People like rituals. We like predictable, daily rhythms as we progress from early morning to bedtime. We mark time by the changing seasons and the calendar of special occasions.

It was no different when the psalms were being composed, often to commemorate special events through the year. The beginning of Psalm 81 is a travel psalm people might have sung on their way to the Temple for a festival to mark the transition from one year to the next.

The rest of the psalm, however, shows that the people had forgotten the original reason for the celebration: the Lord’s freeing them from bondage in Egypt. The Lord who brought them up out of slavery is ready to fill their open mouths again, but the people will not listen. They will not submit to Yahweh, so the Lord gives them over to their stubborn ways.

Can you sense God’s disappointment and frustration? It reminds me of someone who has tried in vain to help a family member overcome an addiction. Again and again the long-suffering relative or friend provides empathy, money, lodging, and trips to professionals, only to have the one suffering with the addiction get into trouble again. Sometimes these cycles are too much for humans, and the only healthy thing to do is trust in God. But God always comes to people, in ancient Israel and in modern situations, inviting us away from death and destruction toward health and wholeness.

We are slow to remember God’s saving grace but quick to turn God’s interventions into reasons to celebrate. God has to intervene continually with each new generation. Thanks be to God that God is more than willing to do just that.