The covenant established with Abraham included, in part, a promise concerning the blessings extended to all families of the earth. We saw that the benediction of the nations would come through the One seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ, who would fulfill all covenantal stipulations and become the true inheritor of God’s promised blessings only to go to a cross to bear the curse for the sins of His people upon Himself and distribute those blessings of salvation to those who have faith in Him. This was expressed with the same faith that Abraham had in God that now indwells those from every tribe, tongue, people and nation. Thus far, we’ve only explored the fact that they would be blessed and at the time of the writing of the New Testament, they were still in bondage to sin, death and Satan with only a minimal number of Gentiles receiving blessings. But what we didn’t explore thus far is how the families would react to receiving those blessings. How are individual believers (and in return the nations) to respond to God’s work and being freed by His grace? One of the primary results of this sudden change in fortunes for the Gentiles is that they will have a desire to worship God. The promise under the Old Testament is that there would come a time where their hearts would burst forth in praises to Him.
All Families will come worship Yahweh
One of the results of the families or nations of the earth receiving these promised blessings is that they might experience the privilege of worshipping the true and living God. As we saw in previous segments, the nations surrounding Israel were immersed in worshipping false gods such as the Canaanite gods Baal, Asheroth and the Mesopotamian god Dagon, and in return, they were even attempting to lead the Israelites away from the worship of the true and living God or in persuading them to mingle the worship one with the other. According to the scriptures, the nations with their own local deities were largely ignorant of the prescribed blessing that came through this adoration.
While the Israelites received guidelines for worship through the law, which were primarily addressed to them, the Psalms also reference a time when other nations would participate in worshipping Yahweh. The language employed conveys that, as evidenced in the Old Testament, all nations are expected to participate in the experience of reverence toward Him, rather than just a select few. The Psalmists looked ahead to a vast worship of Yahweh, not only from Israelites but to the extent that it would cover the earth. The expectation for the nations is laid out in a future multi-national worship of God. It could be said that:
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the nations will worship before You.
For the kingdom is the Lord’s
And He rules over the nations. (Psalm 22:27-28)
We should pause for a moment and pay close attention to the similar wording to the Abrahamic covenant in reference to the blessing of all the families of the earth. We are told in this Psalm that these families will turn to Yahweh and worship Him. Turning to God means that they would turn away from their idols and turn towards Yahweh. Because God rules over the nations, in His sovereignty, He would bring this about. This Psalm is also quoted in the New Testament to predict the suffering of the Son of God on the cross.
| My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. (Psalm 22:1) | About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46) |
| They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots. (Psalm 22:18) | So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be”; this was to fulfill the Scripture: “They divided My outer garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.” (John 19:24) |
Because of the faithfulness of the Son of God to bear the cross, Jesus would receive a crown. Truly, Yahweh would rule over the nations through His anointed. Following His suffering, death, and resurrection, the initial emergence of global worship and the turning of nations to the Lord was anticipated, with the expectation that this movement would continue to grow on a larger scale. The Psalm is not speaking of a few people within a pagan nation, but of an extraordinary number of worshippers who would come corporately, as families, to worship Him. Everywhere on earth, the families of the nations will worship Him! But what we also notice from this text is that this worship comes through a Kingdom and One who rules. As discussed below, a ruler will establish a kingdom that initiates this adoration from all corners of the earth to turn toward God and engage in worship.
Another text that speaks to the worship of Yahweh by the nations is found in Psalm 86.
All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
And they shall glorify Your name.
For You are great and do wondrous deeds;
You alone are God. (Psalm 86:9-10)
The Psalmist, after issuing his lamentations to the Lord, proceeds in an incredible burst of reverence towards His God. It begins in v. 8, where he states: There is no one like You among the gods, O Lord, Nor are there any works like Yours. He compares Yahweh to the gods of the nations yet stressed the absolute supremacy and uniqueness of Yahweh over them. His greatness is so much more glorious than these pagan gods, to the extent that one day all the nations, those whom He had created, will recognize His superiority and turn to Him. They will come and desire to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and to glorify His holy Name. Once again, we have a reference to Abraham’s covenantal promises in Genesis 12:3 and in 18:18.
