And Makes the Nations Prove ... What?

"Massacre of the Innocents" by Peter Paul Rubens

Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, 'Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.' (Exodus 1:22) 

Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time he had ascertained from the wise men. (Matt. 2:16)

Isaac Watts’ "Joy to the World” tells us fighting for righteousness in the land is central to the church’s mission. Sing along:

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found …

He rules the world with truth and grace

And makes the nations prove

The glories of his righteousness

And wonders of his love.

Given the horrors enacted by the government at the time of Jesus' birth, Watts draws a sharp contrast with what will happen now that Christ has come--the governments (which will be on Jesus' shoulders, right Isaiah?) of the nations will one day prove the glories of Jesus' righteousness. Awesome.

A Lesser Tune

I came up with this song while I was driving to Helena last week to drill with my Reserve unit. It’s about how fighting the unjust slaughter of innocents is part of salvation. The first and last verses from Psalm 64 are interspersed to highlight the real life cries of God's people for deliverance from wickedness and the link between salvation and righteousness/uprightness in heart.

Can You Hear the Mothers Cry?

Can you hear the mothers cry

In the streets of Goshen?

Fearsome Pharaoh brings the knife

Against Yahweh's chosen.

Rachel, weep for your children.

Israel, cry out in your prayers.

Abraham's God made a promise,

And he has a savior spared.

Can you hear the mothers cry

In the land of Judah?

Faithless Herod brings the knife

Against the Messiah.

Rachel, weep for your children.

Israel, cry out in your prayers.

Abraham's God made a promise,

And he has a savior spared.

Hear my voice in my complaint

Preserve my life from dread!

Hide me from the secret plots

Of all the wicked.

Can you hear the mother cry

On the hill Golgotha?

Pontius Pilate brings the knife

Against some rabble rouser.

Rachel, weep for your children.

Israel, cry out in your prayers.

Abraham's God made a promise

And His own Son did not spare.

Let the Righteous One rejoice

And take refuge in the LORD!

Let the Upright in heart exult,

And those who trust His Word!

For Some Reason, This Is Controversial.

Is changing the government’s laws to promote justice and righteousness central to the church’s mission? Many Evangelical Christians argue it is not (https://statementonsocialjustice.com/). They argue that it is good to do what we can, but not really part of the Gospel. Makes me wonder:

• I wonder how being united to Christ (that is, salvation) as the body of Christ on earth excludes participating in his life and work on earth when it comes to changing laws.
• I wonder what “rulers” Ephesians 6:12 says we are to stand against if not those who are, you know, ruling. 
• I wonder why God specifically calls out the kings of Judah in Isaiah 1 when discussing how the people's worship (central to their mission) is abominable because they are not caring for the widows, orphans, and oppressed. 
• I wonder why so many of the Old Testament prophecies against the nations call out the rulers and seem to expect some sort of change in the laws to promote justice and righteousness as part of repentance.
• And I wonder why the deliverance God brought in Exodus against the unjust government, regarding which God sent his deliverer to the palace of the king, is directly tied to the covenant he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Ex. 2:24).

Is fighting abortion a secondary issue? Is it something good for Christians to care about when they have time and money and energy, but not really part of God’s kingdom coming? Are the advances the church has made in history—fighting slavery in the West, cannibalism in the South Pacific, illiteracy wherever it has gone, democracy in once tyrannical lands—just moralistic acts rather than worship? 

I am convinced that Jesus was not tricking us when he told us to go out and disciple the nations. He wasn’t giving us the Holy Spirit and sending us out to fail. Rather, Psalm 87:4 tells us that God lists Egypt (called Rahab), Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Cush among those who know God. His blessings will be known "far as the curse is found." Egypt, who once killed the infants of God’s people, will turn (Ps. 22:27) and worship.

And this worship won’t just be on Sundays.