Devotional Short Note on Psalm 83: David
experienced some problems with nations around him and he took from the shelf
the roll of the Book of Judges. The enemies of the Lord are in uproar (83:3).
They hate the Lord. Against the faithful people of the Lord they make plans
(83:4). They want to cut off and eliminate them as a spiritual nation.
Spiritual Israel must not be remembered any longer (83:5). They make a covenant
against the Lord (83:6). They made alliances with each other (83:6). The whole
region is against the faithful of Israel (83:7-9). He is citing a list of them
and end the citation with the Selah mark (83:9). Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab
and the Hagrites, Gebal (Byblos), Ammon, Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants
of Tyre and Assyria has also joined them. It will be Assyrians after the time
of Tiglath-Pilezer I of the Late Bronze time. They connect with the “children
of Lot” who are the Ammonites and Moabites (Deuteronomy 2:9, 19). Opening the Book of Judges, David rolled
to Judges 4:12 with Sisera and Jabin at the brook of Kishon (83:10). It is
possible with some imagination added, to say that Sisera was an Hittite. After
the battle of Qadesh on the Orontes, the Hittites would have a stronger hand in
affairs to the north of Canaan. Thus, we find for twenty years Jabin, a
Canaanite oppressing the people of Israel with 900 chariots and a commander
with the name of Sisera. It is possible with some imagination to suggest that
he was a Hittite. Egyptians do not have a /l/ in their language and use an /r/.
Put before the name Sisera the letters Ha and one can end with something like
Hasisili, almost the same name as the king of the Hittites, Hattushilish III. The
event of the death of Sisera took place in 1246 BCE according to strict
biblical chronology taking 970 as the year Solomon built the Temple, during the
beginning of the reign of Deborah. Scholars are not exactly sure about the year
of the death of Hattushilish III but it must have been around the same time
since scholars are roughly dating him to be between 1275-1250 BCE. That Sisera
was a commander of the chariots is evident from Judges: a) he had 900 chariots,
which is a costly enterprise to run, a situation that is reserved normally for
kings. b) In Judges 5:28 it seems to indicate that he was a king since the
queen, his mother, would look through the window for him and in verse 29 it
states that “her [his mother] princesses would answer her”. We know that the
successor of Hattushillish III, Tudḫaliya, had his mother Pudu-ḫepa together with
him on the throne since he was too young. It is a sign of a king who met his
death prematurely and abruptly. In essence, Sisera was killed by what seems to
be a Kenite Habiru since the name was Heber and it was Heber’s wife Jael that
killed Sisera (see Judges 5:17-21; 24). The word that is used in Judges 5:29 is
and can mean “princess, ruler, woman of rank”. Literally translated it means “her
princesses”. It is unlikely that the daughters of a captain of the army will
carry a rank. However, a king’s wife will be a queen and her daughters will
carry the rank of princesses. It was one of the biggest humiliations in the
history of Israel for an outside nation and that is why we find the lengthy
song of Deborah. It rank with the Exodus as an event that was a surprise to
nations in the region. These nations were destroyed at En-dor which
is near Taanach and Megiddo (Joshua 17:11) (Judges 5:19 = 83:11). David rolled further until chapter 7 of
Judges and wrote that their nobles should be made “like Oreb and Zeeb” (83:12a citing
from Judges 7:25). He rolled further and said “like Zebah and Zalmunna” (83:12b
citing from Judges 8:5ff.). They wanted to take in possession the habitations
of God (83:13 citing from Judges 8:7ff.). David asked that his enemies should
be made like a wind and dust (83:14). Just like a fire running over mountains
(83:15) he wants God to make them afraid “with Your storm” (83:16). He wants
their faces to be filled with shame (83:17). They should be ashamed “until
eternity” (adey-ad) (83:18). If the Lord acts “they will know that
You are, Your name alone is Lord, the Most High over all the earth” (83:19).