Through the course of it's history, the nation of Israel, the individuals therein, and even the people before who God chose faced defeat. They were crushed. They had their hearts broken. They were enslaved, slaughtered, exiled and humiliated. But they also had great victory. Joshua set a great tone in recognizing that true victories are delivered by God, and defeat comes from going forward without God's command or approval.
Here in the 44th Psalm, they acknowledge that it wasn't their own bows or spears that gave victory, it was God. Also, they understand that their current state of being defeated was a result of God's rejection. They simply didn't live up to the covenant deal that God made with them, and about which God was painfully clear. This demolition was promised. It was bound to happen if they rejected God. Israel is that "byword" that they were warned they would become. Job used the word "byword" too, to refer to the fact that while he was once highly respected and revered, tragedy struck him and led to people thinking he was anchored to some unconfessed sin.
But do they lose hope? No. They understand that a restoration of a relationship with God is necessary in order to return Israel to the winner's circle, in order to gain blessing.
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