You Have Heard It Said #8: "Blessed is the nation…"
You have heard it said, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord!” As a general rule this verse, Psalm 33:12, is evoked when someone is decrying the deeds (or misdeeds) of politicians and governments as a reprimand and reminder that only that nation over whom God is the Lord will be blessed. I cannot count the times I have heard this preached and taught referencing the evil policies of lawmakers and how they are squandering the so-called “Christian” heritage of the United States. It is usually followed by a call to repentance and crying out to God to restore our “Christian” identity as a nation. Now, it is well beyond my purpose here to discuss the futility of that effort, but I would strongly advocate a reading of Greg Boyd’s “Myth of a Christian Nation. In my opinion, noone has said it better.
For my purpose here I merely want to focus on the rest of the verse – the part that seldom gets quoted. It reads, “…The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.” We see then that the nation who is blessed is that nation made up of His inheritance. This, beloved, is a spiritual nation. This is the Body of Christ. Not some geo-political entity, but the inheritance of God! According to Peter, we are His inheritance – not the USA or any other nation. Indeed, Peter calls us a “holy nation”: a Nation set apart from the nations and kingdoms of this world. A nation composed of those who are found in Christ, the new Adam – a new humanity, created after the order of resurrection. This nation – the nation of the redeemed of the Lord – is blessed!
It is my conviction that if the true nation of God would quite trying to change the nations of the earth but rather focus on being His inheritance, the glory of Christ would be seen in the earth. Jesus said His kingdom is not of this world, and He did not come to the earth to demolish human governments. He came to reveal His rule and authority over the kingdom of darkness and to destroy the works of the evil one. Now, we are the vessels of His glory – the ambassadors of His kingdom. Let us not get caught up in trying to fix that which God has already determined to destroy and recreate. Rather, let the people of God arise as His blessed nation – a nation of light, peace, love, freedom from sin, deliverance from bondage and authority over Satan.
Indeed, blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord – the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance!