God’s Sovereignty Over Rulers & Nations

Transcript

GRM 1103
11/11/2012
God’s Sovereignty Over Rulers & Nations
Romans 13:1-7, Selected Verses
Gil Rugh

Well, we did have election this week, and here you are. The world didn’t stop. Not much has changed I will bet. You probably got up on Wednesday, had breakfast, and went to work or did whatever else you had to do and thought, “Oh well. Here we go again.” One thing you can be sure of: the election at all levels revealed to us clearly God’s appointments and His decision on these matters. So we as His people will go on comfortably knowing, well, God has made clear to us what His will for us is for the days ahead for leadership.

I brought something to read to you. This I downloaded from the internet. Here’s a roundup of how prominent Christians are responding in the online postelection conversation. And in our last couple of studies, we talked about individuals, nations, the world ripening for judgment and some of the open displays of sin, an indication of God’s judgment that will continue to build to a climax. Then we talked about the danger of moralism for believers and trying to get people to be more moral is not our responsibility. Rather it is to bring them the gospel that will change their heart, which will naturally change their conduct. Well in light of the election here are a couple of comments from evangelical leaders. One says, “We need to go back to the basics of living as disciples of Christ, living missionally for Christ and demonstrating the gospel in tangible ways within our schools, work places, and communities. Christians can stop worrying about the symbols of the decline of Christian America and get back to the mission Jesus gave us to show the world a different way to live, a way that demonstrates the great character of God, His love, His justice, His compassion, His forgiveness, His reconciliation.” There are some problems with that statement you may have noted. You know it used to be when we talked about missions, we were talking about carrying the gospel to the lost to tell them the truth of God’s love displayed in the death and resurrection of His Son as the payment in full for sin. Now we have terms that they have redefined. We talk about missions. We talk about missional. This man says we need to go back to the basics of living as disciples of Christ, living missionally for Christ. What he is talking about is living a moral life before the world. Get back to the mission Jesus gave us: to show the world a different way to live. Is that the mission God gave us, that Christ gave us? He said, “Go into all the world and make disciples.” He didn’t say, “Go into all the world and show them how to live.” We go and present a message that will transform their lives, and they will live differently. You ought to be alert. When you read, I was on a church site, out of the city, and they were talking about their missional emphases. If you come to our studies through the week, don’t expect a Bible study because we’re missional. And we think, “Well they’re for missions. That must mean their emphasizing taking the gospel to people. No. They’re talking about living a lifestyle. But nobody is saved by seeing a life. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the message concerning Christ. It’s the gospel that is the power of God for salvation. So we have this subtle shift and not so subtle shift to moralism. We get back to what Christ called us to do—live a life of love, justice, compassion, forgiveness, reconciliation. It’s a corruption of the truth. This leader, I won’t say who he is, but he should know better. He writes this, “Evangelical Christians must see the 2012 election as a catastrophe for crucial moral concerns. Clearly we face a new moral landscape in America, and huge challenge to those of us who care passionately about these issues. We face a worldview challenge that is far greater than any political change,” now note this, “as we must learn how to winsomely convince Americans to share our moral convictions about marriage, sex, the sanctity of life, an arrange of moral issues. This will not be easy. It is, however, an urgent call to action.” Now where in the New Testament are we told we must learn how to winsomely convince the unbeliever to share our moral convictions? That’s moralism. We are called to present the gospel to them that will transform them from the inside out, but apart from that, nothing happens. But we have an urgent call to action so we can learn how to winsomely convince Americans to share our moral convictions? Why should unbelievers share our moral convictions? It just frustrates me that these are so-called evangelical leaders, and that’s the emphasis they’re bringing. That’s why we talked about moralism.

We’re going to follow up and talk about God’s sovereignty in the world, and this is going to take us more than one study. I think we as believers need to understand and have clearly before us in our thinking and in our actions that God is sovereign. We’re going to talk today about His sovereign control over rulers and nations, and I’m going to talk about His sovereignty in our next study down even to the personal level of every individual decision that is made wherever in the world. With all the frustration and talk that goes on, even among the Bible believing Christians, I think that we have lost the concept of God’s sovereignty. We sang about something of that in the song just a moment ago. And so I want to first focus attention on what God says about His sovereignty with rulers and nations, and then we’ll follow up. This will stretch you. Some of you were challenged with the talk about moralism. We talk about God’s sovereignty. I’m not going to resolve the tension we have between man’s responsibility and God’s sovereignty, but we better be careful we don’t abandon the one in favor of the other. God is totally sovereign over His creation wherever it is, and man is completely responsible for his decisions and actions before the sovereign God. But that does not mean man controls the plan. God controls the plan.

