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Special
Israel/Hamas At War Oct 7, 2023
In light of the recent events in Israel, and phone calls and conversations I thought it would be good for us to take a closer look at the news. In Ephesians 6:10–13 (ESV) we are told to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
In order to be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might we are told to 11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Why? Because we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, ‘and’ against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
We may not see it, we might forget it’s there, but there’s more to war than what meets the eye. There is a huge war going on that’s out of our eyesight, but has a direct impact on our reality. As the prince of this world, Satan leads an army of unseen, powerful demonic forces that work in opposition to God, putting nation against nation, people against people, twisting morality, blinding us to the fingerprints of God.
Daniel gives us some insight as to this ‘hidden’ war in chap 9. He was in prayer for his people for 3 weeks. At the end of the three weeks Gabriel comes to him saying, 12. . . I have come in response to your prayer. ‘But’ 13The commander of the Persian kingdom opposed me for 21 days (that’s one of the Princes of the Power of the Air). By the way, these cosmic rulers never ever experience death. What that means is, this same commander is still in the heavenlies steering the Persian kingdom which we know as Iran. Then Michael, one of the chief commanders, came to help me because I was left alone with the kings of Persia. V20, . . . ‘but’ now I must return to fight the commander of Persia. When I go, the commander of Greece will come.
In our polarized world, we often view individuals and countries, without an acknowledgement, that we are actually caught up in a spiritual struggle with powerful forces of evil in heavenly places that move nations, control weather, and interfere with our prayer requests.[i] The warfare that is unfolding around us is meant to make us more attentive of the spiritual powers in the heavenlies, and to remember to stand firm in the strength of God’s power. This morning I want to try and bring some perspective on what is happening in the middle east.
Let’s begin with a word of prayer--
Heavenly Father, our world is boiling with hatred against truth and righteousness. Your enemies who hate you are making an uproar, and are striving to exalt themselves. Amen
On Saturday, October 7th, as Israelis were wrapping up their seven-day-long Jewish festival of Sukkot, sirens pierced the early morning air. Thousands of missiles fired from Gaza began to rain down on indiscriminate targets, sparking terror, crumbling buildings, and leaving hundreds of bodies in city streets. Simultaneously, hundreds of armed fighters on foot, on motorcycles, and motorized paragliders of the terrorist group Hamas breached fences and charged into cities, gunning down citizens, taking Israeli soldiers totally off guard. Militants burst into houses, shooting residents begging for their lives and taking women, children and the elderly as hostage. Within hours of the attack that shocked Israel and the world, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu called it a "dark day" for his country, and declared war on Hamas. A veteran Israeli military official deemed the assault "our 9/11."[ii]
To understand what is happening, it is important we have a geographical and historical perspective. Though it goes further back than AD 135, it was in that year that the Roman Emperor Hadrian expelled Jews from Jerusalem and changed the name of the territory from Jew/Israel to Palestina, taken from Israel’s enemies Philistines.[iii] It was His attempt to obliterate Israel from the map. Jews still remained in the land, but year's later, because of the populace vacuum created, Muslim Arabs swept through the land.[iv]
Then came 1948 when the name Israel was again stamped on the land. With the help of England and the United Nations, Palestinian’s were forced to move to the strip of land known as Gaza, which is roughly 139 square miles, with more than 2 million people compressed within its borders today.[v] Egypt controlled Gaza for roughly 20 yrs, then came the Six-Day war in 1967 with Egypt, Syria and Jordan. Israel took control of Gaza. In 2005 Israel withdrew from Gaza, and the Palestine Authority took control.[vi] In 2006 Hamas took control from the Palestine Authority.
Hamas had its beginnings with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in the late 1980s, and over time became a sociopolitical and military power with the backing of Iran. Since 2005 they have been the de-facto authority in Gaza, calling for the destruction of Israel and the establishment of a Palestinian Islamic society.[vii]
You might be interested in knowing what the word ‘hamas’ means and that the word is actually in the Bible.
Some examples of ‘hamas’ in scripture are:
So when we join the Hebrew and Arabic meanings together, what we have is a ‘zealous violence or zealous extreme wickedness’ . . . and that is exactly what we are seeing today.
