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DECEMBER 17
Nahum 1-3
You
might ask, what is the point of the book of Nahum? Good question. Lots of
prophets wrote of the downfall of Nineveh and Assyria. We just read some of
that in Micah. If I was going to hazard a guess, I would suggest that this
prophecy was used by God to spook (shock) the Assyrians into letting the newly
repentant and "born again" King Manasseh of Judah out of his Assyrian
captivity.
About
100 years earlier, Nineveh had fallen on hard times and was shocked into
repentance by the preaching of Jonah. Assyria had grown slowly, biding its time
and had now come almost to the stature of an empire. After the Assyrians took
the northern kingdom of Israel into captivity, they were humbled in trying to
take Jerusalem. This was a setback and now they feared the God who dwelt around
the mountains of Jerusalem. Even though Judah and Jerusalem pledged allegiance
to Assyria, it never mentions the Assyrians coming to Jerusalem. Even in 2
Chronicles 33:11, when it says that Manasseh was taken with thorns and hooks to
Babylon by the Assyrians, it never says they took Manasseh from Jerusalem. From
secular documents it says that Manasseh attended an event in Assyria. That is
probably where he was taken captive, and possibly for fear of Yahweh, Manasseh
was removed from Nineveh to a prison in Babylon.
During
that time Amon, Manasseh's son, would have run the government, though not
officially as king. In the meantime, Manasseh came to his right mind, repented
and was saved. God had an assignment for Manasseh. Manasseh wasn't able to undo
his horrible wrongs and influence in Jerusalem and Judah. He couldn't change
the heart of his son Amon, but it does appear that the repentant and humbled
Manasseh might have used his last years to influence his grandson Josiah.
Josiah went on to be the godliest king of Judah, and through his reforms and
influence, eight godly young people formed four godly families and had four
godly teenagers who were taken to Babylon and became key leaders used by God to
protect Israel during the Babylonian captivity.
I
think this violent little letter by Nahum struck the heart of the new Assyrian
king. He would have known of Jonah and the 185,000 men Assyria had lost outside
of Jerusalem, slaughtered by no human hand. When he heard this message and
remembered that his father had imprisoned Manasseh, he, like the kings before
him, felt the dread of Israel's God, and returned Manasseh to Jerusalem.
If you want to see where Nahum fits in the history of the Old Testament,
look at the chart, “Kings of Judah and Israel and the Preexilic Prophets,” at the end of this document.
If
you have the Bible Knowledge Commentary and if you are interested in
seeing how vile and violent Assyria was, and how exact this prophecy of Nahum
was, then you might be interested in reading the “Introduction
to the Book of Nahum,” Bible Knowledge Commentary-OT,
p. 1493.
Nahum
1
Vs.
1-6 Notice how threatening and violent this sounds. It actually will sound kind
of like events we'll read about in Revelation. Verse 3 is a comfort, but when
God has been ignored long enough and His judgment starts to roll, it rolls to
completion.
V.
7 This is one of a few breaks in this chapter where God declares His protection
of Judah and Jerusalem.
Vs.
8-11 This is God threatening the rulers of Assyria. Actually, Nineveh was taken
by a literal flood. Their army came as a "flood" among the nations,
but God used their enemies to make a real flood against them. I think v. 11
might be a reference to Rabshakeh in
2 Kings 18:17. It's a bad idea to get on the bad side of Yahweh. After all, how
often can you afford to lose 185,000 men?
Vs.
12-13 God is declaring deliverance for Israel in spite of Assyria's strength.
V. 14
God will make an end to Assyria.
V. 15
In contrast to the message of Rabshakeh, a messenger will come to Zion
declaring the good news of Assyria's demise. Paul and the Holy Spirit used this
verse in Romans 10:15. The good news of deliverance we bring into the harvest
is about a million times better.
Nahum
2
Vs.
1-9 Apparently there is imagery in this vision of the destruction of Nineveh
that reflects some of what actually happened.
V. 2
Note again. This is confirmation that God is bringing this destruction because
of what has happened to Israel. So, if the king of Assyria is listening, he
will try to do something nice for Israel. Sending King Manasseh back might have
been a noble-looking peace offering.
V. 3
The Assyrians would have seen these red shields as an allusion to the army of
Babylon.
Vs.
10-13 This is God mocking the pride and power of Assyria. God would humble
them.
Nahum
3
Vs.
