain.
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The first word is “embittered”.
It is the word “chamets,” which is the same word
that is translated “leavened or soured”. Asaph
basically says, “My life was souring.”
This is also the same word that is translated
“vinegar”. It is used figuratively in the Old Testament
for harshness or cruelty. A man dying of thirst would
be given vinegar as a cruel hoax.
It was the word used for heavy heartedness, as
well.
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The second word is found in Asaph’s words,
“I was pierced within”.
The word “kidneys” appears in the Old Testament
text. To the Old Testament Hebrew, the kidney was
the center of the heart, or I should say, of the
emotions. We talk about our hearts; they talked about
their kidneys. The heart is a lot more romantic, I am
sure! However, Asaph basically says, “I was pierced
to my kidneys, the very seat of my emotions and
affections.”
Asaph was disappointed with God and distressed
with life; he was a bitter man.
Now let us look at the final ingredient that I want
to bring to your attention.
4. Ingredient number four is aimlessness.
Notice Psalm 73:22.
Then I was senseless and ignorant; I was
like a beast before You.
The word “senseless,” means “dull hearted or
unreceptive”.
Asaph’s envy lead to loneliness, then to bitterness,
and then to aimlessness. He must have concluded,
“God, is no longer concerned with my life. I’m out
here without any oars. I’m wandering; I’m roaming.”
David’s Similar Psalm
Now David wrote a similar song and I want to
take a brief look at it. Turn to Psalm 13. David said
four things that are preceded with the words “how
long”.
1. Number one, David said, “God has forgotten
me.”
This is the first thing David said. Look at Psalm
13:1a.
How long, O Lord?
forever? . . .
Will You forget me
Do you remember the last time you felt abandoned
by God; as if God had walked away? This is the
feeling David is writing about in this song.
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2. Number two, David said, “God is not
communicating with me.”
Look at Psalm 13:1b.
. . . How long will You hide Your face from
me?
This feeling inevitably accompanies feelings of
abandonment. In other words, “God said He would
take care of me; He would bear my burdens, but He
doesn’t even seem to be listening or speaking.”
3. Number three, David said, “I’ll have to take
over from here.”
Notice this in Psalm 13:2a.
How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
having sorrow in my heart all the day? . . .
The words “take counsel,” mean, “to plan”.
David said, “Well, God isn’t communicating with
me; God has abandoned me, so I guess, life is
something I’m just going to have to take hold of. It’s
up to me from here on out.”
The trouble is, as he said in this text, he is
“having sorrow in his heart all the day”. In other
words, the sorrow never went away, even when he
took control.
4. Number four, David said, “I resent what God
is doing to me.”
This is like the little boy I read about who was,
with all his energy, furiously pedaling his tricycle
back and forth in front of his home. A police officer
noticed him and said, “Son, what are you doing?”
The little boy replied, “I’m running away from
home.”
The policeman asked, “Why are you riding back
and forth in front of your house?”
The little boy answered, “Because I’m not allowed
to cross the street.”
There is protection in that!
Asaph comes right up to the edge of the street and
has given God notice, “I’m ready to run.”
I think this is perhaps, when God comes. In fact,
the rest of Psalm 73 gives us Asaph’s path back to
communion with God. Let me give his path in the
form of principles.
1. Number one, Asaph began to recognize the
horror of a sinner’s future.
Look at Psalm 73:17.
Until I came into the sanctuary of God; then
I perceived their end.
The word “until” is the key word – it is the point
at which Asaph’s struggles begin to change. And
what did he perceive? Their end.
This is the bottom line, “I just resent this.”
Continue to Psalm 73:18-19.
Look at Psalm 13:2b.
Surely You set them in slippery places; You
cast them down to destruction. How they are
destroyed in a moment! They are utterly
swept away by sudden terrors!
. . . How long will my enemy be exalted over
me?
Note the repetition of “how long,” “how long,”
“how long,” “God, how long?” This gives us a
beautiful principle, if we were to study the rest of this
psalm. The principle is that God not only determines
the depth of our trials, He determines the length of our
trials.
The Path Back
to Communion With God
Now both David and Asaph were tempted to
abandon God. However, their respect for Him kept
them in the fence.
You have probably felt the same way. You come
real close to giving in to this temptation to abandon
God, but your respect for Him – and thank God for
that respect – keeps you from crossing the line.
This is strong language, but very necessary. Can
you covet the house of a person who is dying? If we
recognize that the people who have rejected Jesus
Christ are dying, can we really covet their lives?
When I was a kid, I saw a picture hanging in the
Serviceman’s Center, where my parents are
missionaries. It was a beautifully done picture of a
broad path that represented life, with unbelievers
walking on it. There were flowers growing along
either side of the path and the people were well
dressed and were talking and laughing.
However, on the right hand side of the picture, the
path all of the sudden, dropped. Below were the
flames of an eternal hell. The people who had rejected
God were shown laughing and talking as they headed
toward the end of the path. A few were shown coming
to the end of the path and disappearing from sight.
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I used to study this picture and it impacted me.
These people were rejecting God and were walking,
dressed in their finery, maybe smiling and laughing,
having many things, but the path dropped abruptly.
Is it not insane to see a man walking to the edge,
knowing that, at death, it will be hell forever, and to
step back and say, “Man, he’s got the life! I wish I
had his life.”
That is insane, is it not? This is what occurred to
Asaph. He said,
Until . . . I perceived their end.
2. Number two, Asaph began to relinquish to
God the right to judge the unbeliever.
Look at Psalm 73:20.
Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord,
when aroused, You will despise their form.
Skip to Psalm 73:27.
For, behold, those who are far from You will
perish; You have destroyed all those who are
unfaithful to You.
I read of a man named Bob Ingersoll, who would
stand on a stage before thousands of people, and
would take out his pocket watch and say, “If there is a
God, let Him strike me dead in thirty seconds.”
He would hold his pocket watch up and count
down the seconds. This was in a time when people
would gasp at such audacity. At the end of thirty
seconds, Ingersoll was still standing. He would then
say, “See, I told you – there is no God.”
If I had been God, “Poof!” I would then, thunder
from heaven, “See, there is a God.”
However, it is uncaring of me to “poof”. We
must allow God to be the One who rightfully judges,
because only God can do it fairly.
3. Number three, Asaph began to recognize what
he had been given from God.
Asaph had been so focused on what he did not
have that he had overlooked what he did have. Now
that he began to view God properly, as a sovereign,
loving, just God for him, he could recognize some
things that the sinners did not have. Let me give two
of them.
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First, Asaph had companionship with God.
Look at Psalm 73:23.
Nevertheless I am continually with You; You
have taken hold of my right hand.
I love the implication of this. It is as if God
reaches down and God takes him by the right hand.
Asaph does not have enough strength to raise his hand
up, but God reaches down and takes it – “He has
taken me by my right hand.”
This is a declaration of God’s commitment to
Asaph and to all who struggle with the same struggles.
So, Asaph had companionship with God.
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Secondly, Asaph had counsel from God.
When bad things do happen, we, as believers,
have God to go to. Look at Psalm 73:24.
With Your counsel You will guide me, and
afterward receive me to glory.
When bad things happen to bad people, where do
they go? When a crises hits your neighbor’s home,
who do they turn to, if they are without God?
If bad things come to you, as a believer, you have
the confidence of the counsel and the companionship
of God.
One of my seminary teachers would often talk
about his neighbor. By this time, his neighbor had put
on about forty coats of wax on his boat. My
professor would talk to him about things of God, and
he would say, “Oh, man, I don’t care about God,” as
he continued polishing his boat at every spare
moment.
This professor said, “All of a sudden, something
dawned on me. For a while I thought, ‘God, why
don’t You take that boat away?’ But then, I thought,
‘Why? That boat is the anesthetic that deadens the
man’s pain of an empty life. So let him have it.’”
Satan uses the narcotic of things to blur us from
recognizing the reality of the emptiness of life without
God.
4. Number four, Asaph began to relish his
relationship with God.
Look at Psalm 73:25-26.
Whom have I in heaven but You? And
besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My
flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the
strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Skip to Psalm 73:28.
But as for me, the nearness of God is my
good; I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all Your works.
Asaph comes to the conclusion, “God, it doesn’t
seem to make sense; it doesn’t seem to fit, but I will
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believe that You are too wise to make a mistake with
my life. And I will believe that You are too deep to
ever be able to explain Yourself to me.”
Conclusion
Beside You, Lord, I’ll take my place.
Beside You, Lord, I’ll take my place.
Let us sing, as our closing song of praise, the
following chorus:
As the deer pants for the water,
This song; this Psalm number 73 could be
outlined into three stanzas:
So my soul longs after You.
1. Stop comparing circumstances;
You alone are my heart’s desire,
2. Start considering eternity;
And I long to worship You.
3. Start cherishing this day.
The amazing thing to recognize, as we come to the
end of Psalm 73, is that Asaph’s world did not
change, but Asaph’s relationship with God did. God
did not change Asaph’s circumstances; God changed
Asaph. This is the key.
Chorus
Listen to the words of a song that I wrote a
number of years ago. I think it identifies what we
have been trying to say. I trust it will be meaningful
to you.
And I long to worship You.
You alone are my strength, my shield,
To You alone may my spirit yield;
You alone are my heart’s desire,
I want You more than gold or silver,
Lord, You’ve promised me,
Only You can satisfy;
When in trials, I know Thy grace.
You alone are the real joy-giver
And Lord, You’ve promised me,
And the apple of my eye.
When confused, I see Thy face.
For Thou hast upholden me by my right hand,
So that I might always stand.
I think this is the conclusion of what Asaph found
to be true. It needs to be ours, as well. May this be
our song as we live for Him.
Let us pray.
And then, one day, when I see Thy blessed
face,
Beside You, Lord, I’ll take my place.
Lord, You’ve promised me,
When in death’s night, You’d be right there
shedding the light.
Oh, but Lord, just remind me what death is
really for.
It’s only the hand that opens heaven’s door.
For Thou hast upholden me by my right hand,
So that I might always stand.
And then, one day, when I see Thy blessed
face,
Father, we thank You for the struggle of Asaph
and for what it meant to him and what it can mean to
us as a result. I pray every believer who is asking
questions like these; every heart that is struggling
would claim the answers Asaph found to be true.
Lord, I know, in our natures, we like everything to
package neatly; we like all the pieces to fit. The truth
is, they do not. However, it does fit that You are
loving, You are sovereign, You are indeed, too good to
be cruel and too wise to really be able to explain
Yourself to people like us. So we give You the right
to judge our chaotic world and we pray that You
would give us the grace to begin to cherish our
relationship with You and the things that You have
given to us; such as, companionship and counsel and a
future home in heaven. In Jesus name, amen.
This manuscript is from a sermon preached on 11/10/1991 by Stephen Davey.
© Copyright 1991 Stephen Davey
All rights reserved.
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