Nahum 1: 9-15 click here for passage
‘’Whatever they plot against the Lord he will bring to an end.’’ (9).
These words have relevance for us. We are seeing an explosion of wickedness in the world, with the blood almost daily splattering onto the TV screens of our lives. It’s certainly not true regarding all of it, but it is a fact about much of it, that it is anti-Christian in nature. So here is ‘’good news’’ for us, just as there was for Judah in Isaiah’s day, when the southern kingdom was on the verge of extinction (15); compare with Isaiah’s similar announcement about deliverance from Babylon (Isaiah 52:7). Here are some reasons to take heart:
• All evil is ‘on a metre’. The clock is ticking. It will eventually run out of ‘sand’. There will be ‘’an end’’ to it. Evil people also (for they are the ones causing it) are on borrowed time. Of course, we are all ‘’evil’’ in the sense that we have a sinful nature (L uke 11:13), but we are thinking especially here of the evil of plotting against God and His people; that violent (and futile) commitment to His and their destruction.
• Evil people will bring evil on themselves (10). As we sow, so shall we reap. Wickedness has a ‘boomerang’-like quality, and it often seems bigger on its return journey!
• God is not scared of any of the frightening people who terrify us. He is not afraid of their plots ‘’against’’ Him. They pose Him no threat at all. He knows that He will deal with them, how He will deal with them, and when. When the time is ripe for judgment, no human help will avail those the Lord moves against (12). Big numbers on the enemy’s side won’t bother God. He has bigger boots! ‘’In Nahum’s time, Assyria was the greatest power on earth; that It could be destroyed so quickly was beyond anyone’s belief. But Nahum, inspired by God, did believe it; and his little book shows us once again that godless and wicked nations cannot last…In 612 B.C., about twenty years after Nahum spoke these words, an invading army of Babylonians and their allies attacked Nineveh and destroyed it…Assyria had dominated the known world for four hundred years. The northern kingdom of Israel had been swallowed up; the southern kingdom (Judah) was on the verge of collapse…Nahum teaches us that the final word of history will come from God…’’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary’, pp.1272-1274. ‘’And GOD has something to say about all this: ‘’Even though you’re on top of the world, With all the applause and all the votes, you’ll be mowed down flat.’’ ‘’The Message.
• There are plots that get past the watching eyes of the best security networks, but not so with the Lord. That’s one good reason to trust Him (7).
• The cross is the ultimate demonstration of this principle enunciated in (9). Terrible plots have been launched, (and are still getting off the launch pad) ‘’against the Lord’’. But Calvary was the worst to an immeasurable degree. Yet God brought it all to an end swiftly and turned it into a glorious resurrection and ascension. As someone said, when you move against the Lord, it’s like playing chess against a Grand Master. Even your moves against Him He will use to defeat you! No wonder ‘’The One enthroned in heaven laughs…’’ Psalm 2:4a.
Prayer: Thank you Lord. I take heart from this. Help me to view the news through this Biblical ‘lens’.
Psalm 113 (click for todays passage)
It is thought that Jesus and His disciples used psalms 113-118 at the last supper. This psalm of praise, which opens and closes with the words, ‘’Praise the LORD’’, says a number of important things about praise (1-3):
- God is to be praised by His people;
- Praise should be given in time and through eternity. Everlasting praise is due to God;
- Praise is to be offered everywhere in the world.
‘’Start right now and keep on going! It is always time to praise the Lord. Make every breath a hymn of worship…If you have a problem praising the Lord from sunup to sundown, what will you do for all eternity?’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, pp.382, 383.
Why does the Lord deserve such praise? Because of who He is (4-6), and because of what He does (7-9); because of His greatness and His closeness (His transcendence and immanence).
‘’The movement of thought is from the sovereignty which rules all, to the goodness which touches each.’’ J.A. Motyer: ‘New Bible Commentary’,p.562.
