An avalanche of consequences

We're looking at Psalm 3 this week . . . don't get anxious, now. Just because we take some of these psalms one-by-one, doesn't mean we are going to do every. Single. One. 

Although if we did, that would be cool, too.

But I'm going through and studying, and listening to the Spirit while I do. I think there's a lot for us here in the third psalm.

Let's dive in, shall we?
This psalm was written by King David when he fled from Absalom, his son. David had fled his own palace in the dead of night. He crossed over the brook called Kedron, and took a few faithful followers with him. They were going to hide from the fury of his rebellious son. 

We're told by the scholars that in this, David was a "type" or mirror of what happened to our Lord and Savior, Jesus. Jesus, too, passed over the brook Kedron when His people were in rebellion against Him. He had a small (and feeble) band of followers that went with Him to the garden called Gethsemane. He would be humiliated just as David was . . . . well, let's go back to David's story for now, ok?

Why did I use the word "avalanche" in the title today? Let's take a birds'-eye-view of the situation. 

David had reigned not just for years, but for decades as one of the most powerful and prosperous monarchs in the world. He had become tremendously wealthy, living in a splendid palace with wives and servants; he had also increased the stature of Israel in the world, and extended its influence beyond its borders. He had absolute authority over everyone in his kingdom, and he had the blessings of God upon his life and his reign.

OK, so where's the avalanche?

It's coming . . . cue the ominous music.

David sinned with Bathsheba and then ordered the murder of her husband, Uriah. Even though David repented later when the prophet Nathan confronted him, his sins set in motion a series of devastating consequences. God would allow these consequences to occur. First, David's oldest son, Amnon, raped his half-sister, Tamar. Tamar's brother, Absalom, took vengeance by murdering Amnon, and then fled into exile. In a few years, Absalom was allowed to return, but David refused to see him for about two years. Of course, resentment started to build in Absalom.

II Samuel and some commentaries tell us that Absalom was a great favorite of his father, King David, and of the people, as well. He had charming manners and he was handsome. He loved pomp and the trappings of royalty, and he was a manipulator, too. He drove a magnificent chariot and had fifty men run before him. This pageantry produced the desired effect upon the hearts of the people in the royal city. Because he had been courting any of the disgruntled nobles of the kingdom, and offering himself as a potential leader, he was seen as a more kingly yet sympathetic ruler-to-be. When he rebelled against his dad, they were ready and willing to join in and help him become king.

In order to survive, David had to gather up a few belongings, all his family that was still "in his corner," and the servants and followers that were loyal to him. They hastily grabbed what they could and took off toward the wilderness. The scriptures tell us that David followed them all, weeping and walking barefoot. His head was covered in shame. To add to his humiliation, a man from the family of King Saul (the nation's previous ruler) came out and cursed David as he passed by; he accuses him of being worthless and being a man of bloodshed. (If you want to check this out you can look in II Samuel, in chapters 15 and 16.)

Everything that David had spent his life working for had suddenly frayed like the edge of a cheap piece of fabric. The avalanche had started with his tragic failure in taking Bathsheba and arranging for the death of her husband. The avalanche had continued with his failure as a father: after his daughter was raped a son was murdered, and the murderer was now after his own father's life -- and his kingdom. Many of his allies and friends had abandoned him and were now siding with his rebellious son.

Maybe we haven't experienced the depth and the quantity of traumas that David was going through. But I bet we've had times when we could identify with him. We may have been blindsided by being unjustly accused and fired from work. We may have had one of our children turn against us and resist every effort to be reconciled.  We may have experienced the pain of a spouse who suddenly files for divorce. We may have been shocked by a doctor's diagnosis that means our life will be shortened.

What do we do?

What do you do?

Does life seem to be falling apart? It must have seemed that way to David.

Here's what he did: he wrote a psalm. 

In fact, he wrote two. Some scholars call Psalm 3 a morning psalm, and Psalm 4 an evening psalm.

I believe that since many of us either have dealt with, or are currently dealing with, issues that seem to have our lives fraying, we can learn from both of these psalms.

I hope you will stick with me as we dig in.

Friday slowdown

Posting a simple hymn today; I pray that it will bless everyone who pauses here.

Take refuge in our God . . . .

We've been warned

The last two verses of our psalm point to the fact that all of us must submit to God and His Anointed One while there is time:

Now therefore, O kings, show discernment;
         Take warning, O judges of the earth.

Worship the LORD with reverence
         And rejoice with trembling.

Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
         For His wrath may soon be kindled.
         How blessed are all who take refuge in Him! (Psalm 2:10-12)

Dear reader, it is not just the proud, haughty kings of King David's era who have rebelled against God. We are all guilty of saying, as the kings did, "let us cast away his cords from us!" 

