Nahum 1:2-11 continued our introduction to the book of Nahum. It sets the stage and begins the pronouncements of judgment upon Nineveh (Assyrians).
In some cases, Nahum spoke of God in the third person and on other occasions he spoke for God in the first person.
In this section, he used third person. There was much text describing God as fully capable and willing to let the hammer of justice fall! I've broken the text up into 5 blocks. If you only read blocks A, C and E, you may think that God is just mean! But blocks B and D put the fierce parts into context.
Take a look ...
(A)
The Lord is a zealous and avenging God;
the Lord is avenging and very angry.
The Lord takes vengeance against his foes;
he sustains his rage against his enemies.
(B)
The Lord is slow to anger but great in power;
the Lord will certainly not allow the wicked to go unpunished.
(C)
He marches out in the whirlwind and the raging storm;
dark storm clouds billow like dust under his feet.
He shouts a battle cry against the sea and makes it dry up;
he makes all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and Carmel wither;
the blossom of Lebanon withers.
The mountains tremble before him,
the hills convulse;
the earth is laid waste before him,
the world and all its inhabitants are laid waste.
No one can withstand his indignation!
No one can resist his fierce anger!
His wrath is poured out like volcanic fire,
boulders are broken up as he approaches.
(D)
The Lord is good -
indeed, he is a fortress in time of distress,
and he protects those who seek refuge in him.
(E)
But with an overwhelming flood
he will make a complete end of Nineveh;
he will drive his enemies into darkness.
Whatever you plot against the Lord, he will completely destroy!
Distress will not arise a second time.
Surely they will be totally consumed
like entangled thorn bushes,
like the drink of drunkards,
like very dry stubble.
From you, O Nineveh, one has marched forth who plots evil against the Lord,
a wicked military strategist.
(NET)
Does a fearsome God who destroys bother you?
I suppose if one thinks of God as some dawdling old grandfather who doesn't know what is going on this picture would be quite jolting.
This is NOT a passive God! This is a fierce and passionate God.
Block C testified to the power of God with vivid images. I don't know what kind of storms hit the Middle East typically but foul weather is scary whether it is a hurricane, tornado, thunderstorm or monsoon. This was followed by a set of images that are the exact opposite: things drying up which leads to the slow lingering death and suffering of drought. The last set are images of the upheaval of what we feel to be the most stable: the ground under our feet and the large mountains on the horizon.
But is this all that God is?
Blocks B and D show the God of patiences and justice and one who protects.
If God is just the God of blocks of B and D without A and C, how would we think of God?
Not possible! In order for what it says in blocks B and D to be true, A and C have to be true.
This sets the stage for the final part in block E: God's hammer of justice is going to fall on Nineveh. Nineveh was given warnings before in the famous book of Jonah. In that story, Nineveh did turn from their wicked ways and were spared. But, they fell back to their previous patterns and now Nahum warns them that they will fall.
I'm glad that God is compassionate and desires to reconcile us to himself and each other. But I'm also glad that God is just and when the time is right, his justice will arrive in full force.
How about you?
Lord, the world is a mess. Some days, I feel I want to call up on you to rain down destruction upon people who make children into soldiers, who oppress and abuse women, who blow themselves up and kill and maim people going about their lives. Lord, in your time, you will bring justice. Help me to trust in your timing. Until that time, continue to pour out compassion, move amidst your people to serve others, bring people to the peace that knowing you brings. Amen.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Nahum 1:1
In light of my new awareness of copyright issues. I'll be making some format changes. I'll still link to the Bible passage at hand by linking to Bible Gateway. From there you could check out how various translations render the passage.
I'll also paste the text in the post using the NET Bible from http://bible.org since their copyright rules are crafted for the internet age.
When I started Blog Through the Bible, I could have started from Genesis and blog toward Revelation.
However, I opted to "jump" around for the sake of variety.
And so, now, let's go back to the Hebrew Scriptures and visit a book that probably doesn't get preached on very often. Have you heard a sermon in Nahum?
image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nahum-prophet.jpg
Image is an 18th Century Russian Orthodox icon of Nahum.
Nahum 1:1 introduced us to the book.
The oracle against Nineveh; the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite:
(NET)
The nation of Israel was formed out of the people that left Egypt, one of the big powers in the region. As Israel grew, they faced threats from various nations. One of them was the Assyrians based in Nineveh. Israel was unified under Saul, David and Solomon but they divided and eventually, the northern part was conquered by the Assyrians with the fall of Samaria in 722 BC. The Assyrians would be supplanted by the Babylonians when Nineveh fell in 612 BCE. Nahum made reference to what appeared to be a conquered Thebes in Nahum 3:8 which suggests that this book was written at some point after the fall of Thebes in 663 BCE and prior to the fall of Ninevah. To get a good overview of the historical timeline, be sure to check out Bill Creasy's web page.
