The Nations

When Jesus refers to the "nations" in the bible, he is clear in stating that he wants his Word to be sent out to all the nations. But when he says "nations" he doesn't simply mean a country, city, or state, he uses the Greek word ethne to refer to people groups based on ethnicity, language, or extended family that make up the earth.

In the Psalms, the concept of nations come up on several occasions to make reference to different groups of people. For example, in Psalm 2, David begins his Psalm by questioning why the nations conspire and plot against God. He points out the ills of man, among the various groups of people, whose kings gather against God. Then he speaks of God's wrath against such people explaining how God will rebuke and terrify those people with His wrath.

In Psalm 9, David speaks of God's wrath on the nations again, describing how he rebukes the nations when they plot against Him, sending them into the "pit they have dug" and getting their "feet caught in the net they have hidden." He ends the Psalm by pointing out that those who forget God will find death, and those who forget that they are mere men will be stricken with terror.

There are several other passages in the Psalms that speak of the nations as well, but it can be seen that a commonality in many of them is the fact that the nations always discredit God, though he is stronger than them and able to crush them with his wrath. Groups of people always find ways to discredit God for who he is, though he has almighty power over them.