Nahum
September 25, 2009
Wisdom, again is shouting! Are you listening? I beg you… don’t insist on learning from personal experience; instead, learn the lessons history has already taught. I’m talking about humility. Above everything, surrender and put your trust in God. There are many hard heads out there… I know…I was one of them. I forget who said this, but it speaks truth: “God whispers to us through our joys, He speaks through our circumstances, and screams at us through our suffering and trials.” The book of Job says that God uses adversity…
“To get our attention and commands us to turn from evil.” Job 36:10
Again, the theme for the book of Nahum is prophecy of the coming judgment and destruction of Assyria. This is an example to all rulers and nations of the world today. God is sovereign over even those who think they’re invincible. The major source of wealth for the Assyrian Economy was the plunder taken from other nations. The Assyrians had taken the food of innocent people to maintain their luxurious lifestyles, while depriving others. Depriving innocent people to support the luxury of a few is a sin that you can bet makes God very angry. As followers of Jesus, we must stand firm against this common but evil practice.
Assyria was beautiful and impressive on the outside, but extremely vicious and deceitful on the inside. Beneath attractive facades sometimes lie seduction and death. Power… Let’s talk about power; Assyria was powerful, wealthy, and prestigious…
“There is no healing for your wound; your injury is fatal.
All who hear of your destruction will clap their hands for joy.
Where can anyone be found who has not suffered from your continual cruelty?” Nahum 3: 19
If some of us look deep down… we really desire power, wealth, fortune and fame. Power is seductive, and those who lust after it will be powerfully destroyed, as was the mighty Assyrian Empire. Don’t let an institution, company, movement, or person seduce you into lowering your standards or compromising your moral principles.
*** Yeah – this is a history lesson, but let’s learn from history! God IS love, but He’s also a warrior.
My friend Epiphany found the quote I was trying to remember. It’s by C.S. Lewis…
“‘We can rest contentedly in our sins and in our stupidities. But pain insists upon being attended to.
God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is His
megaphone to rouse a deaf world. A bad man, happy, is a man without the least inkling that his
actions do not “answer,” that they are not in accord with the laws of the universe.’
C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain”
Thanks Epiphany!
Nahum – God Judges…
September 23, 2009
In a “Good Morning” email devotion I get every day, we were challenged to read the book of Nahum – it’s only 3 chapters…but such powerful chapters! Here’s a brief recap: The prophet Nahum lived about a hundred years after Jonah. Remember Jonah? He was a prophet to the wicked nation of Assyria. Jonah preached in the streets of the great city of Ninevah; the people had heard God’s message and turned from their evil. Generations later, evil reigned again and Nahum pronounced judgment on this wicked nation. Nahum predicted that this proud (here’s that “P” word again, and we all know how God deals with it) and powerful nation would be utterly destroyed because of their wickedness. The end came within 50 years.
I was particularly struck to post about this book because of what I read in the very beginning. The Bible tells me that this is a message concerning Ninevah, which came as a vision to Nahum…
“The Lord is a jealous God, filled with vengeance and wrath.
He takes revenge on all who oppose Him and continues to rage against His enemies!
The Lord is slow to get angry, but His power is great, and He never lets the guilty go unpunished.
He displays His power in the whirlwind and the Storm. The billowing clouds are the dust beneath His feet.” Nahum 1: 1-3
That paints a pretty picture… I’m kidding … Very Scary! When the subject of God being a warrior comes up, some people just plain out refuse to acknowledge this. They tend to disregard the Old Testament, and I say to that…“Hello! The entire Bible is relevant!” 2 Timothy 3: 16 tells us that
“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.
So with that said (or written) let’s get back to Nahum. Looking at verse 1, the words “jealousy” and “vengeance” are tough words, especially tough words to associate with God. I think of when us humans are jealous or vengeful; we usually feel that way from having a spirit of pride or selfishness. But it’s so appropriate for God to demand or insist on our complete allegiance. We can’t have one foot in the world and the other in the church; it’s all or nothing. Just because God is God is a good enough reason for Him to be just and punish unrepentant evildoers. His jealousy and vengeance are completely unmixed with selfishness. Which brings me to another thought…
It’s the age-old question…Why do bad things happen to good people? How comes it seems that some people get away with murder, while innocent people suffer? Why doesn’t God punish evil immediately?
If He did, nobody would be here. Think about that. Another thing… Often people avoid God because they see hypocrites in the church. Verse 3 says, “God is slow to anger…” and I’m convinced He’s giving His true followers time to share His love with evildoers. But judgment will come; God won’t allow sin to go unchecked forever. We can all be thankful that God gives people time to turn to Him. It only took me 33 years! How about you?
