THE ASAPH FACTOR

It will be a great injustice done to my eader if I do not explain who Asaph was. Of truth, there is not less than three men called by the name ‘Asaph’ in the Bible. First is Asaph the recorder in Hezekiah’s time (2 Kings 18:18-37), second Asaph was the keeper of  king Artexerxes’ forest to whom Nehemiah  gave a request  letter from the king that he might give him  timber for the temple at Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:8).

Third Asaph, we are studying about here, was music director in David’s Tent of Meeting (1 Chron.6:39) and in Solomon’s Temple. He lived for 100 years (1020-920 BC).He was a Levite, and his name means a collector or convenor. He is mentioned along with David as skilled in music in 2 Chronicles 29:30. Thus, Asaph was a man of a very high spiritual position in Israel, yet he was going through critical spiritual struggles and afflictions.

Asaph’s sons who were also musicians are mentioned in 1 Chronicles 25:1; 2 Chronicles 20:14.and in Ezra 2:41.Some scholars believe these were either his sons or his students who recognized him as their master. He has Psalm 50 and 73-83 attributed to him as the author. If this is true, then Asaph wrote more of the Bible than Peter, James, Jude, Jonah, Amos, Micah, Joel, Malachi, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Nahum, Haggai, or Obadiah. In fact, Asaph is spoken of more in the Bible than any other author excluding David, Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, Hosea and Jeremiah.

One of the courses during my master’s degree program was about the attributes and characters of God from a book by Robert Deffinbaugh of Biblical studies Press in Texas, USA. In writing about the “goodness” as an attribute of God, Deffinbaugh states that there is no writer of the scripture that describes the goodness of God better than Asaph does in Psalm 73. Deffinbaugh writes that he is convinced that the central theme of Psalm 73 is the “goodness of God”.In fact, this psalm is also known as a Leviticus book whose subject is the ‘goodness of God in the Sanctuary. It emphasizes that God is good to His worshippers regardless of what they go through.  It would be better if you could read Psalm 73 before you continue reading the rest of the book. Carefully and prayerfully read the passage so that you can understand its message.

One interesting thing is that while in his spiritual struggles or afflictions, through the course of time, Asaph undergoes a radical change in his understanding of the meaning of the term “good.” Then Asaph understood and declared, “Surely God is good to Israel; even to those who are pure in heart!” (Verse1).

However, according to Asaph, this affirmation of truth meant that God’s blessings would constantly be poured out upon those Jews who were righteous. On the other hand, the unrighteous could expect many difficulties (Deuteronomy 28-30). Asaph’s misconception of the meaning of “good” is virtually the same as many Christians have today. We must understand the message of this psalm and the meaning of the term “good.” Asaph describes a period in his life when he had serious spiritual struggles he did not understand the goodness of God. In verse 2, Asaph admits to his readers that he strayed off course. He was so far from the truth that he came close to destruction. In his words, “his feet had almost slipped”. He seems to be confessing that he considered giving up the faith and forsaking the way of righteousness, supposing that it was of no real benefit.

Robert Deffinbaugh highlights that Asaph’s problem was largely due to his distorted perspective. He admits that he was envious of the wicked. Unlike Lot, whose righteous soul was vexed by the sin all about him, Asaph wished he could be in the sandals of those who were wicked.First Asaph seem to have not hated the sins of the wicked; but he rather envied their success (verse 3). Second, he was self-righteous. He looked upon himself as being better than he was. He seems to have supposed he deserved God’s blessings and concluded that his “righteous living” had been in vain (verse 13). These verses also suggest Asaph views his suffering as coming from God. God was punishing him, he supposed, for being godly. Asaph seems to have been consumed with self-pity. It is really difficult to see life clearly when you are looking at it through tear-filled eyes. And these tears were the tears of self-pity. I must confess here, I have lived this type of life for years, until I realized it was robbing of my closeness to God. Self-pity is a suicide.

Asaph’s description of the wicked in verses 4-9 seem to be a description of those whom he saw in the congregation of Israelites who came to worship. He is talking about wicked Jews who were rebellious to God and His law, yet they were prospering. Yes, we have some of such men in the church today; some of them are our leaders. However, Asaph makes some very sweeping generalizations in the first half of the psalm lamenting, implying that all the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer. He wrongly supposes the wicked are always healthy and wealthy and thinks none of the wicked experience the difficulties of life. Even in their death, they are spared from discomfort. He likewise thinks those who prosper are all arrogant, blaspheming God, daring Him to know or care about what the wicked are doing. Asaph may be right because some of the wealthy wicked would be just as Asaph has described them. But, as I have already said, Asaph has over-generalized, making it seem God blesses all the wicked and punishes all the righteous. The wicked display their wickedness and are blessed. The righteous practice their righteousness and are punished for doing so. Asaph saw that there is good reason to consider joining the wicked rather than fighting them (see verses 10-14).

Asaph realized later that he was wrong, and this he confesses at several points (Verses 2-3). In Verse 15 is made the turning point for Asaph. As explained earlier, up to this point, Asaph viewed life from a distorted human perspective. To him, the blessings and goodness of God meant health and wealth, just like the “good life gospellers” of our own day. When they speak of God’s blessings they mean good cash, material and good cars. But Asaph, in verses 15-28, explains why he was wrong, ending with an entirely different definition of goodness of God.