Psalm 2:2 describes the nations as arraying together “against the LORD and against His Anointed.” Those words, “AGAINST THE LORD” are key. The Hebrew word for “LORD” there is literally “Yahweh”, the personal name for the God of the Bible, the God who created the world, who sustains it all by the word of His power, and who has all authority and power. And yet, Psalm 2:2 says, the leaders of earth are “against” this God. This is significant:

— First of all, it is the description of their disposition. They are “against” God. What He commands, they oppose. He has declared His commandments, and they despise them. He has established an order in creation ( of man and woman; of the complementary relationship of husband and wife, etc.) and they oppose that. He has appointed a Messiah, and as this Psalm describes, they array to oppose Him. The lives of so many people on earth are characterized by these words: “against God.”

— These same words are also the presage of their downfall. They are “against God”! They cannot win — as this Psalm makes abundantly clear! It is “a vain thing” (:1) that a man — or any group of men — would try to oppose God. “He who sits in the heavens laughs … then He will speak to them in His anger, and terrify them in His fury …” (:4-5). Revelation 20:9 says that when Satan will gather all the nations to surround the camp of the saints in the beloved city, that “fire came down from heaven and consumed them.” No big deal. God just wipes them all out in a moment. Thus it will be for all who find themselves in this unenviable position, of being “against God”!

This speaks to any of us who are in rebellion against God, and who have set our lives in opposition to His revealed word. It calls for repentance — really SURRENDER — to Him. You cannot win when you oppose God. Surrender your life and your will to Him and submit to His Messiah, Jesus, as your own Lord & Savior.

It also applies to any of us who do know Jesus as our Savior, who have yet — either consciously or subconsciously — set ourselves against what He has declared in some segment of our lives. Are you purposefully disobeying Him in some area? Are you trying to “get away” with something in secret — as if you have any hope of hiding it from Him? Is there some issue about which His word speaks clearly, but you have “bucked up” against it, and chosen to believe the prevailing culture instead of Him? Is there an area of your life you have stubbornly held on to, and refused to give to Him when He has asked? You too — even as a Christian — need to realize that you cannot continue in your little rebellion. You never can succeed, when you are going “against God.”