Tag Archives: Nahum

Itty Bitty Bible Study – Nahum chapters 2&3

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 2 and 3 are all of the ways that God is going to destroy and wipe out Nineveh and Assyria.

God gives a warning….

Nahum 2 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Attack against Nineveh
2 One who scatters is coming up against you.
Man the fortifications!
Watch the road!
Brace[a] yourself!
Summon all your strength!

I like it better in the NIV

An attacker advances against you, Nineveh.
Guard the fortress,
watch the road,
brace yourselves,
marshal all your strength!

I have seriously considered that these two chapters also describe, not on purpose, the destruction that will occur when Christ returns after the tribulation. That is the interesting aspect of the books of the prophets, they often have meaning in different timelines! In the end, this whole earth will be destroyed…and a new heaven and a new earth will be created. Revelation 21

I have created a summary of Revelation, from the end to the beginning. Nahum has really reminded me of the end times!

Back to Nahum:

Nahum 2:2 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
2 For the Lord will restore the majesty of Jacob,
yes,[a] the majesty of Israel,
though ravagers have ravaged them
and ruined their vine branches.

Read Nahum 2:2 on the Bible hub….there are so many words describing ‘majesty’!

  • splendor
  • honor
  • excellency
  • glory
  • pride

All we need to know about how a slave feels we can read in the writings of so many. I think the earliest would be Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The King and I is a statement against enslaving people. Do a google search – and you can see how huge a topic this is, just in case you have been living under a rock! These qualities are stolen from slaves.

The Jews were slaves.

After years of crying out…some repentance…God heard their cry and set them free.
The American slaves related to the Jewish slaves…and made songs about being set free.
Go down Moses
Wade in the Water
For more Songs of the Underground, Wikipedia is a great source, of course.
The Harriet Tubman Historical Society has much information.

We were slaves to Sin…before we let Jesus in!

Romans 6
6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

God promises to restore the glory, the honor, the pride, the excellency and splendor that being a slave stole from the people of Judah. He promises the same to us, when we are set free from sin, and the enemy! We must choose!

Dante’s Divine Comedy describes Hell, Purgatory and Paradise.
CS Lewis wrote about heaven and hell in The Great Divorce.

The point being that we have a choice. We KNOW the options, and we have a choice.
Nineveh had been warned.
She was warned by Jonah, repented and was delivered.
As is human, I wonder if they thought, oh, he preached hell and damnation, and it didn’t happen…why believe it again?
Children do that, don’t they?
We do that, don’t we?

As I said in IBBS Nahum 1:2b-15
Some judgments we see here on earth…some, at a future time.

Romans 2:5 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
5 But because of your hardness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed.

We can store up the wrath of God…because we continue in hardness and unrepentant hearts. Are we even aware of this storing up? If not, our consciences are seared, and that’s a very sad situation.  Until then, it’s our choice.

I choose repentance!
And I choose to believe that it is an ongoing effort to maintain my heart right before God.
It is MY choice.
It is MY effort.
It is MY sacrifice on behalf of Him who sacrificed His live for me.
To be clear, I’m not talking about works here…I’m talking about relationship.

In IBBS Jonah 1 I shared part of my story, when I did NOT do what God wanted me to do…and I believe that I put myself in the path of judgement. To be honest, I’m glad that I did not have to wait for years and years and generations to see the hand of discipline upon me, and to help to turn my head back around. And this also speaks to the difference between judgement and discipline.

Hebrews 12 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, so that you won’t grow weary and lose heart. 4 In struggling against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons:
My son, do not take the Lord’s discipline lightly
or faint when you are reproved by Him,
6 for the Lord disciplines the one He loves
and punishes every son He receives.

There is a struggle against sin…
There is a struggle to believe that the future prophecies will come to pass.
But God has given us several examples in the old testament to prepare us to not grow weary!

And God promises to restore “that which the canker-worm has eaten”… read Joel 2.
God will fight for his people, and restore the blessings to them/us.
In IBBS Joel 2, I shared my concerns for our world/country right now. This is an application for NOW.

Back to Nahum:
Nahum 2:3-15

This is something to read, holding in your heart that this what God does to His enemies, and to those that enslave his children. Think of this as God’s wrath against the devil and his fallen angels.

