Long ago, Yahweh had promised that Israel would always have faithful prophets, as long as they did not consult magicians, soothsayers, and mediums (Deuteronomy 18:10–18). But that is exactly what the people did (Isaiah 8:19; 2 Chronicles 33:6) and now God was punishing them with his silence.
The prophecies of Ezekiel and Jeremiah were common knowledge. By then Jeremiah had published his book (Jeremiah 36:1–32) in which he proclaimed that Babylon’s dominance would end after seventy years (Jeremiah 25:11–12; Jeremiah 27:7; Jeremiah 29:10; Daniel 9:2; 2 Chronicles 36:21). However, a part of the judgment upon the people was that they were unable to understand the prophets (Isaiah 6:10). The faithful remnant may have known about the seventy years, but they were so few that Asaph concluded there is none among us who knows how long.
Asaph no longer saw any prophets or any other signs of Yahweh’s presence in Israel, like the temple, altars, the Sabbath, and the priests. The signs may also be understood to mean miracles performed by Yahweh for his people. While Israel’s early history was filled with miracles of intercession and deliverance, there was now a painful lack of such signs.
9 We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long.