20231202

hunter’s net

Psalm 124:1-8 (JDV)

Psalm 124:1 [A song of festival caravans. Of David.] If Yahveh had not been on our side– let Israel say–
Psalm 124:2 If Yahveh had not been on our side when people attacked us,
Psalm 124:3 then they would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger against us.
Psalm 124:4 Then the water would have engulfed us; the torrent would have swept over us;
Psalm 124:5 the raging water would have swept over us.
Psalm 124:6 Blessed be Yahveh, who has not let us be ripped apart by their teeth.
Psalm 124:7 We have escaped like a bird from the hunter’s net; the net is torn, and we have escaped.
Psalm 124:8 Our help is in the name of Yahveh, the Maker of the sky and the land.

hunter’s net

The hunter’s net is a trap that encases birds. The psalmist sees his people as being trapped in that net, goners for sure. Then, suddenly, the net is broken, and they are free. This is the LORD’s doing. The LORD was on their side, and he made the difference between escape and extinction.