God Reigns Over The Nations

I’m glad God’s Word includes Psalms 47:8 “God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.” If you are like me, you are appalled at what you see happening in our country. Immorality is getting worse and worse. Christianity is being ridiculed at all levels of government; conservative values are on the decline. Is our country getting close to crossing the line where God’s anger will be unleashed upon us?

1.  History of God’s Dealings with Kingdoms

·  Isreal-

¹⁴ if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

When they did not, they were punished. The ten northern tribes were taken captive by Assyria, an evil nation.

⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

⁷ For so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they had feared other gods, (2 Kings 17:6-7)

This was God’s doing.

⁵ “Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger
And the staff in whose hand is My indignation.
⁶ I will send him against an ungodly nation,
And against the people of My wrath
I will give him charge,
To seize the spoil, to take the prey,
And to tread them down like the mire of the streets. (Isaiah 10:5-6)

·  God then raised up Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon.

5 ‘I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and have given it to whom it seemed proper to Me. 6 And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant; and the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him. 7 So all nations shall serve him and his son and his son’s son, until the time of his land comes; and then many nations and great kings shall make him serve them. (Jeremiah 27:5-7)

Then brought the Persian empire to take them down.

19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,
The beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride,
Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. (Isaiah 13:19)

·  Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, that is interpreted in Daniel 2, describes how God rules in kingdoms of men.

³⁷ You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; ³⁸ and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold. ³⁹ But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. ⁴⁰ And,the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. (Daniel 2: 37-40)

¹⁷ ‘This decision is by the decree of the watchers,
And the sentence by the word of the holy ones,
In order that the living may know
That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men,
Gives it to whomever He will,
And sets over it the lowest of men.’ (Daniel 4:7)

·  The apostle Paul affirmed the same in. Acts 17:26

²⁶ And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,

·  Andy Robison stated, “If America continues its degradation into immorality, materialism, and violence, God’s judgment may come sooner rather than later.”

³⁴ Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a ]reproach to any people (Proverbs 14:34)

⁷ The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it^{, 8} if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. ⁹ And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, ¹⁰ if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.(Jeremiah 18:7-10)

·  What if the worst happened? The godly would become a small minority with little voice in government decisions? Abortion becomes unrestrained? Christians become oppressed and persecuted? Does the Christian have any comfort from God’s Word?

2.  Gods Rules Over All Kingdoms

·  Our faith is not dependent upon how good our elected officials are. Do not get discouraged when the ungodly prevail.

¹ Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
² For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.

³ Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

·  Remember, leaders of any earthly kingdom are God’s appointed ministers of reward and wrath.

⁴ For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. ⁵ Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. ⁶ For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. (Romans 13:4-6)

·  God controls the nations without violating man’s free will. God rules as He sees fit.

²⁰ Daniel answered and said:

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
For wisdom and might are His.
²¹ And He changes the times and the seasons;
He removes kings and raises up kings;
He gives wisdom to the wise
And knowledge to those who have understanding. (Daniel 4:20-21

God gives rule to whomever He chooses.

²⁵  Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king, and said thus to him, “I have found a man of the captives of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.” (Daniel 4:25)

We must have hope in God’s providential working in our world.

3.  Christians Are Part Of An Eternal Kingdom

·  The Kingdom of Jesus Christ is a spiritual one.

36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” (John 18:36)

Which does not rely or depend upon physical fighting to advance its cause.

·  This kingdom is an everlasting one with one king only.

⁴⁴ And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. (Daniel 2:44)

³² He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. ³³ And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”(Luke 1:32-33)

It has endured for nearly 2,000 years while other worldly kingdoms have came and went.

·  When one obeys the gospel, he is transformed into this kingdom.

¹³ He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, (Colossians 1:13)

And if faithful, will be given the crown of righteousness on the last day.

 

While things certainly look bad in our country, let us remember that God is ultimately in control.

 

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