New Testament Fulfillment
The process of fulfilling this promise began with the formation of the church. This worship was not focused so much upon the Levitical & Aaronic Priesthood, repetitious animal sacrifices and the temple in Jerusalem, but was transformed into its fullest intent. This New Covenant renovation saw Jesus becoming the Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:4), to the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:17) who offered up a sacrifice once and for all for sin (Hebrews 7:25-27) and securing an eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:11-12). The Jew and Gentile became priests-kings to this same order of Melchizedek (1 Peter 2:9) to offer up the sacrifice of themselves as an acceptable form of worship (Romans 12:1; 1 Peter 2:5). As the prophet Malachi foresaw: For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 1:11) This offering of proper incense would be fulfilled in the Saint’s presenting their prayers to God (Revelation 5:8; 8:3-4). Not only would the Gentiles become priests and offer up sacrifices to Yahweh, but they would become the temple itself (1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16). Worship would no longer be limited to the walls of the Jerusalem temple, but the Spirit of God that indwelled that temple would move within believers who would in return take Him into the nations.
While this temple saw its initial construction in the pages of the New Testament, it is not complete. Not every stone has been added, and it is continuing to grow into a great temple of the Lord (Ephesians 2:20-22). Today, while there are worshippers within every nation, not all the nations and families of the earth are worshipping God, and, in return, we look ahead to the fulfillment of this promise that had begun in the 1st century in the future and before the 2nd coming of Jesus.
Kings Will Come to Worship Yahweh
The subsequent extension of this blessing to the nations, particularly in relation to the global worship of Yahweh, is articulated in a later promise to Abraham, wherein it is stated that kings would be among his descendants. While this is speaking largely of his royal progeny, we see that there is a sense in which it applies to God’s worshippers as well. In Psalm 72:8-11,17 we read:
May he also rule from sea to sea
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
Let the nomads of the desert bow before him,
And his enemies lick the dust.
Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents;
The kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
And let all kings bow down before him,
All nations serve him.
May his name endure forever;
May his name increase as long as the sun shines;
And let men bless themselves by him;
Let all nations call him blessed.
The Psalmist continues to drive the point home that there is coming a day when the expansion of the worship of Yahweh’s king will extend throughout all the earth. This section of the 72nd Psalm is a prayer for that very dominion. This is speaking of a universal dominion on the earth at a time when rulers of men still roam the earth. We certainly could apply this today to heads of states and rulers over national entities. Their kingdoms will bow to the ultimate kingdom and the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Psalmist’s prayer is reminiscent to the Lord’s prayer when Christians pray that “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.
Notice however that this time the Psalmist is not focusing so much on the families but on kings and their nations. This extends beyond merely describing a group of individuals within a nation; it suggests that both leaders and their nations bow the knee to God. The extension of His reign would result in the conquering of the enemies of God, to the degree where even kings who would bow down before Him and lick the dust. These kings who would honour Him by bringing Him gifts of praises to Him and serve Him willingly. These are promises of the blessing and worship of Yahweh on a national front.
Notice in v.17 that the desire of the Psalmist was that His name increase as long as the sun shines. He is expressing a desire to see the Messiah’s reign expand continuously so long as the world is in its existence and this could also be defined as prior to the 2nd coming of Jesus. At the end of this verse, the Psalmist repeats the Abrahamic promise that the nations will be blessed through Him. The nations that call Him blessed will in return worship Him and serve Him mightily, to the point where they will even give up their lives on behalf of this blessing.
While there are many worshippers of God through Jesus Christ today, we are still awaiting the day when all kings and their respective nations will worship the true and living God. We await the time when He rules everywhere, and God’s temple is recognized globally as the true place of worship. In our next segment, we will examine the blessing of all the nations through the embracing of God’s law, justice and righteousness.
The Moncton Herald 