Bible TimePsalm 95: Call to UN Peace Meeting
Early on the morning of this Psalm, the White House called the leaders of Israel and the Palestinians to a meeting at the United Nations in New York on September 22, 2009.
Psalm 95
Theoretical Time:
- 13000-08-21 DH 20:5:12 AA
- 2009-09-09 13:37:25 TMMT
- 2009-09-09 11:16:31 GMT
- 2009-09-09 07:16:31 EDT
Psalms 95
1Come, let us sing to Yahvah; let us make a joyful noise to the god of our salvation.
2Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise to him with psalms.
3For Yahvah is a great god and a great king above all gods.
4In his hand are the foundations of the land; the strength of the hills is also his.
5The sea is his, and he made it; and his hands formed the dry land.
6Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before Yahvah our maker.
7For he is our god; and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice,
8do not harden your heart, as in the provocation and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness,
9when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
10For 40 years, I was grieved with that generation, and said, It is a people that err in their heart, and they have not known my ways,
11to whom I swore in my wrath, that they should not enter into my rest. (54:3:7, 54:3:15, 54:4:3, 54:4:7)
Peace Process, Again
The best report was provided by Debka who indicated that there was word in the Israeli media the night before that there would be an Obama administration peace initiative coming soon. It came the next day.
The report indicates that the Hamas and Fatah factions of the Palestinians will be forced together by Saudi Arabia between the date of the Psalm and September 22, 2009. Obama will be in New York City for a UN Summit. He intends to announce a new round of peace process initiatives while there, thus the summons issued to the Israelis and Palestinians.
Matches
The Psalm opens with a call to come in verse 2. This is what was issued by the White House essentially at the theoretical time of this Psalm, a match.
Verses 3, 4 and 5 contain various symbolic language that points at governments, especially the United Nations. This includes a "king above all gods" in verse 3, as the UN is king above all others. This includes a reference to "hills" in verse 4, also symbolic of governments. The seas and dry land references in verse 5 specifically links gentile peoples to Abraham's descendants. The call to bring the Palestinians and Israelis together is a match along this same split.
In some sense the entire planet is God's pasture, but if a selection was made of a single country which was particularly special it would be the modern nation of Israel which inhabits the land where Jesus was born. This special pasture is reference in verse 7, another match that suggests a fulfillment involving modern Israel.
Verses 8, 9, and 10 deal with how to respond to God's call. It especially calls out not hardening hards as happened in the wilderness after leaving Egypt. The 40 year reference is pointing back to events in 1969, which does not hit any of the major wars in Israel, though is slightly longer than the time back to 1967.
The last verse of this Psalm ends on the term "rest" which is probably a stand-in for the idea of peace, which is what this invite will attempt to find yet again for residents in Israel and Palestine.