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23)

At some point, and at some time, we have all said, I am going to do it MY way! Come on, be honest! You know what I'm talking about, right?

At first blush, you would think that everybody would welcome the Messiah, because the scriptures tell us that He came to save us from our sins. But it's not just salvation - Jesus didn't come to save us so that we could get a ticket to heaven and then go on our merry way, not paying attention to God anymore. We can see in these verses that the issue here is lordship. The psalmist is trying to get his readers to realize: it's the Anointed King Who will reign. If He doesn't reign by our willing submission right now, then His reign will be by a forced submission when He comes to earth again. In other words, He is not going to take second place to anyone. Not a back seat drive, nope! Every knee will bow!

The warning of verses ten through twelve applies to each and every person -- all must show discernment and take heed to the warning. Some translations include the words "kiss" instead of "do homage." This is pointing to the ancient way of obeisance, the prostrating of oneself before the ruler or leader. It's a way of expressing submission before a monarch - so as not to incur his displeasure. All people should bow before the Lord; we should submit to Christ as Lord before He returns in judgement, so that we do not "perish in the way."

And we don't have much time to dither about it, either. 

There is an urgency, here. That phrase, "His wrath may soon be kindled," tells us a lot. First, we need to be aware of how brief our own lives are. That's a given. We never know when we go to bed at night if we will be breathing in the morning. I don't mean to sound callous -- but it's true. Our lives are short in view of eternity, and we don't know how long the Lord has allotted us for our time here on earth.

Perhaps even more importantly, the signs of our times point to the imminent coming of the Lord. The first time He came to earth, it was in mercy -- He came to save. The second time He comes, it will be in wrath -- He will come to judge. The end time events that we see predicted in the Bible seem to be lining up, as prophesied. But even if we are incorrect in our interpretations, or even if His coming is not when we humans think it may be, we need to submit to our Redeemer before His coming, or before we die.

It's for sure that if we don't submit to King Jesus before we die, we will face the judgment:

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, (Hebrews 9:27) 

Many people today are seeking places of peace and safety. They analyze locations and cultures and political scenes; they compare the rate of exchange of the currency; they look into the education systems; they travel to new regions to check them out, etc, etc.

What they don't realize is that we can't find peace and safety anywhere here on earth -- only in our Savior, Jesus Christ. World chaos and war will only increase in frequency and in intensity as His coming draws near. If we can't escape, what CAN we do?

Ah, there it is . . . the last line of the psalm . . . it's an invitation from a merciful God: "how blessed are all who take refuge in Him." As we look around us at the chaos in our world, we can be truly happy and blessed by taking refuge in our merciful God. 

What does it mean to "take refuge"?  It means that in spite of our circumstances, we make the conscious decision to put our lives in His hands and to find our security in Him. When we are weak we are able to look to Him and find a place of home, a place of peace, a place of complete security.  He provides protection for the vulnerable and peace for our times of distress. (There are forty-five references to God as refuge in the book of Psalms alone!)

The New Testament church took refuge in Him by praying Psalm 2 as they were facing persecution. If you have time, check out the passage in Acts 4, verses 23 through 31, and you will see that they prayed David's words in their earnest plea to God. Even when it looks like the enemy is winning, we can do the same!

When we take refuge in God, we can rest assured that He has everything, even the rebellion of wicked people, under His control. 

We will complete our study of Psalm 2 tomorrow . . . . 

He's not only awake; He has a plan

The first three verses that we studied talked about the rebellious kings who wanted to cast off the leadership and authority of God.

The next group of verses talks about God's response:

He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. 

5 Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, 

6 "But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain." 

7 "I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 

8 'Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. 

9 'You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware. (Psalm 2:4-9)

I saw this summed up in a commentary in three words: God is sovereign. Pretty succinct!

In the picture that the psalmist is painting for us, God doesn't even get up from His throne to deal with the silly schemes of rebel kings.

He sits.

And He scoffs.

This does NOT mean that God takes lightly the rebellion, or its horrible results. It doesn't mean He chuckles at their antics. He doesn't get any amusement out of their kicking over the traces, or of the destruction and death that can follow.

 "Say to them, 'As I live!' declares the Lord GOD, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?' (Ezekiel 33:11)

Instead, His laughter shows the absolute foolishness of rebelling against Him, the folly of thinking we humans know more and know better.