Nahum 3

4 Because of the continual prostitution of the prostitute,
the attractive mistress of sorcery,
who betrays nations by her prostitution
and clans by her witchcraft,

This sounds very much like

Revelation 21:8 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
8 But the cowards, unbelievers,[a] vile, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars—their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

For the history,from a ‘unbiased’ view, I give you Wikipedia!
Nineveh
Assyria
Sennacherib

In Exodus, we see how God delivered judgement upon the pharaoh that enslaved the Hebrews.
I’ve done a little bit of research. If you don’t believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God, then, you might believe the archaeological studies that say that there’s no way that the Exodus happened.

For completion…Wikipedia shares two pages
The Book of Exodus
Exodus

The archaeologists say that there is no evidence.
That’s what they said for years about Nineveh in Assyria.

Archaeology is starting to confirm the Bible, but faith does not need that.
Hebrews 11:1

I’m going to place my faith in God!
And, in the unbelievable possibility that it is a parable for us, I still choose not to be enslaved to sin!
BTW, Jesus spoke of Moses…I believe Jesus!

Could you comment about how this speaks to you? How do you see Nahum applying to your life?

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.

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.

Itty Bitty Bible Study – Nahum 1:2- 15

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)
Nahum 1:2
The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord takes vengeance
and is fierce in wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance against His foes;
He is furious with His enemies.

I talked in IBBS Nahum 1:2 about God being a Jealous God.
I talked about God being an Avenging God in IBBS Nahum 2b.

Now, I will attempt to understand how the rest of Nahum applies to us in 2018.

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

2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord takes vengeance
and is fierce in wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance against His foes;
He is furious with His enemies.

This explains with whom God is angry, and to whom he focuses his wrath!

Deuteronomy 7:10 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
10 But He directly pays back[a] and destroys those who hate Him. He will not hesitate to directly pay back[b] the one who hates Him.

Yet the following gives us a picture of God on the believer’s behalf, and the reason that we want to be RIGHT WITH GOD:

Nahum 1:3
3 The Lord is slow to anger but great in power;

IT IS FOLLOWED BY A WARNING!:

the Lord will never leave the guilty unpunished.‘

Nahum seems to be quoting:

Numbers 14:18 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
18 The Lord is slow to anger and rich in faithful love, forgiving wrongdoing and rebellion. But He will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ wrongdoing on the children to the third and fourth generation.

THIS IS GOD!

  • slow to anger
  • rich in faithful love
  • forgiving wrong doing and rebellion

THIS IS ALSO GOD!

  • will not leave guilty unpunished
  • bring consequences….of the fathers sins on the children…to the third and fourth generation.

Deuteronomy 5:9 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
9 You must not bow down to them or worship them, because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers’ sin to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

There is a requirement for God’s blessing….

John 3:36 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life,
but the one who refuses to believe in the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.

It’s all about our choice! Which side do we want to find ourselves on? Back in Nahum 1:2b, we talked about the Lord takes vengeance against his foes…furious with his enemies. I don’t want to be found to be an enemy of God!

Romans 8:7 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
7 For the mind-set of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit itself to God’s law, for it is unable to do so.

To be more clear:

Romans 8:7 King James Version (KJV)
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

The carnal mind, the flesh serving and focused mind is an enemy to God – but only because it CANNOT turn to God…which is WHY we need to become new creatures!

2 Corinthians 5:17 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things[a] have come.

God made a way so that we could choose NOT to be his enemy!

Our God is an AWESOME God…and we need to know both sides of him! We need to understand WHY there is a requirement to believe, to obey, to honor, to worship….why we need a relationship with God through Jesus Christ!

Romans 6:23 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

That says it in a nutshell…it’s the plan of salvation, but more importantly, the NEED for salvation.

Nahum 1:3-5 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
3…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 at His presence—
the world and all who live in it.

Worship break!
Our God is an Awesome God!

many forget this part of this song!

Once we see part of the awesomeness of God…
Then, the warning!!!

Nahum 1:6 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
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.

