Have you ever been caught in a trap?

August 5, 2016

The violent treacherous ones (Isa 24:16-24:18)

“But I say.

‘I pine away!

I pine away!

Woe is me!

The treacherous deal treacherously.

The treacherous deal very treacherously.’

Terror,

The pit,

The snare

Are upon you!

O inhabitant of the earth!

Whoever flees at the sound of the terror

Shall fall into the pit.

Whoever climbs out of the pit

Shall be caught in the snare.”

The mood changes quickly, as Isaiah pines away because he is worried about the violent treacherous people who deal very treacherously, just like we have today. They create terror as they set pits and snares to catch people. If you flee, you will fall into a pit. Even if you crawl out of the pit, you will be caught in a snare trap. There is no escape.

December 27, 2015

I am alone (Ps 142:3-142:4)

“In the path where I walk,

They have hidden a trap for me.

Look on my right hand!

See!

There is no one who takes notice of me.

No refuge remains to me.

No one cares for me.”

David feels abandoned. His enemies have a set a hidden trap for him so that they can catch him when he walks. He says that he should be careful, looking on his right hand. However, no one seems to notice him. No one cares for him since there is no refuge for him.

October 10, 2015

The attempt to trap David (Ps 57:6-57:6)

“They set a net for my steps.

My soul was bowed down.

They dug a pit in my path.

However, they have fallen into it themselves.”

Selah

These enemies or lions have set a net to catch David. His soul was bowed down. After his enemies built a pit to trap him on his path, they and not David fell into the pit that they had built for him. This then has a musical interlude meditative pause at this point in the psalm, Selah..

September 14, 2015

Let their own nets trap them (Ps 35:7-35:8)

“Without cause

They hid their net for me.

Without cause

They dug a pit for my life.

Let ruin come upon them unawares!

Let the net that they hid

Ensnare them!

Let them fall in!

Let it be to their ruin!”

David noted that these things were done to him without a good cause. They hid a net to trap him. They dug a pit to put an end to his life. David wanted them to get caught in their own nets. He wanted them to fall into the pits that they had dug out to get him. This was to be their ruin. Clearly David was vindictive here because he believed that he was right because they did not have a good cause against him.