Psalm 35:20

Psalm 35:20

Live quietly in the land

Israel was God’s land of choice for His chosen people. Under Joshua, the Israelites conquered that land and began to settle their families and tribes in their appointed areas. In David’s time the boundaries were extended to include most of the land that had been promised by God. Like Joshua, his predecessor, David’s major aim was to bring peace to the land, to remove all of its pagan occupants and to start to build a faithful community that was true to the living God. It was utterly galling therefore, to discover that even if external threats were overcome, there were those within the families of Israel who plotted and schemed rebellion and conflict. As we have seen many of those who rebelled were David’s friends and close allies. 

History shows us that the greatest threat to the stability and security of nations has too often come from within. The same applies in families, in commerce and in communities of all kinds. Sadly, it happens in marriages and in churches, in fact it is a pandemic that has troubled the human race since the day that Cain killed his brother Abel!

As individuals, the greatest battles we will ever face are those that are within ourselves and frankly that is the curse of the human race. I have to warn you that we will always be at war within our souls if we seek to follow Christ; the Apostle Paul describes that inner conflict perfectly in Romans 7:14-25. He ends, “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” May God give us His peace and quietness in our world and nation, in our families and churches and most of all, within ourselves. 

 

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