The Enemy Stronghold

Psalm 108:6-13

6Use your strong right arm to save me,

and rescue your beloved people.

7God has promised this by his holiness:

“I will divide up Shechem with joy.

I will measure out the valley of Succoth.

8Gilead is mine,

and Manasseh is mine.

Ephraim will produce my warriors,

and Judah will produce my kings.

9Moab will become my lowly servant,

and Edom will be my slave.

I will shout in triumph over the Philistines.”

10But who will bring me into the fortified city?

Who will bring me victory over Edom?

11Have you rejected us, O God?

Will you no longer march with our armies?

12Oh, please help us against our enemies,

for all human help is useless.

13With God’s help we will do mighty things,

for he will trample down our foes.

If you think you have troubles, think of Israel. Whether you think of modern Israel or ancient Israel, you will come up with the same conclusion: Israel has always been surrounded by enemies.

As you read verses 7-10, you’ll find eleven first-person pronouns—I, me, my, and mine. This is the almighty God speaking. It’s as if God is looking at a map of the Middle East and pointing his finger, first at the sections of Israel and then at the nations surrounding it. They are all his. Even though the enemy nations worshiped other gods, they were all his. He controlled them.

Among these enemies of Israel was the small nation of Edom. One of the fortified strongholds of this nation was Petra, which was built into the towering rock southeast of the Dead Sea. Tourists still marvel at the sights of this ancient Edomite city. Could such a remote fortified city ever be taken? Yes, even Edom’s Petra was in God’s hands.

Think of the problems surrounding you. Let God put his finger on each one and declare, “It is mine. I am in charge there, too.” Then think of that impenetrable Petra, and see if the Lord won’t lead you into that enemy stronghold.

Conquering now and still to conquer, Jesus thou ruler of all,

Thrones and their scepters all shall perish; crowns and their splendor shall fall.

Not to the strong is the battle, not to the swift is the race,

But to the true and the faithful, victory is promised through grace.

SALLIE MARTIN

A Word on Words

A literal rendering of verse 9 would be “Moab is my washbasin; on Edom I throw my sandals.” A lowly servant would wash his master’s feet in the washbasin after the master had taken off his dusty sandals and tossed them in the general direction of his slave.

Fascinating Fact

The verses in this psalm are almost identical to Psalm 57:7-11 and Psalm 60:5-12. But there are some differences. See if you can find them.