Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.
I remember, quite a few years ago, I was involved in a church congregation which took a liking to a sung version of Psalm 2:8. It was a pretty nice tune, and a reasonably good arrangement. There was just one thing wrong with it. We sang it as if God were speaking to you and to me, the Christian. That’s a fundamental misinterpretation of the verse, and it leads to an entirely wrong understanding of Psalm 2.
Let’s try to make sense of the Psalm. First, it speaks against those who rage against God. The raving nations are fuming at God, wanting to break free from His bondage and cast Him off.
God’s response is to laugh at the nations.He derides them (a word which I wish we would use more often, as it is so expressive).
We then have an internal dialog between God the Father and God the Son. We recall that the persons of the Trinity have one outlook on everything. They are described as being in perfect agreement with each other. God is one in understanding and will, but three in person.
What does God say? He says (to Himself, in the person of God the Son), “Would you like the nations? Here they are.” The nations of the world are an inheritance for God the Son. We don’t ask God for the nations as an inheritance. We would have no idea what to do with them, just like the dog that chases cars. What will you do with it if you catch it?
In verses 9 and following, the nations are warned that they need to fear the Lord. He can govern them as He wishes. If we recall, that is exactly what the nations were so upset about in the first place.
As we consider the work of Jesus, God the Son, in the New Testament, and as we remember He is the one who has inherited the nations, we should think about how Jesus treats his inheritance.
Seeing the people are lost and bound in sin, Jesus, the one who can crush and destroy sin, ruling with a rod of iron, chooses to take our sin on himself and himself to be crushed and destroyed. This is how Jesus treats his inheritance. He redeems it from the curse of the law. He who holds the sinful world in bonds to keep it from destroying itself, breaks the sin and then looses the bonds, taking them on himself.
Jesus accepts the inheritance that kills him. He gives life to all who believe him. His loss is our gain. His suffering is our healing. His redemption costs him everything and gives us everything.
I am very glad that Jesus, God the Son, asks of the Father that he may have the nations as his inheritance. He works for the good of his inheritance. He leads them to all righteousness and blessing.
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