Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Pre-exilic Prophets 4 (5)
Pray Psalm 147.1.
Praise the LORD!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.
Sing Psalm 147.1.
(St. Anne: Our God, Our Help in Ages Past)
Praise God, for it is good to sing loud praises to the LORD!
With joy our songs of praise we bring to God and to His Word.
Read Nahum 1.1-15; meditate on verse 15.
Preparation
1. What was the good news God had for Judah?
2. What must they do in response?
Meditation
Nahum seems to have prophesied after the fall of Israel, since his words were directed against Nineveh, and Judah had not yet fallen (v. 15). He declared that God, Who is jealous for His people, would avenge them against the Assyrians (vv. 1, 2). His anger may be slow in coming, but the wicked will surely know it (v. 3). He is sovereign over all creation, and none can stand before Him (vv. 4-6). He is good, however, and will restore those who trust in Him (v. 7). But He will destroy His enemies (vv. 8-14). Judah should receive the good news Nahum proclaimed and fulfill all her vows to the Lord (v. 15).
The prophet had it exactly right. God destroyed the Assyrians overnight as they gathered to attack Jerusalem. Sennacherib and his remaining forces straggled home to Nineveh, where he was assassinated by his sons. Judah was spared the destruction Israel and other nations had endured. Seasons of revival under Hezekiah and Josiah would follow.
But these would provide only a brief reprieve from judgment. For Judah would return to her folly and disobedience and fall to the wrath of God inflicted by Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon.
The good news that was declared on the mountains of Judah was that the Assyrians were destroyed and gone. The Good News that was declared to the world on the mountain of Calvary was that God’s wrath was wholly satisfied against the sins of the world in the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. And His resurrection three days later brought in the day of Good News and salvation for the world.
Let ours be the beautiful feet, running quickly with the Good News that God’s wrath has been satisfied and salvation and the Kingdom are ours through faith in Jesus Christ.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Nahum’s words were written one hundred years after the Jonah Revival in Nineveh.
How quickly they had squandered their change of heart and ways. God had been pleased with their repentance: “Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it” (Jon. 3.10).
They were convicted of their sin, repented, and graciously forgiven, and set on a new path.
The warning to God’s people could not be clearer. Stay close to God. Trust in Him. Obey Him. Do not stray from His paths. Live in the redemption of Jesus’ work on the cross. Don’t be like Nineveh.
“The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble;
and He knows those who trust in Him” (Nah. 1.7).
“I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust’” (Ps. 91.2).
“Look upon me and be merciful to me, as Your custom is toward those who love Your Name” (Ps. 119.132).
“The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy.
The LORD is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Ps. 145.8, 9).
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all our ways acknowledge Him,
and He shall direct your paths” (Prov. 3.5, 6).
“Every Word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him” (Prov. 30.5).
Falling away from the grace of God, and our responsibility to work out our own salvation in fear and trembling (Phil. 2.12), is a slippery slope that we never want to traverse upon. Nineveh’s revival was grand—Nineveh’s fall extraordinary. Who would’ve ever thought it could happen? And yet, it did.
Jude wrote about standing firm: “Stay always within the boundaries where God’s love can reach and bless you. Wait patiently for the eternal life that our Lord Jesus Christ in His mercy is going to give you” (Jude 1.21 TLB). Walking always within the boundaries of God’s Law and love (Ex. 20.1-17; Matt. 22.37-40).
What happened to Nineveh will not happen to those who decide to follow Jesus to the very end.
“Surely your salvation is coming; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him” (Is. 62.11).
“And they shall call them The Holy People,
The Redeemed of the LORD;
and you shall be called Sought Out,
a City Not Forsaken” (Is. 62.12). Never Nineveh.
Reflection
1. Read Hebrews 12.3-11. Why should we want to be careful to obey God continually?
2. If you find yourself in the way of God’s discipline, what should you do?
3. What can believers do to help one another keep from straying away from the Lord?
Christ’s ministers are messengers of good tidings, that preach peace by Jesus Christ. How welcome to those who see their misery and danger by sin! And the promise they made in the day of trouble must be made good. Let us be thankful for God’s ordinances, and gladly attend them. Let us look forward with cheerful hope to a world where the wicked never can enter, and sin and temptation will no more be known. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Nahum 1.9-15
Pray Psalm 147.2, 3, 19, 20.
Thank the Lord for pouring out His wrath against us on Jesus, His only Son. Praise the Lord for His kindness, and devote yourself to hearing and doing His Word.
Sing Psalm 147.2, 3, 19, 20).
(St. Anne: Our God, Our Help in Ages Past)
The LORD builds up His Church and He His people gathers in.
The broken hearts He tenderly repairs and heals their sin.
His Word He to His Church bestows—His promises and Law.
No other nation God thus knows: Praise Him with songs of awe!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
