(1) Overview
The psalmist asks God to deliver Israel from the attacks of foreign nations. Recalling how God defeated Israel’s enemies in the days of Deborah and Gideon, he prays that the hostile nations would be humiliated.
(2) Historical background
(Kel Ps) There is no single time when all these nations formed a coalition to destroy Israel... It may be that the ten names on the list in this psalm are representative of the enemies that had the same desire to destroy Israel. If so, the psalm would be appropriate for anytime the nation was threatened; the threat was imminent at the writing of this psalm... Whenever Israel was confronted by enemies the people would pick up the refrain again that all the nations, perhaps one after another, were determined to annihilate them. So they would pray that God would bring the constant opposition to an end once and for all.
(Kel Ps)
A Prayer for God’s Action (v. 1)
B Plottings of the Enemies (vv. 2–4)
C Greatness of the Opposition (vv. 5–8)
C´ Great Acts of God in Israel’s History (vv. 9–12)
B´ Shaming of the Enemies (vv. 13–16)
A´ Prayer for God’s Action (vv. 17–18)
B Plottings of the Enemies (vv. 2–4)
C Greatness of the Opposition (vv. 5–8)
C´ Great Acts of God in Israel’s History (vv. 9–12)
B´ Shaming of the Enemies (vv. 13–16)
A´ Prayer for God’s Action (vv. 17–18)
(4) Key verses
83:16 Cover their faces with shame,
so they might seek you, O LORD.
83:17 May they be humiliated and continually terrified!
May they die in shame!
83:18 Then they will know that you alone are the LORD,
the sovereign king over all the earth.
so they might seek you, O LORD.
83:17 May they be humiliated and continually terrified!
May they die in shame!
83:18 Then they will know that you alone are the LORD,
the sovereign king over all the earth.
There seems to be a conflict in (1) asking God to let the people to seek Him when they were judged v.16b and (2) cursing of the enemies v.17b.
(NET) v. 16b [people might seek God, a positive outcome of the judgment] expresses an ideal, while the strong imprecation of vv. 17–18 [cursing the enemies] anticipates reality. It would be nice if the defeated nations actually pursued a relationship with God, but if judgment does not bring them to that point, the psalmist asks that they be annihilated so that they might at least be forced to acknowledge God’s power.
Reflection: When the coalition of nations attacked Israel they knew that they were against the LORD v.2,12 for Israel were the ones God cherish v.3. They were not innocent people. Even to a group like this, the author asked for the positive outcomes first. However, in reality, the author anticipated for the worse. When they die they will know that God is the sovereign king. What is your heart to your worse enemy? For the persecutor of Christians?
Audrey
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