Making Sense of Evil – Psalm 73

Psalm 73:1-3: The contradiction between the goodness of God and the prosperity of the wicked.

Truly God is good to Israel,
To such as are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
My steps had nearly slipped.
For I was envious of the boastful,
When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

[3] For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked: This was another truth that seemed to contradict what Asaph knew of God as declared in the first verse. He knew that God was [1] good to Israel and to the pure in heart, but it also seemed that God was good to the boastful and to the wicked. It all seemed so unfair to Asaph, and this made him [2] almost stumble and slip.

What do we do? We resist evil. One big way we do this in a representative democracy is by electing and supporting leaders who are committed to the rule of law and the administration of justice.

When Jesus said, I tell you not to resist an evil person in Matthew 5:39, it was in the context of the evil of a personal insult.

When a person insults us (slaps you on the right cheek), we want to give them back what they gave to us, plus more. Jesus said we should patiently bear such insults and offenses, and not resist an evil person who insults us this way. Instead, we trust God to defend us. France points out that ancient Jewish writings say that striking someone with the back of the hand – a severe insult – was punishable by a very heavy fine, according to Mishnah BK 8:6. When we think how Jesus Himself was insulted and spoken against (as a glutton, a drunk, an illegitimate child, a blasphemer, a madman, and so forth) we see how He lived this principle Himself.

It is wrong to think Jesus means evil should never be resisted. Jesus demonstrated with His life that evil should and must be resisted, such as when He confronted and rebuked the leaders of the religious establishment of His day, and when Jesus turned tables in the temple.

Psalm 73:16-17 – The power of a new perspective.

[16] When I thought how to understand this,
It was too painful for me—
[17] Until I went into the sanctuary of God;
Then I understood their end.

[16] When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me: Asaph was caught in a trap. He could not deny the evidence that said that the wicked and ungodly often have good lives. He could not deny that his own life was often hard, leaving him feeling plagued and chastened by God. He felt all this to be true, but he also felt he could not talk about it because it would be untrue to others. Therefore, it was all too painful for him.

[17] Until I went into the sanctuary of God: The crisis seemed to build and build for Asaph, until he went into the house of the Lord. There he gained a perspective on his problem that he did not have before. There he was able to see things from an eternal viewpoint, and he then understood their end.

What did going to the house of God do for Asaph? There, he could gain understanding in several ways.

• By prayer and worship in the sanctuary, he understood that God was at the center of all things, and he gained a fresh appreciation of both God and eternity.
• By hearing the word of God in the sanctuary, he understood that there was a truth that went beyond what he saw and experienced in everyday life.
• By observing sacrifice at the sanctuary, he understood that God takes sin so seriously that it must be judged and atoned for, even if it is by an innocent victim who stands in the place of the guilty by faith.

  For Asaph, this was the sanctuary of God. It was the temple in Jerusalem, or the tabernacle that existed before the temple. For us, it is the place where we meet with God’s people for worship and fellowship and hearing the word of God.

  When Asaph went to the sanctuary of God, he received understanding. It wasn’t only a place to impact the senses and the feelings, but the understanding of a man. Asaph didn’t remark on how he felt their end or even experiencedtheir end; he understood their end. It isn’t a bad thing to feel and experience the right things in the house of God, but there must also be understanding – the communication of truth in ways that can be received.

Psalm 73:28 – A Confident Declaration, Living Out One’s Faith

I have put my trust in the Lord GOD,
That I may declare all Your works.

He saw the great benefit in drawing near to God, which he doubted before (Psalm 73:13). In times of trouble and distress, what do people draw near to? Their alcohol? Their distractions? Their uncleanness? Asaph knew, is good for me to draw near to God.

He saw the value of putting his trust in God, now understanding that God was reliable and could be trusted.

iii. He had a passion to declare God’s works. He would become a messenger of God’s goodness and of the eternal perspective he gained in the house of the Lord.

Q&A for September 18, 2025