Psalm 80, from defeat to the Second Coming 515-2 - 15 - 6

Psalm 80:1, “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth." 

The Shepherd of Israel is a name of God enthroned between the cherubim on the mercy seat. Israel would sin and come under judgment, repent, and be reconciled with God the Shepherd and sin again. Finally the Shekinah Glory was removed from Solomon’s Temple.

Ezekiel 10:18, "Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim." Ezekiel, 11:22-23, “Then did the cherubim’s lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city."

When studying Ezekiel, I could nearly feel the sadness and disappointment of God as he withdrew his Shekinah Glory from his chosen people.

Israel again pleads for forgiveness and restoration. Psalm 80:3, "Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved." 

Psalm 80:12-13, “12 Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her? 13 The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it.” So, is Psalm 80 prophetic of the fall of the Northern Kingdom, the Babylon captivity, the abomination of desolation and victory of the Maccabees, the destruction of the temple by the Romans in 70 AD or the abomination of desolation during mid-tribulation?

Psalm 80:14-15, “14 Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine; 15 And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.”

A transition from Israel to the Messiah, Psalm 80:16-17, “16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance. 17, Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.”

Israel was scattered, nevertheless, God would bring they back home; the State of Israel May 14, 1948 . Ezekiel 34:11, “For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.”

Ezekiel 34:1213, “12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. 13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.”

Psalm 80:18-19, “18 So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name. 19 Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.”  

Then the Messiah, Ezekiel 34:23, “And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.”