Alright. Let’s start out in Romans chapter 13. You know when Paul wrote the letter to the Romans, there had been a series of Roman emperors of names that would be familiar with you. Augustus Caesar of course. He met his end in 14 AD so this gives you a period of time where we are. Then you had Tiberius Caesar. He ruled from 14 to 37. So the time of the crucifixion of Christ and so on. Then you had Gaius who was also known as Caligula. He ruled from 37 to 41. And then you had Claudius who is mentioned in the book of Acts. He ruled from 41 to 54. And then we have the infamous Nero from 54 to 68 AD. Now we’re going to read a passage out of Romans, and none of these men were models of godliness or morality at all, but they ruled the world as the Roman Caesar. When Paul writes to them Romans in about 50 AD, Nero has been the Caesar for about four years. So Paul knew something of the character of Roman rulers from those who had preceded him even though the earlier years of Nero’s reign there were more positive things about him. He would decline into totally degeneracy. You have to keep in mind the setting. These Roman rulers . . . . We’re living in a context of a Sunday school picnic compared to the kind of reign these men carried on and the vileness of their conduct. And you understand they come to power through all kinds of ways, including killing a parent and siblings, but they’re the ruler. Note chapter 13 of Romans. It begins in verse 1, Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. We don’t know whether this applies to us or not, but it does because we’re part of every person. Every person is to be in subjection. The word could be used in a military context. It means to be in a row or an order under someone. So you could use it militarily because they’re lined up under the authority of their commander. We are to be in subjection to the governing authorities, not just the Caesar. It doesn’t say just to the Caesar or just to the king, but governing authorities whatever their level. Why? For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. That’s why I said, following our elections, we know the ones that God has appointed. He has made His decisions evident to us. A week ago we were wondering. God uses in our nation an election process. In Rome it was a different process. The people didn’t get to vote for the emperor. But no matter what the process, God is in control. He’s established human government, and He establishes the ones exercising the rule at the time. Human government goes back to the Noahic covenant in Genesis 9. Following the flood of Noah, God established the principles of human government. Now if there’s no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God, it follows then in verse 2, Therefore whoever resist authority has opposed the ordinance of God. Let’s see how this goes. We’ll see some verses in a moment. Just listen to these verses as I read them to you. Psalm 62:11, Once God has spoken; Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God. So here we have governing authorities, but keep in mind—power belongs to God. And so He determines who will be in positions of authority as He rules over the world. Jesus confronted this in John 19 when He spoke to Pilate. That is in verse 10 and 11 if you’re writing it down. And Pilate said to Him, “Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” What did Jesus say? “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above.” Here He stands before Pilate who had been appointed by the Caesar, and he’d be removed by Caesar. You know He doesn’t say, “Well, you know, you’re just a secondary official. There’s a higher official than you. You’re not so powerful. You just rule at the whim of the Caesar.” Jesus doesn’t get into that. You do have authority to order me released or to order me crucified, but you understand you wouldn’t have any authority if God hadn’t given it to you. You see the sovereignty there recognized. So when you resist authority, you have opposed the ordinance of God. That is important for us to keep in mind. That’s true down through all levels. In our society we have the right to express ourselves. We have the right to vote. We do not have the right to resist authority. Because if God is here and the king or the president or the senator or the governor or whoever is down here, ultimately when you reject the authority of this person, you’re rejecting the ultimate authority of the one who put him in that position, right? And who put him there? God did. So when you resist the governing authorities, you’re resisting the ordinance of God, and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. So he’s not talking about condemnation from God here, although there will be consequences for rebellion against God, but in the context he’s talking about the condemnation from the governing authorities because God is not only placed them in positions of power and authority, He with that has given them the power and authority to mete our punishment for disobeying there rules. So verse 3. For ruler are not cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same. Now Paul was raised from birth under Roman rule. He knew that injustices were done often. He’s going to die at the hands of the present Caesar as are Peter and others. There is the misuse of power, but in a fallen world, God has established human government to keep order, and even in bad government there’s benefit. We can talk about the corruption of the Roman system. How Caligula turned the Senate against itself and divided them, and for done[HG1] he could have them executed at his will. And oh, what a corrupt system. But you can look at the positive side. Rome brought order to the civilized world. It enabled Paul to travel from place to place and present the gospel. He was comfortable in the book of Acts when he was being treated contrary to Roman law to appeal to Caesar. So there were the benefits that come even with corrupt government. I’ve shared with you many years ago when we were in China under a Communist rule and injustice visited with believers who had spent 20, 25 years in prison for nothing else than preaching the truth of the Word of God, but you know what, there was order there. We could go out at night and walk the streets. I said, “You don’t have to worry. Nothing’s, nobody’s going to hurt you.” So even under a government we would say is anti-Christian in many ways there were benefits. I appreciated the fact and I’ve shared with you that the Christians there did not speak a word against the government. Some that we were with brought up a comment about the government, and the believers just go, they don’t talk about it. They talk about people getting saved. They talk about the ministry of the Word. They talk about what they did when they were in prison. They would not say anything against the government. No unkind words. Nothing like, “Oh the Lord will give them their due for what they did to us.” No. We get the idea “well don’t you guys care?” It’s not part of what their concern was. They lived in authority under it. So generally if we live our lives and obey the laws, we don’t have a problem. Note here what God says. And we’re going to pick this up in other passages so keep it in your mind as we look at examples in the Old Testament. It is a minister of God to you for good. So what a minute. Now we’re talking about human government as God’s servant, God’s representative for good. We have order. Aren’t you glad we have governing authorities? You live in certain parts of the world today where government is broken down. We meet like this, and we wouldn’t know whether someone would come in and start shooting. There’s just chaos. I’m thankful for the order we have. I’m thankful for speed limits except when they apply to me. But I’m glad you can’t go a hundred miles per hour. So there’s good. They are a minister for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing. Meeting out punishment has been given by God to the authorities. Sometimes they misuse it. They’ll use it to execute Paul. Nero had many Christians executed, but the principle is still the same. For it is a minister of God, that’s repeated here, basically saying the same thing, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. We see that in our society, and we’re privileged to live in an orderly society. Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath . . . . So. There’s going to be two reasons why we submit ourselves to governing authorities. One, we’re afraid of the punishment, right? I use speed limits because Marilyn drives fast. Why do we have them? For our safety. Why do we obey them? Because we’re afraid that we’ll get caught if we don’t. There’s a punishment to pay. Robbing, stealing, murdering. There are punishments to be paid. Also for us as Christians there’s another dimension. We submit ourselves to the governing authorities for conscience sake because my conscience would tell me I’m not being obedient to God’s instructions when I don’t submit to them. So we do it for conscience sake because we want to honor God and do what He has told us to do, and my conscience would bother me. It does bother me. When you do something contrary to what you know scripture says. Now here’s another good one. For because of this you also pay taxes. You got debates going on in taxes. There is never a time when there is not a debate about taxes. I mean what did the Jews try to do with Jesus? Get Him trapped on taxes, right? “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar” because the Jews didn’t think they should pay taxes to a pagan, Gentile ruler. So how is Jesus going to answer this? If you say no, you will be in trouble with Caesar. If you say yes, the Jews will say, “See. He says we should honor these pagan rulers over us.” Jesus said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” You pay taxes. Tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom . . . . All these kinds of taxes. We will pay it. That’s part of God’s plan to support government. So I don’t agree with everything government does. Well do you think Nero burning Rome and building an elaborate palaces like these Caesars did was a good use of my tax money? Certain things are out of my hands. They’re not my responsibility. My responsibility is to do what God tells me to do. So I pay my taxes For rulers are servants of God . . . . He keeps telling me this. He’s appointed them. They’re His ministers. They’re His servants devoting themselves to this very thing. You know while I don’t agree with how they use their taxes, my taxes, well they have the authority. I don’t. God’s placed them in that position not me. They make that decision. Now in our country we’re privileged to vote, but now don’t misunderstand who determines the outcome of the vote. It’s not you. It’s not me. It’s not the liberals. It’s not the conservative. It’s the God who determines it all. We’ll see that in more detail in a moment. Render to all what is due them, verse 7, tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. One thing we find: even when Jesus is before Pilate there is a respect of his position. Paul when he is before the authorities in the book of Acts, there is respect to their position. It is totally out of character for us as believers to be talking about leaders. I’m appalled. Some of the things that come across my email from those who profess to be believers, what they’re saying about those who’ve been elected, and then we’re supposed to give them honor. Am I telling God He made a foolish decision? I don’t agree with Your decision. Wait a minute. Who am I? My problem now is not with the person who was voted in our system into the position; it’s the God who determined the outcome of the vote. I will honor him because God has seen fit to put you into this position. That doesn’t mean Nero is a very respectable person, but he has a position that requires respect, requires honor for who he is.