Mighty men may rise up and in their pride, think that they are so awesome! So powerful! God laughs: "Are you kidding?" Who is puny little man to try to stand up against the Sovereign God? He does things according to His will:

He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. (Daniel 2:21)

Remember Nebuchadnezzar? In his day, he was the top dog - the mightiest ruler on the earth. He had a massive pride; he even attributed his greatness to himself, and did not honor God. God humbled him so that he lived in the fields until he learned better:

You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes. (Daniel 4:25)

When Nebuchadnezzar honored God and praised Him, a startling transformation occurred:

At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me.“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”  (Daniel 4:36-37)

Many a proud and powerful man has been "taken down a peg or two" as my grandma used to say. God is not worried about man's rebellion against Him; He doesn't sit in heaven and wring His hands, oh, whatever shall I do about those rebels? He will allow man (or woman) to persist for a while in His rebellion; He will give him or her a chance to change; then His anger and judgment will come and the proud plans of humans will be dashed.

I think the psalmist wanted us to know that God is not only awake, and aware of things -- He also has a plan. God's plan centers on the person of God's Son, the Messiah, the Anointed One. God sent Jesus into the world to pay the penalty for man's rebellion. He knew the timing, and He knew how it would happen:

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, (Galatians 4:4)

Our Savior, Jesus Christ, died according to the plan and the foreknowledge of God at the hands of wicked, godless men.

This man was handed over to you by God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. (Acts 2:23)

But thanks be to God, Jesus was raised by the power of God and He ascended to heaven, where He is now waiting to return with power and glory. (That's the second part of God's plan!)  He will return to the earth and crush His opposition and reign in righteousness as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Satan and his followers will be thrown into the lake of fire, but we believers will live with our Redeemer in glory. 

Forever.

Anyone else besides me ready to do some praising right about now? (Grin)

Yep, God is awake.

He is aware.

And He has a plan. 

He will deal with rebellious men and with Satan.

Next time, we will study how the psalmist says we should (all of us here on earth) respond . . . 

Your turn to speak!

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Application Questions

1. Some Christians allow the attacks of others to drive them away from the Lord, whereas for some it drives them to the Lord. What makes the difference?
2. Should Christians take pleasure or be grieved at the thought of God judging their enemies? How does Rev. 18:20 fit in?
3. I said that it is not advisable to tell an arrogant, unrepentant sinner that God loves him. Agree/disagree? Why?
4. How can we know whether to defend ourselves before critics or just to ignore them? What biblical principles apply?

Rebels with no cause

Verses one through three -- the nations have rebelled against God:

1 Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? 

2 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the LORD and against his anointed, saying, 

3 “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.” 

On one level, this psalm applies to King David himself.  The "plots" or schemes mentioned against the Lord and His anointed are from a time in David's reign when some of his "vassal" nations were trying to rebel. We can see an example of this in II Samuel 10, when the Ammonites and Syrians rebelled. I won't post the whole chapter there, but to make a long story short, the ruler of the Ammonites humiliated David's envoys who were simply trying to convey sympathy for the death of the previous king, his dad. The Syrians came to help the Ammonites fight David, but they soon regretted that move! They should have  known better, no? David was God's anointed king for Israel, and God had made promises to him.  So, on the one level, this psalm is about those rebel kings and their attempts to shake loose from David's rule.

But, (and you knew this was coming, right?) on another level, the psalm goes far beyond the earthly trials of King David. The ultimate fulfillment of this psalm is in God's Anointed Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. David was writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and he wrote no only about himself, but in a deeper way about Jesus. Just as the Ammonite and Syrian kings rebelled against King David, so all men have rebelled against King Jesus.

Wondering who started all this? 

“How you have fallen from heaven,
O star of the morning, son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the earth,
You who have weakened the nations!
13 “But you said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God,
And I will sit on the mount of assembly
In the recesses of the north.
14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’ (Isaiah 14:12-14, NASB)

Yup, that ole bad guy, Satan, is the author of the rebellion. He rebelled against God while he was in heaven, and when he fell, he led a portion of the angels with him. Under Satan's authority, these demons now continue to wage war against God and the righteous angels. The world is the battleground for this conflict to take place. Mankind was created in the image of God and placed on this earth to reflect God's image, and to rule over his creation. 

Ahhh, but we all know that something went wrong . . . .

When Adam and Eve fell prey to Satan's temptation, they then disobeyed God, and the human race fell into sin and came under the judgement of holy God. So many difficulties . . . . wouldn't you think that they would be reminded every day of their folly? Tears and pain, briers and brambles (oh, don't get me started on that part of the curse of sin! Lately, we've been trying to reclaim some land and we have fought every inch of the way against thorns and briers!!), toiling and sweating all because they wanted to eat that apple! (Yes, I know there's more to the story. But we digress.)

All people after that time have followed Satan in his rebellion against God.  

After the fall, and in a few years' time, the rebellion took on an organized form. Remember the tower of Babel? Proud men and women came together and proposed to build a tower into heaven to make a name for themselves. 

