Why Do The Nations Rage?

Reading the news this morning about the response of China and the Biden administration to Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan made me think of Psalm 2. Nations rage, people plot, but in the end, it is all in vain. I'm confident such machinations feel anything but vain in the moment. They undoubtedly feel bigger than life. But they are not, in the end. Like Ecclesiastes says, everything is vanity. 

As a development practitioner and justice advocate, having studied justice at the graduate level, I have explored great injustice. Even now, simply reading the news reveals horrors that can keep me up at night. So, I listen to the Bible as I sleep. The goal is not to memorize it or to somehow absorb something. The goal is to refocus my thinking on things "above," so I can settle back into a restful slumber rather than spiraling down into a pit of despair made worse by exhaustion. It works, for the most part. I awake, not consumed by whatever evil appears to be prevailing, but reminded that God is bigger than all of our petty squabbling. 

As I contemplate the rapidly changing and very fragile geo-political situation, with different military powers flexing muscle or challenging boundaries, I can't help but think of the sweeping sagas in the Old Testament. Pharaoh and Moses, Jericho, Sennacherib, and the eventual collapse of Israeli defenses against Nebuchadrezer. Even the opposition Nehemiah dealt with as he rebuild the wall fits into that overarching theme of human rulers wrestling in vain to hold on to power and control against the God of the Universe. 

Back in those days, though they didn't necessarily acknowledge the Hebrew God (at least initially) they recognized the interconnection between the seen and unseen worlds. It doesn't appear that anyone had been infected with the influence of "reason" (in my mind, coming from The Enlightenment) that artificially separated what can be seen and touched and (to a degree) understood from what cannot be seen or understood. The interaction between a spiritual world and the "real" world was assumed rather than questioned, as it is today. Kings may have been off base in their belief that they were gods, but that gods existed was not in question. 

It is different today. We do not even recognize the hubris of thinking we can deny the existence of God simply because He does not fit into our "logical" grid. Entire nations operate outside the walls of any firm religious practice or belief, at least as we define such frameworks in the West. More and more political machinations in the US are simply driven by the thirst for power and the control it promises. Political campaigns, driven as much by the selfish desires of those bankrolling campaigns as the views of the candidate, are beginning to feel like mad scrambles up the cliff to wrest power from the other muddy, bloody and bruised contended who was king of the mountain in the last round. It is insane. 

Having said all that, I must clarify that I do believe the political process is important. My yard is decorated with political signs for the recent primary. It's just that those signs, and the people they represent, are not my attempt to wrest power from other less scrupulous politicians. They represent my conviction that, however messy the American political process may become, I have a precious privilege to participate in electing my leaders. 

Maybe the difference is, I am not counting on my candidates to be my saviors when it comes to righting all the wrongs of previous scaliwags. I know God is bigger. He is bigger than Trump vs Biden. He is bigger than voting irregularities (whatever you believe about stolen elections). He is bigger than China, Russia, and the "deep state." God is bigger!  There is no authority except through God (Romans 13:1, 2). God turns the hearts of kings (Prov 21:1). God sets kings in place, and God removes them (Daniel 2:21). Outside of time and space, God cannot be controlled, bought off, bullied, or intimidated. He doesn't negotiate, with terrorists or otherwise. He is God, and He does not need our permission!

I don't know what will happen with China, Russia, North Korea, or the lurking powers that may pop up from some unexpected place. And I don't need to! I know that God holds all of this in the palm of His hand (Job 12:9, 10; Psalm 95:3-5; 1 Chron. 29:12), He knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 41:4; Isaiah 46:10). Even if we experience the end of the world as we know it, God is still bigger, and His grace will be enough. 

I do wonder what we'll think about all of this at the end of time as we know it. Will we look back and laugh at our silly machinations? Will we be ashamed of our hubris? I don't know. But I do wonder. Until then, I will pray for justice and righteousness to prevail, for wisdom for those making important decisions influencing the safety and security of nations, and for eyes to see God's hand even in the darkness (Psalm 88).