Psalm 120:5 Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech, that I live among the tents of Kedar!
Psalm 120 is the first of the songs of ascents. In this brief psalm, the psalmist calls on the LORD in his distress and an answer comes. His prayer is to be saved from lying lips and from deceitful tongues. He then apostrophises toward these enemies asking What will he do to you, and what more besides, O deceitful tongue? and answering He will punish you with a warrior's sharp arrows, with burning coals of the broom tree. His final words are words of reflection beginning with verse 5 and adding that he has lived too long among those who hate peace. I am a man of peace he concludes but when I speak, they are for war. Meshech was apparently in Central Anatolia (Turkey). Invaded by Assyrians (under Sargon II) then Cimmerians from Southern Russia, it was incorporated under Lydian control. At the end of the 8th century the king was the famous Midas, buried at Gordion. Kedar was a son of Ishmael. The trible flourished from the 8th to the 4th centuries and was based in the Arabian peninsula. Meshech is to the north west then and Kedar is to the south east. Both are nomadic or barbaric tribes. The psalmist is saying something like "Woe to me that I dwell in a land of Vandals, that I live among the tents of Goths!" or "Woe to me that I dwell in a land of savages, that I live among the tents of Hooligans!" Whether it is a reference to pagans or to Jews who should have acted better is unclear. Whichever, he felt keenly the fact that he was surrounded by warlike peace haters. One can sympathise with him. This is how it was for Christ too. We must do as the psalmist does and turn to the Lord in prayer.
Psalm 120 is the first of the songs of ascents. In this brief psalm, the psalmist calls on the LORD in his distress and an answer comes. His prayer is to be saved from lying lips and from deceitful tongues. He then apostrophises toward these enemies asking What will he do to you, and what more besides, O deceitful tongue? and answering He will punish you with a warrior's sharp arrows, with burning coals of the broom tree. His final words are words of reflection beginning with verse 5 and adding that he has lived too long among those who hate peace. I am a man of peace he concludes but when I speak, they are for war. Meshech was apparently in Central Anatolia (Turkey). Invaded by Assyrians (under Sargon II) then Cimmerians from Southern Russia, it was incorporated under Lydian control. At the end of the 8th century the king was the famous Midas, buried at Gordion. Kedar was a son of Ishmael. The trible flourished from the 8th to the 4th centuries and was based in the Arabian peninsula. Meshech is to the north west then and Kedar is to the south east. Both are nomadic or barbaric tribes. The psalmist is saying something like "Woe to me that I dwell in a land of Vandals, that I live among the tents of Goths!" or "Woe to me that I dwell in a land of savages, that I live among the tents of Hooligans!" Whether it is a reference to pagans or to Jews who should have acted better is unclear. Whichever, he felt keenly the fact that he was surrounded by warlike peace haters. One can sympathise with him. This is how it was for Christ too. We must do as the psalmist does and turn to the Lord in prayer.
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