Psalm 83:5-8b

Psalm 83:5-8b

Family feuds

We carry on with a brief look at the nations who surrounded Israel and who formed pacts and alliances to bring the nation down. Enter the Hagrites (or Hagarenes) who as the name suggests, were related to Hagar and the Ishmaelites. They lived a nomadic life with their animal herds, east of the River Jordan, and therefore were not associated with a particular location. (Not unlike the Bedouin tribes of modern times.)

Byblos is an extraordinary inclusion in this list of troublesome neighbours. It probably had to be included because it is one of the oldest Phoenician cities in the world with records going back to nearly 5,000 BC! The city survives to this day and is situated in Lebanon, 26 miles north of Beirut. The name Byblos is Greek for papyrus which was exported to the Aegean through Byblos. We get the word Bible from this city, Bible literally means “the papyrus book.”

Now we come to the Amalekites. Amalek was a grandson of Esau and continued the family hostility that existed between the descendants of Jacob and Esau. The Amalekites were Israel’s oldest enemies, they lived in the Negev, south of Canaan and had a semi-nomadic lifestyle. We first meet these people when Israel was still in the wilderness and Joshua had to lead an army against them. It was this conflict that saw Moses with his hands in the air knowing that he had to keep them raised for the Israelite army to win the battle. Exodus 17:8-16.

Food for thought. Does each of these tribal nations represent for us, a different type of spiritual enemy and therefore spiritual warfare?

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