The nation we know as Lebanon was called Phoenicia by the Greeks and originally extended  along the Mediterranean coast from just north of Megiddo in Israel to Latakia, about 200 miles northwest of Damascus.  The people were most likely descendants of Canaan, the fourth son of Ham, since Sidon, Canaan’s first born, gave his name to a prominent Phoenician city, and several other Canaanite tribes settled nearby following their departure from Babel (Genesis 10:15-18).

The Phoenicians were respected traders among the Mediterranean city-states. Their most notable exports were the purple dye known as Tyrian purple, various kinds of glass (which they’re credited with discovering), and the Phoenician alphabet. First developed about 1500 BC, it was the prototype for the Roman and Greek alphabets.

Phoenician trade was made possible by its excellent navy, which carried its goods to ports throughout the Mediterranean, and perhaps all the way to England.  Some scholars assert that the name Britannia comes from a Phoenician word meaning source of tin and that the Phoenicians mined tin in Cornwall which they brought back to customers in the Mediterranean.  Tin is used in the production of bronze.

Nebuchadnezzar had incorporated Phoenicia into the Babylonian Empire in the 6th Century BC, but the country’s downfall actually began when Alexander the Great defeated Persia in 333 BC.  Almost all of the Phoenician cities including Sidon, Byblos, and Arvad conceded to Alexander with little or no resistance. Tyre, the only city which didn’t forfeit, held on until Alexander waged a successful 7 month siege in 332 BC.  After the siege of Tyre, the Phoenician Empire dwindled further, and in 64 BC the name of Phoenicia disappeared entirely, its territory becoming a part of the Roman province of Syria.

Nearly 20 centuries later, the League of Nations carved out an area they called Lebanon as part of the French (Syrian) Mandate following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.  The manner in which Lebanon’s borders were established made the new country about half Christian and half Sunni Muslim in its make-up. The now multi-cultured Lebanon gained its independence from France in 1943.

Over the years since, Lebanon has experienced periods of peace and war, prosperity and poverty,  freedom and subjugation. While a sovereign country, it’s currently under the combined influence of Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah.

Many people don’t know that a large part of Lebanon was included in the land God set aside for Israel.  Lebanon is first mentioned in Deut. 1:7 as part of the Promised Land.  It was given to the Tribe of Asher but appears not to have included Tyre (Joshua 19:24-31).  In return for King Hiram of Tyre’s assistance in building the Temple and royal Palace in Jerusalem, King Solomon “gave” him 20 cities of the Upper Galilee as part of his compensation (1 Kings 9:10-11) extending Lebanon’s border southward.

That Was Then.  This Is Now
Currently there’s serious trouble brewing again in Lebanon, trouble that could possibly become the spark that ignites the Psalm 83 conflagration. In February 2005 former Lebanese Premier Rafiq Hariri was assassinated near his home in Beirut.  21 others were killed and over 100 wounded in the car bomb attack that took Hariri’s life.  5 years later the UN’s Special Tribunal for Lebanon is set to implicate Hezbollah in the assassination and bring indictments against several of its members.  Hezbollah has said if that happens, they’ll move to de-stabilize the fragile government of Lebanon and set up a parallel one under their control. Their stated purpose is to hold the country hostage against the release of their indicted members.

The dead leader’s son, Saad Hariri, is the current Prime Minister of Lebanon. He has courageously refused to reign in the Special Tribunal to prevent them from naming Hezbollah in connection with his father’ death.  On Oct 28, Hezbollah conducted a country wide training exercise to prepare for taking over the country.  Some think it’s just posturing, but nobody knows for sure.

The large contingent of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are aligned with the PLO’s Fatah faction.  They have promised if Hezbollah makes good on its threats, they’ll shoot rockets into Israel and see that Hezbollah gets drawn into a much larger conflict than it wants.

As I said, experts are divided on whether this crisis will erupt into hostilities. But Psalm 83 lists Lebanon among the combatants against Israel (Gebal, also called Byblos, and Tyre are still prominent Lebanese cities and are named in Psalm 83:7) so eventually Lebanon will be drawn into another battle with Israel.

Also, Iranian Pres. Ahmadinejad is said to be putting  pressure on both Syria and Hezbollah to take action that would force Israel into responding against Lebanon.  This would give Iran justification for mounting a preemptive strike against Israel under the pretext of protecting its nuclear facilities.  Current military build-ups on land and sea around Iran are meant to discourage this, and involve US, French, Saudi Arabian and Egyptian components. The US has also told Syrian Pres. Assad he’ll be held personally responsible if any thing happens.

As has been the case several times recently, cooler heads might prevail, postponing the inevitable war.  But eventually it will happen, and when it does, Israel will emerge victorious, perhaps regaining control of southern Lebanon in the process.  If so, this will nullify Lebanon’s threatened counter claim to Israel’s enormous off-shore natural gas find as well as returning the land God originally gave them.

Lebanon In The Millennium
And what is Lebanon’s eventual destiny?  Zechariah and Ezekiel both say it will once again become part of the Promised Land as God has always intended. Speaking of Israel in the Millennium, He said;

Though I scatter them among the peoples, yet in distant lands they will remember me. They and their children will survive, and they will return.  I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon, and there will not be room enough for them. (Zech. 10:9-11)

After the 2nd Coming, the first recipient of land for the Millennium will be the tribe of Dan and the land they’ll be given will include most of present day Lebanon (Ezek. 48:1).

