To the Chief Musician. Set to “Lily of the Testimony.” A Michtam of David. For teaching. When he fought against Mesopotamia and Syria of Zobah, and Joab returned and killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. (Psalm 60)
When is it appropriate to make war against another nation, and especially when there has been a long-standing agreement between nations to avoid hostilities? To some degree, that question provides the background for this psalm and, according to Jewish commentators, is why David indicated this psalm was for “teaching.” In short, David hoped to offer insight into why he was compelled to fight these nations, particularly Syria and Edom.
To understand the issue, we must recall the past: when Israel was making its way toward the land under Moses’ leadership, God told Israel they were not to harass Edom because they were kinsmen. When Jacob returned to Canaan from Syria, he was overtaken by the Aramean, Laban, in Gilead. Rather than fighting, the two men ended up making a covenant with one another. To memorialize the agreement, they erected a pillar at Mizpah with the promise not to pass beyond the pillar with the intent of harming one another (Genesis 31:52). In other words, for David to engage these enemies in battle, he would have to address whether or not it was appropriate to do so given these stipulations of the past.
After assessing the situation, it was concluded that both of these nations had already, and on multiple occasions, broken these agreements with aggressive acts toward Israel. In the end, David decided to go to war but what does this have to do with you and me?
First of all, conflict of any kind is always unfortunate and should never be our first response to circumstances. Even though David was justified in making war, he still paused long enough to determine if it was wise and — this is important — if it was justified in the sight of heaven. To go against Syria, for instance, meant he would have to pass the monument at Mizpah and, perhaps in the eyes of some, break the ancient covenant between the sons of Jacob and the Arameans. In other words, David desired to avoid the appearance of evil and deny those who would rail accusations at him any legitimate reason to do so.
The point would be that when we are faced with a problem, taking the time to assess the issue and seeking counsel from others is always a good plan. Rushing into something without considering the costs is both foolhardy and dangerous. David did go to war but he did so after lengthy deliberations, thus having the confidence that it was the appropriate thing to do. Sometimes we have to do hard things, and sometimes the appropriate path forward is not always as clear as we’d prefer it to be. But the way can be made clearer when we take the time to receive instruction from the Word of God and seek counsel from Heaven. In short, don’t react to a situation; learn to respond and only after we have received guidance from above.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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