Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

83:9-18 Defeat Them, that They Might Know that You Rule. The basic request in this section is fairly simple: that these enemies would utterly fail in their scheme. This request begins with historical examples from Judges: Midian, Oreb, Zeeb, Zebah and Zalmunna (vv. 9, 11) all come from the story of Gideon (Judg. 7:1-8:28), while Sisera and Jabin come from the story of Deborah and Barak (Judges 4). These were deadly enemies, and from a merely human perspective their forces were superior to Israel's. Yet with God's help they were soundly defeated, which probably explains why the psalm uses them as examples. Verses 13-15 of Psalm 83 are colorful depictions of these enemies being thwarted and defeated. Verses 16-18 make explicit an element that is often only implicit in psalms asking for such victories: the goal in asking for their defeat is that they may seek your name (their conversion to the true God), or at least that they may know that you alone . . . are the Most High over all the earth (this may be conversion, or it may simply be the recognition that the God of Israel is the highest power there is, a recognition that may fall short of true conversion). The ultimate reason for Israel's existence is to serve God's purpose of restoring true worship and authentic human life among all mankind; therefore it is really for the good of these hostile Gentiles that they fail in their plan to "wipe out Israel" (v. 4). The genuine dependence on God expressed in this prayer is thus both devotion to God and goodwill to all mankind.