Digging in Deeper: Deuteronomy 20:1

“When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Reading verses like this in books like this is tough when it comes to the Scriptures.  Moses is about two-thirds of the way through his farewell speech to the people of Israel here.  And he’s talking about a hypothetical future situation and what the people should do if they are to face something like this.  The challenge is this: What on earth are we supposed to do with something like this?

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Digging in Deeper: Psalm 109:1

“Be not silent, O God of my praise!”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Psalm 109 here falls into the category of imprecatory psalms.  There aren’t very many of these, but they are without fail uncomfortable to read.  At least, they are uncomfortable in a culture like ours where being a follower of Jesus is still a pretty safe thing to be, and where we are taught to be tolerant of other people.  It is uncomfortable when read through the lens of Jesus’ call to love our enemies.  And this one isn’t even the most egregious of the category.  There are other imprecatory psalms that are even more violent in their language, in the kinds of things they ask God to do to the enemies of His people. Read the rest…