Today’s Scripture Reading (September
14, 2013): Psalm 83
In the early
90’s, during the First Gulf War, the United States placed Israel in a bit of a
precarious position. The message that the United States wanted the world to
receive was that this was their war. During the days of the war, Israel
received the outburst from Iraq. The truth was that Israel was the enemy close
enough to feel Iraq’s displeasure. But there was also a very real argument to
be made that Israel was not really involved in the conflict – this was a
conflict between the U.S. and Iraq. During those dark days it appeared to those
of us looking on that the U.S. was having daily conversations with Israel,
begging them not to respond, because if they did respond then an all-out war
(and World War III) in the Middle East seemed to be almost a certainty– a
situation the U.S. passionately wanted to avoid.
During those
days I had a good friend who was very pro-Israel. And his language was often
very uncomfortably descriptive. In his eyes, Israel was a “dog on an American
leash” – a dog that the American President was actively trying to reign in. But
the dog needed to be released. Israel needed to be allowed to take the war to
Iraq, the country that was attacking them. From his perspective, his country
Israel was ready and willing to take on everyone who wanted a piece of them and
the world would be so much better off if the powers that be would just back of
and let Israel into the fight. But the problem was that, while there was admittedly
a lot of tension in the Middle East, this conflict did not involve Israel.
Psalm 83 is
thought of as a war psalm. Scholars have worked hard to tie this Psalm in with
some of the battles of David or any of the other kings, but the problem is that
there does not seem to be a conflict that fits the one being described here –
there is not a war in Israel’s history involving the kingdoms that are named
here. Every attempt to identify this psalm with an actual battle has to be made
to fit, and some details of the Psalm have to be adjusted or overlooked.
But there is
another problem with considering Psalm 83 as a war psalm - war is not actually
mentioned in the Psalm. The closest we really get is the idea that these nations
were plotting and conspiring; they were planning for war, but we do not know
that the war ever happened. According to the Psalmist, the war was not being
planned against Israel – it was against God. And the Psalmist cry is for God to
rise up against the nations that were plotting against them. It is not that God
will arm and assist Israel to fight in the war that is to come, but rather that
God himself will enter into the battle - that God will fight the approaching
war.
This has
always been the strength of Israel. Their strength has always been found in
their belief in their God and not in the strength of their arms. Even in modern
times, the existence of the nation of Israel is a miracle all by itself. God
has done something and therefore the nation has found its reality. And I
believe that the Christian Church stands in the same spot. We exist for one
reason only – God has allowed us to exist. And our power is still found in the
God that we follow – the God that we believe in.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm
84
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