Daily Blast - Minor Prophets: Day 21
Scripture
“7 The Lord is good,
a strong refuge when trouble comes.
He is close to those who trust in him.
8 But he will sweep away his enemies
in an overwhelming flood.
He will pursue his foes
into the darkness of night.”
Reflection
Today we start the book of the prophet Nahum. Like many of the other minor prophets, Nahum carries a very similar message. At the start of chapter one, Nahum tells people about what happens to those who oppose God. Something interesting in this book is the way Nahum describes God. In verse 2 Nahum describes God as jealous and that He is filled with vengeance and rage! What?! God is jealous? He’s filled with vengeance and rage? Is Nahum talking about a different God to the one we know? Actually, when Nahum is describing God in these terms, or when anyone describes God in these terms, it’s important to look at the context.
At the time the Assyrian empire was in charge causing chaos, and, as many of the other prophets have described the Assyrians, they weren’t very nice people. They were people who worshipped other gods, cheated the poor, and praised the rich. All things which God, our God, did not and does not encourage. At the time Nahum describes God as jealous, it’s because God does not enjoy seeing people worship other Gods, especially when it comes to His people. God isn’t jealous of mundane boring things, like the person who ate the last piece of chocolate cake. In fact, God is jealous in a very different way to us. We get jealous when we want the thing that someone else has which isn’t rightfully ours, but God gets jealous because the things that are His turn away and go looking for other things.
Another thing to notice in this chapter is in today's chosen verses. “The Lord is good”. To His people, God is always good. He loves them, cares for them, and wants to see what is best for them come to pass. There is a clear difference in the way Nahum describes the people who are against God in comparison to those who are in God’s care. For those who know God, they have hope and a future with Him, but those who don’t could very easily fall to the same fate which came to the Assyrians.
Challenge
I think it is fair to say that none of us want to see our friends, family, or even our enemies ending up with the same fate that overcame the Assyrians. So my challenge for you today is that you spend some time praying for your friends, families, and enemies so that they might be able to have an encounter with our amazing God.