Psalm 83

Bible students disagree about whether Psalm 83 is historical, prophetic, or both.  It was written by Asaph, one of the chief musicians appointed by David to lead worship in the tabernacle, and it starts out this way:

God, don’t keep silent.
Don’t keep silent,
and don’t be still, God.
For, behold, your enemies are stirred up.
Those who hate you have lifted up their heads.
They conspire with cunning against your people.
They plot against your cherished ones.
“Come,” they say, “let’s destroy them as a nation,
that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”
For they have conspired together with one mind.
They form an alliance against you.
Psalm 83:1-5 (WEB)

Asaph goes on to list a number of ancient people groups that can be associated with modern regions and countries. The ancient people groups may have conspired against the descendents of Jacob back in Asaph’s day, but the fact that the Bible doesn’t record all of those conflicts leads me to believe that either:  (a) God answered Asaph’s prayer before some of the conflicts actually happened, and/or (b) Psalm 83 was a prophecy about the times we’re living in right now, because these same biblical conspirators are all nations that modern-day Israel contends with—and might find themselves at war with—at any time. 

Asaph lists these nations as follows:

The tents of Edom
The Ishmaelites
Moab
The Hagrites
Gebal
Ammon
Amalek
Philistia
Tyre
Assyria
The children of Lot

I’m not big on geography, so I had to consult Microsoft’s Copilot to find out which modern countries Asaph was referring to. Here’s the breakdown:  

The tents of Edom—Southern Jordan
The Ishmaelites—Saudi Arabia
Moab—Central Jordan
The Hagrites—Saudi Arabia and parts of Jordan
Gebal and Ammon—Northern Lebanon
Amalek—Southern Israel and parts of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula 
Philistia—The Gaza Strip
Tyre—Southern Lebanon
Assyria—Northern Iraq, plus parts of Syria and Turkey
The children of Lot—Jordan 

Believers, if you love Israel, don’t forget to pray:

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Those who love you will prosper.
Peace be within your walls,
and prosperity within your palaces.
For my brothers’ and companions’ sakes,
I will now say, “Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of Yahweh our God,
I will seek your good.
(Psalm 122:6-9 WEB)

Margot Armer