Have you ever had the chance to see a snake charmer? More than likely if you did see one, you saw it on television. The snake charmer is a person who is able to do some amazing things with poisonous snakes. One of the most famous tricks is when the charmer plays a musical instrument and the snake slowly comes up out of his container. If the snake is a cobra, he will spread wide the skin on the sides of his head.
Sometimes the charmer will slowly lean forward and actually kiss the snake on the lips. Sometimes he will hold the snake around his head. In ancient times, one of their tricks was to press on the side of the snake’s head and make the snake become stiff like a rod.
One of ways that the snake charmer trained the new snake was to break off the teeth of the snake. This way, if the snake decided to strike and try to bite the charmer, no harm could be done. The teeth would grow back but it gave the charmer time to train the snake. Sometimes the charmer would also have to break the teeth of a trained snake that quit doing his tricks.
In Psalm 58, David asks God to break the teeth of the wicked. David says that these wicked men are just like the poisonous snakes that refuse to listen to the charmer. David wants God to take their bite away from them. David realizes that doing such would probably only relieve their wicked bite for a short while, but that the teeth would grow back. David goes on to say that he hopes the wicked will disappear completely. David fully expected God to take vengeance toward the evildoers.
I am glad that we have a God who can be approached with our problems. And it is comforting to know that God will eventually show that there is a wonderful reward for righteousness and a terrible reward for wickedness.
Do not be a person that will have his teeth broken by God. Be a person with whom God will be pleased.
