What is the meaning of Psalm 73:5? They are free of the burdens others carry Asaph looks at people who ignore God yet seem to glide through life. • Their health, finances, and relationships appear smooth (Psalm 73:12). • They dodge the daily anxieties that weigh down faithful believers, like persecution (2 Timothy 3:12) or the inner battle against sin (Romans 7:21-24). • Scripture elsewhere notes this puzzling ease: “Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?” (Job 21:7). • The freedom is only surface-level; earthly ease never erases the soul’s need for God (Luke 12:16-21). • The contrast sharpens hope for believers, who cast their legitimate cares on the Lord (1 Peter 5:7) rather than pretending they do not exist. they are not afflicted like other men Asaph observes what seems like immunity from trouble. • Their homes feel secure (Job 21:9), and tragedy that visits others appears to pass them by. • Righteous people, by contrast, experience refining trials: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous” (Psalm 34:19), “Whom the Lord loves He disciplines” (Hebrews 12:6). • The absence of affliction can lull the ungodly into deeper complacency (Jeremiah 12:1-2). • God allows this disparity for a season; ultimate justice is certain (Psalm 37:7-13; Revelation 20:11-15). • Affliction is not proof of divine displeasure, nor is prosperity proof of divine favor—Jesus Himself was “a man of sorrows” (Isaiah 53:3), yet perfectly pleasing to the Father (Matthew 3:17). summary Psalm 73:5 describes the short-term prosperity of those who reject God. They seem unburdened and untouched by hardship, yet their ease is temporary and deceptive. For believers, the verse highlights that earthly comfort is not the measure of blessing; enduring faith under God’s loving discipline is. |
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