Alright. With that as a background come back to Psalm 33. What I want to do is walk through some of the Old Testament passages that show God’s absolute sovereign control over the rulers and the outcomes. He determines it. Men don’t. We get confused and think, “Well in our society, in our government, we vote, and we can exercise that vote. But we understand God determines the result. It wasn’t the vote that determined the result. We know that as believers. It was God who used the vote in our society. In Rome He used their maneuverings; still a person He appointed was in. Where are we going? Psalm 33. And if you’re there, just be patient. I will be too. Psalm 33. And you’ll note in a number of the passages we are going to be looking at even though we may not always draw your attention to it, it’s in the context of statements like verse 6. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host. Put in the context. God created it all so He is sovereign over it all, and every detail of His creation we will see. You’ll note down in verse 11, pick up verse 10, The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. We say that this time didn’t we. Some people were frustrated in the election. They thought it was going to go this way, and it didn’t. Frustration. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, now note this, The plans of His heart from generation to generation. So we don’t have that fixed I fear that sometimes believers talk about the sovereignty of God and deny it in the way we live. We complain about those in authority. Oh we talk like we could have made the outcome different if this— Understand God. We’re not fatalists. God’s in control. He uses the process. Sometimes it’s a murder to replace one ruler with another. Sometimes it’s a war. Sometimes it’s a vote, but the process is not to make you think for these think for us is to understand the counsel of the Lord stands forever[HG2]. He nullifies the counsel of the nations. They think they’re going to control it by their plan, but the plan of the Lord stands, and so He frustrates their plans.

