Old Testament

November 13, 2014

God Strengthens

 

Thoughts About What We’re Reading…

 

This week we begin our reading through the Book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel’s name literally means “God strengthens”.

The arrangement of the book (the announcement of judgment in the beginning and the declaration of restoration at the end) suggests that Ezekiel’s message was ultimately one of hope and encouragement.

Borrowing from the HCSB Study Bible – we find six major theological statements made in the book on behalf of the Nation of Israel:

(1) The Lord will re-gather His scattered people.

(2) The Lord will bring the nation back to their land and will cleanse them from defilement.

(3) The Lord will give His people a new heart and a new spirit so they might walk in His ways.

(4) The Lord will restore the Davidic dynasty.

(5) The Lord will bless Israel with unprecedented prosperity and security in their land.

(6) The Lord will establish His permanent residence in the midst of Israel.

All the covenants made with Israel will be fulfilled when the nation is restored to the promised land and the messianic kingdom is established.

Borrowing from the Gospel Transformation Bible notes on Ezekiel, we find that the whole structure of the book points to God’s grace toward His people in spite of their sin.

In the first 24 chapters, the book contains a succession of oracles that promise judgment against the people of Israel. Jerusalem will be placed under siege and destroyed, this will happen because of the peoples’ sin.

The exile has not happened by accident, and neither will the destruction of Jerusalem. All of it comes from the hand of God in response to the peoples’ rebellion against Him.

In chapters 24–33, the focus changes as God turns His attention to judging the nations around Israel. He is sovereign not only over His people but over all the nations of the world. None of them will be excused for their rebellion.

In chapter 33, the focus of the book changes again. With God’s judgment against Jerusalem carried out in full, and with judgment pronounced against Israel’s enemies, God now begins to promise His people that they will be restored.

Life will reign where there has been only death. God will pour out His Spirit on the people. God will once again dwell with His people.

One day, God will restore His people and a new ruler will sit on David’s throne. This king will not only reign for eternity but will also make atonement for His people’s sins and bring them back into God’s presence.

In all this, Ezekiel points powerfully both to the coming of Jesus Christ and to the grace of God in forgiving sinners.

Until next time… keep reading!

Jim

Excerpts for today’s blog were taken directly from the HCSB Study Bible and The Gospel Transformation Bible.

November 13, 2014

November 13 – OT Reading

Lamentations 3:37-5:22

Lamentations 3:37-65

37 Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, Unless the Lord has commanded it? 38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High That both good and ill go forth?

39 Why should any living mortal, or any man, Offer complaint in view of his sins? 40 Let us examine and probe our ways, And let us return to the Lord. 41 We lift up our heart and hands Toward God in heaven; 42 We have transgressed and rebelled, You have not pardoned. 43 You have covered Yourself with anger And pursued us; You have slain and have not spared. 44 You have covered Yourself with a cloud So that no prayer can pass through. 45 You have made us mere offscouring and refuse In the midst of the peoples. 46 All our enemies have opened their mouths against us. 47 Panic and pitfall have befallen us, Devastation and destruction; 48 My eyes run down with streams of water Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people. 49 My eyes pour down unceasingly, Without stopping, 50 Until the Lord looks down And sees from heaven. 51 My eyes bring pain to my soul Because of all the daughters of my city. 52 My enemies without cause Hunted me down like a bird; 53 They have silenced me in the pit And have placed a stone on me. 54 Waters flowed over my head; I said, “I am cut off!” 55 I called on Your name, O Lord, Out of the lowest pit. 56 You have heard my voice, “Do not hide Your ear from my prayer for relief, From my cry for help.” 57 You drew near when I called on You; You said, “Do not fear!” 58 O Lord, You have pleaded my soul’s cause; You have redeemed my life. 59 O Lord, You have seen my oppression; Judge my case. 60 You have seen all their vengeance, All their schemes against me. 61 You have heard their reproach, O Lord, All their schemes against me. 62 The lips of my assailants and their whispering Are against me all day long. 63 Look on their sitting and their rising; I am their mocking song. 64 You will recompense them, O Lord, According to the work of their hands. 65 You will give them hardness of heart, Your curse will be on them. 66 You will pursue them in anger and destroy them From under the heavens of the Lord!

