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Psalm 59:13
Consume them in wrath. Consume them, and they will be no more. Let them know that God rules in Jacob, to the ends of the earth. Selah.
11Don’t kill them, or my people may forget. Scatter them by your power, and bring them down, Lord our shield.
12For the sin of their mouth, and the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride, for the curses and lies which they utter.
13Consume them in wrath. Consume them, and they will be no more. Let them know that God rules in Jacob, to the ends of the earth. Selah.
15They shall wander up and down for food, and wait all night if they aren’t satisfied.
Notice
“Consume them” is a stark plea for enemies’ destruction, spoken against curses and lies, with the desire that God’s rule become known across the earth.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What do you make of the shift from sparing enemies in verse 11 to consuming them here?
Write on thisWhat changes in your reading when the prayer moves from enemies’ destruction to God’s rule over the earth?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Psalm 83:18that they may know that you alone, whose name is the LORD, are the Most High over all the earth.Both prayers seek recognition that God’s rule extends over all the earth.
Psalm 93:1The LORD reigns! He is clothed with majesty! The LORD is armed with strength. The world also is established. It can’t be moved.Both declare God’s reign, with Psalm 59 seeking its recognition and Psalm 93 describing his majesty and strength.
Psalm 55:15Let death come suddenly on them. Let them go down alive into Sheol. For wickedness is among them, in their dwelling.Both prayers ask for enemies’ death, naming their wrongdoing as the setting for these severe requests.
Ezekiel 39:7“‘“I will make my holy name known among my people Israel. I won’t allow my holy name to be profaned any more. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, …Both connect God’s identity among his people with recognition of him beyond Israel.
Psalm 7:9Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; their minds and hearts are searched by the righteous God.Both appeal to God against wickedness, though Psalm 59 asks for the destruction of the enemies themselves.
1 Samuel 17:46–47Today, the LORD will deliver you into my hand. I will strike you and take your head from off you. I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines …Both connect enemies’ destruction with the desire that the whole earth know the God who rules in Israel.
Numbers 14:34–35After the number of the days in which you spied out the land, even forty days, for every day a year, you will bear your iniquities, even forty years, and you …Both link judgment with knowledge: the psalm seeks recognition of God’s rule; Numbers speaks of knowing his alienation.
1 Kings 18:36–37At the time of the evening offering, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “LORD, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known today that you …Both prayers seek public recognition that God is God in Israel.
Daniel 4:25You will be driven from men and your dwelling shall be with the animals of the field. You will be made to eat grass as oxen, and will be wet with the dew of …Both connect severe judgment with coming to know that God rules over human affairs.
Ezekiel 38:23I will magnify myself and sanctify myself, and I will make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”’Both look beyond Israel toward the nations knowing who God is.
Deuteronomy 2:14–16The days in which we came from Kadesh Barnea until we had come over the brook Zered were thirty-eight years, until all the generation of the men of war were …The psalm asks for enemies to be consumed; Deuteronomy records a generation of Israel’s warriors consumed as the LORD swore.
Isaiah 54:5For your Maker is your husband; the LORD of Armies is his name. The Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer. He will be called the God of the whole earth.Both name God’s bond with Israel while declaring that his authority extends over the whole earth.
Where this verse fits
Injustice and anger. sermon or Bible study notes.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The cry for destruction is severe, and it puts the request for judgment before God. Even amid enemies’ curses and lies, God rules to the ends of the earth.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).