Who He is (4-6): He’s the King of the Universe. Although, as we will see, He is obviously present and active within it, He is so far above it. He’s in charge of all things and all peoples. There is no one like Him. ‘’God is higher than anything and anyone, outshining everything you can see in the skies. Who can compare with GOD, our God, so majestically enthroned, Surveying his magnificent heavens and earth?’’ The Message.
What He has done (7-9): He has shown His compassion and power.
- Look at (7 and 8) and compare them with Ephesians 2:1-10.Do you see a parallel?
- How often this story IS told in the Bible (9). Someone is biologically unable to have a child, and then God, the Creator, does a miracle. (Let’s not forget that the Son of God came into the world because of a miracle of conception. It wasn’t that Mary was ‘’barren’’ , but she was unable to have a baby in her circumstances. She was a single woman living a pure life. God did a miracle!) As we read these words let’s take heart that the Lord can overturn our spiritual ‘barrenness’ and give us ‘children’. How we long to see many miracles of new birth, and our mighty God can make this happen. ‘’He gives childless couples a family, gives them joy as the parents of children.’’ The Message. A line in a hymn comes to mind as I think about this: ‘’May barrenness rejoice to own your fertilizing power.’’ B. Meyer says that Hannah’s story (in 1 Samuel) ‘’…should be a great comfort to those who have never been used in soul-winning…God can make barren souls authors of life to thousands.’’ However, he adds: ‘’Souls are only born to those who cannot live without them.’’ Great verses through the Bible’ p.235.
‘’Mary’s joyful song of praise (Luke 1:46-55) echoes Psalm 113:7-9. God’s grace makes kings out of beggars and joyful mothers out of the barren. Praise the Lord!’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p.383.
Prayer: ‘’Fill thou my life, O Lord my God, in every part with praise.’’
Ephesians 5:21-33
To follow John Stott’s outline, ‘Ephesians’ is about ‘New life’, ‘new society’, ‘new standards’, and finally ‘new relationships’ God gives people new life, forms them into a new community, and in it they hold to new standards and have new relationships.
In conducting all our relationships the main issue is Jesus (21). How can we please Jesus? What behaviour on our part will honour Jesus? How would Jesus want me to be with this person? It’s about seeing Jesus in people and serving Jesus in people.
The first part of this section on relationships relates to marriage (22-33), and Paul has particular things to say to both husbands and wives.
First of all he says that the relationship of a wife to a husband should be like that of the church to Christ (22-24). It should be one of complete submission. I attended the wedding of a friend some years ago, and in the ceremony she made a commitment to her husband ‘to love, honour and follow your spiritual leadership.’ I think that gets pretty close to what the apostle is calling for here. (Don’t forget that verse 21 precedes these verses. I know that sounds like stating the obvious, but it is important. Paul has called for mutual submission across the church. Husbands need to listen to their wives humbly and courteously, and there will be times when they need to adjust their thinking and behaviour accordingly.)
Secondly he says that the relationship of a husband to his wife should be like that of Christ to the church (25-33). It is hard to conceive that any woman would not want to follow a man who loves her like Jesus. A Christian husband should love his wife:
- Sacrificially (25): He will lay down his own life for her sake;
- Beneficially (26, 27): She should be a better person; more holy and godly, more radiantly Christ-like, because she is united to this man in the mystery of marriage;
- Thoughtfully (28-33): He must treat her like he would treat himself; he is to love her as he loves himself. In a sense she is his body, for they are ‘’one flesh’’ (31), just as the church is Christ’s ‘body’ and one with Him (29, 30).
Mention of the creation order for marriage (31) forcibly presses home the point that God’s original intent was for a man and woman to come together and unite. The Bible knows no other starting point for marriage. There’s nothing else on the drawing board other than one man leaving one father and one mother to be married to one woman.