Lamentations 4

Distress of the Siege Described

4 How dark the gold has become, How the pure gold has changed! The sacred stones are poured out At the corner of every street. 2 The precious sons of Zion, Weighed against fine gold, How they are regarded as earthen jars, The work of a potter’s hands! 3 Even jackals offer the breast, They nurse their young; But the daughter of my people has become cruel Like ostriches in the wilderness. 4 The tongue of the infant cleaves To the roof of its mouth because of thirst; The little ones ask for bread, But no one breaks it for them. 5 Those who ate delicacies Are desolate in the streets; Those reared in purple Embrace ash pits. 6 For the iniquity of the daughter of my people Is greater than the sin of Sodom, Which was overthrown as in a moment, And no hands were turned toward her. 7 Her consecrated ones were purer than snow, They were whiter than milk; They were more ruddy in body than corals, Their polishing was like lapis lazuli. 8 Their appearance is blacker than soot, They are not recognized in the streets; Their skin is shriveled on their bones, It is withered, it has become like wood. 9 Better are those slain with the sword Than those slain with hunger; For they pine away, being stricken For lack of the fruits of the field. 10 The hands of compassionate women Boiled their own children; They became food for them Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people. 11 The Lord has accomplished His wrath, He has poured out His fierce anger; And He has kindled a fire in Zion Which has consumed its foundations. 12 The kings of the earth did not believe, Nor did any of the inhabitants of the world, That the adversary and the enemy Could enter the gates of Jerusalem. 13 Because of the sins of her prophets And the iniquities of her priests, Who have shed in her midst The blood of the righteous; 14 They wandered, blind, in the streets; They were defiled with blood So that no one could touch their garments. 15 “Depart! Unclean!” they cried of themselves. “Depart, depart, do not touch!” So they fled and wandered; Men among the nations said, “They shall not continue to dwell with us.” 16 The presence of the Lord has scattered them, He will not continue to regard them; They did not honor the priests, They did not favor the elders. 17 Yet our eyes failed, Looking for help was useless; In our watching we have watched For a nation that could not save. 18 They hunted our steps So that we could not walk in our streets; Our end drew near, Our days were finished For our end had come. 19 Our pursuers were swifter Than the eagles of the sky; They chased us on the mountains, They waited in ambush for us in the wilderness. 20 The breath of our nostrils, the Lord’s anointed, Was captured in their pits, Of whom we had said, “Under his shadow We shall live among the nations.” 21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, Who dwells in the land of Uz; But the cup will come around to you as well, You will become drunk and make yourself naked. 22 The punishment of your iniquity has been completed, O daughter of Zion; He will exile you no longer. But He will punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom; He will expose your sins!

Lamentations 5

A Prayer for Mercy

5 Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us; Look, and see our reproach! 2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, Our houses to aliens. 3 We have become orphans without a father, Our mothers are like widows. 4 We have to pay for our drinking water, Our wood comes to us at a price. 5 Our pursuers are at our necks; We are worn out, there is no rest for us. 6 We have submitted to Egypt and Assyria to get enough bread. 7 Our fathers sinned, and are no more; It is we who have borne their iniquities. 8 Slaves rule over us; There is no one to deliver us from their hand. 9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives Because of the sword in the wilderness. 10 Our skin has become as hot as an oven, Because of the burning heat of famine. 11 They ravished the women in Zion, The virgins in the cities of Judah. 12 Princes were hung by their hands; Elders were not respected. 13 Young men worked at the grinding mill, And youths stumbled under loads of wood. 14 Elders are gone from the gate, Young men from their music. 15 The joy of our hearts has ceased; Our dancing has been turned into mourning. 16 The crown has fallen from our head; Woe to us, for we have sinned! 17 Because of this our heart is faint, Because of these things our eyes are dim; 18 Because of Mount Zion which lies desolate, Foxes prowl in it.