That brings us to Psalm 83 which I believe give us some shrewd insights as to the objectives of Hamas and the surrounding Arab world.
Psalm 83 was written by a man named Asaph. You might be interested in knowing . . .
Psalm 83 was written during a time of peace and great prosperity, but pointed to a time when nations would turn against Israel with the intent of wiping them off the face of the earth (v4).
Some think that the Psalm points to the war that unfolded in 1948 when Israel was initially established as a nation.[xvi] Though the Arab world did not succeed to banish Israel.
In light of the future that Asap sew, he begins the Psalm as a cry to God, imploring Him to come to the aid of His people who are surrounded by a host of enemies.
V1 (GW) O God, do not remain silent. Do not turn a deaf ear to me. Do not keep quiet, O God. [xvii] The silence of God can seem harsh and foreboding. For Asaph, God’s silence was dark and worrisome.[xviii] God's silence stood in sharp contrast to the rage on the horizon. And so he plead for God to speak into darkness.
Notice Asaph’s cry: God, don’t be silent, don’t be deaf to me, don’t be quiet. There’s desperation in his cry. The silence of God is designed to sharpen our intensity for Him.
Are you stuck in a God dry silence? Feeling disoriented and desperate? Don’t despair, the absence is intentional. It’s in the desert that the heart groans and awakens desire. The greater the desire to hear God, the greater the satisfaction when He answers. You want to hear God speak? You need to open His objective word, there you’ll hear His voice, overriding your subjective impressions and fluctuating emotions.[xix]
What was it that bothered Asaph? vs 2-5, God revealed to him a desperate fearful time on the far horizon. He writes: “See how your enemies growl, how your foes rear their heads. With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish.” They say, “Let’s wipe out their nation so that the name of Israel will no longer be remembered.”[xx] Notice the activity—roaring rage, arrogant, cunning plans.[xxi] What holds this group together is their hatred of Israel.
a. The intention of the enemy comes in v4, “Let’s wipe out their nation so that the name of Israel will no longer be remembered. This is not just a minor political conflict. The enemy wants to literally remove Israel from the map, and from everyone’s memory. As of 1988 Hamas charter reads in part: “Israel will exist until Islam will obliterate it.”[xxii]
In Vs 6-8 Asaph identifies the enemy as a 10-nation-Confederacy: “With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you; the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites, Byblos [Gebal], Ammon and Amalek, Philistia, with the people of Tyre. Even Assyria has joined them to reinforce Lot’s descendants.” [xxiii]
Notice the focus of the attack. Against Israel, yes; but Asaph tells us that the alliance is really against God.[xxiv] v6, “With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against You. It’s not that they just hate Israel, they hate God personally. Evil is very intolerant of God. Listen carefully, the point here is that there is a connection between God and His people. You cannot separate that connection. When people go against you, they are really going against God.
Understand, Asaph is describing an actual confederacy with specific participants and agenda. And this confederacy surrounded Israel.
Since 1948 Israel has fought 15 different wars with its neighbors, but none have been against 10-nation-group at one time.[xxv] While the nation groups mentioned in vs5-8 are no longer identifiable as to their ancient names, if we apply a modern-day map to the names, we come up with these places with some overlap--Jordan, Saudia Arabia, Egypt, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Palestinians.[xxvi] It would appear that the 10-nation-alliance is in process of forming today!
Many see Hamas’ recent motive as an attempt to draw the neighboring groups together, putting Israel in a pincher move from the south, the west, and the north, and that is a possibility. On the map Hamas dominates the south-east which would be Gaza and the west Bank of the Jordan. Hezbollah dominates the north which would be Lebanon and Syria, with Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran a hop-skip away. And then further south in Yemen is another terrorist group, the Houthi’s
Iran’s foreign minister is warning that the war might expand to other parts of the Middle East, drawing Hezbollah into the battle, and making Israel suffer “a huge earthquake.”[xxvii] There is growing fear that the Lebanese-Hezbollah is just waiting for Israel to get fully immersed in fighting inside Gaza before launching a full-scale attack from the north.[xxviii] In addition, it is reported that Iranian-allied groups have formed a “joint operations room” in Iraq to help Hamas’ war efforts.[xxix] I believe this is what Asaph saw on the horizon.