Come to, just after Psalm, come to Proverbs chapter 21. We’re going to see many number of examples of this. Proverbs 21 verse 1. The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes. So we see that not only the rulers have been appointed by God, but now He is controlling the decisions made by the rulers and those in authority. Just like a channel of water in His hand He can direct it. So He turns the heart of the king wherever He wishes. He rules in the decisions. Now be careful here. This doesn’t mean all the decisions are godly or moral decisions. He even uses the sinful desires of man for the accomplishing of His purposes. He doesn’t make men sin, but He even directs them in their sinful desires in ways they will accomplish His purposes. We’ll see some examples of that.

Come back to Ezra chapter 1. Ezra is just after Chronicles. Doesn’t that help. And we’re in Proverbs. Just keep going back before Proverbs and Psalms and Job, and you’ll hit Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. Ezra chapter 1. And Cyrus has come to the throne as king of Persia. So verse 1 begins, Ezra 1, Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, now note this, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, Jeremiah prophesied concerning Cyrus, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia . . . . You note, remember, the kings heart is like channels of the water; the hands of the Lord, He turns it wherever He will. Here the Lord’s turning the heart of Cyrus. He’s a pagan. He’s a godless man. We’ll see a statement on that in Scripture. He was a man who didn’t know the Lord. But the Lord is stirring up his spirit, so he sent a proclamation throughout all the kingdom and put it in writing. Cyrus thought in his own mind, “Here’s what I’ve decided to do.” But you know who moved on his mind to make that decision? Was He making Cyrus do what he didn’t want to do? No. Cyrus was doing what he wanted to do, but who’s plan was being carried out. God’s plan.

Come back in Exodus chapter 7. One more of these and then we have to move on. Exodus 7. This is in the context of God delivering Israel from Egypt. We’ll just take one statement. Exodus chapter 7 verse 3. God tells Moses and Aaron to go and speak to Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go, and then verse 3 says, But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart . . . . Now that’s what it says. I will harden Pharaoh’s heart. He’s not going to listen to him. You’re going to go to him again and again and again and again and again, 10 times. He’s not going to soften because I’m going to harden his heart. God is sovereign over the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. He is not making Pharaoh do what he doesn’t want to do. Pharaoh’s doing what he wants to do. When Moses talks to Pharaoh, he says, “I don’t know your God.” Who’s He that I should listen to Him? He’s doing what he wants to, but it is God who is sovereignly moving on his heart to use his sinful desires for His purpose.