19 You, O Lord, rule forever; Your throne is from generation to generation. 20 Why do You forget us forever? Why do You forsake us so long? 21 Restore us to You, O Lord, that we may be restored; Renew our days as of old, 22 Unless You have utterly rejected us And are exceedingly angry with us.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

November 10, 2014

Out of the Frying Pan…

Genesis 39

The tale ends as it begins…the LORD’s presence with Joseph. The two primary things we see in this story…the LORD’s presence with Joseph and Joseph’s character. I would argue that knowing that the LORD’s presence is with him allows Joseph to demonstrate exceptional character. He is a faithful steward in his master’s house, and he resists the advances of his master’s wife. Don’t forget. This would not have been an easy time in Joseph’s life…far from home in a strange land, not to mention the whole slavery thing. Every reason not to make a good decision. But the LORD’s presence was with Joseph.

Why was the LORD’s presence with Joseph? It’s not because Joseph just happens to be a good guy. Although Joseph will foreshadow Jesus in many ways, we have to be careful of painting Joseph as a sinless character. The LORD’s presence was with Joseph because Joseph was a believer…like Adam and Seth and Noah and Shem and Abraham and Isaac and Jacob before him. Joseph believed Genesis 3.15…God’s promise to send a Redeemer, a Head-crushing Seed of the woman to rescue those who would believe in Him from death, giving them life instead and a hope…life in His kingdom today and a way back to the garden in the future. And believing that he had life with God, that they LORD’s presence was with him, Joseph could face suffering and trials with hope. God had an incredible destiny for him…and though his short-term circumstances didn’t show it, God was at work. More on that to come.

If you have trusted in Jesus, His presence is with you. Do you know that? Knowing that should motivate you to a different way of living. Potiphar saw the LORD at work in Joseph’s life and so did the jailer…do others (8-15) see the LORD at work in your life during the midst of the trials/suffering you are facing? Is it obvious to others that He’s with you? Are you a good steward in the work place? Is your employer blessed because you are there? Or have trials and your circumstances become an excuse to defend and justify making bad choices?

“But the LORD was with Joseph…” What a beautiful reminder…if you are a believer, He’s with you too, whether things are going well or not so well, whether you’re chilling at your father’s crib as the boy wonder or a slave in prison falsely accused and awaiting judgment. If your attempts at making lemonade have left a painful sting in your eye, remember His presence and remain faithful.

Until next time…stay salty.

This post is based on our Genesis series. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on twitter: @ccclancaster

November 6, 2014

Lamentations

 

Thoughts About What We’re Reading…

 

Today we turn to the Book of Lamentations.  Most scholars attribute this book to Jeremiah. We will address this book from that point of view.

We can consider Lamentations as an addendum to the Book of Jeremiah. Through the use of five funeral laments, Jeremiah is grieving, lamenting over the fate of Jerusalem, because of her sin.

Lamentations would have been written after the actual fall of Jerusalem, a desperate time following the long siege the people of Jerusalem had experienced.

After breaching the city, the armies of Babylon burned the temple, the king’s palace, and all the other major buildings in the city; and they tore down the walls of the city, which provided her protection.

Jeremiah would have witnessed these events (cf. Jeremiah 39:1-14; 52:12-14).

The once-proud capital had been destroyed. Her people were now under the harsh hand of a cruel taskmaster – the Babylonians. With this on his mind, Jeremiah sat down to compose his series of laments.

Lamentations both mourns the fall of the city and offers reproof, instruction, and hope to its survivors.

When you read Lamentations you should lay it side by side with Deuteronomy 28.

Read together, you see the sovereignty and mercy of God  – Moses had predicted all of this 900 years earlier.

God had warned of the fearful consequences of disobedience and, as Jeremiah carefully noted, God faithfully carried out those curses. Israel was punished for disobedience, but she was not consumed because God’s covenant was still in force.

Throughout the Bible we see God faithfully working with His remnant, the people of God.

Jeremiah’s message to the Israelites in captivity was to learn the lessons of Deuteronomy 28 and turn back to their Lord.

