7I am a man of peace; but when I speak, they are for war.
Peace can be a hard objective in life. Some people don’t want peace. This is the story of Islam. Peace in Islam is not equal to peace in almost any other context. Peace is Islam only exists when all enemies of Islam have been destroyed and everyone submits, either by force or willingly, to Islam. We can desire peace on our terms, but Islam will not accept it. They may settle for a temporary cessation of hostilities when they are under strength, but it is only temporary, during which time they build up getting ready for the next attack. The Psalmist is struggling with trying to understand some particular people. He wants peace, but they simply want to fight. Sometimes, no matter how much we want peace, peace eludes us. Sometimes it is because our enemy does not want peace. There have been over 17,000 separate attacks perpetrated in the name of Islam since 9/11. Even in the last few days someone filled a car with explosives and blew up one of their own hospitals, killing their own people! Actions speak louder than words. Some want to compare the violence in the Old Testament to the violence of Islam, but there is no comparison. There is a short period in Israel’s history where they are clearing the land of the inhabitants where they are violent. But this is the rare exception to the character of God’s people. Often the violence happens against them because they are being disobedient. Most of the Old Testament lacks violence of any kind!
The Arnold Journey 