A Loud Enemy; A Silent God

Psalm 83:1-4

¹God, do not keep silent.
Do not be deaf, God; do not be idle.

²See how Your enemies make an uproar;
those who hate You have acted arrogantly.

³They devise clever schemes against Your people;
they conspire against Your treasured ones.

⁴They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation
so that Israel’s name will no longer be remembered.”

The Arsenal of the Enemy

The enemies of God and His chosen ones have a definite arsenal – uproars, arrogance, and clever schemes. Uproars are turbulent, boisterous commotions. They are a process used to bring about a desired goal; in this case, the goal is the destruction of God’s people. Clever schemes include a level of intimacy among those gathered together but here they gather for a shrewd or malevolent reason. Finally, arrogance; I saved the best for last. Arrogance led to the fall of the archangel Lucifer; it also keeps us from recognizing our need for a Savior. In both roles, arrogance separates from God. That is exactly what we will see here in Psalm 83. But those who separate from God to exalt themselves don’t stay exalted for long…

The Silence of God

Silence, deafness, idleness – these aren’t qualities we want in our Defender. Enemies conspire against us; we think, “This is not a time for quiet peace and restfulness!” Like the watchmen of Isaiah 62:6-7, coming attacks are not a time to hold our peace and keep silent. It is not a time for undisturbed tranquility and inactivity. But God won’t stay this way for long…

The Promise of Israel

God is silent and the threats of the enemy are loud. This is a perfect setup for fear and doubt. Here the threat is against Israel, God’s chosen people. We’ll focus more on that in the days to come as we work through the rest of Psalm 83. But I also want us to remember that we as believers are part of God’s chosen people.

God can be silent because He spoke in the past. He spoke and His Word will not change.

“For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off; the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever” (Psalm 37:28-29).

God promised to protect Israel just as He promised to protect us; it doesn’t matter what our enemies may say against us. Despite the arrogance with which they make evil schemes, in the end they will come to nothing. God may seem quiet but He already promised the outcome.

“For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land…

The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming…

Wait for the LORD and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it” (Psalm 37:9, 12-13, 34).

Click here to read Day Two - Covenanted Against God

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