The prayer of Lamentations 5:21-22 was not a doubting cry from a discouraged remnant. Rather it was the response of faith from those captives who had mastered the lessons of Deuteronomy 28 and the Book of Lamentations. They were calling on God to fulfill the final part of His covenant and to restore them as a nation from captivity.

The book of Lamentations shows that God is a fierce enemy to those who trample on His Word and despise His grace. But He is also rich in mercy and unfailingly faithful to His covenant promises.

Lamentations is a confronting book, showing us the seriousness of rebellion against God. It spares no detail in revealing the radical sinfulness of sin and its awful consequences.

But it also points beyond itself to the mercy of the God of the new covenant in Christ who, despite everything, fulfills God’s covenant promises to His people, wayward though they are.

Until next time…  keep reading!

Jim

Excerpts for this blog were taken extensively from: The Bible Knowledge Commentary and The Gospel Transformation Bible Study notes.

November 3, 2014

Risky Business

Genesis 38

What about Joseph and his fantastic dreams? Why the hiatus to follow this crazy-twisted tale in Judah’s life? As the story continues to unfold, the destinies of these two sons of Jacob are linked in a unique way. This chapter covers roughly the same twenty-year period that Joseph will be in Egypt before the brothers come to visit. As we will see next week, Judah is a foil for Joseph. Among other things, Judah leaves his father’s home voluntarily, Joseph is forcibly removed; Judah makes bad decisions and follows his own desires, Joseph makes wise decisions and follows God. The dreams of Joseph will have a near-term impact on the family as he rescues them from famine, and they move south to Egypt. But ultimately the dreams of Joseph point us to a greater Rescuer, a greater Deliverer, a greater Redeemer, a much greater Hero…the Head-crushing Seed of the woman, a Guy we know as Jesus, who is also the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

Judah or Tamar. I don’t know which one best describes you. Selfish, hypocritical, short-sighted. Or self-reliant, resourceful, ends justify the means. Either way, the beautiful thing is…God uses evil in our lives for good. He’s not the Author of evil, but He is able to take our bad choices and accomplishes His purposes, many times in spite of us. Another way to say it…God doesn’t waste our mistakes. Thinking about life as a teenager…a point in life when a lot of major life decisions are made, generally the time when we have our first relationship with the opposite sex, the time when we are most tempted to experiment, decisions that can change the trajectory of our lives, decisions that may have catastrophic consequences in our lives. And many times bad choices made at this time can not only impact our life’s course, but they can also cause us to think that we can no longer be used by God. We can be deceived into thinking that life is over. But it’s not. God doesn’t often rescue us from the temporal consequences of our choices, but His grace abounds as we face those consequences. And those consequences become a part of the journey that God has us on as He fashions us into the image of His Son.

We talked about this a couple of weeks ago…God is in the process of shaping and molding us into the folks He wants us to be. He has a destiny for each one of us. And the road to realizing that destiny may be short or long, depending on the choices we make. Judah’s turning point didn’t have to be twenty years in the making. Tamar shouldn’t have had to trick her father-in-law. But God uses their choices and does an incredible thing…the hope remains alive through the mess. From this crazy-twisted story comes the line of Jesus. God can redeem our crazy-twisted stories also and bring beauty from ashes.

Until next time…stay salty.

This post is based on our Genesis series. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on twitter: @ccclancaster

 

October 30, 2014

Where is God?

 

Thoughts About What We’re Reading…

 

Looking through the reading plan as I write this, my normal course of action is to write about whatever we will be reading on the Thursday the blog comes out.

Looking at the plan, I have decided to diverge from my normal routine this week to write about the Book of Habakkuk as it fits between our Thursday readings.

If I do not write about Habakkuk, one of the more explicit sections of scripture dealing with the Sovereignty of God, we will have missed a chance to think through this book together.

Habakkuk was the last of the Minor Prophets to preach in Judah, the southern kingdom, before the final Babylonian invasion.

Unlike other prophets who declared God’s message to people – this prophet dialogued with God about people.

