Psalm 60:8

Psalm 60:8

Moab is my washbasin

The three nations or tribal lands that are mentioned in this verse are nothing to do with Israel. They are foreign lands, adversaries of the Israelites, outside of God’s promises, unrelated by birth, pagan by faith and the sources of constant hostilities. Geographically, Moab occupied land mainly to the east of Israel, Edom mainly to the south and Philistia was to the west along the Mediterranean coast. When Moses and Miriam sang their song of triumph after the crossing of the Red Sea they proclaimed, “The nations will fear and tremble; anguish will grip the people of Philistia. The chiefs of Edom will be terrified, the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling, the people of Canaan will melt away.” Exodus 15:14-15. It’s easy to read the various conquests and battles of the Israelites and think of these pagan nations as the aggressors but, more often than not, it was Israel that caused fear and panic amongst the surrounding peoples. 

Moab lay along the eastern shore of the Dead Sea and is spoken of here in derogatory terms as God’s washbasin. In other words, they were no more valuable than a household vessel and a place where He would wash the dirt off His feet! Edom would suffer from reclamation; in ancient times one way of showing that you claimed possession of an area of land was to toss your sandal on to it! Finally, Philistia would hear the shout of victory of God’s people as they triumphed over their enemies. 

Perhaps we should treat our spiritual enemies in the same manner? As Israel discovered, if God is for us, who can be against us?

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