‘’It’s all about you Jesus.’’ Properly understood, marriage is all about Jesus. We are called to be like Jesus. We are called to behave like Jesus we are called to do all that we do as husbands and wives for the honour of Jesus. What a calling! Without the fullness of the Spirit (18) we can’t be the people we are intended to be. But with His freely available help we can rise to great heights of loving service.
Prayer: Let me see you in everyone I meet today Lord Jesus, and serve you in them.
This wonderful prophecy of Isaiah concludes on a note of triumph. In the end God will triumph over all His enemies. However, what is a triumph for God and His people will be a tragedy for those who reject Him and worship other gods.
‘’Many may wonder why Isaiah ends his book with such a negative final verse. The reason is simple: it is the true ending for all those who rebel against God. If, after hearing all of Isaiah’s marvellous promises and terrible warnings, one still chooses to rebel against God, let that person know what his end will be. Isaiah’s book is written not so much to make believers happy as to bring unbelievers to repentance. Remember that Jesus Himself quoted Isaiah’s last verse in order to deter people from going to Hell (see Mark 9:47-48). The good news of salvation must always be combined with warnings of judgment; otherwise we will end up preaching only half the truth.’’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1074.
I read a story about a simple Christian man who took a labouring job. Each lunch time he took out a book of Moody’s sermons and read them. One day one of his fellow-workers asked him what he was reading. He told them, and they said, ‘Well read them to us.’ So that was what he did, every lunch time, until one day he forgot his book. ‘Then you’ll have to give us one of your own sermons,’ they laughingly told him. ‘’All right’’, he said. When a friend asked him what he said, he answered, ‘’I told them about ‘ell. They’d never heard about ‘ell.’’
It seems to me that many Evangelicals are going soft on the Bible’s clear and repeated teaching about Hell and Judgment. We have no right to re-write Scripture. A preacher’s job is to say what the Bible says. It is not to re-create the content. This last part of Isaiah is a reminder that there are two ways we can choose, and the way that leads away from God will have eternally disastrous consequences (14b). ‘’Many, oh so many, are under GOD’s sentence of death.’’ The Message. That is something people don’t like to hear and we may feel reluctant to say it. But we didn’t write the script; our job is to deliver the lines. God will bless our preaching if we honour Him and His Word.
In (19-21) Isaiah foresees the day when Jews and Gentiles will be one before God (Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11. They will be a ‘’holy priesthood’’ (1 Peter 2:5, 9). He also looks ahead to when all people will ‘’bow down’’ before the Lord (Phil.2:9-11). It is good to know that a day is coming when every knee will bend before Christ and acknowledge His Lordship over the entire universe. They will not all be saved; but they will all ‘’bow’’ and ‘’confess’’.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I thank you for this wonderful book of Isaiah and its timeless message. Help me to never be ashamed of any part of it. Please strengthen me to always say what you say, even though it might be unpopular.
Isaiah 66:7-13
This final chapter of Isaiah, it has been said, deals with trembling (1-6), travail (7-13) and triumph (14-24).
Normally, there is no birth without travail; without labour pains. But (7-13) point to a rather unusual kind of childbirth, i.e. one that is pain free, and incredibly quick. Commentators seem to agree that Isaiah is looking beyond the restoration of Jerusalem, following the exile, to the ultimate coming of Christ’s Kingdom. Under Jesus’ rule there will be a ‘population explosion’. There will be multiple miraculous, supernatural ‘new’ births. Our God is the ‘God of surprises’. He does surprising things in surprising ways (8). It is clear that God is responsible for these births (9). He brings people to ‘birth’ with great ease. He also is the ultimate source of all the nurture, care, comfort, abundance and deep satisfaction that these brand new ‘babies’ are going to find in ‘’Jerusalem’’ (11-13). In this day of Christ’s of Kingdom, people should be able to find all of these wonderful realities in the church, but ultimately they come from God.
