”Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.
Psalm 33:12New International Version (NIV)
Psalm 33:12 Devotional
The blessed nation
Psalm 33:12 answers the question: Which is “the Blessed nation?” And the verse says that it is the nation whose God is the Lord.
Therefore, the blessed nation is Israel. And the context of the Old Testament and this Psalm, in particular, shows that the nation that was addressed in the same was Israel.
Initially, God elected the Jews (Israelites) to be his heritage, whom He preserved as such for thousands of years. Thereafter, He has elected the Gentiles including you and me through Jesus Christ due to the Jews’ unbelief and rebellion.
The unbelief and rebellion of the Israelites
Therefore, the unbelief and rebellion of the Israelites created a way for the Gentiles to be included in God’s family. Paul actually staringly reveals that God hardened the hearts of the Israelites in their initial unbelief (Romans 11:7-10). And their unbelief was to make room for the non-Israelites to go to God through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 11:11-16).
The people of God
Nevertheless, the blessed nation is the people of God, the body of Christ, and those of all ages who are being redeemed from the wrath of God by His Messiah’s blood. They are the ones who will rule and reign with Him in the New Heavens and New Earth for eternity (Revelation 21-22). And they are the ones of whom the apostle Peter wrote the following in 1 Peter 2:9-11:
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.
The saints of God
Consequently, those that God has chosen as His inheritance are also known as the saints of God. Meaning that the people of God are now composed of individuals from many nations.
Not any nation defined by geographical boundaries can claim this verse. No nation today is composed wholly of the people of God. Therefore, there is no way to confer or receive the blessing of this verse on a national scale.
Nevertheless, the blessing of this verse applies to you. This is because the focus of God’s blessings today applies to the people of God, those who He has called to Himself (Romans 8).
Prayer/Blessing
Thank you, God, for I am blessed in You.
Daily Bible Reading
John 17-18 (see How to Read the Bible in One Year or How to Read the Bible (for Beginners))