I took a look at Walter Kaiser's commentary that covered Micah to Malachi (pp. 97-98) to find out what we know about Nahum. Kaiser reported that all we know is his name from this verse! The name in Hebrew means "comfort" or "consolation." Kaiser added that the location of Elkosh is uncertain but is suspected to be 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem.
Lord, thank you that you have sent prophets through the ages to warn, comfort, challenge and teach us. Amen.
I'll also paste the text in the post using the NET Bible from http://bible.org since their copyright rules are crafted for the internet age.
When I started Blog Through the Bible, I could have started from Genesis and blog toward Revelation.
However, I opted to "jump" around for the sake of variety.
And so, now, let's go back to the Hebrew Scriptures and visit a book that probably doesn't get preached on very often. Have you heard a sermon in Nahum?
image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nahum-prophet.jpg
Image is an 18th Century Russian Orthodox icon of Nahum.
Nahum 1:1 introduced us to the book.
The oracle against Nineveh; the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite:
(NET)
The nation of Israel was formed out of the people that left Egypt, one of the big powers in the region. As Israel grew, they faced threats from various nations. One of them was the Assyrians based in Nineveh. Israel was unified under Saul, David and Solomon but they divided and eventually, the northern part was conquered by the Assyrians with the fall of Samaria in 722 BC. The Assyrians would be supplanted by the Babylonians when Nineveh fell in 612 BCE. Nahum made reference to what appeared to be a conquered Thebes in Nahum 3:8 which suggests that this book was written at some point after the fall of Thebes in 663 BCE and prior to the fall of Ninevah. To get a good overview of the historical timeline, be sure to check out Bill Creasy's web page.
I took a look at Walter Kaiser's commentary that covered Micah to Malachi (pp. 97-98) to find out what we know about Nahum. Kaiser reported that all we know is his name from this verse! The name in Hebrew means "comfort" or "consolation." Kaiser added that the location of Elkosh is uncertain but is suspected to be 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem.
Lord, thank you that you have sent prophets through the ages to warn, comfort, challenge and teach us. Amen.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Copyright Statement
I have to say I hadn't even thought about the issue of copyright until I read this item over at the web site that hosts the NET Bible. Excerpt: Bible copyright policies typically require special permission before Internet posting, writing commentaries, allowing mission organizations to translate works into other languages, or when quotations exceed some verse limit.
Unless I crawl through all the blog posts on this site and count up the verses I've cut and pasted, I have no way of knowing if am out of compliance in terms of exceeding the number of verses cited without obtaining written permission. Likewise, I haven't indicated the version I was citing at the time of preparing the blog post. In any event, it would be a lengthy effort to fulfill the letter of the law in this case.
I hope this effort here will be taken as a good faith effort to acknowledge the intellectual property rights of the various publishers Bible translations I have used on this blog.
I have tended to cite from the following translations:
English Standard Version
New American Standard Bible
New International Version
New King James Version
New Living Translation
The Message
Today's New International Version (No longer available)
New Revised Standard Version
New English Translation
Common English Bible
Unless I crawl through all the blog posts on this site and count up the verses I've cut and pasted, I have no way of knowing if am out of compliance in terms of exceeding the number of verses cited without obtaining written permission. Likewise, I haven't indicated the version I was citing at the time of preparing the blog post. In any event, it would be a lengthy effort to fulfill the letter of the law in this case.
I hope this effort here will be taken as a good faith effort to acknowledge the intellectual property rights of the various publishers Bible translations I have used on this blog.
I have tended to cite from the following translations:
English Standard Version
New American Standard Bible
New International Version
New King James Version
New Living Translation
The Message
Today's New International Version (No longer available)
New Revised Standard Version
New English Translation
Common English Bible
Sunday, September 05, 2010
Outline of II Peter
Introduction, 1:1-2.
