Scars That Birthed Nations

They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”
—Psalms 83:4

That their name may be remembered no more. That’s quite a goal. It goes well beyond simply defeating them militarily. Beyond extermination. Beyond burning their cities, villages, temples, homes, possessions, and history to the ground. It speaks of a destruction that is so complete, that no one will remember that they ever existed.

That goes beyond common national conflict. That kind of hate is reserved for those we once loved. It comes from deep scars. Scars that remind of lies, betrayal, and abandonment.

Look at the coalition:

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.
—Psalms 83:6-8

To the reader familiar with Israel’s history, several names leap off the page:

Edom — These are the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother. Their mother, Rebekah doubted God’s intent or ability to keep His promise—And the older shall serve the younger. —Genesis 25:23 God had spoken it, so it was to be. But she decided that God’s plan needed a nudge; so she hatched a plan of deceit. Jacob not only followed his mother’s advice, He embraced the deception, and walked away with a blessing that had been intended for his brother. Esau didn’t forget. That betrayal worked its way into the DNA of his descendants. They hated Israel.

Ishmaelites — Descendants of Ishmael, Isaac’s brother. Sarah doubted God’s ability to keep His promise to Abraham. I will make you a great nation. —Genesis 12:2 And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.” —Genesis 17:16 But she had grown old. So she convinced Abraham to take Hagar — her Egyptian servant — to be the mother of his child. Thus, Ishmael was born. Fourteen years later, Sarah gave birth to Isaac — the child of the promise. Ishmael and Hagar were rejected by Abraham and Sarah and sent into the wilderness to fend for themselves, while Isaac enjoyed the fruit of God’s promise. Again, the scars were woven into the fabric of his descendants for centuries.

Hagrites — Believed by many scholars to be descendants of Hagar. Being rejected and sent away from her home for obeying her mistress’s wishes had to leave a special kind of resentment. A resentment that turned to violent hatred as it was disseminated through her descendants.

Moab and Ammon — After their deliverance from Sodom, and their self-imposed exile into the mountains, Lot’s daughters convinced themselves that there was no possibility of husbands to continue their father’s line. So they took matters into their own hands. Growing up in a world of struggle and danger, while seeing their cousins living in prosperity left a mark — that was passed on for generations.

In each of these cases, the common thread is somebody believing that they needed to give God's promise a little nudge.

Impatience. Despair in the detour. Faith challenged by circumstances.

But the results are always the same. A train wreck for God’s Chosen People.

The intense hatred these nations had toward Israel was insatiable. It is no wonder then that they conspired with Israel’s political enemies to wipe them off the map.

Still today, they remain a thorn in Israel’s side.

How often are we guilty of the same thing? Books, podcasts, Ted Talks, self-help seminars... All in an effort to shortcut the detour we find ourselves in — sickness, divorce, unemployment, financial hardship, relational difficulty... And at what cost? We may never know the price our descendants will pay for our impatience.

And yet, God remains the only hope of deliverance.

Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When God brings back the captivity of His people,
Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad. —Psalms 53:6

I grew up hearing that “God helps those who help themselves.” (This is not Biblical; it is a quote from Benjamin Franklin.)

What I’ve learned is, God allows those who want to help themselves do so. God helps those who admit that they are powerless to help themselves.

So when we feel like God needs our help, He allows our help.

Then He walks with us in the inevitable aftermath.