Mark this down, the war in Israel is more cataclysmic to the world than Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
b. A second intention of the confederacy comes in v12. Who said, Let us possess for ourselves The pastures of God.”
In Vs 9-11 Asaph recounts Gideon’s army routing out the Midianites in Judges 7and the routing of Zebal and Zalmunna, [xxx] But v12 takes us back to the 10-nation-confederacy plot in v6. The intention of the 10-nation-confederacy is to possess for themselves the pastures of God. That's like them saying, “Let us take to ourselves, and for our possession, the dwellings of the land where God is supposed to reside.”[xxxi] In saying that they want to take over the pastures of God captures the blasphemous nature of the plot.
Because Asaph was a prophet, God gave him deep insight into history future, to a time when there would come a 10-nation-confederacy that would form a cunning strategy to wipe Israel off the map. It would be an attempt to form one Arab state called Palestine.[xxxii] This confederacy at the moment has never happened, it is still to come.
This is a good place to pull the pause lever. The exact time of this confederacy alliance is not given, but it seems to be a war that paves the way for the events recorded in Isaiah 17, with the destruction of Damascus, perhaps by Turkey, and the Gog-Magog War of Ezekiel 38-39.
As we wrap up Psalm 83, what might be our take away that Asaph would have for us?
Remember the open words of the Psalm—O God, do not remain silent. C.S. Lewis writes: The longer you wait, the more emphatic the silence will become.[xxxiii] But then come vs 9-11. As Jeremiah wrote in Lamentations 3:19-23, It was in the silence I called to mind, and therefore I had hope. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.
And so in the silence of God, Asaph recalls to mind the stories of Deborah and Barak (Judges 4), and the story of Gideon defeating the Midianites with just 300 men (Judges 7). Those stories gave Asaph hope for Israel’s future.
Because God did not forsake Israel in the past, He will not forsake Israel in the future. Like Asaph we find ourselves in the same hopeless predicaments, locked in a spiritual battle against powerful enemies in this world bent on our destruction. How can we triumph over them? Like the Asaph of old, we take heart in what was written in earlier times . . . stories written that we might have hope. Folks, knowing the stories in the Bible are crucial to our sanity in the midst of hardship and impossibilities. These are not bedtime stories for children. They are grownup stories to remind us of the faithfulness of God.
Vs 13-18 are astounding when it comes to one’s prayer life. Asaph asks God to desecrate the confederacy by wind, by fire, by storm, by dishonor, by humiliation. In other words, smash them, pulverize them. But notice, in asking God to trounce His enemies with His power, Asaph asks that the display of God’s overwhelming destructive power . . . now don’t miss this . . . (v16) he wants the display of God's destructive power to bring the enemy to the point that they ultimately come to know that God alone is God and that they seek a relationship with him
His prayer for divine intervention was not a vengeful prayer, but a prayer for the salvation of the enemy. His desire is for the nations who reject God and conspire against Him to acknowledge His Lordship and join with those who worship Him. He prays that those separated from God will find truth that surprises them in the midst of their being crushed.[xxxiv] He wants them to come to know the mercies of God.
In light of God’s terrifying pursuit, it is Asaph’s request that they will turn to God, and come to know that He alone, whose name is the Lord, is the Most High over all the earth. As a prayer warrior, we also can look at all of the sin and evil in our world, such as the drug traffic and sex traffic, etc., and pray, “Make the traffickers like the whirling dust; Like the chaff before the wind, fill their faces with dishonor, that they may come to know that God alone is Lord (v. 13).[xxxv]
We’re told in 1 Kings 11:36 (NASB95) where God says. . . My servant David ‘will’ have a lamp always before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen for Myself to put My name. 2 Chronicles 7:16 (NASB95) “I have chosen and consecrated this house that My name may be there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.[xxxvi]
In Matthew 24 Jesus gives us some insight about the chaoticness of our world. Beginning in vs6 He tells us 6“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but don’t be alarmed! These things must happen, but they don’t mean that the end has come. 7Nation will fight against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All of these are only the beginning pains of the end. . . . 10Many will lose faith. They will betray and hate each other. 11Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12And because there will be more and more lawlessness, most people’s love will grow cold. That is becoming our reality.