Come to Joshua. So we move through the first five books of the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua. Chapter 11. Joshua chapter 11. Look at verse 6. And Joshua—you know they are moving through to conquer the land of Canaan that God promised to Israel. So verse 6. And the particular ones in view here we’re not, but these are nations within the land of Canaan. Then the Lord said to Joshua, Joshua 11:6, “Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow at this time I will deliver all of them slain before Israel . . . .” You know who’s sovereign here. Now we’re going to have a battle, and Joshua’s going to lead the armies of Israel against their enemies. And one armies going to win over the other, but you know what God says, “I will deliver all of them slain into your hands.” He’s not going to do it without the battle. It didn’t mean Joshua with the army of Israel would sit and have tea while God just killed off their enemies. No. He’s going to send them into battle, but God sovereignly determines the outcome of the battle before it’s fought. You go in and fight. They’re going to fight. They’re going to use their best skills as soldiers, but who’s determining the outcome? Well, whoever has the better army. No, whoever has the most powerful god. There’s only one God who is all powerful, the God of Israel. Verse 8. Verse 7, So Joshua and all the people of war with him came upon them suddenly . . . and attacked them. The Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel, so that they defeated them . . . . Well. Boy that Joshua was a good military commander. He is! But that’s not why he wins. It’s because God says you’re going to win even before you leave. So the sovereignty of God. Down in verse 19 of Joshua 11. There was not a city which made peace with the sons of Israel except the Hivites living in Gibeon; they took them all in battle. Why? For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, to meet Israel in battle in order that he might utterly destroy them, that they might receive no mercy . . . . Love the Lord to harden their hearts.[HG3] What’s the other side of that? They receive no mercy from God, but that He might destroy them, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. You see the sovereignty of God in the outcome of the battle. We say, “Well here you come to power, and you get victory because God uses Israel, uses Joshua’s military abilities, uses the army of Israel and how they have been prepared,” but the ultimate outcome of the battle is determined by God, but He uses human forces. He uses Joshua. He just doesn’t say, “Well Joshua send your wife if you don’t feel like going out. It doesn’t matter who goes to war. You’ll win.” No. You have to do it God’s way, but God uses what we’d call natural forces, but there is no such thing as natural forces because God is behind and controlling everything.

As I want to walk through the major nations of the Old Testament (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia) and show God says He is sovereign in bringing them to power and removing them from power. It’s His decision.

Come back to Exodus where we just talked about Egypt and Pharaoh. And I mean you talk about a king, you talk about his kingdom. You talk about God’s conflict with Pharaoh, but it’s not just Pharaoh and Exodus, we’re going to Exodus 9, but in Exodus chapter 10 verse 7, Pharaoh’s own advisor says, “Egypt is destroyed. You can’t do battle against this God. Don’t you know? Egypt is destroyed.” So it’s not just the battle with Pharaoh, but the country that he also represents. We’re going to Exodus chapter 9 verse 13. Verse 12 tells us the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not listen. Verse 13, Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and says to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. For this time I will send all My plagues on you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth.”’” And note what God is demonstrating to a nation here and before the world, watching world. There is no one like Him. “’”For if by now I had put forth My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, you would then have been cut off from the earth.”’” God says, “I could have wiped you out with one plague. There would have been no more Egypt, but I didn’t do that.” Why? “’”But indeed, for this reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name through all the earth.”’” You see God is sovereign here. “I have even reserved ultimate judgement, progressively added judgment on judgment in order that you would survive to this point so that My power, My name would be magnified in the earth.” And yet you note Pharaoh is responsible for his decisions. Verse 17. “’”Still you exalt yourself against My people by not letting them go.”’” You see the sovereignty of God here. Even in the decisions Pharaoh makes, God is controlling the process; Pharaoh is not. God has His purpose in the outcome. That’s Egypt.

