You don’t have to read the Bible very much to realize it’s not all angel food cakes and showers of blessings. Authors of scripture felt free to curse those who pursued lifestyles of oppression.

Like this line from the psalmist: May all who hate Zion be turned back in shame. May they be like grass on the roof, which withers before it can grow.

An interesting denunciation for those of us with roofs of shingles or asphalt or concrete. Nothing can root and grow on my roof (my eaves, when filled with leaves, are a different story). But I’ve seen grass growing on roofs, and it makes for a poor crop.

Grass fails to flourish on a roof. No one bails hay on the roof and then feeds their livestock. Grass shrivels in such an environment—thus the curse.

The writer hopes those oppressing the people of God wilt, with prosperity eluding them. May good parents, hurrying by with their children, point out the errors of these bullies.

History teaches us that for a season, oppressors have their way. The cycle continues unabated somewhere in the world all the time. But one day, the Lord will return and cycles of hate and persecution will end. In the meantime let us encourage one another with this line from the same psalmist:

The blessings of the Lord be on you; we bless you in the name of the Lord.

Psalm129 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Dieter de Vroomen