Tag: imprecatory

Break Their Teeth (Psalm 58)

On By pastorjonathanIn DevotionalLeave a comment

PSALM 58

Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones? Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men? 2 No, in heart you work wickedness; You weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.

PSALM 58:1-2

BREAK THEIR TEETH

There is a part of the human soul that cries out for justice. When we see injustice we want justice to be served. One of the clear ways this comes out in our society is when we see crimes against children. We understand that the adults who have mistreated, mishandled, or hurt children are sinister and deserve to be punished.

David saw some folks in his own day were were supposed to be people who saw that victims got justice but instead of overseeing justice, they were unjust themselves. They furthered the corruption. They oppressed the already oppressed. They favored the oppressor.

And so David was indignant. He was mad. He had a righteous anger. He knew God would do something one day about these people of an unsavory character who filled an office that was supposed to guarantee justice. But he also wanted God to move in his own day. Waiting for Justice isn’t easy.

David prays some pretty harsh things, or at least he uses harsh metaphors. He calls out to God to provide justice by breaking the teeth (see verse 6) of these unjust judges. He wants God to silence them. To hit them where the abuse comes from (their mouths). He wants their rule or oversight to be short lived like a snail in the sun or a stillborn child. These imprecations are harsh, but they reveal a real zeal for God’s justice to happen even now.

Who do you need to pray for today that has been a victim of injustice? What injustices are happening around the world or in our community that we need to pray against?

PRAYER

Father, Break my heart for what breaks yours. We see lots of injustice in our world today. From the baby in the womb who never gets to see the light or day, to animosities between groups of people, to the mistreatment of people perhaps in our own communities. I ask for righteous leaders in our community, state, and nation. We ask for people in positions of power to make fair and right decisions. We pray that our politicians and leaders aren’t swayed by polls, but rather hold firm to truth and righteousness. May they act with integrity. Limit the sins of those who do unjust violence against others. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

I’m reading and blogging the Psalms Through The Summer. I’d love for you to join me. You can find out a little more here.

When Insults become cause for Intercession Nehemiah 4:4-5

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional, leadership, NehemiahLeave a comment

Nehemiah 4:4-5

Words sting. We like to pretend they don’t, but they do. They produce pain and they cause us to retaliate. This is how arguments are started. We feel slighted or disrespected and we launch an attack on the other person. We level our own arguments for their inferiority or impossible reasoning. We return fire. We even feel justified, after all, we didn’t fire the first shot… they did. We were only responding in kind.

But what if instead of fighting back and lashing out we simply looked up? What if we took all of our hurts, our stings, our brokenness from whatever someone had said and we put it in the Lord’s hands? How would our lives be different if we took insults and turned them into intercession? That is what Nehemiah does. He doesn’t answer these men for all the insults they have hurled at him or his people. Instead he takes it to God in prayer.

Cover

Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders. (Nehemiah 4:4-5 ESV)

There is comfort in taking your wounds to God. You are asking Him to plead your case. You know that He sees things more clearly than you do and He will meter out justice. Sometimes we forget that when we are on mission with God that we are not the ones who will answer enemy insults, but that our enemies will answer to God for their insults. They have not only attempted to discredit the workers, but they have attempted to discredit the work of God and God is more than capable of taking up for Himself.

Here Nehemiah prays an “imprecatory” prayer. This is the kind of prayer that sounds like you really have it in for your enemies. But a couple of things should be noted. Who can judge Nehemiah’s enemies more justly than God? If Nehemiah’s enemies are in the wrong, should they not be punished? Nehemiah is asking for justice, not revenge.

These men don’t just insult Nehemiah, but by implication by insulting his people, they are insulting God and standing against His plans. He is bringing back and restoring His people from captivity, a resurrection of sorts. A restored wall is a sign of a God who can bring his people back from the edge of destruction. Sanballat and Tobiah stance places them squarely at odds with God because they are at odds with his people. Nehemiah simply asks God to turn their desires for his people back on their own heads.