What does Psalm 79:7 mean?
What is the meaning of Psalm 79:7?

for they have devoured Jacob

• The psalmist protests that hostile nations have “devoured Jacob,” a vivid way of saying Israel has been swallowed up without mercy.

– Jeremiah echoes the same wording: “Pour out Your wrath on the nations… for they have devoured Jacob” (Jeremiah 10:25), confirming that this was a recognized description of foreign oppression.

Psalm 14:4 and Micah 3:3 use the picture of enemies “eating” God’s people like bread, highlighting the brutality involved.

• The phrase also signals covenant violation by Israel’s enemies. When God promised the land to Jacob (Genesis 28:13-15), He bound Himself to protect that promise; devouring Jacob, therefore, attacks the faithfulness of God Himself (cf. Exodus 2:24).

• Yet the same Scripture affirms that nothing can ultimately erase Jacob’s identity. Isaiah 49:26 promises, “All flesh will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior.” The psalmist laments, but underneath the grief lies confidence that Jacob remains God’s chosen people.


and devastated his homeland

• The “homeland” (the land God deeded to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) has been “devastated,” pointing directly to the razing of Jerusalem and Judah—events vividly described in 2 Kings 25:9 and Lamentations 1:1.

Psalm 74:7, also by Asaph, mourns, “They have set Your sanctuary on fire,” linking the ruin of the land with the desecration of the temple.

Ezekiel 36:4-10 portrays the mountains of Israel as “devastated,” yet promises rebuilding, showing that devastation is never God’s last word.

• Desolation of the land is a covenant curse (Leviticus 26:31-33). The psalmist recognizes that sin has consequences, but still appeals to God’s mercy because the land is ultimately His possession (Jeremiah 2:7).

• By specifying “his homeland,” the verse stresses personal relationship: the land isn’t merely territory—it is Jacob’s inheritance, God’s gift (Deuteronomy 4:37-38). The sorrow is therefore both national and familial.


summary

Psalm 79:7 laments two entwined tragedies: ruthless enemies have consumed God’s covenant people and ravaged the very land promised to them. The verse records agony, yet every phrase also testifies that Israel remains “Jacob,” still belonging to the Lord, and that the land, though desolated, is still His pledged inheritance—grounds for confident hope in future restoration (Jeremiah 30:18; Amos 9:14).

What historical context influenced the plea in Psalm 79:6?
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