December 2, 2020
Don't Be a Rebel!
Psalm 2
Samantha Parsons
Central Truth
The Lord fulfilled His promises to Abraham through David and His promises to David through Jesus. He is a trustworthy God through all of history, for your life today, and for the future to come.
Key Verse | Psalm 2:11-12
Serve the LORD with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
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.
Psalm 2
The Reign of the LORD's Anointed
1
Why do the nations rage
1
2:1
Or nations noisily assemble
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
2
2:9
Revocalization yields (compare Septuagint) You shall rule
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.
Dive Deeper | Psalm 2
The nations were rebelling against David, and since David was a king appointed by God, their actions and attitude were actually rebellion against the Lord. They wanted to do as they pleased. They wanted to break the restraints God had imposed in His sovereignty. You see, God made promises to Abraham (Genesis 12:2) that were fulfilled through many generations that landed us here in Psalm 2 with King David, chosen by God to establish a kingdom (2 Samuel 7:16) that would make way for the messianic King. David in the role of king was not merely chance. It was a promise God fulfilled, which means any effort against that was futile. It even made the Lord laugh (Psalm 2:4).
We can choose to rebel against the things of the Lord that have been established: the authority of His Word, the warnings of living a life apart from Him, and the call to put our trust in the finished work of Jesus. Or, we can choose to see our God as sovereign, holy, and trustworthy and choose to follow Him.
Last year, my husband and I walked through a season of grief that shook us to the core of our faith. It left us with questions like, "What do we believe about the character of God?" and, "Are His plans trustworthy even when they are painful or not what we imagined?" We found refuge in our Savior, took our pain and confusion to Him, and reminded ourselves that for all of time God has been unfailingly trustworthy, and this season would be no different. We could trust Him and find rest in His arms. And we could look to a future of God-sized promises fulfilled when there will be no more pain, mourning, or loss. We could look to the day when King Jesus is on the throne that has been promised.
Discussion Questions
1. How does Psalm 2 build your anticipation for the birth of Jesus we will be reading through soon?
2. Where in your life are you prone to doubt the trustworthiness of God? What Scripture can you start memorizing today as a reminder of truth? (Don't know one? That's okay—ask for help in the comments below!)
3. What is your normal response to the Lord's sovereignty in your life? Is it one of dread and resentfulness or one of trust and joy? (Romans 15:13)