Mutton Massacre , Sheep Slaughter, Ewe Executtion all the day long.

Psalm 44

1 To the choirmaster. A Maskilfn of the Sons of Korah. O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old:

2 you with your own hand drove out the m nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free;

3 for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but your right hand and your arm, and the light of your face, for you delighted in them.

4 You are my King, O God; ordain salvation for Jacob!

5 Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.

6 For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me.

7 But you have saved us from our foes and have put to shame those who hate us.

8 In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah

9 But you have rejected us and disgraced us and have not gone out with our armies.

10 You have made us turn back from the foe, and those who hate us have gotten spoil.

11 You have made us like sheep for slaughter and have scattered us among the nations.

12 You have sold your people for a trifle, demanding no high price for them.

13 You have made us the taunt of our neighbors, the derision and scorn of those around us.

14 You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples.

15 All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face

16 at the sound of the taunter and reviler,

at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.

17 All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten you, and we have not been false to your covenant.

18 Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your way;

19 yet you have broken us in the place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death.

20 If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god,

21 would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.

22 Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

23 Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!

24 Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?

25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly clings to the ground.

26 Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!

Psalm 44 thoughts:

- Right out of the gate I'm going to say that I find Psalm 44 confusing. If you give the authorship to David, which many do, there would have to be alot of the prophetic involved here because part of the Psalm reads in verse 11 - You have made us like sheep for slaughter and have scattered us among the nations. This doesn't even align with the reign of Solomon. It isn't until we get to the Babylonian captivity that it would make sense. Some scholars even say it could have been during the Macabeian time period. 

- Regardless of the time period the people present for this Psalm had heard about GOD's deeds, miracles, wonders and battles that GOD won by his own hand.

The Psalmist sings in verse six - For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me.

There is a certain white rider who would do well remembering this point. 

Revelation 6:2 — And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer. 

Hey Mr.Devil the crown and the bow won't help you. The lowly Psalmist didn't trust in it, he seems to be the wiser of the two of you. 

- Verse eight goes from boasting to verse nine feeling rejected and disgraced. Once Israel was settled in the land and GOD used David and Solomon to gain the territory that was promised to Abraham and his descendants they stopped moving forward. Did Israel forget her purpose? 

Exodus 19:5-6 - Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” 

Entering into the promised land and living there was not suppose to be the end of the story or thier journey. Much the same as getting to heaven for us (the promised land). Living there is not the end of our story. GOD is in heaven, Jesus is heaven, but they are not just sitting around doing nothing.

 John 5:17 reads — But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” and Hebrews 7:25 — Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. 

The angels (spirits) have things to do and we will have things to do in the new heavens and the new earth for eternity. 

So even though Israel was in the promised land they still had things to do. When GOD brought them out of Egypt he set for them an example of deliverance - Israel was to do the same for the other nations that were under authority of the sons of GOD, specifically those who were in rebellion and were leading people away from the one true GOD. The people of other nations were also trapped in slavery see Psalm 82 verse two — “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah. 

- Israel was suppose to be GOD's ambassadors here on earth. They were to be living, teaching and living examples for all to see and that included seeking and saving the lost nations that were disinherited at Babel. Deuteronomy 32:7-9 Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.

When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind,

he fixed the borders of the peoples

according to the number of the sons of God.

But the LORD’s portion is his people,

Jacob his allotted heritage.

Fast forward to Pentecost the followers of Jesus were commanded to take the good news to the nations and free people from slavery and bondage perpetrated by the Prince of the power of the air, the God of this world, the Devil.

Preaent day Israel should be following what the LORD had commanded them to do. They are currently more involved with living in this world and all this entails. GOD will get them back on track and back to the work when the 144,000 are revealed and sealed.

Revelation 7:3-8 “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,

12,000 from the tribe of Gad,

612,000 from the tribe of Asher, 

12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,

12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,

712,000 from the tribe of Simeon,

12,000 from the tribe of Levi,

12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,

812,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,

12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,

12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

I'd like mention that there is curently brothers and sisters within Israel following hard after Christ, but the nation as a whole is suppose to be following GOD's plan, top down from the leaders, military, government, businesses, etc. It wasn't happening before Jesus arrived on the scene and it's not happening now.

I find it very interesting the words the Psalmist uses in verses 17 to 21

- we have not forgotten you

- we have not been false to your covenant.

- our hearts and our steps have not turned away from you.

- we have not forgotten your name

- we have not worshiped foreign gods.

- does he not know our hearts?

Compare these with what some of GOD's prophets or GOD himself had to say on the matter.

- And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” Isaiah 6:5 

- This is your lot, the portion I have measured out to you, declares the LORD, because you have forgotten me and trusted in lies. Jeremiah 13:25 

- Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the LORD, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no waterJeremiah 2:13-14

- finally the answer to thier question, yes he knows your hearts and they are stone cold. Ezekiel 11:19 — And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh.

- at verse twelve the Psalmist makes the claim that GOD has sold his people for a trifle, for next to nothing. In comparison a son of Adam sold our creator, the LORD of Heaven and Earth, the KING of Kings and the LORD of Lords, the Ancient of days for a mere 30 pieces of silver. The Devil and his followers sold him out for position and power. We have all done it for our own selfish gain. In contrast GOD did it for our salvation.

- the scattering among the nations may look bad on the surface, but what better way to scatter seed all over the world. GOD is playing 3D chess and the Devil is stuck in one dimension. GOD took what the enemy tried to do to GOD's people in Genesis 6 and cranked it up. You didn't see that one coming did you Mr. Devil?

- in response to verse 23, GOD is not a man that he needs to sleep, he is always awake and aware of every situation. Psalm 121:4 — Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. Some thousand years ago GOD showed up to prove he did not reject them "forever" in fact he came that they would have life through his death. It was the day that death bit off more than it could chew, it choked on life and died. The burial and grave side service will be held at the edge of the lake of fire. See Revelation 20:14

- the response to verse 24, the incarnation answers this, GOD in Christ Jesus did not hide his face or forget about thier / our affliction and oppression.

- verse 25 We are no longer the serpent's Sand wich — The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. Genesis 3:14

- finally verse 26 is answered by John 3:16 — “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

My prayer - Heavenly Father sometimes we like the Psalmist can feel like you have forgotten us and we are all alone. The Psalmist and the people of that time could look back at all your mighty works. Today we need only to look back to the cross to see how much you love us. Help us to take our eyes off our loneliness and ourselves and look to your cross. Paraphrasing the Apostle Paul from Ephesians 3:18-19 that we with all of the saints are able to comprehend the breadth, length, height, depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that we may be filled with all the fullness of God. Amen.

May you be full of him this holiday season and continue to be filled in 2026