As I said above, we do NOT want to be his enemies…and I’m trying to make it clear how we can become his enemies, and how can be part of his family!

Psalm 2:12 King James Version (KJV)
12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

Nehemiah 9:16-17 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
16 But our ancestors acted arrogantly;
they became stiff-necked and did not listen to Your commands.
17 They refused to listen
and did not remember Your wonders
You performed among them.
They became stiff-necked and appointed a leader
to return to their slavery in Egypt.[a]
But You are a forgiving God,
gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in faithful love,
and You did not abandon them.

Even in the midst of His people being rebellious, He still offers forgiveness…for repentance!

2 Chronicles 7:14 speaks to people that are CALLED BY HIS NAME! on the Bible hub link, you can read it in ANY version you would like!

I prefer Amplified:

2 Chronicles 7:14 Amplified Bible (AMP)
14 and My people, who are called by My Name, humble themselves, and pray and seek (crave, require as a necessity) My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear [them] from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land.

Amplified Bible (AMP)
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

THIS IS WRITTEN TO GOD’S PEOPLE…NOT THE UNBELIEVERS!!!!
This is OUR responsibility! Not just to ourselves, but to our communities, our families, our churches, our states, our nations and our world! We are the change that God places in this world!

Back to Nahum.
Even in the midst of describing the destruction of Nineveh, it’s as if God doesn’t want us overwhelmed by His vengeance, He wants us to remember the other side of Him! The side that HIS children enjoy!

Nahum 1:7 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
7 The Lord is good,
a stronghold in a day of distress;
He cares for those who take refuge in Him.

We can look at Psalm 91 – and remember specifically verses 1-2

Psalm 91:1-2 King James Version (KJV)
91 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

We can read Psalm 46 starting with verse 1!

Psalm 46:1-2 King James Version (KJV)
46 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

Back to Nahum:

Nahum 1:8-10 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
8 But He will completely destroy Nineveh[d]
with an overwhelming flood,
and He will chase His enemies into darkness.
9 Whatever you plot against the Lord,
He will bring it to complete destruction;
oppression will not rise up a second time.
10 For they will be consumed
like entangled thorns,
like the drink of a drunkard
and like straw that is fully dry.

God is in control…We who believe KNOW this.
Some judgments we see here on earth…some, at a future time.

Romans 2:5 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
5 But because of your hardness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed.

KJV says “hardness and impenitent hearts”
one says “unwillingness to change.”
many others say “stubbornness.”
This concerns me because of THIS verse:

1 Samuel 15:23 King James Version (KJV)
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

Bible Hub gives you other versions in which to read 1 Samuel 15:23 – but the warning is still very similar!

  • Hard hearts
  • Stubborn hearts
  • impenitent hearts
  • rebellious hearts

IT’S A HEART ISSUE!

Let’s compare Egypt, Nahum’s prophecy of deliverance for Judah, and Salvation:

Enslaved

  • Exodus – enslaved to Pharoah
  • Nahum – enslaved to Sennecharib and Assyria
  • Salvation – enslaved to Sin

Cruelty

  • Exodus – forced to work in labor camps
  • Nahum – Sennecharib was hated for his cruelty, even by his allies
  • Salvation – we are cruelly kept from peace, hope, and joy, used for his purposes

In Darkness

  • Exodus – the plague of darkness descended, but they were in darkness of hopelessness
  • Nahum – The darkness of the constant fear
  • Salvation – rescued out of the darkness Colossians 1:13

Warnings

  • Exodus – the 10 plagues
  • Nahum – Nineveh warned by Jonah(you can read about Jonah starting with IBBS Jonah Introduction)
  • Salvation – Pricks of conscience – Like Saul/Paul in Acts 9:5

Sacrifice

  • Exodus – First born of all, and the Passover lamb
  • Nahum – Sennacherib – his sons killed him(Wikipedia)
  • Salvation – God’s son, Jesus(I wrote a bit about Jesus being the Passover Lamb in Advent day 12 and the New Covenant

Slavery Broken – Shackles broken

  • Exodus – they left!
  • Nahum – Judah delivered – Nahum 1:13
  • Salvation – whom the son sets free is fee indeed! John 8:36

Worship Break!

