1:Sit at My Right Hand Until I make your enemies a footstool: 1st(En)
“1 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.”
📖Psalm 110:1 KJV
🟢Today I would like to look deeper into the background of two important words from the above Psalm passage from the Old Testament Bible. Since they are so important, I’d like to take the time to share them with you with the first part and the second part in two weeks.
This Psalm 110 is a prophetic psalm of Christ written by King David, and "The Lord said unto my Lord" means "God the Father says to my Lord Jesus Christ. (See also Matthew 22:43-44).
The two words I want to address here are
1: "Sit at my right hand," and
2: "Until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet(NIV)”.
Although the word order is reversed in Japanese, we will follow the above order because the order is like that in English, in the original Hebrew, and in the Greek of the same expression that appears many times in the New Testament.
🟢1: "Sit at my right hand”
In our past tract messages, We have mentioned several times that "sat down" indicates that Jesus "completed his mission," but in this Old Testament passage from the Psalm, it is an expression of what is yet to come. The word "right" is also rendered "right hand," which is an allusion to the original meaning of "regent," a title that expresses authority.
This can be understood by looking at Joseph's position in Egypt in the book of Genesis.
“40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. 41 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.”
📖Genesis 41:40-41 KJV
In Japanese, the word is translated as "Tsukasa- magistrate,(in KJV “set thee over all the land”)" and can be thought of as a prime minister or ambassador plenipotentiary. Joseph's position is an foreshadow of Jesus his authority who is to come.
“24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted which did put all things under him. 28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.”
📖1 Corinthians 15:24-28 KJV
It is Jesus' authority to be entrusted with the full authority of God the Father until the appointed time, when God the Father will be all, everything. That is the meaning of "Sit at my right hand”.
“19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.”
📖Mark 16:19 KJV
After the moment at above passage that Jesus ascended to heaven after His death and resurrection on the cross, then the word became the past tense, "He sat”. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit by his returning to heaven, and by which completed His salvation work, and He is now at heaven in His position of authority as the Father's all-powerful ambassador plenipotentiary.
🟢2: “Until I make thine enemies thy footstool”
“12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.”
📖Hebrews 10:12-13 KJV
When Jesus accomplished his salvation and resurrection and returned to heaven, he sat at the right hand of God. Now Jesus is already seated at the right hand as God's all-powerful "ruler/regent/minister" but the "making of all things all enemies a footstool for him" has not yet been completed and he is waiting.
Whose and what thing Jesus waiting for? Jesus has already triumphed over sins and evils by accomplishing salvation and resurrection. Next, he is expecting and waiting for us believers, the church, to “reign in life”.
“17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)”
📖Romans 5:17 KJV
Let us look at this phrase "reign in life". This can be helpful to understand by looking at the actions of Joshua in the Old Testament.
“24 And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them. 25 And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.”
📖Joshua 10:24-25 KJV
During the conquest of Canaan, Joshua captured the kings of the Canaanites and told Israelites men to put their feet on the kings' necks "because the Lord shall do like so”. It seems a cruel scene, but if we focus on Jesus, we can say that Joshua, as a foreshadow of Christ, symbolically represents what Christ will do in the future, as a prophetic act, as Jesus who is to come will "make his enemies a footstool".
In this age, after a victory, the victorious king "demonstrates his triumph”. By the act of putting his foot on enemy’s neck, he demonstrates his dominance over his enemies. In other words, he "exercises authority/rule".
In Joshua's case, he told the Israelites to exercise their dominion. In the case of Jesus, his triumphant authority and dominion should be exercised through his body, the Church = the Israelites of the New Covenant = us. The triumph is "the life Christ gives wins over the dominion of death”
🟢This was promised from the beginning of the Old Testament.
“5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.”
📖Exodus 19:5-6 KJV
This is a promise that all Israelites will be a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation”. It was not God's original plan that only Aaron and the tribe of Levi would hold the priestly works, like the time after the Law. This promise was rejected by the disobedience of the Israelites and the tribe of Levi was appointed, but God fulfills this original promise through Jesus.
“6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. 7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, 8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. 9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”
📖1 Peter 2:6-10 KJV
What Peter referred in verse 9 is that you are the “Royal Priesthood” (in Japanese, “Kingdom of priests”). Through the salvation and victory of Jesus Christ, He has assumed the position of supreme authority. By this the promises from the Old Testament was fulfilled, and we too are priests exercising that royal priesthood.
And Jesus Himself intercedes in heaven = mediating and bridging for us, and in this grace, we believers are expected to rejoice in God's work of bringing us out of darkness into light, and to live lives that powerfully dominate sins, evils and fear which has already defeated, and demonstrate the triumph over them.
“34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”
📖Romans 8:34 KJV
(To be continued in Part 2)
(From the tract distributed on Aug 28th, 2021)
(Source: a book by Dr. Abel Damina “Life before the cross and Life after the cross”)
