Pursue them with Your tempest, and frighten them with Your storm. Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek Your name, O Lord … that they may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth. (Psalm 83:15-16, 18)
Many are the enemies of Israel who wrongly assumed that, because He dwelt in the heavens, Israel’s God paid no attention to His lowly servants upon the earth. On one hand, it makes sense they would arrive at this conclusion seeing that their gods were idols of wood and stone, manufactured by their own hands and incapable of directing their lives. But on the other hand, the enemies of Israel were consistently challenged in this belief because, time and again, the God of Israel made Himself known to those who came against His chosen.
I can’t help but think of Pharaoh’s initial response to the demand to release the children of Israel from their bondage. Foolishly he said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2). True, he didn’t know the Lord, Israel’s God; but soon after uttering these brazen words, he was introduced to Him in dramatic fashion. Before all was said and done, Pharaoh and all of Egypt came to know that the the Lord is the Most High over all the earth. Some were so convinced of it, that they decided to join Israel when they left Egypt for the Promised Land.
On that note, let’s consider the conclusion of Asaph’s prayer: his appeal for God to “pursue them with Your tempest and frighten them with Your storm” had a goal — that those who had been enemies would begin to seek God. The Lord has said, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live” (Ezekiel 33:11). Therefore, as much as we’d like for Him to destroy those who seek to destroy us, should not our first prayer be that He would provoke them to repentance? Shouldn’t we prefer that our adversaries become our brethren? Of course we should — that is what Messiah would have us do.
We must always keep in mind that Messiah came to save men’s lives, not destroy them. Therefore, we should always “do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:44-45).
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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