Psalm 83
A song. A psalm of Asaph.
1
O God, do not keep silent;
be not quiet, O God, be not still.
2
See how your enemies are astir,
how your foes rear their heads.
3
With cunning they conspire against your people;
they plot against those you cherish.
4
"Come," they say, "let us destroy them as a nation,
that the name of Israel be remembered no more."
5
With one mind they plot together;
they form an alliance against you-
6
the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
of Moab and the Hagrites,
7
Gebal,
Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia, with the people of Tyre.
8
Even Assyria has joined them
to lend strength to the descendants of Lot.
Selah
9
Do to them as you did to Midian,
as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
10
who perished at Endor
and became like refuse on the ground.
11
Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12
who said, "Let us take possession
of the pasturelands of God."
13
Make them like tumbleweed, O my God,
like chaff before the wind.
14
As fire consumes the forest
or a flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15
so pursue them with your tempest
and terrify them with your storm.
16
Cover their faces with shame
so that men will seek your name, O LORD.
17
May they ever be ashamed and dismayed;
may they perish in disgrace.
18
Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD—
that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.
Psalm 83
appears to describe an ongoing conflict between Israel and the
Arabs that will climax in a final war in which Israel will win a
decisive victory over the Arabs. Psalm 83 is a prayer in which
Israel asked the Lord for deliverance from a group of nations
that verses 3-5 show are united in a confederacy or league for
one purpose — the destruction of the nation of Israel. In the
1950s the Arab League of Nations was actually formed. It united
the Arab nations together for the very purpose of the
destruction of Israel.
Verse 6
mentions some of these nations. Bible scholars and historians
agree that ancient Israel was never confronted by such an
elaborate alliance of nations, namely, Ishmaelites, Edom,
Ammon, Amalek, Hagarenes, Gebal and the Philistines.
Therefore, this prophecy must have an end-time fulfillment.
These Old Testament territories are in modern times the nations
of Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Syria.
Obviously
the Philistines represent the Palestinians. Edom,
Moab, and Ammon occupied what is the modern state of Jordan.
Gebal is Lebanon (Joshua 13:5,6.) Iraq was populated by
the Hagarenes or Hagarites that dwelt east of Gilead in
the wilderness of the River Euphrates (1 Chronicles 5:1,9,10.)
The Ishmaelites settled what is today Saudi Arabia and
Ishmael’s eldest son, Nabajoth, is identified with Syria.
Lebanon
(Gebal) and Tyre play a
prominent role in Psalm 83. Hezbollah is headquartered in Tyre
which has been heavily attacked by Israel’s army in this current
war. Back in the 1970s the PLO had 6,000 Palestinian terrorists
in southern Lebanon creating havoc in Galilee, northern Israel.
Thousands more Palestinians were amassed in the environs of Tyre
where Arafat was headquartered.
Finally on
June 6, 1982, in “Operation Peace of Galilee” the Israeli army
invaded Lebanon and pushed the Palestinians back to
Tyre. Israel was ready to take Arafat and the upper echelon
of PLO leaders captive. But something incredible happened.
Bewildered and bitterly disappointed Israel watched as the US
Navy intervened and gave Arafat and his henchmen safe passage to
Tunis. Meanwhile US Marines were stationed in Beirut to keep the
peace. That’s when Hezbollah, a new Shiite terrorist group,
murdered the US Marines. This caught the eye of Iran, the
theological center for Shiite Moslems. Through Syria, Iran
bankrolled and provided the military might for Hezbollah.
The Israeli
army retreated to southern Lebanon where it maintained a buffer
zone to prevent terrorist attacks on northern Israel. Syria and
Iran have been transforming Hezbollah into a highly professional
army with some of Russia’s most sophisticated rockets, anti-tank
missiles and other Russian weapons. Hezbollah soldiers, rocket
launchers and weapons are bunkered down in civilian population
centers throughout southern Lebanon. If Israel becomes a threat
to Iran, it is Hezbollah’s job to take on Israel. As Hezbollah
increased in military might, it harassed Israel’s buffer zone
demanding that Israel withdraw from southern Lebanon.
Four Israeli mothers who lost
sons in the conflict with Hezbollah started the “Four Mothers in
Black” campaign for the removal of all Israeli troops from
southern Lebanon. A majority
of Israeli public concurred. In 2000 Labor Prime Minister Barak
withdrew all Israeli troops from Lebanon, naively thinking
Hezbollah would be satisfied. It was not. Hezbollah rockets
continued to hit Israel.
The international community
did nothing to enforce UN Resolution 1559. Nothing! Ariel
Sharon made the same mistake in the Gaza unilateral withdrawal.
Now PLO/Hamas rockets are being fired from Gaza all over
southern Israel.
This
current Lebanese war is difficult. Why? Hezbollah’s army was
inspired, trained and armed by Iran.
Still for many it is
disappointing. Even if Israel finally wins, it will have
suffered heavy losses. Never before was Israel’s civilian
population so devastated. Why isn’t the Lord giving Israel a
decisive victory as in the past? Perhaps this is the Lord’s way
of teaching Israel not to give up land the Lord permitted them
to gain. After all, He did promise Israel most of Lebanon up to
Hamath. Some feel the least Israel could have done was keep part
of southern Lebanon for a security zone.
Added to
this sad outlook is the prospect that the current Israeli
Government leadership has expressed the position that this war
is impetus to carry our further withdrawals. That would mean
more dismantling of communities within the historic heartland of
Israel—Judea and Samaria (commonly called the West Bank). The
unilateral “convergence plan’ would further strip Israelis from
their Biblical roots and raise more questions about the security
of distance which legitimate control of Judea and Samaria offer
the State of Israel.
The
ongoing Israeli-Arab conflict will eventually culminate in a
complete victory for Israel. The prayer of Psalm 83 will be
answered by the Lord. Israel will take back any land given up.
Additionally, she will acquire parts of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan
and all of Gaza. Isaiah 11:14; Zephaniah 2:3-10; Zechariah
10:10; Obadiah 19-20 (NIV).
A final
comment on Psalm 83. Verse
8 ASV.
“Assyria also is joined with them; They have helped the children
of Lot.” Assyria could refer to Iraq; however, verse 6
identified the Hagarenes
as symbolizing Iraq. Assyria is used in many Israel end-time
prophecies to symbolize Russia. For example Micah 5:5, and
Zechariah 10:10. The Greek word for helped literally
means strong arm which could symbolize military help.
When Russia was a super-power vying with the US for world
supremacy it supplied the Arab nations with military hardware.
Why? So the Arabs could defeat Israel, the US ally, leaving
Russia the dominant force in the oil rich Middle East. In the
early 1990s, Russia on the verge of bankruptcy toppled as a
world power. Economics have changed. Russia once again is
aspiring to attain world supremacy. Russia is not only arming
Iran but in fulfillment of Psalm 83 is once again the strong arm
of the Arab nations.
Many
televangelists are heralding the invasion of Gog, Ezekiel 38, as
the next prophetic step in the Middle East. But the Scriptures
indicate the above-mentioned decisive Israeli-Arab war must
first be fought. Then Israel will enjoy a short period of peace
and security. Ezekiel 38:11. After this Ezekiel 38 will occur—an
invasion by Russia allied with a group of nations including Iran
(Persia). Iran never seems to give up, but Iran will finally
learn not to oppose Israel. God will fight for Israel as in the
days of old, and Christ’s Kingdom will be established in
Jerusalem and encircle the globe. Ezekiel 38, 39 and Zechariah
14. The ultimate boundaries of Israel as defined in Genesis
15:18 will be acquired after Christ’s Kingdom is fully set up.