While, most Old Testament prophets proclaimed divine judgment, Habakkuk pleaded for divine judgment – but was surprised with the response.

Like the book of Job, this book presents important biblical truths for people who encounter difficulties that seem incomprehensible.

Habakkuk seeks to understand where is God in a time where the world has gone bad. Why is there so much oppression and injustice? Why do the evil prosper and the righteous suffer?

Why doesn’t God do something? Where is He?

Throughout the ages, God’s people have often expressed this complaint.

Job wondered why God seemed absent amid his difficult circumstances (Job 3), and Israel cried out during its wilderness wanderings, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Ex. 17:7).

God’s response was not what the prophet ever imagined or desired: God is surely among his people, will help them, and will bring them justice.

But… he will do it through the violent and haughty nation of Babylon (“the Chaldeans”; Hab. 1:6).

Through this perplexing response, God challenges not only Habakkuk’s faith but ours as well.

That God can bring about good from evil is a theme that echoes down through the whole Bible, such as in Joseph’s statement to his brothers: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Gen. 50:20).

God’s response to Habakkuk also foreshadows the ultimate good—eternal salvation—that would come through the ultimate evil—execution of the sinless Son of God upon a cross.

Yet in the unfathomable wisdom of God, on that cross justice and mercy meet.

Jesus receives the penalty that the justice of God requires for sin; and we receive, through faith, God’s mercy in forgiveness of sin and the promise of eternal life (Rom. 3:21–26).

This is why we can continue to have faith, trust and hope amid the brokenness of our world: God’s providential use of people and events is both purposeful and personal.

So, where is God? He is in sovereign control.

Until next time… keep reading!

Jim

Excerpts for this blog were taken directly from: The Bible Knowledge Commentary and extensively from The Gospel Transformation Study Bible.

October 23, 2014

Success or Faithfulness

 

Thoughts About What We’re Reading…

 

Today, we turn our attention to the book of Jeremiah, one of the Major Prophets and the longest of the Prophetic books.

So, who was Jeremiah?  The text teaches us he was a son of a priest called to be a prophet from his mother’s womb.

We know that Jeremiah prophesized during the years leading up to the fall of Jerusalem and exile into Babylon. The overarching theme of the book is judgment.

We call Jeremiah the “Weeping” Prophet for good reason. As we read through the book, we feel his anguish, lamenting over the fallen people of Judah and its capital city, much like Jesus laments over Jerusalem in Luke 13:34-35.

Despite some valiant attempts at reform by kings such as Hezekiah and Judah, this process of decline is irreversible and ends with the ultimate destruction of all the visible element’s of Israel’s covenant relationship with God, such as Jerusalem and the temple.

We feel Jeremiah’s frustration in dealing with the stubbornness of the people. The people felt immune to any threat of divine judgment, but Jeremiah repeatedly warned them about the vanity of their reliance on ritual and external formalism.

Jeremiah’s story is one of courage and endurance. Imagine, preaching for 40+ years and it doesn’t appear that there was even one convert!

His enemies cast him in a dungeon, his family and friends rejected him, other priests and prophets made fun of him. He was beaten, humiliated, and ridiculed.

At times in the text, we see how Jeremiah grows tired of bringing God’s message of judgment to an unresponsive people.

But God’s word would bring blessing to Jeremiah’s own soul, we read in Jeremiah 15:16, “Your words were found, and I eat them, and Your words became to me a joy and a delight of my heart…”.

Jeremiah’s message carried three main points as did most of the Old Testament Prophets – The Lord will judge His people for their sin, God is faithful and merciful, and will bring about restoration and salvation.

Faithfully, he preached and proclaimed the message that judgment was coming to the nation of Judah. Judgment would indeed come.

We see also the gospel foreshadowed in Jeremiah as he points to the sovereign grace of God in His control over world history and his faithfulness to His covenant – fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In Jeremiah, we learn a great lesson when it comes to ministry. Ministry isn’t so much about success as it about faithfulness. The Lord doesn’t ask us to be successful. He asks us to be faithful. Each of us has a job to do and the Lord isn’t asking for success, for only He can bring that about. He simply asks us to be faithful—to do what He says.

