Saturday
May the Lord answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion. May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your requests.
Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.
O Lord, save the king! Answer us when we call!
(Psalms 20:1-9, NIV)
Psalm 20 is a prayer offered by King David before he goes off to war and it expresses the distress he feels as he faces the impending conflict. Despite all the military victories of David and the consolidation of his kingdom over Judah and then all of Israel as recorded in II Samuel, he knows that the “saving power” of God is his only hope. Although he distinguishes himself as a brilliant and fearless military commander, David knows that he cannot trust in his “chariots” or “horses.” His sole confidence is “in the name of the Lord our God” (v. 8).
Because God has chosen to act in the world as it is, a world of violence and conflict resulting from humanity’s sin, the Old Testament describes God’s participation in warfare. Yet, as we saw in our devotional readings earlier this week, God uses warfare as an instrument of his judgment. When God instructed the Israelites to invade Palestine and then gave them success on the battlefield, he used their military victories as a punishment against the evil of the Canaanites. God’s assistance in King David’s military campaigns was motivated by similar concerns. Although God’s special relationship to the Kingdom of David is central in today’s verses, God judgment was subsequently directed toward Israel and Judah because of their sin.
God uses war as a means of judgment, yet his use of conflict tells us only about the nature of his activity in the world as it is, not about his moral character. The Creator is a God of shalom who, because of our sin, has chosen to continue to be active in our world of war and uses times of conflict to achieve his greater ends. Redemption and reconciliation are God’s goals in history, and he uses humanity’s conflict to bring his judgment and to achieve the redemption of his chosen people.
Prayer
Almighty God, liberator and defender of your people, we praise you for the grace and mercy you have extended toward us. Thank you for hearing our cries of distress and answering our prayers. Help us to see the fallacy of trusting in weapons of war when our trust should be in you alone. Amen.