POSTED 06 MARCH, 2005

Rest of the Nations

by Mark Huey
mhuey@outreachisrael.net

Some things never change. When surveying much of history, if there is one goal the “rest of the nations” can often agree upon, it is the subjugation of the people of the Israel to their control, if not elimination. As the Holy Scriptures clearly indicate, the world is separated into two people groups: those who follow the Creator God, and those who do not. Since God formed a people called out unto Himself millennia ago, the times and parties have changed, but the basic formula remains intact. One is either a citizen of that people, or is aligned with the enemies of God. This may sound simplistic, but when it is understood, the ability to fathom the machinations of “the rest of the nations” becomes more discernible.

When you read that Egypt, Russia, and Saudi Arabia are putting diplomatic pressure on Syria in order to have the Syrians remove their military forces from Lebanon, you might wonder what is motivating these actions. I would ask you, is it possible that these collaborating states have finally found a rallying cause, and a vehicle to remove and destroy the Jews living in the Promised Land?

Ironically, repeating aspects of an ancient approach attempted by the Seleucid Greeks, and later the Romans, the humanistic elements of the instruments for performing the surgical extraction are now labeled: “democracy,” which is of course coupled with freedom, human rights, the rule of law, and prosperity. This combination of forces, especially when promoted by the most powerful military regime in the world, has quite an appeal. After all, are not “peace and security” tempting elixirs for even the most hardened of souls?

This is reminiscent of former times when the “rest of the nations” found a common foe to conspire against. The Psalmist captures the essence of what has happened, and to a certain extent, is happening right before our very eyes. Even many of the remnants of these listed nations are repeating their insatiable desire to “wipe out” Israel:

“A Song, a Psalm of Asaph. O God, do not remain quiet; do not be silent and, O God, do not be still. For behold, Your enemies make an uproar, and those who hate You have exalted themselves. They make shrewd plans against Your people, and conspire together against Your treasured ones. They have said, ‘Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more.’ For they have conspired together with one mind; against You they make a covenant: The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites; Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assyria also has joined with them; they have become a help to the children of Lot. Selah. Deal with them as with Midian, as with Sisera and Jabin at the torrent of Kishon, who were destroyed at En-dor, who became as dung for the ground. Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb and all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, who said, ‘Let us possess for ourselves the pastures of God.’ O my God, make them like the whirling dust, like chaff before the wind. Like fire that burns the forest and like a flame that sets the mountains on fire, so pursue them with Your tempest and terrify them with Your storm. Fill their faces with dishonor, that they may seek Your name, O Lord. Let them be ashamed and dismayed forever, and let them be humiliated and perish, that they may know that You alone, whose name is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth” (Psalm 83:1-18).

Beware about what you read in the media reports, because what is happening among the “rest of the nations” is beyond what is duly reported. There are spiritual causes and motives involved that go well beyond countries simply positioning themselves for global influence. For a more comprehensive article about how some of the ancient Prophets saw these events, go to the article entitled “A Land Divided, A Nation United,” in this month’s Outreach Israel News (March 2005).

All of this perhaps is happening so, as the Psalmist puts it, “they will learn that you alone are called the Lord, that you alone are the Most High, supreme over all the earth” (NLT). Now that is something to ponder as the wheels of democracy once again roll into the Middle East!

Until the restoration of all things…

Mark Huey (B.A., Vanderbilt University in History and Graduate Studies at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University) is the Director of Outreach Israel Ministries (www.outreachisrael.net). He is the author of several books, including: TorahScope, Volumes I & II, and Counting the Omer: A Daily Devotional Toward Shavuot. He is also co-author of Hebraic Roots: An Introductory Study.