Nahum

My thoughts for the Itty Bitty Bible Study group on Facebook. (join if you’d like to get these in fb!) The conversation starts Monday, August 20.

Nahum 1 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
1 The oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

God’s Vengeance
2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord takes vengeance
and is fierce in[a] wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance against His foes;
He is furious with His enemies.
3 The Lord is slow to anger but great in power;
the Lord will never leave the guilty unpunished.
His path is in the whirlwind and storm,
and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.
4 He rebukes the sea so that it dries up,
and He makes all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and Carmel wither;
even the flower of Lebanon withers.
5 The mountains quake before Him,
and the hills melt;
the earth trembles[b][c] at His presence—
the world and all who live in it.
6 Who can withstand His indignation?
Who can endure His burning anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire,
even rocks are shattered before Him

One of the basic things I see missing in Christians lives is the KNOWING of WHO God is.
Nahum starts out this prophecy telling us!

NOTE – I am using Blue Letter Bible to do the work research….I could do it in a Strong’s, but then I don’t have a nice link, and I have to type it all in! Therefore, I’m giving them credit, and sharing one of my Bible Study tools with you!

Jealous

Exodus 34:14 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
14 You are never to bow down to another god because Yahweh, being jealous by nature,[a] is a jealous God.

Here’s the Amplified version of Exodus 20:5 – the 10 commandments…this is the second commandment.

Exodus 20:5 Amplified Bible (AMP)
5 You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous (impassioned) God [[a]demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine], visiting (avenging) the iniquity (sin, guilt) of the fathers on the children [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers], to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

Footnotes:
Exodus 20:5 God does not tolerate the transfer of the honor and worship that is due Him to any other being or object.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
Exodus 20:5 in all English translations

The full commandment goes like this:

4 “You shall not make for yourself any idol, or any likeness (form, manifestation) of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth [as an object to worship].
5 You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous (impassioned) God [[a]demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine], visiting (avenging) the iniquity (sin, guilt) of the fathers on the children [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers], to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
6 but showing graciousness and steadfast lovingkindness to thousands [of generations] of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

The Strong’s definition isn’t much help…H7072 – qannow = jealous or angry.

Webster’s defines Jealous this way:
Definition of jealous
1 : hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage : envious His success made his old friends jealous. They were jealous of his success.
2 a : intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness
jealous of the slightest interference in household management —Havelock Ellis
b : disposed to suspect rivalry or unfaithfulness a jealous husband
3 : vigilant in guarding a possession
new colonies were jealous of their new independence —Scott Buchanan

The Book of Joshua gives us a bit more insight…

Joshua 24:19 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
19 But Joshua told the people, “You will not be able to worship Yahweh, because He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not remove your transgressions and sins.

This is where Joshua was calling them out to follow God again…to repent…read the whole chapter for context. They cry out that they will follow the Lord…Joshua 24

For what is God jealous?
I don’t believe it’s for HIS respect and honor and glory..though he totally deserves it all.
He’s intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness (Webster’s)
God doesn’t want to share his creation with, well, created creation!

Even more to the point, I think, is that God knows how desperate we are for a god to serve….and we will do anything to create one we can see.

I have found this list of scriptures about idols…I don’t know about this site, I just know this is a great list. It was in this list I found the verse I was remembering:

Psalm 135:15-18 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
15 The idols of the nations are of silver and gold,
made by human hands.
16 They have mouths but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see.
17 They have ears but cannot hear;
indeed, there is no breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them are just like them,
as are all who trust in them.

How many idols do we have in our lives? You may not have a statue of some deity on our shelf, but what is an idol?

Yesterday, during service, my pastor, Keith Brunner, defined idols as:

anything we trust more than God.

Pretty simple, right?

Here’s my story from my recent struggles.

I know the Lord, I have Jesus as my Lord and Savior.
I know the Word of God, and I continue to fill my mind with it.
I know I have the Holy Spirit residing in me, and it is my prayer that I don’t grieve Him.

BUT
When the pain comes…I hear the words of fear…that I am not going to make it, that I’m going to get an infection, that I’m going to be in more pain than ever before.

So, what did I do?
Sometimes, I quoted scripture, and prayed and turned on the worship music.
Other times, I whined.
I cried.
I called the doctors and said why do I have this pain….
and then got mad when they said if the pain is so bad go to the emergency room!
I wrote about my struggle in Pain/Peace.

So, where is my little “g” god?
I cried to the doctor FIRST.
I leaned on the emotional eating…and I did this often…even yesterday.
I put more pressure on my husband to pray for me…as if his prayers were better than mine. (this is not to say that you cannot join together, or ask for prayer…I’m confessing my focus)

I’ve put more trust in a car than God at times.
I’ve put more trust in our finances than God at times.
I’ve put more trust in food than God for comfort.
I have put my husband and my family before God before.

and, the ultimate idolatry, I put myself, and my decisions before God when I attempted suicide.

Some folks may have difficulty with alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, lifestyles…
The question is…would you give it up if God asked you to?
If it was all taken away today, would you serve God tomorrow?
That is how I check my heart.

