Three Pearls, Three Minutes, Thirty Days. (Day 2)

PSALM 2: Why do the nations conspire^a and the peoples plot in vain? 2The 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.” 4The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. 5He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 6“I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.” 7I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. 8Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. 9You will break them with a rod of iron^b ; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” 10 Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling 12Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

 

                    Today’s Three Pearls

• The nations, the peoples, the kings of the earth say, “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles” – vs 3: The wicked hate the restraint of godliness, they mock the godly because they do not want to and are not able to submit themselves to the discipline of a Christian life, they follow their own rules. Worldly choices are easier than Christian choices; it is easier to strike or speak back and plot revenge than it is to hold back, forgive and patiently let God take vengeance. It is easier to go with the flow of negative pop culture than it is to take a stand for God. Because the wicked are also proud, they are quick to deride what they do not want to be a part of; the one walking with Christ will always find opposition. And yet, it is only grace that helps the godly to make those difficult choices, a grace available to all.
• The One enthroned in heaven laughs and scoffs at them……he rebukes them…and installs His King – vs.4-6:  Those who plot against God’s chosen ones, end up flat on their face, if not in the trap they set. After laughing, God proceeds to do exactly what He has planned, what the enemy tried to prevent. Herod failed to stop the Messianic plan despite killing all the male infants after Jesus was born. Pharaoh’s plan to slow the growth of the Israelites was upended by his own sister raising their eventual deliverer, Moses, under his nose in the palace. Esther, Mordecai and Haman…God’s will is always done and He takes an unquestionable delight in dismantling worldly wisdom. As we say in everyday lingo, He likes to show who’s the Big Boss…. If God’s laughter can be so terrible for the wicked, we can only imagine his wrath, which takes just a moment to flare up – v.12…
• We do well to note that God’s ironic sense of humor also extends to us Christians, He tends to eventually manipulate our circumstances to expose the hypocrisy in us when we are not charitable or understanding in assessing others. ‘There go I but for the grace of God’...should never be far from our thoughts.