A Prayer for National Victory after Defeat--Psalm 60

It is very difficult to interpret Psalm 60. The Superscription is very complicated and uncertain: To the leader: according to the Lily of the Covenant. A Miktam of David; for instruction; when he struggled with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. "According to the Lily of the Covenant" may be a well-known tune, but this is uncertain. The references to Aram-naharaim, Aram-zobah, and killing 12,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt apparently have in mind 2 Samuel 8:5; 1 Chronicles 18:5, but 2 Samuel 8:13 says David killed 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt, and 1 Chronicles 18:12 says Abishai son of Zeruiah killed 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt, but neither text has any reference to Joab.

Furthermore, the places mentioned in verses 6-7a (Shechem, Succoth, Gilead, Manasseh, and Ephraim) are in North Israel, while the places mentioned in verses 7b-9 (Judah, Moab, Edom, and Philistia) are in the South. Verses 5-12 are a duplication of Psalm 108:6-13, which may indicate that at least a part of this was originally a much earlier poem which was later incorporated into these two Old Testament psalms. If this is the case, originally this poem applied to the fall of Samaria in 721 BCE and was later reapplied to the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BCE because of the similarity of these two events. Psalm 60 falls into four brief sections.

1. God's People beseech Yahweh to deliver them from their enemies. Psalm 60:1-5.
    a. The people ("we, our, us") implore Yahweh to "restore" them and "repair the cracks" in their land, even though he had rejected them, broken their defenses, been angry for them, caused the land to quake and totter, made the people suffer hard things, and given them wine to drink that made them reel [a common figure for defeat and destruction--see Jeremiah 13:12-14; 25:15-29]. 60:1-3.
    b. Even at that, Yahweh has shown his love to and concern for his people by setting up a banner for those who feared [honored, revered] him so that the scattered troops might rally around. Hence, the people pray that Yahweh will answer their cries, intercede, and give them the victory. 60:4-5.

2. A prophet, priest, or singer responds to the pleas of the people. Psalm 60:6-8.
    a. The poet reminds his hearers that God has spoken words of promise in the sanctuary [apparently long before this crisis]: Like a victorious warrior, Yahweh distributes his spoils and asserts his rule
over lands he has conquered. Here the language calls to mind the allotment of the land of Canaan to the Israelites under Joshua. God promises to divide up Shechem in North Israel and the Valley of Succoth east of Jordan. 60:6.
    b. As his possessions, Yahweh claims Gilead and Manasseh east of the Jordan River, Ephraim in North Israel west of the Jordan River, and Judah in the South. 60:7.
    c. Yahweh also claims his rule over Moab, Edom and Philistia in the South east and west of Judah respectively. Moab as Yahweh's "washbasin" symbolizes that the Moabites are to perform menial tasks for the Israelites. Yahweh casting his shoe upon Edom is a figure borrowed from the practice of passing a shoe to symbolize transfer of property. This calls to mind Ruth 4:7-8, which says that to buy something is to draw off one's sandal. 60:8.

3. The people again complain because Yahweh has rejected them. Psalm 60:9-10.
    Like verse 1, in verse 10 the people complain that Yahweh has rejected them and not gone out with them with their armies. This calls to mind Psalm 44:9 and the account of Israel's battle against the Philistines at Aphek in 1 Samuel 4:1-8. The idea may be that in spite of Israel's having carried the ark  with them into battle, the enemy triumphed. Possibly the individual in verse 9 ("me") is the king or commander-in-chief of the army. The "fortified city" of Edom (Petra? Bozrah?) may mean he wanted to escape there for safety with the remnant of the Judean army after the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BCE, or may mean that at this time the Edomites had joined the Babylonians in overthrowing Jerusalem and thus were the enemies of the Jews as in Psalm 137:7; Obadiah 10-12.

4. The people conclude confident that Yahweh will deliver them. Psalm 60:11-12.
    a. They ask Yahweh to grant them help against the foe, because "human help is worthless." They depend completely on Yahweh, not on any other source, human or otherwise. 60:11.
    b. Thus, they declare that "WITH GOD," they will do valiantly, because Yahweh alone is the one who tread down his foes. 60:12.

Share YOUR experiences and concerns and problems and issues and reversals with other people. Let me hear from YOU.

John Willis

The Biblical Teaching of Disciples--16

In Luke 1-10, there are twenty references to disciples. Most of the texts also have parallels in Matthew and Mark.

1. Eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners--Luke 5:27-39 [parallel to Matthew 9:9-17; Mark 2:13-22].
    a. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to the disciples of Jesus, Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? Jesus responded, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance. vv. 30-32.
    b. The Pharisees and scribes responded: the disciples of John the Baptist and the disciples of the Pharisees fast and pray, but the disciples of Jesus eat and drink. Jesus responded by giving  a parable: While the bridegroom is here at the wedding, the wedding guests will not fast; but when the bridegroom leaves, they will fast. Here the bridegroom is Jesus. vv. 33-35.

2. Eating grain on the Sabbath--Luke 6:1-5 [parallel to Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28]. One Sabbath when Jesus was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked some heads, rubbed them in their hands and ate the grain. Some of the Pharisees saw this and complained that they disobeyed the law. Jesus responded by reminding them that David and his companions ate the Bread of the Presence, which was not lawful. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath.

3. Jesus called twelve of his disciples--Luke 6:12-16 [parallel to Matthew 10:1-4; Mark 3:13-19a]. Jesus called his disciples and chose twelve whom he also named apostles. The names are listed here.

4. Many people come to Jesus to hear his words and be healed--Luke 6:17-19 [parallel to Matthew 4:23-25; Mark 1:35-39]. After choosing the twelve, Jesus came down from the mountain to a level place, where a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude from all Judea came to him to hear his words and be healed.

5. Blessings and Woes--Luke 6:20-26 [parallel to Matthew 5:1-12]. Jesus then looked up at his disciples and gave them certain blessings and woes.

6. Do not judge--Luke 6:37-42 [parallel to Matthew 7:1-5]. Jesus told his hearers not to judge. Then he gave a parable. If a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into the pit. A disciple is not above his teacher.

7. Jesus Raises the Widow's Son at Nain--Luke 7:11-17. Jesus' disciples and a large crowd went with Jesus to Nain, where Jesus raised the widow's son at Nain from the dead.

8. The Disciples of John the Baptist ask Jesus if he is the Messiah--Luke 7:18-35 [parallel to Matthew 11:2-19]. The disciples of John the Baptist told John that Jesus had raised the widow's son at Nain from the dead. John sent two of his disciples to Jesus to find out if Jesus is the one who is to come. Jesus told them to tell John what Jesus had done in healing all the sick.

9. The Parable of the Sower--Luke 8:9-10 [parallel to Matthew 13:10-17; Mark 4:10-12]. When Jesus gives the parable of the sower, Jesus' disciples ask him what this parable means. Jesus responded by telling them that he would tell them the secret, but the purpose of parables is to hide Jesus' messages from the crowds.

10. Jesus calms a storm--Luke 8:22-27 [parallel to Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41]. Jesus got into a boat with his disciples. Jesus fell asleep. A windstorm swept down on the lake, and the disciples were afraid. Jesus woke up and stilled the storm and rebuked his disciples for their little faith.

11. The Mission of the Twelve--Luke 9:1-6 [parallel to Matthew 10:5-15]. Jesus called the 12 disciples and gave them power over demons and to cure diseases. The NRSV does not use the word "disciple" in v. 1.

12. Feeding the 5,000--Luke 9:10-27 [parallel to Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44]. When the crowds were hungry, Jesus told his disciples to make all the people sit down. Jesus blessed the five loaves of bread and two fish and gave them to his disciples to distribute it to the crowd. God greatly multitude the food.

13. Peter declares that Jesus is the Messiah--Luke 9:18-20 [parallel to Matthew 16:13-20; Mark 8:27-30]. While he was praying, Jesus asked his disciples who they thought Jesus was. Peter said he thought Jesus was the Messiah.

14. Jesus heals a boy with a demon--Luke 9:37-47 [parallel to Matthew 17:14-23; Mark 9:14-32]. A man came to Jesus telling him his son was seized by a spirit but Jesus' disciples could not cast out the spirit. Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy. Then Jesus told his disciples that he would be arrested, persecuted, and killed on the cross.

15. A Samaritan village refused to receive Jesus--Luke 9:51-56. When the Samaritan village refused to receive Jesus, Jesus' disciples James and James asked Jesus if they wanted to come down fire from heaven to destroy this village. Jesus rebuked them for asking this.

16. Jesus tells his disciples that they are blessed what they see--Luke 10:21-24 [parallel to Matthew 11:25-27]. Jesus thanks his Heavenly Father for revealing God's things to infants rather than to the wise. Then Jesus told his disciples privately that they are blessed what they see.

Not that in these chapters, there are references to the disciples of the Pharisees, the disciples of John the Baptist, to the twelve disciples of Jesus, to two disciples James and John, and to a larger group of disciples of Jesus.

Share YOUR beliefs and insights and understandings and perceptions and concerns with others. Let me hear from YOU.

John Willis+