Come over to Isaiah the prophet. Isaiah the prophet. Isaiah chapter 10. Now Isaiah is prophesying about Assyria. And Assyria is the nation that comes to power after Egypt and they are going to come and take captive the northern ten tribes of Israel and carry them away into captivity. The Assyrians are a brutal, harsh people. Reading in history (and they put these on their monuments and so on as records), we know that in one city they impaled three thousand people on sharp stakes to instill fear. This is what happens to anyone who resists in any way. So when you hear the Assyrians are coming, you either decide to surrender immediately or the consequences for you will be unimaginable. This is the kind of people. So here’s what God says, verse 5, Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hands is My indignation . . . . Now note here what He’s presenting one of them but nobody calls them. They are the rod of God’s anger. They are the staff in whose hand is My indignation. In other words they are the instrument God is going to use to punish Israel for their sin. I send it against a godless nation . . . . Now He’s going to use godless Assyria to punish godless Israel. I would say, “Well Israel is godless, but I don’t think they’re as godless as the Assyrians are they?” Well remember talk about ripening for judgment and Israel has become ripe for the judgment of God here. I send it against a godless nation And commission it against the people of My fury . . . . So you see it’s a sovereign action God. You won’t be able to resist the Assyrians because they are God’s instrument. He’s the power behind them. To capture booty and to seize plunder, Ant to trample them down like mud in the streets. But here’s the problem why God pronounces woe to Assyria. Yet it does not so intend, it is Assyria, Nor does it plan so in its heart . . . . Their plan here as they see is not being an instrument in the hands of God. They see is as they’re just so power, so affective, so militarily strong that they’re successful. Their plan is what? To destroy. To cut off many nations. And they say, verse 8, “Are not my princes all kings?” In other words even our princes are strong like kings. Other kings are nothing because we have princes that are stronger than them. And then the nations they conquer. “Is not Calno like Carchemish, Or Hamath like Arpad, Or Samaria like Damascus? “As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols, Whose graven images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria . . . .” They just saw the God of Israel, another god like the gods of the nations they conquered, and will wipe these people out because their god won’t be as powerful as us anyway. “Shall I not do to Jerusalem and her images Just as I have done to Samaria and her idols?” Then note verse 12. So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, when He brings judgment on the Jews, He will say, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the pomp of his haughtiness.” For he has said, “By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this, For I have understanding; And I have removed the boundaries of the peoples And plundered their treasures,” in other words He’s wiped out the distinction between the nations because they’ve all become part of Assyria now; He dominates. “And like a mighty man I brought down their inhabitants, And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a nest,” gathering eggs. Then God says to him, verse 15, Is the axe to boast itself over the one who chops with it? Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it? And so on. In other words God says, “You’re arrogance, you’re just like that axe. It’s nothing. It accomplishes and does nothing until someone picks it up and starts to chop. You’re just the axe in My hand. You’re nothing. It’s my wielding the axe that’s doing it. Or the saw. Does the saw cut down a tree? Take it out there and set it next to the tree. It does nothing till someone picks up the saw and does it.” He goes on. “A club. A club does nothing till . . . .” In other words you see what God says. “You’re nothing but an instrument in my hand, and I’m using you, and you will be successful until I’m done using you. But after I’m done using you to punish my people, then I’m going to bring devastating judgment on you because you didn’t give me the credit. You didn’t honor me. You treated me like I was one of the gods of the other nations that you had overrun and so I will judge you.” The point of this is you see the power, you study history. You read about the Assyrians and their power and their nation. I remember just one volume on the Assyrians that I have, and it’s about yea thick. I don’t know how many pages it is. A mighty empire. You know what. It was God’s power. You read all the cruelties and all the things they did; it was God using them and their vileness and their wickedness because even that was used of God to punish Israel, but now it’s time to punish Assyria.