Repentance

Light

  • Exodus – Light in the darkness during the plague of darkness
  • Nahum – the promises from the prophets
  • Salvation – called out of darkness into HIS wonderful light – 1 Peter 2:9

Separated from the Enemy

  • Exodus – splitting of the red sea – enemies destroyed
  • Nahum – Civil war caused the Assyrians to be weakened(from Wikipedia)
  • Salvation – old has passed, all things made new 2 Corinthians 5:17

Responsibility

What is my point in all of this?
The Bible is ONE story – the story about how God created us to enjoy HIS presence, we messed up, like a parent he has to discipline us, but he calls us back to HIM! and when we cannot make it, which none of us can, HE made the way!

Let’s finish up chapter one.

Nahum 1:11 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
11 One has gone out from you,[a]
who plots evil against Yahweh,
and is a wicked counselor.

Not all counselors are good ones…some are wolves in sheep’s clothing….

Nahum 1:12-13
12 This is what the Lord says:
Though they are strong[h] and numerous,
they will still be mowed down,
and he[i] will pass away.
Though I have afflicted you,[j]
I will afflict you no longer.
13 For I will now break off his yoke from you
and tear off your shackles.

The Promise of deliverance in the midst of an overwhelming enemy!

Nahum 1:14
14 The Lord has issued an order concerning you:
There will be no offspring
to carry on your name.[k]
I will eliminate the carved idol and cast image
from the house of your gods;
I will prepare your grave,
for you are contemptible.

Complete annihilation of the enemy…makes me think of Revelation!!!

Nahum 1:15 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
15 [l]Look to the mountains—
the feet of one bringing good news
and proclaiming peace!
Celebrate your festivals, Judah;
fulfill your vows.
For the wicked one will never again
march through you;
he will be entirely wiped out.

2 Chronicles 20:15 King James Version (KJV)
15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.

Read Exodus 14:14 in all of it’s versions…the LORD will fight for US! for ME! for YOU!

Psalm 46:10 King James Version (KJV)
10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

No matter what a mess we have made of our lives, God can straighten it out.
No matter how big the enemy, God can take them down.
No matter how long the trial, God can see us through!

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.

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.

Itty Bitty Bible Study – Nahum 1:2b

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)
Nahum 1:2
The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord takes vengeance
and is fierce in wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance against His foes;
He is furious with His enemies.

I talked in IBBS Nahum 1:2 about God being a Jealous God.

Now I want to look at Avenging God.

Websters defines it as:
: seeking or gaining vengeance an avenging angel

Strongs, from Blue Letter Bible, defines it as such:
naw-kam’; a primitive root; to grudge, i.e. avenge or punish:—avenge(-r, self), punish, revenge (self),

What does that mean for us? I decided to study some cross references via Bible Hub, based on the avenging part of Nahum 1:2.

Deuteronomy 32:35 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
35 Vengeance[a] belongs to Me; I will repay.[b]
In time their foot will slip,
for their day of disaster is near,
and their doom is coming quickly.”

Why does God say this?
Back to a parent perspective.

  • You mess with my child, and you have to mess with me! A few teachers found out that I am able to write convincing letters to authorities when they overstepped their boudnaries!
  • You mess with my brother, you mess with me! well, until my little brother grew bigger and stronger than me.
  • You mess with my husband, and you mess with me. There have been a few ladies, and some family members that have faced my wrath in this area!
  • I guess you could even say you mess with my country, and I will remember my oath as a United States Navy sailor.
  • As a Christian, when the enemy messes with my church – I will go into spiritual warfare and fight until the battle is over, or I am relieved by the Captain of the Heavenly Army.

If this is how a parent, sister, wife and Child of God responds to the enemy coming against their family, HOW MUCH MORE WILL GOD GO TO BATTLE ON OUR BEHALF?

Hebrews 10:30 KJV
For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

Deuteronomy 32:35 ESV
Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.’

Romans 10:19 HCSB
Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay, says the Lord.

Proverbs 20:22 HCSB
Don’t say, “I will avenge this evil!” Wait on the LORD, and He will rescue you.

