READ Psalm 83:9–13. 9 Do to them as you did to Midian, as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon, 10 who perished at Endor and became like dung on the ground. 11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, 12 who said, “Let us take possession of the pasturelands of God.” 13 Make them like tumbleweed, my God, like chaff before the wind.
RELOCATING YOUR ENEMIES. How do we respond to these “imprecatory” psalms that ask God to destroy enemies instead of forgiving them? We should recognize something important here, namely that even in the Old Testament the psalmist is not trying to take revenge himself. These psalms, then, “allow us to turn our anger over to God for him to act as he sees fit” and align us with Paul’s advice to “not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath” (Romans 12:19).80 Once you relocate your enemies—taking them out of your hands and putting them into God’s—you may find yourself developing sympathy for them. Ultimately, no one will get away with anything (verses 9–13).
Prayer: Lord, teach me not to resent those who mistreat me but rather to pity them. They have taken you on, and you are the judge who will not overlook anything. I leave them, and myself, in your hands. Amen.