What happens in Israel is the most significant of all news. The struggle over Israel is meant to motivate us as to check our priorities and patterns of life. What is happening is preparing the way for a false savior that the Bible refers to as the Anti-Christ, who, according to Revelation 13, will be ‘called’ out of the ‘sea of humanity’ by none other than that great dragon that we know as Satan.
Under Satan’s direction, he will desecrate Jerusalem. Revelation 13 tells us that this man will have so much power that he will control all buying and selling. It will be “given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power ‘will’ be given him over all peoples, and languages, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him . . . now follow me . . . all the people whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world will worship him” (Revelation 13:7-8).
Notice, those whose names are written in the book of life will refuse to worship the false messiah. Those who have put their trust in Christ have their names written in the book of Life, and they need not fear what the Enemy can do. In light of the chaos in our world, wars and rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes, false prophets, lawlessness, cold love, lose of faith, is your name written in the book of life?
Why is that important? Revelation 20:15 (NASB95) if anyone’s name ‘is’ not found written in the book of life, he/she ‘will be’ thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 21:27, when it comes to the heavenly city, nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Is your name in the book of life?
How can you be sure your name is written in the Book of Life? Revelation 3:5 tells us “He who overcomes . . . I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life.” An overcomer is one who is victorious over the temptations, trials, and evils of this world. In other words, someone who has come to God by the way of the cross. God keeps good records. He knows His own, and He has set the names of His children permanently in His book. For one's name to be written in the Book of Life one must repent of sin and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior[xxxvii] Romans 10:9–11 (NASB95) 9 if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
Let’s close in prayer
"Father, We come to you in Jesus’ Name to pray for the chaoticness in Israel. In Psalm 122:6, we’re told to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, so we know it’s Your will that we focus our prayers on this prime real-estate. We do not know how to ask correctly, because you’ve said that in the days leading up to Christ’s return, things will get chaotic. We pray for the people of Israel and the people of Gaza to be sheltered under the shadow of your wings and be healed. We lift Israel before You, a nation of diverse cultures and beliefs. We pray for unity and reconciliation among its people. Help them to overcome divisions and work towards peaceful coexistence. Remove hatred, prejudice, and animosity from their hearts, replacing them with love, understanding, and respect. 8Scrub all involved in this conflict clean and forgive everything they’ve done wrong, forgive all their rebellions. And make Jerusalem the center of joy and praise and glory for all the countries on earth. (Jeremiah 33:8–9 (MSG)) We’re asking this morning, like Asaph of old, that you’d show your divine power in such a way that people throughout the land, terrorist or otherwise, would come to know that You alone, whose name is Lord, are the Most High over all the earth, and to seek out Your Name. For today is the day of salvation. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
[i] Cf., Job 1:13–19 (NASB95)13Now on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 14a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15and the Sabeans attacked and took them. They also slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 16While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 17While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and took them and slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 18While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 19and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
[ii] Bill Hutchinson, Death came from sea, air and ground: A timeline of surprise attack by Hamas on Israel, https://abcnews.go.com/ International/timeline-surprise-rocket-attack-hamas-israel/story?id=103816006
[iii] 2 Samuel 8:1 (NASB95) 1Now after this it came about that David defeated the Philistines and subdued them; and David took control of the chief city from the hand of the Philistines.
[iv] Daniel Miller, The History of ‘Israel’ and ‘Palestine’: Alternative names, competing claims, https://theconversation.com/the-history-of-israel-and-palestine-alternative-names-competing-claims-163156
[v] State of Israel Proclaimed, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/state-of-israel-proclaimed. With the collapse of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Britain took over Palestine. In 1917, Britain issued the “Balfour Declaration,” which declared its intent to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Although protested by the Arab states, the Balfour Declaration was included in the British mandate over Palestine, which was authorized by the League of Nations in 1922. Because of Arab opposition to the establishment of any Jewish state in Palestine, British rule continued throughout the 1920s and ’30s.