1-7 The destruction of Nineveh was so complete, that years later Alexander the
Great rode by and had no idea that the ruins he saw had once been this city.
Vs.
8-10 Although Egypt had power and lots of allies, when Assyria brutally took
Thebes, none of these things helped. In the same way, Assyria shouldn't think
its strength or allies would be a help. In fact, it was the allies of Assyria,
the Medes and the Babylonians, who finally destroyed Nineveh.
Note
that this event in Egypt is already past. It took place in 663 B.C., which
gives us a little help in putting the date of this book in the reign of
Manasseh.
Vs.
11-19 Again, this is all very graphic and violent. If it was read in Hebrew to
the king of Assyria, with that guttural, throaty sound, it might have even been
that much more frightening.
We've
seen that God had no problem scaring kings and humbling them. Nebuchadnezzar
was a great lesson. In what we are reading in Revelation, it shows us that the
only thing holding God back from mastering all nations is His own patience in
seeing people in the harvest saved. Jesus told His disciples not to fear
rulers. Why? Because He is in control behind the scenes in an infinitely wise
and intricate way, bringing justice to
victory (Matt. 12:20). If we get dragged before kings, it's because He
wants us dragged there to give testimony to Him, of His gracious offer and
sacrifice, and of His coming in glory and judgment.
Revelation 8
V. 1 I can only think that this was a
very solemn thirty minutes, showing the importance of this seventh seal. According to those theologians who think in
"points and sub-points," all of what follows is actually a sub-point
of this seventh seal. The book and its seals are the actual book of judgment.
What is about to happen next will make the first six seals look like a warm up,
which actually was what they were. By now people on the earth are responding to
what God has done, but as bad as that was, it is nothing compared to what is
about to hit the earth. The 144,000 are out and working. The antichrist has
revealed himself and has shown he is a supernaturally skilled organizing- and
consensus-winning dynamo. He has brought order to the world order and made a
peace agreement with Israel that is agreed upon by all nations. Imagine that.
In the new religious tolerance that the antichrist creates, believers are being
persecuted and killed; because, after all, all religions accept Jesus. However,
Jesus doesn't accept any other religion, nor do His disciples. People are
either thinking about God or they are not. I think it is during this time that
the two witnesses also rise to prominence in Jerusalem. I think that the events
we are about to witness are called down by these witnesses, so that when God
allows the antichrist to kill them, the entire world will rejoice.
Vs. 2-4 I believe the prayers of the saints are prayers for God's justice. Now the
angel mixes them with the coals from the altar of sacrifice and holiness, and
judgment will begin.
Vs.
5-6 Now Jesus will literally get His wish. I
came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled (Luke
12:49)! I'm guessing in all of this, the earth is about to experience a massive
and yet somewhat progressive meteor storm. Notice that when the judgments begin,
it looks like they all happen pretty near each other.
V. 7 There is no way to imagine this.
Talk about throwing the entire world into an emergency. And in all of it, the
144,000 are working in the harvest, under the radar, under that smoke. And,
everyone in the world is mad at those two guys in Jerusalem, but they can't do
much about them. They're too busy putting out fires, literally. And to think,
this happened because of all the little pieces that got through the atmosphere.
I have a feeling that wherever this third of the earth is, it is far enough
away from Israel that Israel will have relative peace.
Vs. 8-9 This is the second trumpet and
a big piece gets through. We don't know which ocean gets hit, but we see the
result. Who can say what the blood
means. Maybe it is simply appearance, but the effect is amazing. Not only are
the ocean's waters poisoned, so that a third of the aquatic life dies, but the
tidal wave also destroys a third of all merchant shipping. I have no idea how
destructive this will be to commerce or to every city near the ocean. Also,
what will be the ramifications of having poisoned oceans? And again, the
144,000 are working away in the harvest. Some people are getting saved and
others are really, really getting mad at the two rats in Jerusalem.
Vs. 10-11 The third trumpet and yet
another big piece gets through. Did you know that the Great Lakes hold about
one-third of the fresh water in the world?
V. 12 This is hard to understand. I
have read that if the earth were struck by enough big meteors, that it would
create such a dense cloud of dust on earth that it could fill the atmosphere
and block the sun's rays, possibly throwing the world into an ice age. We won't
have an ice age, but the world will be changed. And what will that mean for any
and all communication, for satellite guidance and tracking and for air travel?