Come over to Jeremiah. Isaiah, Jeremiah. So just after. We move from Assyria to Babylon. And again one hundred and fifty years let’s say from Isaiah to Jeremiah. Jeremiah 25. Assyria has come and gone. Now Babylon is on the scene. Assyria carried away the northern ten tribes. The southern tribes didn’t learn their lesson so you know what happens? God raises up another nation, and they defeat the Assyrians and carry the southern kingdom into captivity. We have the Babylonians. So Jeremiah chapter 25 verse 9. What does He say? “Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,” declares the Lord, “and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, . . . .” Nebuchadnezzar is a godless man. Remember what he did to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when they wouldn’t fall down and worship his image? He threw them into the fiery furnace. He’s not a nice man. Remember what happened to the last king of Israel when Nebuchadnezzar got frustrated with his rebellion? He carried him, his family, and all of his advisors out to the place of judgment, and then he had all of his family executed before his eyes. Then they had him jab spears in the king’s eyes so he wouldn’t see anymore. So the last thing he could see was the slaughter of his family. Not a nice man. What does God say? He’s My servant. “I will send for Nebuchadnezzar.” Nebuchadnezzar’s thinking seems now it’s time to move. You know why it’s time to move? God says, “Come here.” [I] “Will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about; and I will utterly destroy them and make them a horror and a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. Moreover I will take from them voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones . . . .” God says, “I will bring this devastation. There will be no more wedding celebrations in this land, no more causes of joy. “This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon . . .” till his power weakens. Nope. God says he’s going to do it for seventy years. Why? Because after seventy years I’ll be done with him. I’ll be ready to judge Babylon. How do you know Babylon’s not going to remain powerful for a hundred and twenty years? Because God who controls it all said so. “’Then it will be when,’” verse 12, “’seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the Lord, ‘for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans,’” that what the land of the Babylonians, “’and I will make it an everlasting desolation.’” You see God raises up nations. We said, “well it was military power, and we can read how Assyria[HG4] assembled its power, how it began and built its power and got to that stage.” It is all in what? God’s hand. We tend to look at it and say, “Well it is just part of the natural process of nations, and it is, but behind that is the control of the God who rules over all.

Come to chapter 27 of Jeremiah. Now note this. Remember we have made note of this kind of comment before. Verse 5, “I have made the earth, the men and the beasts which are on the face of the earth by My great power and by My outstretched arm . . . .” You believe God is the sovereign creator. You do as a believer. Then note what He says. “. . .I will give it to the one who is pleasing in My sight,” the one who will fulfill My purposes, even godless men. I don’t know of any Assyrian[HG5] leader who became a believer in the God of Israel, I mean in that sense, not those who played the key role. But I’ll give it to the one pleasing in My sight. He’s sovereign. “These are nations! You just don’t decide to give it to this nation!” God does because He has a plan, and this is how His plan is carried out. “Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” even the animals, “. . .All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson until the time of his own land comes . . . .” Remember nations ripen for judgment until the time of his land comes. “Then many nations and great kings will make him their servant.” Then God talks about the judgment on those who won’t submit to Babylon. One of the things Jeremiah does is warn Israel from God. “Don’t resist Babylon. If you do you’re resisting me; you’ll pay a terrible punishment.” They didn’t’ listen to God. So you see God is sovereign. And even the Jews thought, “That can’t be God’s will for Babylon to rule over us.” It is, and you submit. It’s where we need to be careful and looking and say, “Well we decided these aren’t the kind of people we want leading our country or these are the people we want leading.” We can rest confidently. God is in control, and we better submit to God’s revelation, we’re denying His sovereignty. What does God think when His people are running down here saying, “Oh, what are we going to do? This has happened and this.” And He’s given us in black and white. “Didn’t I tell you who put them in authority? And you’re ringing your hands over the voting process, ‘and now what’s going to happen? Our people didn’t get in or what—‘ You understand it’s in My hands?” What do we have if we as God’s people don’t believe in a sovereign God? We have a world that’s out of control. You know we have a world that is out of control. Do we have a God who is worthy of worship?