In the previous blog about a jealous God, Webster’s definition, number 3 was
3 : vigilant in guarding a possession

This is WHY God is vengeful…on our BEHALF!
The truth is, in the Old Testament, He fought for us, because we could not…please read the full chapter of Isaiah 58, linked below, but here is an excerpt:

Isaiah 59:15-20 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
15 Truth is missing,
and whoever turns from evil is plundered.
The Lord saw that there was no justice,
and He was offended.
16 He saw that there was no man—
He was amazed that there was no one interceding;
so His own arm brought salvation,
and His own righteousness supported Him.

Psalm 42 speaks of the pre-incarnate Christ, and God not sharing His glory with another(back to those idols that get in the way) and Him fighting his enemies.

Isaiah 42:12-13 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
12 Let them give glory to the Lord
and declare His praise in the islands.
13 The Lord advances like a warrior;
He stirs up His zeal like a soldier.
He shouts, He roars aloud,
He prevails over His enemies.

There is so much more I could write about God fighting for us.

  • In Job, we can read about how God has control over what the enemy can do to us…and HE will come out of the whirlwind to deliver us!
  • In Ephesians, we learn about OUR part, through the blood bought price of Jesus Christ, to stand before the enemy, In Jesus’ name, and to do battle…to be intercessors on behalf of others.
  • In James we learn about the prayer of the righteous man or woman availing much.

But, who are God’s enemies?
The Devil, obviously.

Let’s look at Adam and Eve.
They sinned, they were separated from God by their guilt…so, he killed an animal to cover them.
Eve was spoken to by the enemy. Adam just fell to his fleshly desires.

On the other hand, He is also dealing with our evil/base nature. These were not tempted specifically by the enemy as Eve had been.

  • Cain and Abel – God tried to reach Cain, and instead, Cain killed Abel.
  • Jacob and Esau – when Jacob returned, God gave him wisdom to soften Esau’s heart.
  • Moses and Pharoah – when God was done with the pain caused to the Israelites, He sent plagues and caused Pharoah to let His people Go.
  • All the battles in the Old Testament – Jericho, Gideon, David’s mighty men…God went before them, and they knew it! sometimes, the failure was because of their own sins.

The ultimate battle on our behalf – Jesus and the Devil. We could not fight off our sinful nature, nor pay the price, therefore, God sent his son to die on the cross, and pay our price. The ultimate battle on our behalf!

Psalm 91 is the ultimate promise for protection in battle.

Psalm 91 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Psalm 91
The Protection of the Most High
1 The one who lives under the protection of the Most High
dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say[a] to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

9 Because you have made the Lord—my refuge,
the Most High—your dwelling place,
10 no harm will come to you;
no plague will come near your tent.

14 Because he is lovingly devoted to Me,
I will deliver him;
I will protect him because he knows My name.
15 When he calls out to Me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble.
I will rescue him and give him honor.
16 I will satisfy him with a long life
and show him My salvation.

This vengeance by God  on behalf of us is because of a relationship!

Deuteronomy 28

When Moses was teaching the people how to understand God, he taught them the words that if we hear, and obey, we are blessed. If we do not, we live under a curse…which to me means that the blessings are removed, or cannot fall upon us.

Nahum 1:7
The Lord is good,
a stronghold in a day of distress;
He cares for those who take refuge in Him.

Jeremiah 1:19 New International Version (NIV)
19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

There are many sermons preached about our victory in Jesus.
The point is, the victory was purchased and won BY JESUS – and we have to be IN HIM to dwell in victory.

There is definitely a flip side.
Matthew 25 gives the prophecy of Jesus’s return, and how he will separate the sheep from the goats.

Some think they are sheep, but this is what Jesus says:

Matthew 7:21-23 King James Version (KJV)
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Malachi 3 talks about God bringing judgement into the house of the Lord.

1 Peter 4:17 King James Version (KJV)
17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Proverbs 26:2 King James Version (KJV)
2 As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.

or to be more clear:

Proverbs 26:2 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
2 Like a flitting sparrow or a fluttering swallow,
an undeserved curse goes nowhere.

To be clear – we bring the curses upon ourselves…just as Adam and Eve did.
I even believe that it is NOT GOD that sends people to hell, but their choices. He has done everything that He could do to open the way! I want to make my choice JESUS!

