Nations against God

‘WHY?’ QUESTIONS No.11

Psa 2:1 Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?

This is a big question, because it involves whole nations apparently, whole peoples. It reveals an unusual facet of the world, that of rebellion against God in a corporate way. Of course that isn’t to mean that every single person of any particular nation is against God, because that is never true. There were times in the life of Israel when the Lord condemned them as a nation for their pagan worship, yet there were always that minority who remained faithful to the Lord. The United Kingdom in the early years of the twenty-first century is a nation that essentially rejects the Lord. A majority say they believe in God but only somewhere between 3 and 5% of the population worship Him on a Sunday morning. The United State so often declares itself a ‘nation under God’ yet figures suggest only some 20 to 30% worship Him on a Sunday morning.

In the days when this psalm would have been written there were clearly nations surrounding Israel who were overtly against them and who clearly worshipped pagan idols. There are many prophetic rebukes in the Old Testament about the folly of worshipping wooden figures made by the hands of man. When there is a nation where the majority do this, then this is a nation against God, a nation ruled by superstition.

In a modern nation, listen to the main idea-makers, the politicians and the media, and that gives you an idea of the inclination of the nation. In the U.K. we have godless majorities in Parliament and in the media, so it is not surprising that this is the ethos that is pumped out to the nation. When the church has been ineffective in conveying the Gospel message it is no surprise that many people are led astray to worship of self, or worship comfort or affluence.

But why should a people conspire and plot against God. The psalmist gives us more detail: “Let us break their chains,’ they say, ‘and throw off their fetters‘” (v.3). They have this strange idea that to receive the love of God is enslaving. Why should they believe this strange idea? Is it because they have heard a wrong message conveyed? You ought to be holy, you ought to be good, you ought to give up all the things that bring you pleasure! Is that the message they have heard instead of “God loves you!” Instead of a message of freedom, they have heard, or believe, a message of slavery.

But there is more to this. Sin doesn’t like being restrained. Sin likes to do whatever it wants, even if it is harmful, even if it is damaging, even if it is destructive. When God says, “Don’t commit adultery,” sinful mankind says, “Why shouldn’t I if I want to?” The fact that it destroys relationships, and destroys families is neither here nor there to sinful man. I don’t want to be fettered by God’s rules, says sinful man. If I want to take things from the company I work for, who cares, they can afford it, says sinful man. Don’t fetter me with talk about stealing. No, this is the heart of the answer to why people reject God: Sin! It is that self-centred, godless nature that is the problem, the thing that makes people say, “Don’t you tell me what to do!”

There is behind this attitude an arrogance which is almost unbelievable. Here are men and women the size of ants with brains to match, and they turn round and say we know better than Almighty God, the One who is all-wise and all-knowing, the One who designed and created this world and who knows how it best works. There is a blindness to the truth that the Bible refers to again and again that comes with sin. It is the inability to see the truth about ourselves. It is so often seen in atheistic men and women who bluster and shout, believing as long as they get in the most words, they will be right. This is the folly that accompanies this blindness.

But there is something more terrible about this which is seen in the rest of the psalm. The fact is that God is the Lord, the all-powerful One, and no one and nothing can stand against Him. The Bible has an example for every facet of life, and this one is no exception. Nebuchadnezzar was an incredibly powerful king but he suffered from pride. He made a great idol of himself and required everyone to bow down to it. (See Dan 3:1-6). He received a warning through the episode with the three Jewish young men that followed. The he started having bad dreams and was warned by Daniel that he would be driven mad. He disregarded the warning and even said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” (Dan 4:30). Immediately he became insane and was cast out for seven years until he acknowledged the Lord. It was a simple thing for the Lord to do. He is God and He is all-powerful.

And puny human beings dare to raise their voices to Him? So weak are we that we only need to catch a bad cold to feel down. How easy it is to bring us down, and we think we are so great. In answer to this question, Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? the honest, simple answer is, because they are stupid, and stupidity is an expression of sin. That’s not an insult; it is a simple statement of fact. To be stupid means to be slow witted, lacking in sense, and obtuse, and all these things describe the life and activity of the person who lives in Sin. When they leave this life they will come face to face with the One who is the Truth and they will know and regret. If only I could have seen, they will say, but they could have. All it needed was a hungry, searching heart that acknowledged its own state, a heart that said, “Show me!” and it would have all been very different. How tragic is this thing called Sin that people allow to dominate them.