Psalm 73 is a wisdom song: a song about life and it gives a life lesson.
At the outset, the wisdom seems to be this:
Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart. (1)
Yet, we sense a huge contradiction in the rest of the Psalm.
- Good people don’t get rewarded. (13)
- Good people get punished. (14)
- Good people still live faithfully to God. (15)
Not only that…
- Bad people don’t get punished. (4-5)
- Bad people actually get rewarded. (12)
- Bad people continue to speak against God. (8-11)
How is God “good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart?”
The psalmist went “into the sanctuary of God; then [he] discerned their end.” (17)
- He understood the end of the wicked. (18-20)
- He understood the end of the faithful. (23-24)
Most importantly, he understood that God is “good to those who are pure in heart” not because He blesses them with things, but He blesses them with Himself.
His presence is the ultimate reward to those who are pure in heart. (23-26, 28)
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