V. 13 There is an eagle in heaven
directly over John, talking. And basically it says that the people on earth
haven't seen anything yet. Everything so far has had a "natural" look
to it. To be in the path of a meteor shower is just bad luck, right? Things are
about to get "spiritual."
But in all of this, keep in mind that
some people will be opening their hearts to God. This is the last great
harvest. What mercy and love in the midst of judgment. In all the confusion,
the 144,000 are quietly working in that very dark harvest. As disciples our
hour is now. We need to be doing our part in our field's harvest.
Psalm 136
God's love is the common element in all
of the things mentioned. In fact, it is God's loyal love. In the list of events
in this psalm are nice things and awful things. The constant is the loyal love
of God. As we are seeing in Revelation, in the middle of tremendous judgment,
His love is still operating to save those who are willing to turn to Him.
Regardless of what comes into our lives, His steadfast, faithful, loyal love,
because of Christ, is always working and endures
forever.
Vs. 1-9 This is God's love to us in the
creation.
Vs. 10-16 This is God's love by saving
Israel out of Egypt.
Vs. 17-22 This is God's love by
protecting Israel in the wilderness and giving them victory in the land.
Vs. 23-26 This is God's love in the
present. He reigns in the world, yet He attends to our needs with His steadfast love.
Proverbs 30:7-9
I think it is healthy to be a little fearful and weary of
the sin within us. Get us off our meds (the Word) and we are capable of
anything. We are weaker than we think. Isn't it interesting when the Lord gave
His disciples the prayer that was to "tune" their praying, at the end
is the reminder of their weakness. And
lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (Matt. 6:13,
RSV). One of the benefits of being a disciple, living close to the Lord,
utterly dependent, is that we see ourselves, but we know His love and strength.
To see ourselves without Him would be awful.
Please Read
the Following Disclaimer
I'm writing the Reading Notes to and
for those who are following a One Year Bible and are interested in growing
deeper as a disciple, following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see the
growth of a discipleship culture in the church, that is, groups of 3-4
disciples, meeting weekly, encouraging each other to follow Christ and work to
reach out and make disciples, who make disciples. The Bible itself is the most
universal and important discipleship manual we have and it is the key to our
growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused on why we are here,
or what we are to be doing, or whom we are to be following. My comments are
only meant to provide some explanation of the events or to show the flow of
God's plan of redemption. My comments are in no way exhaustive, but are
designed to keep us, as disciples, focused on Christ and our role in His
harvest. My hope is that the people in these groups will grow in Christ and be
willing, after a year, to find 3 others to meet with and encourage in their
growth as disciples, making disciples in the harvest.
If you would like a more descriptive
commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary (BKC).
I read the BKC in doing background for the Reading Notes and refer to it quite
often. I also make reference to maps or charts in the BKC, though I will only
note where those resources can be found. Often you can do a search for these
and find them in Google books. Buying both volumes of the Bible Knowledge
Commentary would be a good idea.
I am not endorsing any particular
One Year Bible translation; in fact, I read something you probably don't, Die
Revidierte Lutherbibel, 1984. Unless noted, all Scripture quotes are from the
ESV Bible.
Anyone reading along with us is
welcome to do so and is encouraged to take their own notes and make their own
observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular tradition
or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any
point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as
I understand it. Often there is a breadth of opinion on certain events, both
historical and prophetic. Many of my views come from my church background,
theological training and my personal study.
I'm
doing this with discipleship in mind, meaning, I'm writing out thoughts that
will keep discipleship and our growth as disciples applied to what we are reading.
Remember,
the real focus of the Reading Notes is to be a supplement, a disciple’s
commentary, giving motivation and insight so that we will keep following our
Lord in the harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples, who make
disciples. Being in the Word every day,
sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning directly from Him, is the essential essence of
being and making disciples.
May the Lord bless you as you follow Him in the
harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples, who make disciples. Dan
If you would like documents
containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
If you would like a full
presentation of discipleship read Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples.
Or if you are struggling with
insomnia and would like a long boring dissertation on disciple making, these
can both be found on https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
Reading Notes ©, Dan Kachikis
2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018
The One Year Bible © by
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton Illinois 60189
The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers.
All charts/graphics/outlines
from the Bible Knowledge Commentary are used with the permission of David C.
Cook.
© 1983, 2001 John F Walvoord and Roy B Zuck.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary is published by David C Cook.
All rights reserved. Publisher permission
required to reproduce.
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