They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”  (Genesis 11:4, NASB)

The Lord "confused" their languages, or in other words, gave people groups differing languages. This was the beginning of the different nations. The pridefulness of those people at Babel, who wanted to be famous, to make a name for themselves, was diluted like sugar in a glass of warm tea. They were divided among the various nations of the earth. But Satan still works through the pride and ambition of world rulers today; they weaken their own nations and others through conflict. In this way, Satan continues to get them off-track, so that they do not submit to God. The scholars tell us that biblical prophecies show in the end times the nations will come together again under a single world ruler - in defiance of the Lord and His Anointed. Satan will be the main force behind this world ruler, and he shall be known as the antichrist.

Even in His curse upon the serpent, God pointed to the way of redemption that He had planned for fallen mankind:

And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.” (Genesis 3:15)

Believers understand that Messiah, Jesus, would be born of a woman and would be bruised on the heel by Satan in death -- He would be the sin-bearer and redeemer of the fallen race, but He would bruise Satan upon the head in His triumphant victory over sin and death! He would be resurrected from the grave! So, by bringing people from every nation under the lordship of God's Anointed (Jesus), the rebellion of Satan is thwarted.

In His eternal decree, His proclamation, the Father tells the Son:

‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. (Psalm 2:8)

Rebellion will be quelled in the future, either by willing submission to the Gospel now, or through forced subjection under the rod of the Messiah when He comes to rule the nations. 

So, where is God while all this rebellion is going on? 

Where is He while all this chest-beating and shouting is going on?

Is He sleeping?

Or has He lost control?
No, and no.

We'll see the answers tomorrow from the psalmist. 

Be sure to join me? (Wink) I just love a cliff-hanger, especially when I KNOW there's a happy ending!

Is Browning wrong? (Psalm 2)

The Victorian-era poet, Robert Browning, is well known and many people recognize quotes from his work. "Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be." That's one of them. Then, there's "Take away love and our earth is a tomb." 

I'm not sure which of his quotes is the best known, but this has to be right up there at the top: "God's in His heaven, all's right with the world."

Seriously?

Of course, Robert Browning is not here with us at the moment . . . 

All's RIGHT with the world?

So far in 2020, we have had hundreds of thousands of deaths from a new virus; we have had (in America, at least) tremendous civil unrest and criminality; we have wars that are still ongoing; we have religious persecution around the globe; and much, much more.

Since the beginning of time, the world has known strife. Satan came into the peaceful garden and introduced doubt, lies, and sin. Cain murdered Abel because of jealousy, and so much of the sin in our world still comes from that green-eyed monster. If we look away from the Bible account for a moment, and peek at secular history, we see that there is war, after war, after war.

Just look at the century we just left: World War I was called the "war to end all wars," yet just a few years later, the nations were struggling in World War II. That one ended in 1945, but in 1967 a contemporary magazine noted that in just twenty-two more years, there'd been 12 more wars (more limited in scope), 39 political assassinations, 48 revolts, 74 rebellions, and 162 different social revolutions! (This was in the December 1967 U. S. News and World Report!)

Obviously, since that time, there have been numerous wars and conflicts all over the world. Our present world does seem, as we mentioned, to be in chaos. So much so, that people are wary of watching current events! Many are tempted to hide from what goes on, much like an ostrich that sticks its head in the sand! 

In Psalm 2, King David is looking around at the nations that surround his kingdom. He sees the rebellion of these people against God. He was looking at much the same kind of chaos that we see today. Let's read the whole Psalm:

Why are the nations in an uproar
And the peoples devising a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!”

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord scoffs at them.
5 Then He will speak to them in His anger
And terrify them in His fury, saying,
6 “But as for Me, I have installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”

7 “I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, ‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.
9 ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron,
You shall shatter them like earthenware.’”

10 Now therefore, O kings, show discernment;
Take warning, O judges of the earth.
11 Worship the Lord with reverence
And rejoice with trembling.
12 Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
For His wrath may soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

David tells us that even though the nations have rebelled against God, He is sovereign. Even though when we look at our world, it may seem as if God has taken a vacation, David says that God's plans have not failed - and won't fail! He will ultimately triumph in His timing. So, David appeals to the rebellious nations to bow before God while they still have a chance to do so.

When we read Psalm 2, it seems to be written like a play: in Act I, David asks the question about his world and then the kings and rulers speak their answer together. In Act II, God is calmly sitting on His throne in heaven and speaks. Act III sees God's Anointed One speak and reveal God's plan for rebellious man. The play closes with Act IV - the psalmist speaks again.

So, Browning is correct: God is in heaven, so let's study this Psalm this week and learn more!