KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Saturday, September 24, 2016
Chapters: The Book of Nahum
Message: Slow To Anger, Quick In Judgment
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 to still here even with all the mistakes over the years you truly start to realize that you are blessed. When God chooses a nation as His own, He takes it very personal, so when that nation begins to slip out of His clutches He sends His warnings about what is to come if they keep on the same path. Nineveh, God made it an appoint to send Jonah there to warn the people of the judgment on them, and immediately they turned away from their idols and set their sights on God. A hundred and fifty years have passed since then and now they are facing judgment again. Nahum is speaking on his own and describes God’s judgments, power, and warns all that He gets vengeance on all who cause His people to sin.
“The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. 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. And the LORD hath given a commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image: I will make thy grave; for thou art vile.” – Nahum 1:3-8,14.
“and will not at all acquit the wicked:”While the mercies of God let us know that He is slow to place judgment on us for the sake of giving us a chance to repent, when His judgment does come things happen quick. This is why we as Christians have to keep preaching the Gospel and also have to remind ourselves that while God’s mercy does endure for those saved, it does not for those who are not.
“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” – I Corinthians 6:9-11.
God gives many warnings for repentance to avoid the consequences of judgment, that is why He is Jesus has not returned yet. However, there does come a time when there is a final warning for a nation to repent, 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 majority of the people.
“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, and 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 one, goes after His people, or two, 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.
While every receiver of Christ is saved by the grace of God through their faith in Him alone, it is wise to live in obedience to God. Apart from showing God honor and glory, we also show those in world the importance of Christ being in their lives. Yeah, we are saved by grace, but if we are living as the world or even worse, how are they going to know Christ? Nations get destroyed because they forget God, and it all starts by His people failing to live in obedience to Him. 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?” – Nahum 3:4-7.
“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.
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. 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 all of Your commands. Lead me and guide me, give me Your power, strength, wisdom, 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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