The Dogs Bark and King Jesus Reigns
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1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” 10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
With being asked to preach advent series (thankful btw) I find myself with two conundrums
1st
My refusal to celebrate Christmas before month of December
One of the reasons for Christmas’ great success as a popular holiday
(verses lets say a holiday like Easter)
The nature of it being peaceful and light
Baby—Man
Birth—death
Away in a manger
No crib for a bed
The little Lord Jesus
Lay down his sweet head
The stars in the sky
Look down where he lay
The little Lord Jesus
Asleep on the hay
The cattle are lowing
The poor baby wakes
But little Lord Jesus
No crying he makes
I love thee Lord Jesus
Look down from the sky
And stay by my cradle
'Til morning is nigh
Silent night, holy night
All is calm and all is bright
Round yon virgin, mother and child
Holy infant, so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace, ooh
Sleep, sleep in heaven, heavenly peace
My point is not to contend with the idea altogether of it being peaceful around the birth of Jesus
But to acknowledge with the coming of Jesus Christ there is a whole lot of backstory
Certainly of peace on earth with those God is well pleased
But at the cost of great turmoil spearheaded by the birth of Baby Jesus
He was born in a world enslaved in darkness—a darkness that waged war even while the Lord of Light was just a peaceful baby
2nd Conundrum
My desire to continue my study in Psalms—especially Psalm 2
I think I have found a way to do both! Preach Advent using Psalm 2 to help us get the whole picture of Christmas!
Peaceful baby Jesus....in the midst of great turmoil
Turmoil is not an accident by God but rather used by God for us to be all the more amazed at the gospel and Christ’s entrance into our world 2,000 years ago
And this turmoil is best understood when we see what the world desires to do, and what God desires to do
And how this tumultuous conflict has been present since Satan’s rebellion, seen at the birth of Jesus
and helps us better understand it even in our own day today
You want your life to make sense in the good and in the turmoil//if God only makes sense in the good times then perhaps we need a better understanding of God and how he works
The Goal of the Unbelievers
1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”
Right away we are smacked with turmoil of the world
The nations or people rage and plot
Rage is to behave in extreme anger
I think this is contrasted to the one who is in a state of delight in 1:2
In fact plot is the same word found in meditate in the same verse
Thus the turmoil we speak of is found in the fact that God has determined what makes for the blessed man, and the world has rebelled against it
The serpents lies and denying God’s word in Genesis 3 has continued in philosophy and action through the ages
In fact their plotting is seen in 2:3
3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”
The law of God is a gift he has given men to show them the blessed life
The lawless see it as bonds (shackles) or cords (rope) that is used only to restrain and restrict
How does this look with your family and friends at holiday gathering discussions?
What is the unbelievers problem with God? They hate his authority and want to set up their own
I encourage you not to get suck into a debate about whether all the animals really could fit into Noah’s arc and get to the heart of the problem: Rejecting the law of Christ
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
The command to obey Jesus and his law is burdensome to the rebel, but to the people of his kingdom, it is a delight
And so I do not believe 2:1-3 is referring to one specific event as it is referring to the general philosophy and goal of the world system
Set against whom?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
Against the Father and his anointed or messiah
This can be anyone God sets apart for special use
The direct context perhaps are the kings of Israel who were anointed by God to lead his people
But the overall fulfillment is seen in Jesus and his worldwide Kingdom that Satan and his kingdom has set himself against since the very beginning
1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. 5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.
General principle that shows the motive of all of the world’s dealings in the OT into the NT…to oppose the birth of Christ
The nations tried to destroy Israel for their own purpose, but it was the dragon that worked behind it so he could consume the baby
And so the general principle of Psalm 2:1-3 is that the world acts in a way that is opposed to Christ and his kingdom which has his law as its standard
Does that mean if you were to ask Nebuchadnezzar why he wanted to destroy Israel and Judah he would cite to you Revelation 12? No, he had his own motives but behind it all was this general world philosophy driven by Satan
Same thing with the story that surrounds the birth of Christ
Lets look at the philosophy and goal of the world at work surrounding Jesus’ birth and childhood
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;
Herod was troubled because he was king and he doesn’t like the idea of the messiah coming to overthrow him
Same with all Jerusalem or its leaders
47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
Thus the immediate angst comes from their own position of power, but Satan is working in that for the ultimate goal of destroying Christ and his kingdom
The people used by Satan may not be aware they are being used, but that is reality
First layer, second layer....will show the third in a second
This is why we must be informed of what our state was when we were in the lies of Satan and his kingdom:
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
All people do outside of Christ and his kingdom is following Satan and his kingdom whether they know it or not (most, if not all, don’t).
4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ” 7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”
We know the end of the story, but without such knowledge such plotting and raging of the world is terrifying
You have a teenage mother with a young Joseph that has no idea of the powers at be that wants to destroy this baby
King Herod, but whats more, the Serpent of old (two layers)
Surely this poor couple has the world crashing down on them, they cannot endure
This doesn’t sound like us sometimes when we live in the age of disbelief as we do and the world is on the advance and the church on retreat?
We have seen generations of the youth lost to the dragon under disguise of living free without the rules and regulations of the church
Then they grow up and we wonder why the news is full of insanity
And now the local church is happy enough when it can at least sheep steal to grow in numbers and not fresh conversions
In fear much of the people of God has left the public square and sit terrified in their bomb shelter while the dogs outside bark
Just like Herod pursuing the child and his young parents to murder…who can stop this madness?
9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
Divine Intervention by God to protect his Messiah
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
Further Divine Intervention with a twist…this whole thing was established by God to fulfill Scripture—to follow his plan
This should give us great peace when considering the turmoil of the world against Christ and his kingdom
First layer—the immediate players
Second layer—Satan working through them
Third layer—God working it all out for his purpose
Peter and John in front of the council
23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “ ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’— 27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
This scary time for the early church was understood in the context of God’s ultimate sovereignty behind it all (not Satan’s) which enabled boldness in the face of it all
This gives its full meaning to one word I skipped in Psalm 2
1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
VAIN! Uselessness!
1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”
So we see here the dogs bark—and it is loud and scary—but from the point of view of God, it is vanity!
Do we worship and serve God in his kingdom this way? Or do we let the dogs rattle us into timidity?
Young married couple nervous to have children in this world
Encouraged to have a view of God like this and to raise up their kids with such a big view of God and the barking becomes less scary
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.
Is God scared? He laughs in mocking tone…derision has the same feel to it, he mocks them
The laughter of God is not that he thinks what the world does is funny!
Like some kind of cheesy antagonist in a 1930’s film
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: 18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”
No, his laughter is in mocking over Satan and his dominion in thinking that they could stay his hand
All that they do, not only does not stop God but it actually always furthers his plan
What Plan is that?
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
It is my personal understanding that the way God "says” this in his fury is by his actions
From the beginning the world has tried to stop King Jesus from being established
Whether they knew it or not, Satan has used them for this purpose
And time and time again their rage and plots prove to be vain, and laughable because of God’s power to turn their actions into helping his plan for Jesus and his kingdom, the very opposite of harming it
And it’s not like it was just that way from the OT to the life and death of Jesus
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
This is either through the wrath of the Lamb or his grace
12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
You cannot win unbeliever…stop your rebelling and kiss the Son who is victorious
The only thing more sure in life that the kingdom of light will bring the kingdom of dark to a drunken rage is that God will use their rage further his own plans
10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise you; the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt.
It is the same thing now in our own day
If your life is in turmoil today may it be because you are serving Christ and the plans of the world are set against you
If it’s because you are living a life of sin and rebellion against Christ I plead with you to repent of your vain undertakings and come to Christ
If you are NOT in the Kingdom of Christ—you are NOT a willing obedient slave to the Lord Jesus’ rule and reign—made willing by his priestly work—IF this is NOT you--then know that that means there is only one other kingdom you are in—the kingdom that is trying to stop his work IN VAIN. Every act of your disobedience is a testimony to that even if you try to dress it up as harmless disobedience
Repent and believe upon the king of heaven and earth…kiss the son
If you are in the kingdom of Christ, take joy this Christmas season, even amongst the turmoil in your life
All that the kingdom of Christ has ever known is turmoil and God uses it to further the kingdom
I promise you this that your turmoil today is no different—use it in obedience and he will turn it for his glory and your good
Be obedient to the Messiah…as bad as disobedience is in the unbeliever, it is even worst in the believer
How can we prove ourselves to be working against our Dear Lord’s Kingdom?