I want God to fight for me, whatever the battle! Here is the promise:

John 10:28-30 King James Version (KJV)
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
30 I and my Father are one.

Here are the warnings:

Luke 9:26 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and that of the Father and the holy angels.

Matthew 10:33 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
33 But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.

Here is our call!

Philippians 2:12 King James Version (KJV)
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Our relationship with Jehovah/Yaweh Creator God is based on his son, Jesus.
Our relationship with Jesus Christ is a personal one.
It must be based on the Bible truths if we want to believe in the Bible blessings.
If we believe in the Bible Blessings, we must also believe in the Bible curses…the removal of blessings.


What Jesus has me do in the way of obedience may look different than what he asks you to do, but the basics for salvation are the same. Denying Christ is the key to not being with Christ.

Many have read John 3:16, but what about verses 17-18, or 19-20?

John 3:16-20 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
16 “For God loved the world in this way:[a] He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God.

19 “This, then, is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and avoids it,[b] so that his deeds may not be exposed.

Wouldn’t it be awful to die and stand before Jesus and hear him say “depart from me, I never knew you”? I don’t want that for anyone!


I’m going to leave some links here so that you can make sure that you have a biblical basis for your profession of faith, and then, I encourage you to go back to the verses about being ashamed…denying…and robbing…as well as the basics of the 10 commandments, which I touched on in the previous Itty Bitty Bible Study – Nahum 1:2a.

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.

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.

Itty Bitty Bible Study – Nahum – 1:2a

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.

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.

Itty Bitty Bible Study – Nahum – Introduction

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 is preaching destruction to Nineveh.

Where have we heard that before? Oh, right…Jonah!
So, did God want to redeem Nineveh or not?

Here’s a couple things that I’ve learned looking at Nineveh…

It was the capital of Assyria.

Our prophet Jonah was told to go and preach to them…to give them the opportunity to repent…and they did…and he got angry.

According to my research, Nahum prophesied between 600 and 740 BC.
Jonah was written in the 8th century BC.

There could be 200 years between Jonah and Nahum!
Just look at the effect 200 years has had on the United States in our focus on faith.

The First Great Awakening was in the mid 1700’s.

Second Great Awakening was in the 1800’s

Then, the third great awakening….1900’s

And the latest was the Pentecostal Awakening:

The most recent Great Awakening (1904 onwards) had its roots in the holiness movement which had developed in the late 19th century. The Pentecostal revival movement began, out of a passion for more power and a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In 1902 the American evangelists Reuben Archer Torrey and Charles McCallon Alexander conducted meetings in Melbourne, Australia, resulting in more than 8,000 converts. News of this revival travelled fast, igniting a passion for prayer and an expectation that God would work in similar ways elsewhere.

Torrey and Alexander were involved in the beginnings of the great Welsh revival (1904).

In 1906 the modern Pentecostal movement was born in Azusa Street, in Los Angeles.

I have to mention the Brownsville Revival – Because it has effected many…though I’m not sure it has had the effect on calling to Godliness that the previous awakenings did. What I mean by this, is that this revival did not have an effect on the culture of our society in the way that the previous awakenings did.

My point for discussing these, is not for a history lesson, but for comparison.

2018 back 200 years is 1818 – the second great awakening, the camp meetings.
This was the time of Charles Finney

Then we look at the 50’s, the 60’s…and the downward spiral of our social culture towards what even the writers of our constitution expected as the moral code of the common man.

Here’s some other information about Nineveh, and Assyria…if you look at that Wikipedia link above, you will see that Nineveh was where current Mosul is now. Mosul is in Northern Iraq…and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant destroyed much of the history of this city in 2010s and the Iraqi military recovered this city in 2017.

ISIL is a very cruel group.
The responses of the then current allies of Nineveh were very casual towards Nineveh’s destruction…because of the cruelty.

In Itty Bitty Bible Study – Jonah, I talk about Jonah having prophesied during a time when the Hebrews were under extreme curel oppression.

