The Enemy as God’s Sword: Psalms 17:13

Question

Psalm 17:13 says, “Arise, O God, disappoint, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is Your sword.

Will you explain this?

Do the wicked also have an appointed purpose?

Isaiah 45:7 says, “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I, God, do all these things.”

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Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    The commentaries explain that it is plea to God that He rise up when the enemy arrives. and that God confront the enemy before they get too close. The reference to the sword is that God empowered the wicked to mete out punishment to the guilty. Therefore, the wicked become God’s sword.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team