The interior of the Millennial temple will be finished in wood (Ezek. 41:15-26) instead of the gold  of past Temples.  And once again Lebanon will furnish the wood that brings beauty to the Lord’s house.

“The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the juniper, the fir and the cypress together, to adorn my sanctuary; and I will glorify the place for my feet (Isaiah 60:13).

And so Lebanon has a glorious future, but not until it returns to its rightful place in the northern most parts of Israel.  Only then will Lebanon know peace.  You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah.

Psalm 19 is one of the best daily prayers I’ve ever found. Commit it to memory and use it in your prayers each morning. Just like your daily bath or shower makes you physically clean, Psalm 19 makes you spiritually clean.  It’s a great way to fulfill 1 John 1:9,  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Let’s go through Psalm 19 and I’ll show you why it’s such a good one to know by heart.

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. (Psalm 19:1-4)

These verses refer to the Hebrew Mazzaroth, later corrupted into Babylonian Astrology. Hebrew tradition holds that Adam, Seth, and Enoch picked 12 constellations of stars, each with a major star and 3 minor ones (called decans) and named them in such a way as to tell the gospel story.  Being a nomadic people who slept in the open with their flocks, generations of fathers could point out these constellations to their sons at night and use them to teach the redemption story. This was to give hope to the sons, who had heard stories of the fall of Man and his expulsion from the Garden. It taught them that one day God would send His Son to redeem them. Their faith in God’s promise, written in the stars, is what saved them from their sins.

Evidence shows that the Sphinx in Egypt is a monument to the Mazzaroth with the head of a woman (Virgo) and the body of a lion (Leo) combining the 1st and 12th signs and completing the circle of redemption. Some experts contend that the particular kind of erosion the sphinx has experienced could only have occurred if it had spent a period of time under water. If so, it’s a pre-flood memorial to the Gospel in the Stars.

In ancient Babylon, the 12 constellations were given different names, most of which bore no resemblance to the original Hebrew, and the 12 signs of the Zodiac were born taking God completely out of the picture. The Babylonian names survive to this day and are the basis for the false religion we call astrology.  This was one of the enemy’s early attempts to deprive mankind of the Gospel story.  There is speculation among archeologists and astrologers alike that the Tower of Babel may have been dedicated to the study of astrology.  Signs of the Zodiac have been found in the ruins of similar ancient towers.  In Israel the study of Astrology was a sin punishable by death (Deut. 18:9-12 KJV).

In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat. (Psalm 19:5-6)

The rising and setting of the Sun each day also give evidence of God’s creative powers in providing the light and warmth necessary to sustain our lives day in and day out. How could this happen by chance?

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous.
They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.
By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward (Psalm 19:7-11)

God’s Laws, while impossible to keep in their entirety, are the standard for behavior that He requires. Not arbitrary or oppressive, they are perfect as He is perfect, and making them part of your life is the sure path to prosperity and success (Joshua 1:8).  Even people who don’t believe in the Creator who ordained them are blessed by incorporating His laws into their lifestyle.

Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.
Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression. (Psalm 19:12-13)

But even the best of us falls pitifully short of achieving the standards God’s law sets forth.  Our behavior is so contaminated by our sin nature we don’t even realize the extent to which we violate them.  So David’s prayer was not just for God’s help in preventing him from consciously sinning, but also for forgiveness for the sins he wasn’t even aware of committing.

In Old Testament times, the evening and morning burnt offerings temporarily set aside the unintentional sins of the nation. From the time of the Exodus to the coming of the Messiah these offerings were part of their daily lives.  The evening offering was kept burning all night to atone for the sins they committed during the night and the morning offering covered them all through the day.  Two lambs gave their life every day to show the people the extent to which sin had permeated their lives, literally causing them to violate God’s laws day and night.

As the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29) Jesus replaced these twice daily burnt offerings with His once-for-all-time sacrifice (Hebrews 10:11-12). And it covered conscious as well as unconscious sin.  Since He has already paid the penalty due us, we need only confess to be forgiven.  Some dispute this, arguing that our original confession should be sufficient for life.  However John the Apostle reminded us that if we think we’re without sin we’re liars, fooling ourselves. But if we confess our sins, as David did, including even those that are so much a part of our behavior that we’re not even aware of them, God Who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-10)  Our original confession saved us forever, but maintaining an intimate relationship with God in the here and now requires confession whenever we sin.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

God, Who judges the motives of our heart knows the difference between the sincere confession of a humble and contrite sinner and the mindless mouthing of words we’ve learned to say without feeling. David closed his prayer with the hope that God would count him sincere as he offered his confession, and judge his motives favorably. Good advice for us too.

Today, when there’s so much emphasis on self, it’s easy to forget that we’re created beings who’ve been given incredible talent and ability to use as we see fit, and a guide to living that will assure success beyond our wildest imagination.  Beginning each day by declaring the glory of our Creator, acknowledging and confessing our sins, and protecting our relationship with the One who is the author of all our victories is a great antidote for the self centeredness that can so easily overtake us.

In the days ahead our way of life will be challenged in ways we would never have imagined just a few years ago.  It’s more important now than ever before that we stay close to our Lord and Savior, to avail ourselves of His blessing and His protection.  Knowing and praying Psalm 19 will help us do that.