Nahum 3

Verse of the Day: V19 “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?”

1.  Woe (V1-5)

V1 “Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;”

It was woe or trouble in the bloody city of Nineveh because the people had committed lies and robbery and sinned against the holy God. Instead of repenting their wickedness, they continued in their wickedness, and hence, the Almighty God pronounced woe and judgment upon them, and exposed their sins and shame to all the kingdoms of the world.

V5 “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.”

2.  Women (V6-18)

V10 “Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.”

The gates were wide opened and the enemies came charging in, attacking, burning, and destroying everything in the city of Nineveh, and killing almost all the soldiers and men including young children who were dashed in pieces, and capturing the leaders or the great men of Nineveh as prisoners of war. Only the women in the city were left behind.

V13 “Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars.”

3.  Wound (V19)

V19 “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?”

God severely punished the people of Nineveh, and the only way for God’s healing hands upon them was that they humbled themselves, prayed, sought His face and turned from their sins, then would God hear them, forgive their sins and heal their bruises and wounds.

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicle 7:14)

Prayer of the Day:
 
Dearest God, please help me to repent of my sins, and heal my bruises and wounds.

Nahum 2

Verse of the Day: V13 “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.”

1.  The Shield (V1-3)

V3 “The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.”

Time and time again, the people of Nineveh rebelled against the Almighty God and sinned against Him. They thought they were invincible and their shields and chariots were the mightiest weapons in the entire world, until God humbled and defeated them.

V4 “The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings.”

2.  The Store (V8-7)

V8 “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.”

Nobody can declare war against God and prevail against Him. God punished the people of Nineveh by sending their enemy to destroy them.  Subsequently they lost everything they had - their store and glory of treasures, their gold and silver, and their precious lives.

V9 “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.”

3.  The Sword (V8-15)

V13 “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.”

The people of Nineveh never imagined that the Almighty God could make them lose everything they had, as He sent the sword of destruction upon them. No one can escape the hands of an angry God. Let us choose to be on God’s side and trust and obey Him, than to rebel against Him and lose everything we have including our precious souls.

“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were in the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15)

Prayer of the Day:

Dearest God, please help me to choose to be on Your side and serve You.

Nahum 1

Verse of the Day:V7 “The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.”

1.  Burden (V1-3)

V1 “The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.”

The Almighty God had put a burden of Nineveh, the wicked city, on the tender heart of Prophet Nahum. Though the Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, yet He never allows wickedness to prevail in all the cities of the world. Time and again, God would sent His prophets to pronounce His judgments upon all the wicked to repent of their sins.

V3 “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.”

2.  Bashan (V4-7)

V4 “He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.”

The Lord not only judges and punishes the wicked, but He is in control of everything. The Lord rebukes the sea and rivers, and makes them dry. The Lord destroys the most fertile lands like Bashan, Carmel and Lebanon, and makes them wastelands. No one can escape God’s judgment and sovereignty. Unless the wicked repent of their sins, God will not hear their cries and forgive their sins. It is not whether you know the Lord, but most importantly, whether the Lord knows you, and acknowledges you as His precious child.

V7 “The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.”

3.  Bonds (V8-15)

V13 “For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder.”

God declared through Nahum that He would break the yoke and bonds of the people of Israel from their enemies when they would truly repent of their sins and wickedness. The Lord assured and promised them that they shall have peace and be freed from the burdens and bonds of their enemies when they would trust and obey Him and His commandments.

V15 “Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.”

Prayer of the Day:

Dearest God, thank You that You know me as I truly trust and obey You.

Micah 7

Verse of the Day:V7 “Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.”

1.  Woe (V1-2)

V1 “Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit.”

Prophet Micah was discouraged and depressed as it seemed that he could not gather any fruit or find any good man in the entire nation of Israel and Judah. Everyone was doing evil and wicked deeds, and no one could be trusted, not even their own family members.

V2 “The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.”

2.  Wait (V3-15)

V7 “Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.”

God encouraged Micah to look to Him and wait upon Him and He shall hear him, and be a light to him in this dark world. The Lord shall uphold His children, and when they fall, He shall grant them the strength to rise up and walk again for His glory and honour.

V8 “Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.”

3.  Worms (V16-20)

V17 “They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of thee.”

When the Almighty God judge the wicked, there is no way that the wicked can ever escape from Him. The wicked shall be so afraid and fearful of God that they shall be like the serpents licking the dust of the earth, and like the worms moving out of their holes. However if the wicked repent of their sins, the Lord will turn to them and demonstrate His great love and compassion towards them. The Lord shall forgive all their sins, cast them into the depths of the sea, and shall remember their sins no more. Let us wait upon the Lord, and trust in Him to deliver us from all our troubles, tribulations and trials.  

V19 “He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”

Prayer of the Day:

Dearest God, please help me to wait upon You and trust You in everything.