IS THE PSALM 83 WAR ABOUT TO EXPLODE IN THE MIDDLE EAST? 

Tensions are high in the Middle East today and I thought it would be a good time to review the Psalm 83 War. I will not apologize for the harsh language of the Biblical account. God gave the Children of Israel the land and the world refuses to acknowledge this fact. 

Elohim has proclaimed blessing upon Israel and the Arab peoples but “Esau” refuses to acknowledge the Biblical promises. Therefore Israel and Esau will continue this hatred until Messiah Yeshua returns. Jacob’s Troubles are just beginning. Watch and pray as things begin to heat up. 

If you would like to review my series on the Biblical History of Jacob and Esau begin here: https://burningbush647.blogspot.com/2023/11/jacobs-trouble-and-controversy-of-zion_0532303839.html

 

Consider the opening verses of Psalm 83: Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, and do not be still, O God! For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; and those who hate You have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and consulted together against Your sheltered ones. They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.” For they have consulted together with one consent; they form a confederacy against You” (Psalm 83:1-5 NKJV)

This is the invocation of God’s help against the confederacy. The psalmist says the confederates are enemies of God. They have lifted up their heads against God, but since they cannot get at Him they lash out in their anger against the people God has protected. The target of their anger is the State of Israel – the Jewish state.

God’s esteem for Israel is a major topic of the Bible, beginning with God’s solemn promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (renamed Israel by God Himself) to give them and their descendants the land now called Israel. God has called Israel the apple of His eye, and has promised to deal with the nations that have plundered the land and people.

It is well known that Hamas, Fatah, Hezbollah, the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaida, Syria, and other Arab entities have spoken consistently about demolishing the Jewish state. These are all members of the Psalm 83 Confederacy.

Iran also has spoken out vehemently against Israel, even voicing the sentiment of cutting Israel off from being a nation. Although Iran is not mentioned as part of the Psalm 83 confederacy, it is part of the Gog/Magog alliance, and its former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad drew global attention throughout his presidency for his vocal anti-Israeli sentiment and policies. But who, exactly, is in this Psalm 83 Confederacy? It is a familiar list, and all of them are identifiable in Scripture:

The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites; Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assyria also has joined with them; they have helped the children of Lot. Selah. Deal with them as with Midian, as with Sisera, as with Jabin at the Brook Kishon, who perished at En Dor, who became as refuse on the earth. Make their nobles like Oreb and like Zeeb, yes, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, who said, “Let us take for ourselves the pastures of God for a possession.” Psalm 83:6-12 NKJV

·       Edom: Descendants of Esau (Edom) (Genesis 36), whose hereditary land is southern Jordan, and who include Palestinian Arabs in the West Bank and Israel.

·       Moab and Ammon: Descendants of Lot’s sons (Genesis 19:30-37). Their hereditary lands are the rest of Jordan. The capital of Jordan, Amman, even retains the name of the Ammonites.

·       Ishmaelites and Hagrites: Descendants of Abraham’s first son, Ishmael, whose mother was Abraham’s Egyptian concubine, Hagar (Genesis 25:12-18). Many of the Arab peoples descend from Ishmael, including those of Saudi Arabia. The Hagrites (I Chronicles 5:18-22) are the people living east of Gilead in southern Syria. Since Hagar was Egyptian, it is possible Psalm 83 includes at least part of Egypt in the confederacy. If so, it may mean only the inhabitants of Sinai since the psalm would likely name Egypt specifically if that nation were rising against Israel.

·       Gebal and Tyre: This is Lebanon. Tyre, along with Sidon, were prominent cities of the Phoenicians (Mark 7:24-30), a seafaring Canaanite people who built the ancient world’s greatest commercial empire. Although King Hiram of Tyre was an ally of David and Solomon (I Kings 5), Ezekiel 28 names the king of Tyre as a symbol of Satan.

·       As for Sidon, its great biblical significance is as the hometown of wicked Queen Jezebel, the woman who induced King Ahab of Israel to make Baal worship the official state religion. Gebal (modern Jubayl; Joshua 13:5; Ezekiel 27:9) is also in Lebanon and was another Phoenician city. Today Lebanon is a divided land, split between the powerful Shi’a Hezbollah terrorist army and less organized Sunni militias. All of them, however, harbor enmity toward Israel. Whether it is Hezbollah alone or the various factions united against a common enemy, all of Lebanon will be involved in this war.

·       Amalek: A grandson of Esau (Genesis 36:12), Amalek and his descendants populated southern Jordan, the Negev, and northern Arabia. They are the only people God commanded Israel to hold as enemies forever and wipe out completely (Deuteronomy 25:17-18). It was the Amalekites who ambushed Israel on the way out of Egypt, and Haman, a descendant of King Agag of Amalek, came close to destroying the Jews in the days of Esther.

·       Philistia: Philistia is the ancient territory of the Philistines, hereditary enemies of Israel who originated on the island of Crete. The five cities of the Philistines were Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, Gaza, and Gath (Joshua 13:3). The only major city of the Philistines not currently under Israeli sovereignty is Gaza.

·       Jabin and Sisera: In the days of Israel’s judges, Jabin was king of Canaan and Sisera was his general. They were defeated by Deborah and Barak (Judges 4). This reference in Psalm 83 indicates that the war will include the present-day Canaanites: the Palestinians who live in Israel among the Israelis, as well as those living in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria).

Already there have been several Intifadas (uprisings) against Israeli control over the Palestinian territories since 1987 to the present time, 2024, and there have been calls for all out war since the October 7, 2023 terror attack.

·       Oreb, Zeeb, Zebah, Zalmunna: These were Midianite kings defeated by Gideon (Judges 7-8). Midian is the territory of northwest Saudi Arabia next to the Red Sea. This reference to Midian indicates that Saudi Arabia, or at least portions of it, could be involved in this war.

·       Assyria: The heartland of Assyria is northern Iraq and eastern Syria, it is certain that they will be involved in this war as it escalates.