The Conspiracy against Israel
Psalm 83
Sunday, May 24, 2015
1. Introduction
a. Psalm 83 is a prophetic psalm by Asaph the seer given some three thousand years
ago.
i. He prophesies of a future coming war between Israel and her surrounding
neighbors.
ii. Asaph sees this conspiracy of nations desiring to posses her land and cut her
off from being a nation.
iii. Israel cries out for God to deal with these evil people and make them like a
whirlwind of dust.
b. This morning we study this psalm and will determine who these people are that hate
Israel so badly.
i. Then next week we will learn about how this war of Psalm 83 plays out in the
end time scenario.
2. The Plans of the Haters – Psalm 83:1-4
a. Verse 1: The Psalmist cries out for God to do something to these people.
i. Don’t keep silent, hold your peace or be still but do something to make them
stop.
b. Verses 2-4: What do we learn about these enemies?
i. They are God’s enemies and are making an uproar or making great noise with
rage.
ii. They hate God and are exalting themselves above God.
1. So they think they are greater or their religion is greater than God.
iii. They are conspiring together or making war plans to attack Israel.
1. So they are coordinating military efforts to destroy Israel.
iv. Their intensions are to kill all the Jews so they are no longer a nation and that
Israel will be remembered no more.
v. So the Jews have to be a nation for this prophecy to come true. They were a
nation when this psalm is written.
1. So did it happen during the time of David (1000 BC) until the
Israelites were removed from the land by the Babylonians in 586 BC?
a. The only coalition you can find in the Old Testament is 2
Chronicles 20. But this war only includes Moab, Ammon and
probably the Meunites.
2. This prophecy is regarding a Ten Member coalition not a three
member one. So the answer is, No.
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a. They returned to the land by the decree of Cyrus in around 460
BC. But they were never much of a nation. They were always
under the control of another country.
i. Medes and the Persians, Grecian, and Roman
3. They haven’t been a nation from 70 AD to May 14, 1948 AD.
a. This tells me that this conspiracy must happen sometime on or
after May 14, 1948.
vi. History has already shown us that it is the Muslims that want to destroy Israel
since their inspection.
1. Israel’s War of Independence - 1948-1949 (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon,
Syria)
2. Six Day War – June 1967 (Egypt, Jordan, Syria)
3. Yom Kippur War – October 1973, (Egypt and Syria)
4. Lebanon War – 1982 (Southern Lebanon – PLO)
5. The Intifada of the 90’s and early 2000’s (West Bank and Gaza)
6. Lebanon War – 2006 (Southern Lebanon – Hezbollah)
7. Operation Pillar of Defense - November 2012 (Gaza – Hamas)
8. Operation Protective Edge – July 2014 (Gaza – Hamas)
c. Verse 4: Who has said such things against Israel?
i. Five Arab armies that invaded the newly partitioned area of Palestine given
to the Jews. (May 1948)
ii. Yasser Arafat: "The end of Israel is the goal of our struggle, and it allows for
neither compromise nor mediation... We don't want peace. We want war,
victory." (1972)
iii. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: “It is the mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to
erase Israel from the map of the region.” (2001)
iv. Hassan Nasrallah, a leader of Hezbollah: “If they [Jews] all gather in Israel,
it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide.” (2002)
v. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran: Regarding Israel’s 60th
anniversary: “Those who think they can revive the stinking corpse of the
usurping and fake Israeli regime by throwing a birthday party are seriously
mistaken. Today the reason for the Zionist regime's existence is questioned,
and this regime is on its way to annihilation." (May 8, 2008)
vi. Khamenei: “The Zionist regime is a cancerous tumor and it will be removed.”
(2012)
vii. Hojatoleslam Ali Shirazi, Khamenei’s representative in the Revolutionary
Guard: “The Zionist regime will soon be destroyed, and this generation will
be witness to its destruction." (2013)
viii. Hossein Salami, the deputy head of the Revolutionary Guard: "Today we
are aware of how the Zionist regime is slowly being erased from the world,
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and indeed, soon, there will be no such thing as the Zionist regime on Planet
Earth." (2014)
ix. The Muslims have a hate for the Jews and it is a battle that has been raging
since Abraham kicked Hagar and their son Ishmael out of the house and made
Isaac the true heir.
x. And since Isaac gave the blessing to Jacob and not Esau.
1. The two main factions are the descendants of Ishmael and Esau are
the haters.
xi. This has been a Family Feud since the time of Abraham and Sarah
The Mothers
The Sons
The Twin Brothers
Sarah vs. Hagar
Isaac vs. Ishmael
Jacob vs. Esau
The Cousins
Israelites vs.