[vi] Caitlin O’Kane, What is the Gaza Strip? Here’s how big it is and who lives there, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-is-the-gaza-strip-israel-hamas-war-palestine/ Gaza Strip explained: Who controls it and what to know
https://www.nbcnews.com/ news/gaza-strip-controls-s-know-rcna119405
[vii] Kali Robinson, What is Hamas? https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-hamas. Hamas, an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya (“Islamic Resistance Movement”), was founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, a Palestinian cleric who became an activist in local branches of the Muslim Brotherhood after dedicating his early life to Islamic scholarship in Cairo. Beginning in the late 1960s, Yassin preached and performed charitable work in the West Bank and Gaza, both of which Israel occupied following the 1967 Six-Day War. Scott Glover, Curt Devine, Majlie de Puy Kamp and Scott Bronstein, ‘They’re opportunistic and adaptive’: How Hamas is using cryptocurrency to raise funds https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/12/us/hamas-funding-crypto-invs/index.html
[viii] Philip Shields, Is Hamas mentioned in Scripture? Joel 3:19; Obadiah 10, https://lightontherock.org/index.php/blog/entry/is-hamas-mentioned-in-scripture-joel-3-19-obadiah-10?format=amp Tom Robinson, ‘Hamas’ in Prophecy, https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/blogs/hamas-in-prophecy. The name Hamas is an Arabic acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya ("Islamic Resistance Movement"). By design, this acronym is also meaningful on its own—the Arabic word hamas being typically defined as “zeal" or "warlike strength and bravery."
[ix] Jeremiah Johnston, ‘Hamas’ is in the Bible - and the terrorist group lives up to the name The Hebrew verb is חָמַס ḥāmas, meaning “to do violence,” “to wrong;” the noun is חָמָס ḥāmās, meaning “violence,” or “wrong.” In the Hebrew Bible the verb occurs seven times, e.g., “her priests have done violence [חָמְסוּ] to my law” (TEzekiel 22:26). In the Hebrew Bible the noun occurs more than 50 times, e.g., “the earth was filled with violence [חָמָס]” (Genesis 6:11, 13 and F. Brown, with S. R. Driver and C. A. Briggs, “A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament” BDB 329). In later rabbinic literature the noun חָמָס ḥāmās can also mean “extortion” and the verb “to seize violently.” (M. Jastrow, “hA Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature,” 2 vols. (London: Putnam, 1895–1903) 1:478).The Aramaic has the same word, only spelled slightly differently: חֲמַס ḥămas. It means the same as the Hebrew. (M. Sokoloff, “eA Dictionary of Jewish Palestinian Aramaic of the Byzantine Period” (Ramat-Gan: Bar Ilan University, 1990) 206; Jastrow, 1:478.)The Arabic verb is cognate to the older Hebrew and Aramaic. The Arabic حماس ḥamās usually means “to be hard,” “strict,” or “rigorous.” See BDB 329. In contemporary Arabic the noun is understood to mean “zeal” or “strength,” but its orignal meaning of “violence” remains. The important point is that the word itself – both noun and verb – is cognate to the Hebrew and Aramaic word. The Arabic ḥamās is from the same root. b
[x] R. Laird Harris, “678 חָמַס,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 297. This noun and verb are together used sixty-seven times and mostly translators seem satisfied with the word “violence” in some form (KJV, RSV, NIV). It may be noted, however, that the word ḥāmās in the ot is used almost always in connection with sinful violence. It does not refer to the violence of natural catastrophes or to violence as pictured in a police chase on modern television. It is often a name for extreme wickedness. It was a cause of the flood (Gen 6:11, 13, parallel to “corrupt”). Other usages are: a “malicious” witness (Ex 23:1; Deut 19:16 NIV); “cruel” hatred (Ps 25:19); oppression and violence (Ps 72:14 NIV); violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness (Ezk 7:11, a rod to punish wickedness, NIV). The aspect of sinfulness is illustrated also by the verb which twice refers to “transgression” of God’s law (Ezk 22:26; Zeph 3:4).