The journey of faith, 1:3-4
1. Building on the faith, 1:5-8
2. A warning and an assurance, 1:9-11
The foundation of faith
1. The testimony of the apostles, 1:12-18
2. The testimony of the prophets, 1:19-21
The challenges to faith
1. False teachers harming the community, 2:1-3
2. Judgment falls upon those who have rebelled, 2:4-10
3. Characteristics of false teachers, 2:10-22
The conclusion of faith
1. The Day of the Lord, 3:1-10
2. How we ought to live, 3:11-18
The journey of faith, 1:3-4
1. Building on the faith, 1:5-8
2. A warning and an assurance, 1:9-11
The foundation of faith
1. The testimony of the apostles, 1:12-18
2. The testimony of the prophets, 1:19-21
The challenges to faith
1. False teachers harming the community, 2:1-3
2. Judgment falls upon those who have rebelled, 2:4-10
3. Characteristics of false teachers, 2:10-22
The conclusion of faith
1. The Day of the Lord, 3:1-10
2. How we ought to live, 3:11-18
II Peter 3:11-18
Jesus is coming back. The world as we know it will be changed. So how do we live as we await this?
2 Peter 3:11-18 ...
Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
You ought to live holy and godly lives ...
It can't be said enough: theology without a changed life is meaningless.
Ideas should have consequences. If we believe that God cares about how we live our lives, then we better live our lives differently! Likewise, if we believe life is pointless, then an ethic of eat, drink and be merry makes sense... have a blast while you last. Ideas have consequences.
But some people might think, well, if Jesus is going to come back and fix everything, then why should we bother trying to fix anything?
Indeed, God doesn't "need" us to do anything. He could do anything He wants with a snap of His fingers. He could say it is so and it is so.
Yet, God has us participate with Him in the transformation of a broken world and reconciliation of human beings with each other and with their God whom they have ignored and resisted.
And so, we have a responsibility. We should ... make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
We need to seek Him with our whole being for help.
So we need to stand firm in God drawing close to Him in humility asking that we think clearly and not be swayed. We need to strive to do what is right. Sometimes, our emotions are drawn to do what is right. We feel in our gut compassion and so our hands move to hug someone hurting. Sometimes, our minds can see that something will be beneficial so we write a check to an organization that helps get clean water wells built in a developing country saving lives. Sometimes, we do what is right because it is what God says we ought to do. For example, God says we should reconcile with one another. We don't feel like it. Our head says its too hard. But we need to do it because it is simply the right thing to do.
Be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ...
We live in a world where there is a struggle. The "spirit of the age" includes a "do it if it feels good" approach which we must resist. The intellectuals of this world attack the idea of believing in God and trusting the wisdom contained in a dusty old book like Bible. Yet, thinking more carefully and clearly, their evidence falls somewhat short of the confident claims they assert.
Lord Jesus, you came to save us by walking on this earth, dwelling among us, dying on the Cross and rising from the dead. And you will return to finish the work! God until you return, help me to live for you. Craft within me more humility so that I will seek you. Transform my whole being by stirring my heart, convincing my mind and strengthening my will to live holy and do good and be your hands and feet in this world. Amen.
2 Peter 3:11-18 ...
Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
You ought to live holy and godly lives ...
It can't be said enough: theology without a changed life is meaningless.
Ideas should have consequences. If we believe that God cares about how we live our lives, then we better live our lives differently! Likewise, if we believe life is pointless, then an ethic of eat, drink and be merry makes sense... have a blast while you last. Ideas have consequences.
But some people might think, well, if Jesus is going to come back and fix everything, then why should we bother trying to fix anything?
Indeed, God doesn't "need" us to do anything. He could do anything He wants with a snap of His fingers. He could say it is so and it is so.
Yet, God has us participate with Him in the transformation of a broken world and reconciliation of human beings with each other and with their God whom they have ignored and resisted.
And so, we have a responsibility. We should ... make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
We need to seek Him with our whole being for help.
So we need to stand firm in God drawing close to Him in humility asking that we think clearly and not be swayed. We need to strive to do what is right. Sometimes, our emotions are drawn to do what is right. We feel in our gut compassion and so our hands move to hug someone hurting. Sometimes, our minds can see that something will be beneficial so we write a check to an organization that helps get clean water wells built in a developing country saving lives. Sometimes, we do what is right because it is what God says we ought to do. For example, God says we should reconcile with one another. We don't feel like it. Our head says its too hard. But we need to do it because it is simply the right thing to do.
Be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ...
We live in a world where there is a struggle. The "spirit of the age" includes a "do it if it feels good" approach which we must resist. The intellectuals of this world attack the idea of believing in God and trusting the wisdom contained in a dusty old book like Bible. Yet, thinking more carefully and clearly, their evidence falls somewhat short of the confident claims they assert.
Lord Jesus, you came to save us by walking on this earth, dwelling among us, dying on the Cross and rising from the dead. And you will return to finish the work! God until you return, help me to live for you. Craft within me more humility so that I will seek you. Transform my whole being by stirring my heart, convincing my mind and strengthening my will to live holy and do good and be your hands and feet in this world. Amen.
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