KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Friday, August 04, 2017
Chapters: Book of Nahum
Message: When Mercy Runs Out
Hello My Friend,
The Book of Nahum contains three chapters, the author is Nahum and it was written to the city of Nineveh. The timeline was about 660BC. The purpose of the book was to warn them of the coming judgment, after they fell away from God. What we are to learn from the book is that God hates and avenges all evil. “God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.” – Nahum 1:2.
When you think about the mercies of God and how you are still here even with all the sin committed over the years you truly start to realize how blessed you are. When God chooses a nation as His own, He takes it very personal, so when that nation begins to turn on Him He sends warning signs about what is to come if they keep on the same path. Nineveh, actually a town in Assyria, was saved from destruction when God made it an appoint to send Jonah there to warn the people of the judgment upon them, immediately they turned away from their idols and set their sights on God. Sadly, it did not last, a hundred and fifty years have passed and they are facing judgment again. Nahum describes God’s judgments, power, and who is able to stand before Him in His anger.
“Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him. The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies. There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counsellor. Thus saith the LORD; Though they be quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more. For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder.” – Nahum 1:6-8,11-13.
“Who can stand before his indignation?” Indignation; Extreme anger, mingled with contempt, disgust or abhorrence. While God is slow to anger it is only a matter of time before His mercies do run out and He pours His wrath upon those that mock and turn His people away from Him. I was talking with a woman who is a Jehovah Witness, neither one of us dares to try and convince the other that their religion is better, but I do give subtle hints that I hope get through to her, I made a remark that the world likes to clump all religions together as though we are all Christians because we believe in God, but not every religion that claims they are a Christian are. Well, the conversation ended there. Jehovah’s Witnesses, like any other religion are encouraged to go out and gather as many people as they can, they influence them with a little bit of Scripture to get them to believe that what they are saying actually does come from God. Sadly, so many people are going to end up in hell because they chose to believe the lie over the truth, and there is nothing God can do to save them because they trusted the lie over the truth. Ignorance cannot save us, only the truth sets us free. “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” – John 8:31-32.
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him,” This is also true for anyone else who believes on Him, God made it clear when He sent Jonah to Nineveh that He wants every nation to turn to Him and be saved, but just like He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because there were no more righteous in the land He will destroy any nation that in their wickedness. God gives many warnings for repentance to avoid the consequences of judgment, that is why Jesus has not returned yet. However, there does come a time when there is a final warning for a nation, which is what He was doing with Nineveh. God was merciful to spare them and they heeded the warning the first time, but never kept God in their heart. We must remember, that this is not just a couple of people, this is the entire nation.
“But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water: yet they shall flee away. Stand, stand, shall they cry; but none shall look back. Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold: for there is none end of the store and glory out of all the pleasant furniture. She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness. Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the feedingplace of the young lions, where the lion, even the old lion, walked, and the lion’s whelp, and none made them afraid? The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin. Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.” – Nahum 2:8-13.
“and the sword shall devour thy young lions:” The lions are represented as Assyria, for their strength, courage, cruelty, tyranny, and oppression. The kings of Assyria had long been terrible and cruel to their neighbors, and God was going to destroy that power. God will destroy the power of every nation that goes after His people, and or turns their back on Him. “The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken. The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah. The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” – Psalm 9:15-17.
False religion often proclaims the love of God, but what you do not hear is the judgments He places upon those who go against Him and His Word. Some religion only proclaims the wrath of God, and there is no one on one relationship with Him, you do as He says or you struck down. Let me tell you, you cannot pick and choose what to believe in the Bible and live your life based on that, you must believe all of it, and live by all of it. Yes, God is a loving God, but He is also a just God, and He will destroy sin, even if that means wiping out an entire nation. The sins of Nineveh were charged, called out by God, and now they were about to be judged for them.
“Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts. Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame. And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock. And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee? Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them. There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?” – Nahum 3:4-7,18-19.
“and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face,” All sin gets exposed. Proud sinners create enemies in themselves, and if God sees fit to expose their sin, no one will have compassion on them, and they will bring themselves to shame. We are saved by grace, but it is not a free pass to live in sin expecting God’s blessings. “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” – Romans 6:11-14.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.” – Nahum 1:7.
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for Your mercy and grace that saved a sinner like me when I trusted in Your Son as my Saviour. I know that I am forgiven of all my sins, past, present, and future because You no longer look at me through me, but through Your Son. You promise to never leave nor forsake me no matter what I do, and that I am justified forever no matter how many times I mess up, but Lord, I do not want to sit idle, living anyway I please, without any regard for the great sacrifice You made to set me free from my sins. I want to be honorable and respectable in Your eyes, even if everyone else shuns me or mocks me for living in obedience to Your Word. Lead me and guide me, give me Your power, strength, wisdom, mercy, grace, patience, and guidance to be the Godly example You need me to be. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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