Tuesday – Joyful Fruition
Sometimes pain proceeds joy. When we think about our salvation we have this experience: first we must repent of the sin and evil in us, then we have the joy and relief of comprehending so great a salvation given us in Jesus. For our growth in discipleship, we must see how much we need to grow. That gap between where we are and where we will one day be is the place where lament meets joy. Joy is not simply happiness or contentment, it is something more powerful and transformative. It is a piece of heaven that meets us in the struggle and despair.
Psalm 98 portrays what joy should be to Israel who longs to be redeemed even though they are in Exile. God the Father is clear why they are in Exile saying in Jeremiah 2:13 that: “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” Israel was under the thumb of the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and now the Romans at the appearing of Christ. The people of Israel knew that their God promised to come to them, dwell with them and set the world right. He would bring back the righteous judgment of a good king, such as David. But at this point they were in the midst of the pain.
God interrupts this pain with His promise of lasting joy. Psalm 98 gives them something to look forward to, and combines the ideas from Isaiah and Jeremiah along with the other prophets to bring the joy of the future into the present. “He has remembered his people”, the psalm says. Can you imagine what it is like to hear this when it seems evil and ungodliness triumph? It would instantly bring joy! The present experience of pain, suffering, and oppression are not the true reality. God is sending his anointed King, like David, who will bring Justice to the nations and exalt Israel, his righteous servant.
We, the church in 2019, get to know how this story is brought to joyful fruition. Two thousand years ago, the anointed king was born in the city of David. He came to judge the world. However, the surprise was that this King would personify Israel. He would become the true servant Israel was always called to be; fully obedient and committed to his Father. And though he was without sin, he became cursed, so that God would judge sin and death once and for all. The Cross was the judgment against sin and death. The Resurrection, then, was the exaltation of Israel, which now includes Jews and Gentiles by faith in King Jesus. So in Jesus, we have both the judgment of God and the exaltation of humanity.
We, as Christians, live on the fulfillment-of-joy side of history. No matter how dark and sinister the world, the flesh, and the devil are “The Lord is come”! The world will end in joy and delight. Every tear- wiped away. Every pain- healed. Every death- resurrected. Let us with joy know the future is all of King Jesus making it right until his kingdom comes on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Blessings, Jerry
Enjoy this song of God’s triumph that Psalm 98 echoes from Isaiah 52:10