Psalm 83 : Preview Of A Coming Attraction

Psalm 83 – the prophetic picture of the conflict in the Middle East from Israel Media on Vimeo.

 (Note: this is an update of a previous study originally posted in 2008)

Hezbollah has said that Israel’s disappearance after their next war is an established fact. Iran’s President has called Israel a dirty microbe and a savage animal that will soon disappear in a flash. The commander in chief of Iran’s army predicts that millions will soon receive the joyous news of Israel’s destruction. Today Israel is on high alert after bombing a Syrian chemical weapons factory outside of Damascus and a weapons convoy heading into Lebanon. Russia is upset by this, and Syria and Iran have both vowed to retaliate, saying Israel’s attack gives them the right to do so.

With all the rhetoric flying around the Middle East about a major war coming, and with multiple countries rapidly beefing up their military preparedness, a quick review ofPsalm 83 is in order to refresh our minds on the prophetic details of this coming attack against Israel.

Psalm 83 was probably written some time after the end of King Solomon’s reign (about 900 BC)  but the Bible contains no account of such a coordinated effort by all of Israel’s neighbors to destroy them, either during that time or since.  A partial fulfillment may be in view in 2 Chron. 20 which describes Moab, Ammon, and parts of Edom invading Judah during King Jehosophat’s reign (872-848 BC).  Interestingly, Jahaziel, a Levite who prophesied Judah’s victory in that battle was a descendant of Asaph, who wrotePsalm 83.  Applying one of His favorite tactics, the Lord set Israel’s enemies against each other and they defeated themselves. (Ezekiel 38:21 tells of a future use of this same tactic.)

But the Battle of 2 Chron. 20 doesn’t fully meet the requirements of Psalm 83, having many fewer antagonists, so on that basis we can assume it was a partial fulfillment at best and the ultimate fulfillment is still in the future, perhaps the very near future. If so, it could be the bridge between the current state of affairs in Israel and the conditions necessary for the Battle of Ezekiel 38 to happen.  Let’s find out.

Psalm 83

O God, do not keep silent; be not quiet, O God, be not still. See how your enemies are astir, how your foes rear their heads. With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish.

“Come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more.”

With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you- the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites, Gebal, Ammon and Amalek, Philistia, with the people of Tyre. Even Assyria has joined them to lend strength to the descendants of Lot. (Ps. 83:1-8)

The language is out of today’s headlines and the countries lined up against Israel in this Psalm inhabited the lands of Israel’s current neighbors. Edom and the Ishmaelites were in land occupied by southern Jordan today while the territories of Moab and Ammon make up the rest of that country. Ahman, the modern spelling of Ammon, is the capital of Jordan.

(While the government of Jordan has a peace treaty with Israel, we should remember that some 70% of Jordan’s population is “Palestinian” and in fact the country was originally formed to be the Palestinian home land. Currently there’s a proposal in the works that would join the Palestinians and Jordan in a federation.  This would give the Palestinians almost every advantage of statehood without having to recognizing Israel as a Jewish state.)

The Hagrites were part of Aram, whose capitol was Damascus in modern Syria.  Some have tried to link the Hagrites to Egypt, saying they were the descendants of Hagar.  She was the Egyptian slave woman Abraham and Sarah acquired there who became the mother of Ishmael.  But according to 1 Chron. 5:10 the Hagrites occupied the area east of Gilead in today’s northern Jordan.

Gebal (also called Byblos) and Tyre are cities that can still be found in present day Lebanon, home of Hezbollah.  The Amalekites lived in Israel’s southern desert and Philistia settled in Gaza on Israel’s southern border, where Hamas currently reigns.  Assyria would conquer Aram shortly after Psalm 83was written and the descendants of Lot is another reference to Jordan.  Remember, Moab and Ammon were the sons of an incestuous union between Lot and his two daughters and settled in land the Lord  gave them east of the Jordan River (Deut. 2:9).

continue at Rapture Ready:

http://www.raptureready.com/featured/kelley/jack262.html