Until next time… Keep reading!

Jim

Excerpts for this blog were taken directly from The Gospel Transformation Study Bible, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, and Courson’s Application Commentary, Volume 2.

October 20, 2014

Dream Big

Genesis 37

Things look pretty bleak for Joseph. His life, not to mention his fantastic dreams, are in jeopardy. What will become of them? What will become of him?

What are we to make of these fantastic dreams, these earthy and celestial dreams? It sure appears that Joseph is destined for greatness, but the path there is by no means clear. And where is God? His presence is not mentioned in this episode, He has no apparent direct involvement in Joseph’s life. At least not on the surface. But if we dig a little deeper, if we pull back the curtain, we can see God’s fingerprints all over this story, His sovereignty at work in the events of Joseph’s life…right place at right time over and over again. In Shechem at the right time to meet the right guy who happened to be in the right place not only to intercept Joseph, but also was in the right place at the right time to hear where the brothers were going. Even Joseph’s arrival in Dothan is at the right time for Judah to see the trading caravan heading to Egypt (which as we will see will be the right place). The caravan reaches Egypt at the right time so that Joseph is sold to the right guy (Potiphar) who is in the right place. Coincidence? Not at all.

Joseph will have many opportunities along the way to give up or to make unwise choices. But God will work through the mess of Joseph’s life…and ours, taking us through the eye of the storm to demonstrate the wonder of His grace in our lives. He had work to do in Joseph’s life…brash, overconfident, self-centered…to prepare him to deliver his family. And He’s got work to do in ours. The moment when our faith becomes real…when our dreams are seemingly dashed (death of loved one, don’t make the team, injuries), and we have to totally rely on God, trusting that He is working even in that circumstance to bring about His purpose. See the dreams are His. Joseph’s dreams weren’t about Joseph’s greatness, not about him getting the glory. Joseph’s dreams were a part of the grand dream that God has for His creation. Joseph is a part, just as his brothers were even though they didn’t have the same dream or the same role as Joseph, they are no less important. Some of us may be like Joseph, and God may have a very visible role for us to play. But we are not all Josephs. Our part is not a less than. God created each one of us uniquely…different gifts, talents, abilities, calling, dreams.

It’s easy to let the circumstances of our lives determine our sense of nearness or far-ness from God. At the bottom of a well, or on the way to Egypt in shackles, God may seem light years away. But the truth is our circumstances do not determine God’s presence. He is with us. Our job is to stay the course. If God has laid a dream or a vision for ministry on your heart, if you feel Him calling you in some pursuit (and as a believer He has a calling on your life), realize that He will likely take you through a journey of preparation for that calling. And it may not be easy or fun. Depending on the character development that He needs to do in you. I’ve seen that many times in my own life. The road never seems to be downhill or the time short…feels like a long and winding uphill trek, but looking back His fingerprints have always been visible.

So dream big. Trust God in the process. And remember that character matters.

Until next time…stay salty.

This post is based on our Genesis series. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on twitter: @ccclancaster

October 16, 2014

Slow to Anger but Great in Power

 

Thoughts About What We’re Reading…

 

It seems just a few weeks ago we were reading about Jonah and celebrating the revival of an entire city – the city of Nineveh.  But as we turn our attention to the Book of Nahum, we realize something bad has happened.

Nineveh has turned away from the Lord and returned to her old ways.  Instead of celebrating the Lord’s salvation  – we learn that Nineveh has come under judgment.

Nahum 3:3 reminds us – “The Lord is slow to anger but great in power…”

The main theme of the book is the impending judgment of Nineveh by the Lord, by which He would deliver His people – Israel. Yahweh would pay back Nineveh and the Assyrians in the same way they had mistreated their enemies.

The Book of Nahum is much like a sequel to the Book of Jonah.

