O God, do not be silent! Do not be
deaf. Do not be quiet, O God. Don't you hear the uproar of your
enemies? Don't you see that your arrogant enemies are rising up? They
devise crafty schemes against your people; they conspire against your
precious ones. “Come,” they say, “let us wipe out Israel as a
nation. We will destroy the very memory of its existence.” Yes,
this was their unanimous decision. They signed a treaty as allies
against you – these Edomites and Ishmaelites; Moabites and
Hagrites; Gebalites, Ammonites, and Amalekites; and people from
Philistia and Tyre. Assyria has joined them, too, and is allied with
the descendants of Lot. Psalm 83: 1-8 NLT
The saddest part of this psalm is not
that folks are ganging up on Israel, God's own nation. What is sad is
that these are all related in some way to the Israelites. Ishmael was
Isaac's half brother. Lot was Abraham's nephew. In fact, Abraham
originally came from the land of Assyria. These are all relatives who
have decided to conspire against God's people.
Sometimes it is our families who become
our greatest enemies.
Think for a moment about your own
family tree. Are there any black sheep? How about someone with whom
you do not get along? A distant relative who can't stand you and
often tries to insult you or put you down? Even worse, is there
someone you are related to you who tries their best to make your life
miserable?
God, you have blessed us with our
families and yet sometimes they are our bitterest enemies. Do not be
silent, Lord, do not be deaf when we cry to you. Help us, Lord, help
us. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Copyright 2012 Amelia G. Sims
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