Come to Jeremiah 51. (It takes you people a long time to listen. It can’t be my speaking that is taking this time.) We’re going to be talking sovereignty in the next study as well. Let’s see. We’ll pick up here, verse 11. Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers! Jeremiah 51:11. The Lord has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, you know what the next empire coming after Babylon is—Medo-Persia. It was an amalgamation of the Medes and the Persians. The Persians will become the dominate helm in that merger, but here he’s talking about how the Lord has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes. Who turns the heart of the king? God. So He’s raised them up because His purpose is against Babylon to destroy it; For it is the vengeance of the Lord, vengeance for His temple. He’s talking about the final, continued rebellions in the third deportation under the Babylonians. They went in and destroyed the temple. They showed no respect to the God of Israel. God raised them up to judge, but they should have done it in humility, recognizing we are instruments God is using to punish His people, and we must show Him honor and respect. They showed Him no honor and respect. So now Lift up a signal against the walls of Babylon; Post a strong guard, Station sentries, all this, but you can’t prevent God’s plan. And verse 15, It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom, And by His understanding He stretched out the heavens. You see we’re back to “How can God have such power and authority. Who says, ‘He created it all’? That gives Him total control, total sovereignty.” I have to say I like the first statement in verse 17. It is one of those clearly marked in my Bible. All mankind is stupid, devoid of knowledge . . . . Here is God’s evaluation. All mankind is stupid. “Oh we have some really intelligent people.” God says, “They are stupid if they don’t know Me. They don’t understand things in light of who I am and the revelation I’ve given regarding My action. They’re stupid. They’re devoid of knowledge.” So we shouldn’t be frustrated that we have believers who make the kind of decisions that we think, “Huh they ought to know better.” They are stupid! Now I want to be careful. I want to treat them with respect. We’re talking here in the context of understanding that God is the creator, and He’s the one who rules over everything. (We’ll talk more about this in our next study.) Men don’t realize that. That leads into the realm of stupidity or, Romans 1, they’re empty in their reasonings. They’re not able to sort things out, to understand. Come down to verse 28. “Consecrate the nations against her, The kings of the Medes, Their governors and all their prefects, And every land of their dominion. So the land quakes and writhes,” and on it goes for their destruction. Verse 33, For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor At the time it is stamped firm; Yet in a little while the time of harvest will come for her.” Babylon was ripening for judgment, and it was very close to the harvest of judgment.

One other passage. Isaiah. Come back to Isaiah 44. We have to come to this one, and then we’ll break and pick up. Isaiah 44:24. Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, Isaiah 44:24, and the one who formed you from the womb, “I, the Lord, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself And spreading out . . . .” You know we keep coming back. We say, “Oh I believe the Lord created them,” like we’re frustrated and don’t understand what’s going. He’s sovereign. “Causing the omens of boasters to fail, Making fools out of diviners, Causing wise men to draw back And turning their knowledge into foolishness . . . .” He confirms the word of His messengers that He has given. Then we have to come down to verse 28. “It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire.’ And he declares of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’ And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’” Well wait a minute! Isaiah is writing this. It’s going to be three hundred years before Cyrus comes on the scene, but God not only says he’s going to be a king, He tells us what his name is going to be. What if they didn’t like that name? In three hundred years a lot changes. Maybe you’ll name him Phibeus. You can’t. He will be Cyrus. And you note: “’He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire.’” Look at chapter 45. Thus says the Lord to Cyrus His anointed, Whom I have taken by the right hand . . . . This is somebody, oh, He really is close with. No, he’s somebody who is going to accomplish God’s purposes of instruct, and we saw in Ezra 1:1 going back, the power to rebuild, and so on[HG6]. He is going to subdue nations and all of this. You come down to verse 4. “For the sake of Jacob My servant, and Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name;” He called him Cyrus, “I have given you a title of honor,” he’s going to be His shepherd, be the king. Underline the last statement: “Though you have not known Me.” Cyrus will live and die without coming to truly know the living God, but he is God’s shepherd. He is God’s servant. He’s the Lord’s anointed. God is taking him by the right hand. In everything he’s doing God is leading him. Now just like you take past a little one in the hall walking along with the father, you know just by the hand, step by step, that’s what God says. “I have you by the right hand.” You see the sovereignty of our God? How secure we are. That doesn’t mean things won’t come, we’ll talk about this next hour, that are unpleasant and difficult, but nothing is out of control, and we rest secure in the God who is our Savior.

Let’s pray together. Thank you Lord for the revelation You have given of Your power, Your person. Lord we understand the world does not know You. They are stupid. They are devoid of knowledge, but You have blessed us with Your salvation. We are surely without excuse to not recognize Your sovereignty, bow before that sovereignty, and accept the decisions of Your sovereignty in every area of our lives. May that be true of us as we serve You day by day. We pray in Christ’s name, amen.
[HG1]I’m not sure what Gil means.
[HG2]I know this doesn’t really make sense, but I’m not sure what Gil is trying to say here.
[HG3]I’m pretty sure Gil is saying “Love the Lord” even though it doesn’t make sense in this sentence.
[HG4]Gil says Assyria, but the passage is talking about Babylon.
[HG5]Gil says Assyria, but the passage is talking about Babylon.
[HG6]I am not sure what Gil means here or if he means “instruction” or “destruction”.