Jesus said:(Matthew 10)

37 The person who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; the person who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
38 And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow[b] Me is not worthy of Me.
39 Anyone finding[c] his life will lose it, and anyone losing[d] his life because of Me will find it.

Jesus also said

Matthew 22:34-40 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
The Primary Commands
34 When the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. 35 And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test Him: 36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?”[a]
37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.[b] 38 This is the greatest and most important[c] command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.[d] 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend[e] on these two commands.”

Luke 10:27 says it this way:

He answered: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.

What happened that God had to tell us this?
The fall.
Eve and the serpent.
Adam and the serpent….
choosing to believe someone OTHER THAN God….

You can read about that in Genesis 3.

In Genesis 2, we get the description of the Garden that God created for mankind.

As an artist, I put a lot of my heart and soul, as well as mental and physical energy into a painting.
As a writer, I put a lot of myself into what I write.
God is so much MORE than I am.
As I am connected to my creation, so HE is MORE connected.
As I love my creation despite it’s faults, so HE is so much MORE loving with HIS creation.
As I see a mistake, and find ways to correct it, which may change the original plan, but makes that piece more unique, God looks at our mistakes and has a plan to bring about the good HE planned for us, in spite of our mistakes.

God created this perfect world, with beauty we cannot comprehend, and gave ONLY ONE RULE… ONLY ONE!
And Eve put the words of the serpent over the words that she had heard daily, while walking in the garden with GOD!
Adam put the words of Eve, the lust of his flesh, the lust of his eyes and the pride of life over the beautiful relationship he had with God, walking daily in the garden.

Now, let’s say you and I have a special relationship with someone…like a child that we have brought into this world, given blood sweat and tears to raise them up…and they go to others and call them mother or father.
They put their confidence in the other people, instead of you. Those others that do not know the story of the early years, the struggles, the joys, the costs paid, the tears shed…they just know the results of the years of relationship, and benefit from all that went before without paying the cost.
What if, that child chose to spend more time with the others than to be with the ones that held them when they were sick, carried them when they were weak, prayed for them when there were fevers, and unexplained illnesses, and broken hearts and outside wounds from others. What if they broke off relations with you entirely?
What if they denied the good that they had been given to fulfill their desires.
The parents would struggle with jealousy.

God gave Adam and Eve Good…so much good it was excellent beyond our comprehension.
Eve chose a fruit, THE ONLY FRUIT that was forbidden – because it was more beautiful than the ones she had, to have wisdom and to be ‘like God’.
I do wonder about Adam…since it doesn’t say that he was beguiled by the serpent…he just took it and ate!
He’d been with God longer than Eve(ok, not much longer…she was created the same day).

Here we have the two most perfect humans, other than Christ, living in the most perfect environment, having a personal relationship with God by walking with him daily…talking with him daily…AND THEY CHOSE SOMETHING OTHER!

Yes – God would be jealous.

But, that is a human emotion.
And I think that God’s jealousy is even more holy than we, as humans can imagine.
He sees that HIS beautiful creation just chose to die.
He sees that HIS beautiful creation just chose confusion over peace.
He sees that HIS beautiful creation just chose struggle over contentment.
He sees that HIS beautiful creation just chose guilt and fear over relationship.

HE COULD SEE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN BECAUSE OF THESE CHOICES!
And, He knew he’d send His son to pay this price.

1 Corinthians 6:20 King James Version (KJV)
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Ephesians 2:8-9 King James Version (KJV)
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Why is God a jealous God?
I believe it goes back to the third definitions of jealousy by Webster:
vigilant in guarding a possession.

If you are a parent…how do you look at your child?
I don’t mean as a possession…I mean, in the face of possible danger?
Children are taken away and sold into slavery every day. The sex trade is huge here in Ohio, unfortunately, this is a hub.
I was vigilant in watching out for my children.
I made rules for them when we were out in public.

One of my daughters tells folks that if they mess with her, they’ll have to deal with her mom.
While she makes it sound like I’ll come and beat them up…she knows that I will pray, I will fight, I will turn every stone to make sure my daughter is safe…even today.
I hate those that harm my children…so I have to pray for them…and heal my heart.
I hate those that have pulled my children away from the one true God…so again, I have to pray, and work on MY heart.

I have found that vigilance has returned now that I am around my grandchildren.

Why do I feel so passionate about my children and children’s children?
Because I love them more than life itself.

That is why God is a jealous God…because he is a good good father, and wants the best for us.
This says it very well!

and a Capella:

I’ve written much here about God and jealousy.
Nahum can be read to put God in a horrible light.
We need to read it with the eyes of the New Testament – and understand what Nahum is saying.
I’ll be talking about the rest of this chapter all of this week!

I also pointed to the 10 commandments. I have a help that I have found:

If you are interested in memorizing the 10 commandments, Beyond Today has some ideas.

If you need to catch up…Nahum – introduction
Thanks for joining me!

Hi!
My hope in the midst of despair and my joy in the face of depression is because of my relationship with Jesus Christ. If you do not have one, or are not sure you will join him in heaven, please check out these links.

• Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
• Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Copyrights and Legal-eze
There are many organizations that support children and families. Here are ones that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

• Naomi’s Heart Ministries
• Obed’s House Ministries
• Project Based Missions, Global
• The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.
• Compassion