2 Kings 14:25-26 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
25 He restored Israel’s border from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word the Lord, the God of Israel, had spoken through His servant, the prophet Jonah son of Amittai from Gath-hepher. 26 For the Lord saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter. There was no one to help Israel, neither bond nor free.

In the introduction to Jonah, some of the theories to which I link mentioned that Jonah may have been a victim of the cruelty of Sennacherib.

Whatever the truth is about the timing of Jonah, we do have a historical evidence that there was a great fall!

Wikipedea on Nineveh

Biblical:
The Prophet Jonah before the Walls of Nineveh, drawing by Rembrandt, c. 1655
Nineveh was the flourishing capital of the Assyrian Empire[28] and was the home of King Sennacherib, King of Assyria, during the Biblical reign of King Hezekiah (יְחִזְקִיָּהוּ) and the lifetime of Judean prophet Isaiah (ישעיה). As recorded in Hebrew scripture, Nineveh was also the place where Sennacherib died at the hands of his two sons, who then fled to the vassal land of `rrt Urartu.[29] The book of the prophet Nahum is almost exclusively taken up with prophetic denunciations against Nineveh. Its ruin and utter desolation are foretold.[30][31] Its end was strange, sudden, and tragic.[32] According to the Bible, it was God’s doing, His judgment on Assyria’s pride (Isaiah 10:5–19). In fulfillment of prophecy, God made “an utter end of the place”. It became a “desolation”. The prophet Zephaniah also[33] predicts its destruction along with the fall of the empire of which it was the capital. Nineveh is also the setting of the Book of Tobit.

Historical
After Ashurbanipal
Nineveh’s greatness was short-lived. In around 627 BC, after the death of its last great king Ashurbanipal, the Neo-Assyrian empire began to unravel through a series of bitter civil wars between rival claimants for the throne, and in 616 BC Assyria was attacked by its own former vassals, the Babylonians, Chaldeans, Medes, Persians, Scythians and Cimmerians. In about 616 BC Kalhu was sacked, the allied forces eventually reached Nineveh, besieging and sacking the city in 612 BC, following bitter house-to-house fighting, after which it was razed. Most of the people in the city who could not escape to the last Assyrian strongholds in the north and west were either massacred or deported out of the city and into the countryside where they founded new settlements. Many unburied skeletons were found by the archaeologists at the site. The Assyrian empire then came to an end by 605 BC, the Medes and Babylonians dividing its colonies between themselves.

My point is that even the pagans were given a chance to repent(via Jonah), and centuries later, their repentance was not in evidence in their children’s children.

My story….
I was a United States Sailor.
When I watched the towers fall, I KNEW it would be war…and I demanded it…from my military heart, while my spiritual heart was praying for those I knew in the area, and even for those I didn’t.
I grieved for those that went into eternity that day, not knowing Jesus.
and I wanted revenge.

Recently, we received a letter from one of our old pastors, that he and his wife were being brought into a ministry to share the gospel with Muslims that were coming into our country. I am disgusted and ashamed of my initial reaction…they are the enemy, and ….well, at that point, thank God, my Christian heart stopped me!

What I realized was that I would have difficulty committing to a ministry with this sole focus.
Yes, I have shared with Muslims that God has brought into my life…because, I share one on one with anyone.
Jim took a photo of me talking, and serving water to runners with a Muslim woman whose son was running.
I have never had any negative reaction to anyone based on their evident, or even nonevident faith, when I’ve met them.
I have sat and spoken with every type of faith, sharing what we believe, and finding common ground.
This is who I am…I don’t even think about it.
I’m not saying this to be prideful…I’m saying this to share how I thought I had my heart in a good place…until the possibility of going to Muslim Immigrants was presented…and ugliness in my heart reared up! It was racist, and whatever judging someone by the actions performed by their people group is called. I was stereotyping all and I hated seeing that in my heart!

That is what Jonah was feeling! All in Nineveh deserved to die for the atrocities. And yet, God gave them the grace to repent.
Years later, Nahum preaches the destruction…and there is no repentance as a nation/city/area.

As we, as Christians, know, God does not see people groups…He sees hearts…and there is a revival within Muslim peoples…I guess it’s not a revival if it’s recognition of Jesus as Lord for the first time. Their lives are at stake when they choose Christ. They must count the cost. God is giving the Muslims the opportunity to repent, and to believe, and who am I to stand in His way> (as if I could…duh!)

