What is the meaning of Psalm 73:10? So their people return to this place • Psalm 73 has just described the arrogant as carefree, violent, and boastful (Psalm 73:4-9). Because of that apparent success, “their people”—those who identify with or admire them—“return to this place.” • The wording points to a cycle: spectators drift back to the sphere of the wicked, attracted by what they see. Compare Psalm 49:13-14, where the masses follow self-confident leaders into ruin. • This turning “to this place” suggests a movement of the heart more than geography: minds and loyalties gravitate toward the prosperous ungodly. Proverbs 1:10-15 warns against joining sinners on an enticing path; 2 Timothy 4:3-4 shows how easily crowds flock to voices that scratch itching ears. • Asaph is showing that the influence of the ungodly is real and magnetic. Even covenant people can be lured if they measure success by comfort instead of faithfulness (Psalm 73:2-3). and drink up waters in abundance • Having returned, these followers “drink up waters in abundance.” The picture is of people gulping down whatever the arrogant provide, with no restraint. Proverbs 4:17 speaks of those who “drink the wine of violence,” an image echoed here. • Water often symbolizes teaching or influence. Jeremiah 2:13 contrasts the Lord’s fountain of living water with broken cisterns; 2 Peter 2:17-19 describes false teachers as wells without water who still promise freedom. In Psalm 73 the waters are plentiful, but they do not satisfy the soul. • The abundance highlights excess. Instead of tasting and testing, people consume uncritically. Proverbs 14:15 cautions that “the simple believe every word,” while Proverbs 5:15-18 urges drinking only from one’s own (God-given) cistern. • By spotlighting the crowd’s eager consumption, Asaph underlines the danger: when the wicked set the menu, spiritual dehydration follows, no matter how full the cup appears. Only the living water Jesus offers truly refreshes (John 4:13-14). summary Psalm 73:10 shows a sobering chain reaction: the apparent triumph of the ungodly draws observers back into their orbit, and those observers then gorge on whatever the arrogant pour out. The verse warns that fascination with worldly prosperity can pull hearts away from God, leading to undiscerning acceptance of empty ideas. Real life and satisfaction are found not in the overflowing words of the wicked but in the faithful, living water the Lord provides. |
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