Ammonites &
Moabites
Hebrews vs.
Amalakites
The Great Grand
Kids
Hagarites
Ishmaelites
Edomites/Idumeans/
Palestinians
Jordanians
Amalakites
Genesis 16 & 21
Genesis 16, 17 & 21
Genesis 25-28 & 32-33
Numbers 22-25, Judges
3 & 10-11, 2 Kings 3, 2
Chron. 20
Numbers 14 & Judges 3
xii. All from one sin – the ramifications of our sins can be played out through
generations.
3. Who are they Really? – Verses 5-8
a. The nation listed first in these types of prophecies is usually the leader. So the “tents
of Edom” is the main player in this battle.
i. In fact the Bible has a lot to say about the Edomites and their destruction in
the last days through the prophets Jeremiah and Obadiah.
b. But first who are the Edomites?
i. Basically they are the descendents of Esau, Jacob’s twin brother who became
known as Israel.
ii. The descendents of Esau formed the nation of Edom, from which comes the
term Edomites.
1. The Edomites settled in what we know today as south-west Jordan or
back then Idumea, and were also known as the Idumeans, which was
the Greek word for Edomites.
2. In 586 BC the Edomites began migrating over to the land of Israel
after Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians.
3. With little or no Jewish people around they began homesteading in the
area of Hebron, which is located 19 miles south of Jerusalem.
a. Unlike Jerusalem, which was destroyed at that time, much of
Hebron was still left intact.
4. Around the same time a nomadic tribe known as the Nabataean’s
began to migrate out of Arabia into Edom.
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a. This caused cultural and territorial conflicts, which created a
first wave of Edomite migration into Israel.
b. And then through various other issues and ruling kings more
and more of the Edomites moved into the land of Israel.
5. Judas Maccabeus, a Jew, took control of Hebron in 167 BC and in 126
BC there was another battle where the Edomites were subdued again.
a. They were either killed, flee or become Jewish. Many stayed
and those that fled went to the area of Gaza or other parts of
Israel.
6. Then in 47 BC Julius Caesar conquered the area and promoted the
Idumean Antipater as procurator over Judea, Samaria and Galilee.
a. Then in 37 BC, the Romans named Herod, an Idumean, as the
King over Israel.
7. During the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus the Romans General
not only were the Jews destroyed but many of the Idumeans were as
well.
a. The Caesar set free 40,000 Idumeans to stay in the area of
Hebron and they have been there ever since.
8. Then the Romans changed the name of Israel to Palestina in AD 135
and everyone now living in that area became known as Palestinians.
iii. So Palestina or Palestine was ruler over by the Romans, Christians, Arabs,
Christians, Arabs, Turks and Britain for some 1,800 years.
1. The people of that land mostly became conquered Muslims with the
exception of the Jews and Christians for they would die for their
faith.
2. In all that time this territory was never known as a state or a nation
just a territory to be ruled, until May 14, 1948 when the Balfour
Declaration gave the land to the Jews.
3. Anyone living in the land of Palestine now known as Israel could be
citizens of Israel if they so desired – and some did and they have voice
in their government to this day.
a. The Arabs didn’t want the Jews to have the land so they
surrounded the new state of Israel to kill all the Jews.
b. In the process of this war these people of Palestine were
displaced and moved to tent cities and were encouraged to stay
there and not become citizens of Israel but be a thorn in the
side of the Jews.
i. These tent cities were set up in what we know today as
the West Bank where Hebron is, in the area of Jordan
Gaza and southern Lebanon.
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ii. They were told they will kill all the Jews and then they
can have this land for themselves.
iii. That never happened. These people are displaced and
live in squalor and the Jews are blamed for it.
4. Those living in the West Bank and Gaza were taken care of for Israel
built apartments, schools, hospitals and everything was fine until
Yasser Arafat rose up and started causing trouble.
a. The First Intifada began in Dec, 1987 until Sept, 1993 with the
Oslo Accords. It all started from an accident. An Israeli
military truck hit a car and four Palestinian’s were killed.
b. It has gotten progressively worse ever sense.
5. By the way, the Palestinians in Lebanon and Jordan many are still
living in tents. Refugee camps.
a. The Lebanon and the Jordanian governments are doing nothing
to help them but lie to them that it is the Jews fault.
iv. We generally understand that the Palestinian groups are comprised of a
mixture of peoples who descend from various origins, the main one of these
being traceable back to Esau, father of the Edomites.
c. Why spend so much time talking about Edom you might ask?
i. Well since they are listed first in this confederacy against Israel they are the
main players. This means other prophecies regarding Edom are important
and are connected to Psalm 83.
