Be not far from me, 

for trouble is near and there is none to help. 

12 Many bulls encompass me, 

strong bulls of Bashan surround me; 

13 they open wide their mouths at me, 

like a ravening and roaring lion. 

Trouble was not far from Messiah, and there was none to help Him

Even those of you who are “city people” probably understand that being surrounded by bulls is a bad situation. Bulls are unpredictable at the best of times, but when there is a herd of just the bulls, things are fairly uncontrollable. This is why cattlemen routinely castrate them, then they are steers, which is a much easier animal to control.

Nowadays, Bashan is called the Golan Heights, a large plateau on top of a steep cliff overlooking the Sea of Galilee. The area  belonged to the Amorites before the territory was possessed by the tribes of Dan and Manasseh. [Deut. 33:22; Josh. 20:8; 1Kings 4:13 ] On this plateau, the town of Golan became a city of refuge. [Josh. 21:27]

The tribe of Manasseh had large herds and asked Moses for land that was good for their herds. So we can speculate that at the time the Psalm was written, this area was known for its large herds of cattle.[Num. 32:33]

David compares the enemies of Messiah to these bulls. The enemies were the religious leaders of the temple, They were powerful and dangerous men to confront. Yet, Messiah boldly confronted them, over and over. We know that they plotted against Him at every opportunity. They knew He was teaching the people that they would no longer need them or their temple.

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. John 4:23 

The religious leaders of that day were sure that the Messiah they envisioned and manufactured out of the Old Testament prophecies, would never have done away with the sacrificial system. Yet, here was this Man telling everyone that everything was going to change. He  taught that the kingdom had come and it wasn’t Jewish. So they roared at Him, with a roar not entirely of their own making.

Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. 1 Pet. 5:8

One wonders what His return will really look like. When He comes with no rapture, seven year tribulation, or political antichrist, will today’s religious leaders know Him?