“Scatter the peoples who delight in wars!” (68:31)

I understand the need for military action or war and I might even cheer when a really bad guy is taken down. But war inevitably leads to the death of innocent people. Soldiers sent to do a job suffer death and injury. Civilian casualties are virtually certain, no matter how carefully the rules of war try to minimize them. The destruction of the infrastructure, such as rail lines, roads, water treatment facilities, and businesses, destroys the economy and takes years, even decades, to rebuild. In the meantime, people suffer and die, not because they are supporters of the evil regime, but because they happened to be born in the wrong place at the wrong time. I want my elected representatives to abhor war.

“They come back each evening howling like dogs.” (59:7)

A dog barks when it feels threatened or is protecting its pack. A small dog barks more than a large dog, whose growl alone is enough to frighten away potential threats. A small dog is more likely to bite precisely because its bark is not taken seriously. We can draw two lessons from this: First, when someone makes threats, take them seriously, no matter how much you believe that the individual is not serious. Second, just as under the right circumstances it is possible to make friends with most barking dogs, never forget that under the right conditions, most enemies can become friends.