“May desert tribes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust!” – Psalm 72:9

The first part of this psalm talks of the prosperity of king Solomon, but it goes on to reference the anticipation of another king, the forthcoming Messiah. It proclaims the residents of the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula will ultimately bow down. Both rich tribes and far off rebellious tribes which dwell among the wild beasts. The loftiest and the lowest. This is a psalm of rule and submission. There is concurring and defeat ahead for the those who oppose God, but the result is a period where the foreign nations and all cultures will live together in the peace of the Lord.

There are those who do not wish to view God as one who will subdue his enemies. Scripture is very clear. The Messiah will bring a sword (Mat 10:34) and he does not come to bring peace (Luk 12:51, Rev 6:4). There will be a battle. We are called to first go peacefully into the world to bring God’s salvific message, but in the end,  God will rule or conquer all nations. Carl Friedrich Keil said, “The contemplation passes from the home relations of the new government to its foreign relations, and at the same time the wishes are changed into hopes. The awe-commanding dominion of the king shall stretch even into the most distant corners of the desert.”[1] One way or another, every nation will bow before God.

Our pastors and missionaries are to go forth with great boldness and mercy. We are to know beyond a doubt, our Lord will be victorious. With great compassion and great confidence, we are to take his message into the world, inviting the nations to follow the Lord. In the end God wins and is victorious over sin. Our invitation to the lost bears great urgency and compassion when we see God’s final cure for the earth is dominion.

[1] Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, vol. 5 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 481–482.