In Psalm 83, Asaph laments because he sees great danger ahead for Judah. His country is hemmed in by hostile neighbors. Asaph prays that God would destroy them and protect His chosen people, as He had in past victories.

This was a grave situation; the psalmist turns immediately to God for help. These surrounding enemy nations are plotting cunningly against God’s people. They have no respect for YHWH and plan to wipe out Judah for the honor of their own pagan god. They want to push them into the sea and do away with any remembrance of them.

Asaph wanted God’s wrath to be like a stormy tempest from which they could not escape. He wanted YHWH to set the very mountains on fire to destroy them. He prayed that the wicked enemies that insult YHWH by their hostility, arrogance and violence would be ashamed and disgraced.

In discussing this Psalm, I like the statement made by Dr. Allen Ross (DTS): "By trifling with people God cherishes, they would learn the hard way that God alone is the sovereign Lord"

Let’s take a look at this amazing Psalm:

PSA 83:1 O God, do not remain quiet; Do not be silent and, O God, do not be still.

PSA 83:2 For behold, Your enemies make an uproar, And those who hate you have exalted themselves.

PSA 83:3 They make shrewd plans against Your people, And conspire together against Your treasured ones. (Pretend to want peace, but encourage terrorists)

PSA 83:4 They have said, "Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, That the name of Israel be remembered no more." (All Arabic maps now show Palestine but not a country of Israel)

PSA 83:5 For they have conspired together with one mind; Against You they make a covenant:

PSA 83:6 The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites; (Jordan, Saudi Arabia or Arab-Muslim world)

PSA 83:7 Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; (Jordan,nomadic tribes,Palestinians,Lebanon)

PSA 83:8 Assyria also has joined with them; They have become a help to the children of Lot. Selah. (Syria,Iraq,Iran)

PSA 83:12 Who said, "Let us possess for ourselves The pastures of God."

PSA 83:13 O my God, make them like the whirling dust, Like chaff before the wind.

PSA 83:15 So pursue them with Your tempest And terrify them with Your storm. (Use of tactical nuclear weapons ?)

PSA 83:16 Fill their faces with dishonor, That they may seek Your name, O Lord.

PSA 83:17 Let them be ashamed and dismayed forever, And let them be humiliated and perish,

PSA 83:18 That they may know that You alone, whose name is the Lord, Are the Most High over all the earth. (Not "Allah")

Scripture from NASB, Lockman Foundation.

Some Bible commentaries refer this scripture back to the situation presented in II Chron.20. Judah was being threatened by a "great multitude" from what is today the area of Jordan and Syria.

2CH 20:2 Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, "A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, out of Aram ..."

2CH 20:6 and he said, "O Lord, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You.

2CH 20:7 "Did You not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever?

2CH 20:12 "O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You."

2CH 20:15 and he said, "Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the Lord to you, 'Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's.

2CH 20:17 'You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you."

2CH 20:23 For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir destroying them completely; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

Psalm 83 seemed especially relevant also when in May of 1967, Gamel Abdul Nasser, President of the U.A.R. said, "Our basic aim is the destruction of Israel." For many bible believing Christians and Jews, this Psalm then took on new meaning. On June fifth, joined by eight other Arab nations, this coalition attempted to drive Israel into the sea. In six days the war was over; Israel had won a stunning victory over overwhelming odds and vastly superior numbers. God had miraculously shielded them, defying all human explanation.

Today, once again, the situation in Israel is escalating toward a regional war. Suicide bombings have made life unbearable in Israel:

Consider these excerpts from a sermon delivered live over Palestinian television 13October 2000 by Dr. Ahmad Abu Halabiya:

"...the Jews who must be butchered and killed, as Allah the almighty has said." "Wherever you meet them, kill them...and kill those Americans who are like them-who stand by them."

The Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran had previously stated that three purposes needed to be accomplished. The second purpose listed is to take back the land of Palestine for Allah, exterminating Israel in the process.

Osama bin Laden repeated these purposes in 1998,but in addition urged Jihad against Americans.

In a sermon, of all things, Sheikh Ibrahim Madhi issued a warning over Palestinian television on June 8,2001:

"Allah is willing for the unjust state of Israel to be erased. The unjust state, the United States will be erased. The unjust state, Britain, will be erased."

How should we as Christian react; what do these things mean to the body of Christ? Understand that this is more than a war; it is a spiritual war, with the honor of God at stake! We should have, as the psalmist, a passion for the honor of God.

The correct translation of Ps 83:18 could be:

"...whose name alone is the Lord, alone the Most High over all the earth."

The god of Islam, Allah, is most definitely not the God of the Bible. It is amazing how many people, even Pastors and Christian teachers believe incorrectly that "Allah" is just the Muslim name for Jehovah.

[Koran, Sura 4:171] "Believe in Allah and say not ‘Trinity’. Cease! It is better for you! Allah is only one god. Far is it removed from his transcendent majesty that he should have a son."

So, we should pray for Muslims, that their hearts will be opened to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Pray for the leaders in Israel, that they will turn to Jehovah for protection, and stop trying to appease an enemy that is bent on their destruction. Pray that our national leaders will have their eyes and hearts opened to support Israel fully, and not be seduced by world opinion, ungodly advisors and the lust for oil. We should have a great passion for the honor of our God.

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