Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech, that I live among the tents of
Kedar! Too long have I lived among those who hate peace. I am a man of
peace; but when I speak, they are for war. —Psalm 120:5-7
Psalm
120 gives us a number of examples of different ways that God uses to
get our attention. Meshech and Kedar symbolize places where we do not
like to have to live. Are you living in the “wrong” place? Perhaps you
are feeling a little sorry for yourself. But maybe God has put you
there so that you will value what really matters. Because of an unhappy
situation, where things just aren’t the way you would like them to be,
God gets your attention. He can also use danger, delay, or discord to
get our attention.
Meshech and Kedar also symbolize places of
danger. Kedar, for example, refers to the Bedouins who were a perpetual
problem to the travelers. Are you one of those people who enjoy living
on the edge of danger, but now find yourself in trouble?
Another
part of the distress, delay, is found in verse 6: “Too long have I
lived among those who hate peace.” Perhaps your distress is because of
a prolonged situation. You have waited and waited for the situation to
change. In reality, however, all this time perhaps God has been waiting
for you to turn to Him.
God also uses discord to get our
attention: “I am a man of peace; but when I speak, they are for war”
(v. 7). Are you in such a situation of discord? Perhaps your marriage
is on the rocks; perhaps you are living somewhere where there is
nothing but tension. God can use discord to get your attention.
What
makes for peace is when we come to terms with the fact that the problem
is not merely the situation but our reaction to the situation. A man of
peace will defuse heated situations, not adding to their misery. Such a
man can do this because internally he has discovered and experienced
“perfect peace” (Isa. 26:3). It is called the “peace of God, which
passeth all understanding” (Phil. 4:7, KJV).
Excerpted from Higher Ground (Christian Focus Publications Ltd., 1995).
Curt Landry 
Michael L. Brown 
Rabbi Eric Tokajer 