1. Ezek 25:12-14 - 'Thus says the Lord God: "Because of what Edom did
against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has greatly
offended by avenging itself on them," 13 therefore thus says the Lord
God: "I will also stretch out My hand against Edom, cut off man and
beast from it, and make it desolate from Teman; Dedan shall fall by
the sword. 14 I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My
people Israel, that they may do in Edom according to My anger and
according to My fury; and they shall know My vengeance," says the
Lord God. NKJV
2. Obad 1-2 - 1 The vision of Obadiah. This is what the Sovereign Lord
says about Edom — We have heard a message from the Lord: An
envoy was sent to the nations to say, "Rise, and let us go against her
for battle"— 2 "See, I will make you small among the nations; you
will be utterly despised.
3. Obad 8-10: "In that day," declares the Lord,"will I not destroy the wise
men of Edom, men of understanding in the mountains of Esau? 9 Your
warriors, O Teman, will be terrified, and everyone in Esau's mountains
will be cut down in the slaughter. 10 Because of the violence against
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your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be
destroyed forever. NIV
d. Read Verses 6-8: Here are a list of these people groups and their modern day
equivalent. What they have in common – they hate Israel.
i. Psalm 83 Coalition:
Tents of Edom = [decedents of Esau] Palestinian Refugees and Southern
Jordanians
Ishmaelites = Saudi Arabians
Moab = Palestinian Refugees and Central Jordanians
Hagrites = Egyptians (Muslim Brotherhood)
Gebal = Northern Lebanese
Ammon = Palestinian Refugees and Northern Jordanians
Amalek = Arabs in the Sinai area
Philista = Palestinian Refugees and Hamas of Gaza Strip
Inhabitants of Tyre = Hezbollah and Southern Lebanese
Assyria = Syrians and perhaps Northern Iraqis included (ISIS)
Children of Lot = Moab and Ammon (Jordan)
ii. Notice that all these nations surround Israel today.
1. This war of Psalm 83 is a regional war.
4. What will happen to these nations that are forming a conspiracy against God’s people –
Verses 9-12
a. The Psalmist looks back at history as to how he desires God to deal with them.
i. Judges 7: Then in the time of the Judges God raised up Gideon and 300 men
to conquer the Midianites of thousands and chased them out of the land.
1. The kings of the Midianites were Oreb, Zeeb, Zebah and Zalmunna.
ii. Like Sisera: Judges 4: Barak led the Israelites into battle against this
Canaanite king and routed Sisera and his chariot army. Sisera fled to the tent
of Jael where she tricked him to hide in her tent. While he slept she drove a
tent peg through his temple.
iii. Like Jabin: Joshua 11: King Jabin gathers a huge army of all the Canaanites
in the surrounding area, as well as the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites
and Hivites. But Joshua and the Israelites defeated them.
b. What were all these enemies of Israel saying back then and even today?
i. Verse 12: They want to take the land that God gave to the Israelites for
themselves.
1. This same hatred for the Jews has never changed because it is a
spiritual hatred.
2. It is spurred on by Satan himself because he hates God’s chosen
people and he hates anyone that calls on the name of Jesus Christ to
be saved from their sins.
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a. Satan hates Jesus, the cross on which He died on for you and I
and he especially hates the fact that Jesus rose from the dead.
5. The Psalmist cries out for justice and salvation- Verses 13-18:
a. Verses 13-15: He desires for those haters of Israel to be like whirling dust, chaff, a
raging fire.
i. He is calling for a hurricane to pursue them and bring fear into their lives.
ii. God does have a way of using mighty storms of His Creation to draw people
to Christ.
1. When the frailty of your humanity is before you it can cause the heart
to become open to the Gospel so the seed of the word can be planted.
b. Verses 16-18: The Psalmist has a true heart for the Lord in that he desires that
through this coming destruction upon them they know that God is the Lord Most
High.
i. Their bodies may perish but through this they may seek the name of God and
their souls saved.
6. How do we know they are going to be defeated and Israel will become the next great super
power?
a. Because the Lord God has promised the Land to the Israelites since Abraham was
given it. God never goes back on His promise.
i. Joshua and the Israelites claimed their inheritance thousands of years ago.
ii. We read of it in the future of being the land of the Jews
1. Jesus will rule and reign in Jerusalem for a thousand years.
7. Conclusion
a. Next week I want to look at how this war of Psalm 83 possibly fits into the prophetic
picture of the End-Times.
b. Talk about why it is a war that will precede the war of Gog and Magog of Ezekiel
38-39.
c. And how the Rapture of the Church figures into all of this.
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