“What do you know about Nahum?”
“Not
anything really. Who is Ho-hum?”
“Nahum, you idiot. Not Ho-hum.”
“Another
one of your Old Testament prophets? Tell me, where do they get these names?”
“Never mind that. I want to tell
you a little about Nahum. He lived and prophesied about 600 years before Jesus.
The world was a very different place then. The northern kingdom of Israel was
gone – destroyed and absorbed by the Assyrian Empire and their capital city,
Nineveh. The southern kingdom of Judah – where Jerusalem was – still had a
king, but things weren’t going real well there either. Just read Jeremiah
sometime. There’s a reason he was called the weeping prophet, you know.”
“Well,
what does Nahum have to do with that?”
“God gave Nahum a prophetic word
about Nineveh.”
“Nineveh…
That sounds familiar. Where have I heard that before? Oh… I remember. That’s
where Jonah went. I do remember Jonah. You know… the big fish and all that.”
“That’s right. Jonah was a prophet
of Israel who had been called by God to go and preach to Nineveh. He didn’t
want to go and tried to get out of it, but he finally ended up there and
preached the message of warning and repentance that God gave him. And – I think
you will remember – all the people of Nineveh repented. They were sorry for
their evil ways and turned to the one true God.”
“So,
is Nahum doing the same thing… all over again?”
“No, not this time. Now, about
150-200 years later, God’s message to Nineveh is totally different. It’s a
message of justice and judgment. Because they had destroyed Israel… because of their
legendary and unending cruelty… because of their pride and their belief they
were invincible… and because of their idolatry… God finally plans to bring
destruction upon Nineveh. It is always wise to be on God’s side, rather than to
set yourself up against Him. And that’s what Nineveh did.”
“Well,
I want to be God’s friend. I know I don’t want to be His enemy, that’s
for sure.”
“That’s good, because God’s
vengeance and just judgment is a terrible thing to face. The Bible says He is
slow to anger. God does not revenge hastily. Assyria had been prominent in the
region for 600 years, with at least 300 of them in supremacy. Jonah’s time is
now long past. It is good for us to learn from history, because God is the Lord
of history. Unlike Jonah, Nahum preached to the people of Judah. He wanted them
to know that God would always act justly in the affairs of the world. The
affairs of the world can span centuries, you know, so God’s ways are not always
easy to understand, but He is just as much Lord today as He was when He finally
and ultimately brought justice to the Assyrians.”
“Sounds
kind of scary.”
“Well… it is, when you think of
it. The Bible says ‘It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living
God.’ (Hebrews 10:31). But we have hope, because we are followers of Jesus, and
He calls His followers ‘friends’. God is a stronghold for those who take refuge
in Him. God gives freedom to those who are in bondage. The coming of Jesus is
good news. Just think where we would be without Jesus!”
“Sounds
like we might be in real trouble, like the people of Nineveh.”
“Well, I know one thing. We can
always trust God to do what is right. When He judges it is right. When He is
patient and forbearing, it is right. When He is forgiving and merciful, it is
right. And when He calls us into friendship with Him, it is right. Whatever He does
is just and right. So we will be careful never to point our fingers at Him in
an accusatory way. That just shows that we think we know better than Him.”
“I
don’t think I could ever say or believe that I know better than God… about
anything.”
“Me neither!”
Psalm 103:8 (NIV) The LORD
is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
Numbers 14:18 (NIV) 'The LORD is
slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does
not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the
fathers to the third and fourth generation.'
Nahum 1:2-3 (NIV) 2 The LORD
is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD
takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The LORD
takes vengeance on his foes and maintains his wrath against his enemies. 3
The LORD is slow
to anger and great in power; the LORD
will not leave the guilty unpunished…
Nahum 1:5-9 (NIV) 5 The mountains quake before him and the
hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live
in it. 6 Who can withstand his indignation? Who can
endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are
shattered before him. 7 The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for
those who trust in him, 8 but with an overwhelming
flood he will make an end of [Nineveh]; he will pursue his foes into darkness. 9
Whatever they plot against the LORD
he will bring to an end; trouble will not come a second time.
Proverbs 16:18 (NIV) Pride goes before destruction, a haughty
spirit before a fall.
John 15:12-17 (NIV) 12 My command is this: Love
each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life
for his friends. 14 You
are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know
his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that
I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go
and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever
you ask in my name. 17 This
is my command: Love each other.
PRAYER: Father, thank you that in Christ I, like
Abraham, may be called your friend. It is by faith, because I trust in your
Son. Thank you that you are a just God, and also that you are merciful. Oh, how
I need your mercy, and you are generous in your grace. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”
Jesus
Christ is Lord!
Scott
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