As a reminder, Jonah was a prophet to the Northern Kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 14:25-27), who received a word from the Lord to go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it because of their wickedness. (Jonah 1:2)

Jonah was resentful of the people of Nineveh. Nineveh was the military capital of Assyria, (modern day Iraq) a people known for its violence and evil.  Because Assyria had caused much harm to the people of Israel – Jonah was slow to forgive them.

Consequently, when the Lord commissioned Jonah to preach repentance to this bloody, brutal people, Jonah went as far as he could in the opposite direction in fear that they would receive his message and experience God’s forgiveness.

After trying to run from the Lord and His calling, Jonah begrudgingly preaches the Word – the city repents, and Jonah ends up upset that the enemy of His people have repented and turned to the Lord.

Now, one hundred fifty years or so later, we pick up the story in the Book of Nahum—a book that divides itself into three sections.

In chapter 1, Nineveh’s doom is declared.

In chapter 2, Nineveh’s doom is described.

In chapter 3, Nineveh’s doom is deserved.

The book of Nahum dramatically portrays God judgment over Assyria to relieve His oppressed people.

It was certainly a harsh message for Israel’s enemies, but for the people of Judah it was a message of hope.

Nineveh comes to stand for those who have hardened themselves to God and oppose both the Lord and His people. God’s people can rejoice in God’s justice only because they have themselves been humbled and chastened, having been brought to repentance through His great patience (v. 3).

God’s patience manifests His love and His desire that all would repent and turn to Him, but this patience should not be mistaken for approval of the unrepentant.

The book of Nahum provides a great view of a powerful, just God who maintains His absolute moral standards and offers hope to those who are despised and downtrodden.

God overthrows and destroys dominions that are opposed to His rule and oppress His people.

Judgment upon wickedness will inevitably come. All will be set right. We can be hopeful and patient.

Nahum teaches us to trust God. Even when we despair of any help, we can know that God will stand with those who belong to Him.

Amen!

Until next time… keep reading!

Jim

Excerpts were taken from the following sources for this blog: The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Gospel Transformation Bible, HCSB, Courson’s Application Commentary Old Testament Volume 2

October 13, 2014

Esau’s Clan

Genesis 36

Why do we care about a genealogy…especially Esau’s? He’s not even the main character. Why does Moses feel the need to include all of this detail?

A friend of mine had a conversation with some missionary friends about genealogies in the Bible. These missionaries said that genealogies are gold…they’re one of the primary ways that they reach some of the more primitive cultures who still have oral traditions, where stories are passed down by word of mouth from father to son, mother to daughter, generation to generation. “The fact that God cares about the details of the biblical characters’ lives means He must care about my life, too.” What a great observation. Another way to say it is, “People matter to God.” Each name listed is an image-bearer of the eternal God. And while the names may be unfamiliar to us and difficult to pronounce, they are nonetheless important.

God created us to bear His image to His creation, and although that image was marred through the fall, it remains nonetheless. And since the time of the fall, God has been on a rescue mission. He promised way back in Genesis 3.15 that He would send a Redeemer who would save us, who would provide a way back to the garden by crushing the serpent’s head. As the story has continued to unfold, we’ve found out that this Redeemer would be a descendant of not only Adam through Seth, and Noah through Shem, but more specifically through Abraham all the families of the earth would be blessed. The same promise is passed on to Isaac and Jacob. The Head-crushing Seed of the woman, the Savior of the world , the Hero of our story would come from a family, a people, but would come for all families, for all peoples. God’s desire has always been for the nations. And so the picture of heaven throughout the book of Revelation includes folks from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

People matter to God. The descendants of Esau mattered to God. You matter to God. He knows your name and desires to have a relationship with you. He loves you…He’s demonstrated it over and over. Not only do you bear His image, but He also went to unbelievable lengths to reach you…the greatest of which was to send His own Son, as the Redeemer who would crush the head of the serpent by laying down His own life. He died so that you could live, by believing in Him He would take your sin, your shame, your rebellion and give you His righteousness. A remarkably absurd exchange…the amazing love of God for you. So that you could be a part of His family’s story.

Until next time…stay salty.

This post is based on our Genesis series. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on twitter: @ccclancaster