Maranatha Grace Church

Hello:

Book of Nahum Challenge – Day 29 Nahum1 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
 the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance on his foes
 and vents his wrath against his enemies.
³ The Lord is slow to anger but great in power;
 the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.
His way is in the whirlwind and the storm,
 and clouds are the dust of his feet.
⁴ He rebukes the sea and dries it up;
 he makes all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and Carmel wither
 and the blossoms of Lebanon fade. (Nahum 1:1-4)

This chapter of the Book of Nahum tells us a lot about God’s attributes of love and justice. In the context of humanity God’s love and God’s justice constitute what some theologians have called “the problem of God.” Nahum writes in verse 3 that “the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.” But in verse 7 we read, “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.”  The problem is this: “God loves man, and he does not want to punish him for his sin. But God is just and holy, he must punish sin.” How does God solve this dilemma?

The problem was solved in the person of Jesus Christ. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Through Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross, the penalty for sin has been paid; the reconciliation of God and man was made possible. Thus, both the love and the justice of God were satisfied in Christ death and resurrection.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Nahum Challenge – Day 30 Nahum 2 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

“I am against you,”
 declares the Lord Almighty.
“I will burn up your chariots in smoke,
 and the sword will devour your young lions.
 I will leave you no prey on the earth.
The voices of your messengers
 will no longer be heard.” (Nahum 2:13)

One cannot think of a more dreadful sentence than this one, “I am against you, declares the Lord Almighty.” But this is exactly what the Lord told the people of Nineveh. How did they react faced with such an opponent? When God sends a decree of judgment against a nation or a person, it is never final; its realization is contingent upon either repentance or obstinacy. If the people repent of their wrongdoings, the Lord is always gracious to forgive them. But if they continue in their wrongdoings surely punishment falls on them.  

In the case of Nineveh, the first time that the Lord sent a message of punishment to them through his prophet Jonah, the Bible tells us that every inhabitant of Nineveh repented, from the least of the people the king himself. “The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth” (John 3:5). But, the second time around in the case of Prophet Nahum, they persisted in their wrongdoings and their cities were eventually destroyed.  

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Nahum Challenge – Day 31 Nahum 3 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

Are you better than Thebes,
 situated on the Nile,
 with water around her?
The river was her defense,
 the waters her wall.
⁹ Cush^[a] and Egypt were her boundless strength;
 Put and Libya were among her allies. (Nahum 3:8-9)

Good question, “Are you better than ..?” We can fill in the blank. Do you prefer work or grace? Do you feel you deserve your good fortune because you earn it, or do you feel yourself lucky or blessed because of your good fortune?  Prosperity tests our allegiance to God much more than adversity. Adversity in general humble us, and push us toward God, while our prosperity is a constant of opportunities for prideful behaviors.  

You are not better, you are different. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (Philippians 2:3-4).

Congratulations to Maranatha Grace Church.

May the Lord richly bless you!