[xi] Genesis 6:11–13 (NASB95) 11Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence (Hamas) 12God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. 13Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.
[xii] Philip Shields, Is Hamas mentioned in Scripture? Joel 3:19; Obadiah 10, https://lightontherock.org/index.php/blog/entry/is-hamas-mentioned-in-scripture-joel-3-19-obadiah-10?format=amp., In relation to physical violence, cruelty is implied (Judges 9:24). When coupled with the term instrument or weapon, it becomes an attributive noun describing weapons or instruments of violence (Psalms 58:2 (or verse 3 in Jewish scriptures). When it describes a person, it can mean an oppressor or a violent man (Proverbs 3:31).”
[xiii] Psalms 50 and 73—83 are called the “Psalms of Asaph”
[xiv] 1 Chronicles 6:31–32 (NASB95) 31Now these are those whom David appointed over the service of song in the house of the LORD, after the ark rested there. 32They ministered with song before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, until Solomon had built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem; and they served in their office according to their order. V39 39Heman’s brother Asaph stood at his right hand, even Asaph the son of Berechiah, the son of Shimea, 1 Chronicles 16:7 (NASB95) 7Then on that day David first assigned Asaph and his relatives to give thanks to the LORD.
[xv] 2 Chronicles 29:30 (NASB95) Moreover, King Hezekiah and the officials ordered the Levites to sing praises to the LORD with the words of David and Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with joy, and bowed down and worshiped. Asaph is also mentioned as a “seer” or prophet.
[xvi] Amir Tsarfati, Why I Believe We are Not Watching the Fulfillment of Psalm 83, https://beholdisrael.org/why-i-believe-we-are-not-watching-the-fulfillment-of-psalm-83/ In 1948, Egypt, Transjordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen all stood against the new state.
[xvii] Psalm 28:1 (NASB95) 1To You, O LORD, I call; My rock, do not be deaf to me, For if You are silent to me, I will become like those who go down to the pit. Psalm 35:22 (NASB95)22You have seen it, O LORD, do not keep silent; O Lord, do not be far from me.
[xviii] Habakkuk 1:13 (NASB95) 13Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?
[xix] Jon Bloom, When God Seems Silent, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/when-god-seems-silent
[xx] Psalm 2:1–3 (NASB95) 1Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? 2The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 3“Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!”
[xxi] Cf., Jeremiah 6:23 (NASB95) 23“They seize bow and spear; They are cruel and have no mercy; Their voice roars like the sea, And they ride on horses, Arrayed as a man for the battle Against you, O daughter of Zion!”
[xxii] Rob Eshman, The Truth of Hamas is in its charter, https://forward.com/opinion/564190/hamas-charter-truth/
[xxiii] Edom, the Ishmaelites, Moab, the Hagarites, Gebal, Ammon, the Amalekites, Philistia, Tyre, and Assyria. Cf., Genesis 14 where God stirs up the nations against Abraham and his posterity, and there are ten nations that God promised to cut off before Abraham at once, the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Canaanites, etc. Cf., Jamie A. Grant, “Psalms 73–89,” in Psalms, ed. Terry Muck, vol. 2, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 233. Ten neighboring nations are listed in verses 6–8 as those who have entered into covenant against Israel. This list is probably not intended to mark a particular historical incident in which all these nations combined to attack Israel; rather, the recorded nations have all opposed Israel at some point in the past, and the psalmist is calling to mind their aggression. That geographically these nations surround Israel emphasizes the people’s great need of divine intervention (vv. 9–18). Assyria functions as a kind of code referring to Persia, the superpower of the day in the early postexilic period (fifth century BCE). The Persian kingdom of this period encompassed the territory of Assyria, and Ezra 6:22 uses the phrase “king of Assyria” to refer to Darius, king of Persia. Whatever the rationale behind the use of Assyria as the archenemy in Psalm 83:8, these verses emphasize the extent of opposition faced by Israel over the years.
