Psalm 2:8
“Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” Psalm 2:8
This is God the Father’s royal decree concerning his Son which began in the previous verse. From the last verse we learned that this decree was to be carried into effect upon Christ’s resurrection. The Father tells Christ to make his request and he would be given the Gentiles for his own inheritance or heritage. He would be given the ends of the world as his own possession.
There are many Old Testament prophecies that refer to the expansion of God’s kingdom and people to include, not merely Israel, but all families and nations of the world. In Genesis 22:18 God told Abraham, “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed…” In Galatians 3:16 Paul makes clear, that promise was not, “to seeds, as of many (plural seeds); but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.” Through Christ (which came through Abraham’s line) would all nations and families of the earth be blessed (Gen. 12:3).
In Genesis 49:19 Jacob prophesied that when the Messiah (the Shiloh) would come, “unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” In Daniel 2, king Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of a great image made up of different materials, and in his dream a stone, cut out without hands, smote the image and shattered it into pieces (vs34). Then the stone became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth (vs35). That stone was Christ and the kingdom of God that would fill the whole earth. In Daniel 7:13-14 Daniel saw a vision of the Son of man (Jesus Christ) being brought before the Ancient of Days (The Father). “And there was given him dominion, and glory and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him:”
Psalm 22 is the psalm of the cross. It walks us through the passion of Christ prophetically. In verse 26-28 David prophesies of Christ’s resurrection and the universal dominion that would be given him. He says, “your heart shall live forever. All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the LORD’S: and he is the governor among the nations.” Isaiah 53 is also about Christ’s crucifixion. It speaks of his suffering and death in vs8, his burial in vs9, and his resurrection in vs10. It says that the Father, as a result, will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death (vs12). That portion is the portion of Psalm 2:8. The Gentiles will be given to him as his own portion. That is the portion that he shed his blood to secure.
In Psalm 72 David prophecies that Christ, “shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth” (vs7). “All kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him” (vs11). “His name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed” (vs17). He closes by praying, “let the whole earth be filled with his glory” (vs19).
We could doubtless look at many other O.T. passages that make reference to the expansion of God’s Kingdom and rule across the world. The O.T. is filled with expectation for a time when all nations will be brought under the banner of Jehovah. The prophesies also make clear that this expansion will happen through the Messiah and as a result of his sufferings. In our next devotion I hope to show that this dominion was given to Christ upon His resurrection and is expanding even today. Christ’s Second Coming will not be the beginning of it but the completion of it.