Do we look to Him for our ‘’comfort’’? (13). Do we trust Him to be to us what only He can be? God offers more ‘’peace’’ than you know what to do with (12a). It’s so deep you could swim in it. Do we live like paupers when in fact we are in a place of lavish provision? (11, 12) Do we ‘’drink deeply’’ and ‘’delight in’’ all that God so generously provides in Christ? (11). There is no need for anyone in Jesus’ Kingdom to go hungry or thirsty, or to lack any good thing.
Prayer: Help me, Lord, to grasp all that is mine in Jesus. Enable me to revel in it, and draw on all these wonderful and limitless resources in Christ.
This is a tale of two types of people – those who respond appropriately to God and those who don’t; those who have true religion and those who have trivial ritual
‘’What sort of house could you build for me? What holiday spot reserve for me? I made all this! I own all this!’’ GOD’s Decree. ‘’But there is something I’m looking for: a person simple and plain, reverently responsive to what I say.’’ The Message.
There is a danger of putting too much emphasis on buildings. They can take on an iconic status and be (almost) worshipped. There is no preoccupation with church buildings in the New Testament. It is clear that the people form the church; they are God’s building (1 Corinthians 3:9). This is not to say that it is wrong for a church to have a building. If the church is going to meet it will be in some kind of building. But we must never think that God lives in a man-made building. God’s temple in Jerusalem was only ever a symbol of His dwelling place among men (Acts 7:48-50). People are His temple; people who humbly and receptively bow before Him and His Word (2; see also Isaiah 57:15).
However, people who respond positively to God won’t necessarily find life easy. They will be a counter-cultural group in society, and will swim against the tide. They will be opposed by others who want to go their own way. They will be on a collision course with secular society.
‘’ But listen to what GOD has to say to you who reverently respond to his Word: ‘’Your own families hate you and turn you out because of me. They taunt you, ‘Let us see GOD’s glory! If God’s so great, why aren’t you happy?’ But they’re the ones who are going to end up shamed.’’
The most fierce opposition to God-fearing people may well come from those who are merely religious. There was a lot of religion in Isaiah’s day, but the people wrapped up in it carried on living how they chose. The religious do not like humble, simple, godly people who love God and His Word and who live to obey it. They can be violently and murderously angry with them. The people described in (3 and 4) are always liable to persecute those described in (2 and 5). This is part of the cost of true discipleship. It is important to remember that in the end they will not win. God says through Isaiah that he hates merely ritualistic acts of worship (see Proverbs 15:8). In God’s eyes they are equivalent to brutality and idolatry. These things are ‘’abominations’’ to Him (3b).
‘’Your acts of worship are acts of sin: Your sacrificial slaughter of the ox is no different from murdering the neighbour…You choose self-serving worship, you delight in self-centred worship – disgusting!…You did the very things I exposed as evil, you chose what I hate.’’ The Message.
Prayer: Help me today, and every day, to humbly respond to your Word, Lord. If this means that I am despised and mis-understood, strengthen me to endure it. I want to cheerfuly carry the cross for you.
This is a remarkable prophecy. It’s theme is picked up and reiterated in the New Testament ( See, for example, Revelation 21, 22.) Although Isaiah may have had in mind, to some extent, the joy and peace to follow the restoration of Jerusalem and return from exile, it is obvious that he had in mind something greater and far more glorious; a reality that even now is obviously still future tense. The vision of the Bible is immense, and we so often scale it down. God’s purpose is nothing other than a totally renewed cosmos, free from the ugliness of sin, suffering and pain. The allusion to (11:6-9) implies that this will be brought about through the Messiah.
