Ps. 78.34-37 (locating darkness)

True, / when he was killing them / they searched for him
they repented / and looked diligently / for God
They remembered / that God / was their Rock
and that God Most High / was their Redeemer
But / they deceived him / with their words
and with their tongues / they lied to him
Their heart / was not steadfast / with him,
and they were not faithful / to his covenant.  

Where the darkness lies. These are deeply troubling lines, although I do not believe the trouble lies where many readers would find it (at least in the psalmist’s eyes). To the psalmist I do not believe that what is most troubling is the fact that God continues his killing while Israel repents. It is clear that their repentance is not genuine, although it is ‘diligent’. Rather, what is most troubling is the fact that God’s killing does not inspire genuine repentance. This is, indeed, a very distressing fact, for there is no more profound judgment than death itself. If death does not become the ‘wonder’ needed in order to cause repentance in Israel it would appear that nothing can. In other words, it would appear that Israel is unable to be redeemed. In the context of the psalm this points to an even further problem—we detailed in the opening portion of the ‘history’ portion of the psalm how the first words Israel speaks after God works wonders on their behalf are not words of praise or thanksgiving but, rather, requests, challenges and mockeries of God. We could say that God lifted them to the heights and they sinned from above. Then, when the ‘heights’ is not enough to bring them around to faithfulness, God resorts to the reverse form of the covenant: not blessing, but curse; indeed, the curse of death. In essence, God now attempts to work with them ‘from below’. However, even there, directly in the midst of the curse (as they had sinned directly in the midst of blessing), they continue to rebel and attempt a fraud on God. What this shows is that Israel is utterly failing within the covenantal structure: the covenant operates according to blessing and curses; Israel responds to neither but lives in disobedience. While they should be displaying steadfast loyalty to God, they are only steadfastly remaining in their sin. When we understand God’s killing in this context—the covenantal context—we see that the real darkness is in Israel alone. God seems to have covenanted himself to a partner that willfully refuses obedience to him, no matter what happens to them. We need to see here something that is very reminiscent of the deuteronomic history: that from the exodus up to the time of David, Israel is on an almost  perpetual downward spiral. This same pattern is followed in this psalm. It will become key then, when we get to the end of the psalm, to note how this seemingly intractable rebellion on Israel’s part is somehow answered in David. Formal observation. We need to point out here the fact that these verses comprise their own unit. Within that unit we find four lines, beginning with “True”, that describes Israel’s apparent repentance and then four lines, beginning with the tragic “But”, describing the fact of Israel’s deceit to God. By organizing these lines in this fashion, the psalmist shows that the last four lines completely counteract the first four: there is nothing genuine about Israel’s ‘searching’; their ‘diligence’ is mere effort with no depth/steadfastness (they are like seed cast on rocks…). We will see in our next reflection, however, that there is a divine “But” to the Israelite tragic “But”. Sympathy for Israel. As noted above I do not think the psalmist has any sympathy for Israel, nor any concern for those whom God kills (which does not mean he ‘enjoys’ it; I think he simply sees as the ‘correct’ response to their astonishing rebellion. Again, everything that is not happening correctly in this psalm is Israel and the psalmist is at pains to show how God is faithful in light of that. This is not ‘stern justice’; it is justice). It is the ‘operation of the covenant’. He sees their ‘diligence’ as a mere sham and the repentance, in reality, as, not failure, but lies and deceit. He does not isolate their behavior but sees it in the broader contours of their entire response to God. Something that may seem genuine at one point will be later revealed as nothing but a lie.  Further, what happens to a sub-set in Israel is, primarily, (I think) happening to and performed for Israel as a corporate body. This is the ‘pruning’ of branches in order to save the tree/vine.  This ‘killing’ must be perceived in this corporate context or else, it seems, it will not make sense (as, I believe, with Job’s children).