[xxiv] Cf., Tower of Babel, Genesis 11:4 (NASB95) 4They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
[xxv] Timeline: Israel’s conflicts in the Middle-East, https://www.irishtimes.com/world/middle-east/2023/10/08/timeline-israels-conflicts-in-the-middle-east/ There’s the 1967 6 Day War with Egypt, Syria and Jordan; 1973 Yom Kippur war with Egypt and Syria; 1978 and 1982 with Lebanon against the PLO; 1987 Palestinian intifada; 1996 Lebanon war against Hezbollah; 2000 The Second Intifada against the Palestinians; 2005 Gaza withdrawal and Palestinian civil war; 2006 Lebanon war against Hezbollah; 2008 Gaza War against Hamas; 2014 Israel-Gaza war with Hamas; 2021, with Hamas
[xxvi] freemessianicbible.com/feature/psalm-83-ezekiel-38-and-the-coming-battles-for-israel/ Tents of Edom: Palestinians and Southern Jordanians Ishmaelites: Saudis (Ishmael is the father of the Arabs) Moab: Palestinians and Central Jordanians Hagrites: Egyptians (Hagar is the matriarch of Egypt) Gebal(Byblos): Hezbollah and Northern Lebanese Ammon: Palestinians and Northern Jordanians Amalek: Arabs of the Sinai area Philistia: Hamas of the Gaza Strip Tyre: Hezbollah and Southern Lebanese Assyria: Syrians and Northern Iraqi’s Bob Utley, Psalm 83, https://bible.org/seriespage/psalm-83
[xxvii] Bassem Mroue, Iran's foreign minister warns Israel from Beirut it could suffer 'a huge earthquake' https://abcnews.go. com/International/wireStory/irans-foreign-minister-warns-israel-beirut-suffer-huge-103977573. Israel considers Hezbollah its most serious immediate threat, estimating it has some 150,000 rockets and missiles, including precision-guided missiles that can hit anywhere in Israel. The group, which has thousands of battle-hardened fighters who participated in Syria’s 12-year conflict, also has different types of military drones.
[xxviii] https://republicandaily.com/2023/10/report-israeli-ground-offensive-in-gaza-delayed-over-new-alleged-plot/
[xxix] https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/drone-attack-us-troops-intercepted-iraq-heightening-fears-104070835. Drone attack on U.S. troops intercepted in Iraq
[xxx] Through his supremacy as Divine-Warrior, God had empowered Gideon to destroy the Midianites (Judges 7). As to "Sisera and Jabin" early on in the period of the Judges, Jabin was a Canaanite king and Sisera his general. They had oppressed Israel, but God had delivered the Israelites by destroying these adversaries through the military strategizing of Deborah (Judges 4-5). "Oreb and Zeeb" (Psa 83:11) were two leaders destroyed by Ephraimites during Gideon's battle against the Midianites (Judges 7:25-8:3). "Zebah and Zalmunna" are the Midianite kings who had been captured and executed by Gideon; see Judges 8:4-21.
[xxxi] Barnes notes on the Bible. https://biblehub.com/commentaries/psalms/83-12.htm
[xxxii] Mark Hitchcock, Middle East Burning, (Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR, 2012)
[xxxiii] REFLECTIONS: WHERE IS GOD IN THE SILENCE? https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/ resources/reflections-july-2008/C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1996), pp. 5-7
[xxxiv] Jamie A. Grant, “Psalms 73–89,” in Psalms, ed. Terry Muck, vol. 2, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 237.
[xxxv] Donald Williams and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Psalms 73–150, vol. 14, The Preacher’s Commentary Series (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1989), 100.
[xxxvi] Ezra 6:12 (NASB95) 12“May the God who has caused His name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who attempts to change it, so as to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree, let it be carried out with all diligence!” , 2 Chronicles 6:6 (NASB95)6but I have chosen Jerusalem that My name might be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’ ; 2 Chronicles 33:4 (NASB95)4He built altars in the house of the LORD of which the LORD had said, “My name shall be in Jerusalem forever.” 1 Kings 14:21 (NASB95)21Now Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put His name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess..
[xxxvii] Romans 10:9–11 (NASB95) 9that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”