What is Israel’s history? What is it?
Not just for a day or a week or a month. Looking over the centuries, from day one, brought them out of Egypt, got them into the land, Joshua dies, and the book of Judges opens up telling us now when Joshua and Caleb and those fellows died off, Israel forgot the Lord. Didn’t just mean mentally. They no doubt would remember bits of the story and all of that. No, no.
They they just walked away from him. And the Exodus and all God’s faithfulness and bringing him into the land, all forgotten. And the book of Judges, as you know, is filled with nothing. ⁓ that’s not true, but filled with Israel’s faithlessness. Yeah. So when you read texts like this, you have God setting himself
against the ungodly Israel that will not work along with him and fulfilling his purpose. David had that experience when he wanted to be king, when God said he would be king. Here’s what Psalm 2 says: listen to this. Why did the heathen rage? That’s non-Jews, the outsiders. Why did the heathen rage?
Rage and the people, that’s Israel, the people imagine a vain thing, an evil thing. Why do the people rage? Why do the native the heathen, the nations rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth and the leaders took counsel together.
Saying of God, let us break his bands asunder, let us cast away his cords from us, let’s break all ties with him, let’s ignore all that he wants. God was wanting David as king. Saul, his own people, Saul wanted him dead. Shemai, a Saulite, wanted him dead.
Absalom, his own son, wanted him dead. The Philistines wanted him dead. Everybody wanted him dead. So the heathen and the people have one plain purpose. And that’s what you read in Acts chapter 4, when Peter says, and he quotes Psalm 2, he said, For this very day, in this city, Pilate and the leaders of the people have banded together.
To do all of this and see to it that the one you wanted to make king would be kept from it. But David in Psalm two says, goes on to say, ⁓ but the Lord will laugh, he that sits in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord will have them in derision. Tut, you know. He will vex them in his sore displeasure.
Yet in spite of what you think, you feel and what you’re trying to do, yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. And then he turns as it were to David. I’ve declared the decree.
You are my son. This day have I begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give you the heathen for thine inheritance and the parts of the earth for thy possess the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. You will rule them with a rod of iron. You’ll break them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Be ye wise therefore, O ye judges. Be this that and the other, ye kings of the earth.
Kiss the Son.
Kiss the sun lest ye be ang he be angry, and ye perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are those who put their trust in him. All of that, all of that. Speaking about the people, ugly, brutal, against God, anti-God, anti-Israel, anti-human, anti-life, anti-holiness, anti-faithfulness, all of that is being manifest.
Generation after generation. And Paul shows that from quotations.