The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
Psalm 2:4-6 NIV
the Lord scoffs at them.
He rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
“I have installed my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”
This second Psalm is messianic. But it does more than look forward to the coming of Jesus. It starts with the people of this world banding together against God and his anointed one. They rebel against God’s authority, wanting to live apart from his rule. And it ends with a warning to those who are in rebellion. A warning to be wise and serve the Lord. Failure to do so will lead to destruction.
God Laughs at Human Rebellion
But this middle score of the psalm is what I find most interesting. The psalm started with people shaking their fists at God in rebellion against him. And here it turns to God’s reaction. The one who sits enthroned in heaven laughs at those who think that by their own ability, they can overthrow God’s rule.
But God is not laughing because he finds our rebellion amusing. It is dismissive laughter. As the parallel expression in this verse says, he is scoffing at those rebelling. We are not nearly as powerful, intelligent, and capable as we think we are.
God has a plan for his creation that he is working out. And nothing we can do will interfere with it. He has installed his king (Jesus) in Zion (the Kingdom of God). And we can either serve him and prosper or rebel and face destruction. The choice is ours. But regardless of the choice we make, God is still sovereign. And rebellion on our part is foolish.
