I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:
He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have become your father.
Ask me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.
You will break them with a rod of iron;
you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” Psalm 2:7-9
While some of the language in this psalm, like breaking the nations with a rod of iron and dashing them to pieces like pottery, sounds harsh to us, in the Ancient Israelite context it was a promise of hope. The establishing of God’s king, and kingdom, in Israel is a promise to his people of peace, stability, and justice for the Israelites in the face of injustice and violence that has been perpetrated against them.
Living on the other side of the coming of Jesus, we read this psalm through the context of his kingship. He has established a kingdom that will come fully and bring peace, stability, and justice for all the earth. That is a good promise.
It is also a promise that requires us to embrace some tension. The reign and justice of God means that the reign of other people, places, and things, find a limit somewhere. Find a piece of pottery and consider its fragility. Thank God that he is a God without limits and he will bring his kingdom that has no end.
By Jessica Rust