I could also talk about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah here…as Abraham was a prophet, and the angels that were to destroy those cities spoke to him before hand, and Abraham interceded for those cities…more clearly, for the righteous within them. His concern WAS his nephew, who had left his guidance and moved to this area.

Genesis 18 and Genesis 19.

Abraham prays for the deliverance of the cities for 50, 45, 40, 30, 20, 10 righteous men.
When the angels get there, they don’t even find 10.
Lot recognizes the angels, invites them in…and then, the angels have to PULL him from the city!
His wife turns to look back…an indication of her heart?…and she is destroyed.
His daughters have some crazy concepts about what they should do…and become pregnant by their father…and they birth the Moabites and Ammonites…two groups that cause problems for years to the Hebrew people! There is no evidence of repentance in this family, just that they were saved because of God’s promise to care for Abraham’s nephew – based  upon Abraham’s faith!

Given a chance to repent, in the midst of seeing everything they knew destroyed…and, possibily, because of being raised in such a deplorable place, the girls created children that would be written about throughout the Bible!

There were sins in Nineveh.
There were sins in Sodom and Gomorrah.
There are sins in the United States of America.
And God has called out man times for us to repent.

God promised Noah that he would never destroy the earth with a flood again.

Yet, we have Jesus letting us know that there is another judgement coming…and Peter writs about it. And we need to be aware!

2 Peter 3:3-7 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
3 First, be aware of this: Scoffers will come in the last days to scoff, living according to their own desires, 4 saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? Ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they have been since the beginning of creation.” 5 They willfully ignore this: Long ago the heavens and the earth were brought about from water and through water by the word of God. 6 Through these waters the world of that time perished when it was flooded. 7 But by the same word, the present heavens and earth are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

The churches around the world are having revival in huge numbers.
The churches in the United States are not showing the power of the end time age.
I confess, I am not walking in the power of the end time age!

The main thing that Nahum is speaking to me is that, in light of the opportunities we are given as Christians to repent…do we? Do we get lazy?

There’s also the point of view of the Hebrews…God has decided that they have suffered enough, and He brings judgement upon their enemies, and speaks life to Judah.

another bit from Wikipedia:

Hezekiah (/ˌhɛzɪˈkaɪ.ə/)[a] was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the son of Ahaz and the 13th king of Judah.[1] Edwin Thiele has concluded that his reign was between c. 715 and 686 BC.[2] He is considered a very righteous king by the author of the Books of Kings.[3] He is also one of the most prominent kings of Judah mentioned in the Bible and is one of the kings mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew.[4]

According to the Bible, Hezekiah witnessed the destruction of the northern Kingdom of Israel by Sargon’s Assyrians in c. 722 BC and was king of Judah during the siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib in 701 BC.[5] Hezekiah enacted sweeping religious reforms, including a strict mandate for the sole worship of Yahweh and a prohibition on venerating other deities within the Temple of Jerusalem.[1] Isaiah and Micah prophesied during his reign.[1]

Hezekiah brought spiritual reform to Judah…repentance, and a change of their hearts.
God heard, and answered.

We can be ministers of peace, by preaching repentance…but only if we are repentant and not lazy about our walk with Christ.

Philippians 2:12 King James Version (KJV)
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

The warnings of Jonah, and the promises of Nahum are to help us to be more like Christ in our world.

Isaiah 50 gives us a picture of Christ…but also, some instruction for our own lives, to be like Christ.

Isaiah 50:4 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
The Obedient Servant
4 The Lord God has given Me
the tongue of those who are instructed
to know how to sustain the weary with a word.
He awakens Me each morning;
He awakens My ear to listen like those being instructed.

This is why I study the Bible.
This is why I share what the Lord speaks to me, through His word and prayer, and study guides, and yes, even Wikipedia!

I want to make sure that I, and anyone who reads this, prepare our hearts, and that we have the blessing of the Lord fighting for us…not the curse of being destroyed for being an enemy of God!

I hope you will join me for Nahum!

 
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.

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

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