‘’The new is portrayed wholly in terms of the old, only without the old sorrows; there is no attempt to describe any other kind of newness. Hence the familiar setting, Jerusalem, and the modest satisfactions, largely the chance to ‘enjoy the work of (one’s) hands.’ This allows the most important things to be prominent in the passage: the healing of old ills (17b); joy (18-19); life (20…); security (21-23a); fellowship with God (23b-24) and concord among his creatures (25). The point of a hundred years old is that in this new setting a mere century is shamefully brief, so vast is the scale…all this is expressed freely, locally and pictorially, to kindle hope rather than feed curiosity.’’ Derek Kidner: ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.669
Prayer: Thank you for the glorious hope you hold out to all your people,
Stuart Briscoe, in his autobiography, ‘Flowing Streams’, recalls a mission at Manchester University, in which, during a ‘Question Time’, John Stott was aggressively asked, ‘’How can there be a God when there is so much evil in the world?’’ Briscoe says that as well as he can remember, Stott replied, ‘’My dear young friend, I have asked myself that question a thousand times but always coupled with another question of equal importance, namely, ‘How can there not be a God when there is so much good in the world?’ We cannot ask the one without the other, can we?’’ (pp.47, 48)
The truth is that in this fallen world, scarred by suffering and pain, bad things happen, even to good people. This beautiful psalm speaks of a man who fears God and is committed to His ways. It does not say that he will receive no ‘’bad news’’ (think about what happened to that ‘’gracious and compassionate and righteous man’’ Job), but only that he will not ‘’fear’’ it (7). He has a ‘’secure’’ (8) and ‘’steadfast’’ (7) heart that comes from ‘’trusting in the LORD.’’ (7). There is an absence of ‘’fear’’ (8; Luke 1:74, 75). ‘’Even in darkness’’ he has ‘’light’’ (4), and he takes the long view (8b). Whatever ‘’bad news’’ may pay him a visit in the short term, he knows that ‘’in the end’’ it is all good news. ‘’Sunrise breaks through the darkness for good people – God’s grace and mercy and justice!’’ The Message.
Godly people are not necessarily prosperous, but they may be (3). There are many, many godly poor in the world, but there are also the godly wealthy. Of course, at different stages in their lives, believers may experience both poverty and plenty (Phil.4:11-13). But one thing that marks people who ‘fear the Lord’ and have a lot of money is this: the ‘’Wealth and riches’’ that are in their houses (3a) are not hoarded there. They are generously shared (5) and given away (9; see 1 Timothy 6:17-19). ‘’Their houses brim with wealth And a generosity that never runs dry…The good person is generous and lends lavishly…They lavish gifts on the poor – A generosity that goes on, and on, and on. An honoured life! A beautiful life! The Message. Ungodly people who just want to have lots of lovely lolly for themselves, look with envy (10) when they see the blessing of God on those who fear Him and honour Him with their lives (including their goods). They can’t work it out. They just don’t get it. So they become angry, seeing something of what they want, but it eludes them.
Just as it is important to point out that godly people are not all, and always, wealthy, so it needs to be said that they don’t all have trouble-free times with their children. This psalm should not be taken as a cast iron guarantee that the children raised in believing homes will always turn out well. Nevertheless, it must be said that those children who do grow up in Christian homes are in a place of privilege and blessing (2). They are exposed to the example of their parents day after day, and they are the recipients of so much teaching and prayer. It is not surprising that many do turn out to be ‘’mighty in the land’’ (2). This is a great prayer to pray for your children, wherever they are today.
Prayer: Help me Lord to be fearless and generous as I seek to love you, worship you and honour you in every detail of my life. Thank you for your truly undeserved blessings.
Paul has established that because this radical thing called conversion has taken place, and we have put off the old life and put on the new (20-240, we must no longer live as we used to. He is insistent on the point (17-19). This is not ‘up for debate’. As he goes on to now spell out some of the practical implications of this, it becomes clear that the ‘putting off’ and ‘putting on’ continues. It’s an ongoing process of taking off our ‘dirty clothes’ and putting on ‘clean’, fresh ones. Here are some of the things he says:
- Put off dishonesty and put on truthfulness (25). The reason is because we belong together in ‘’one body’’. ‘’In Christ’s body we’re all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself.’’ The Message
- Put off sinful anger and, by inference, put on reconciliation and peace-making (26, 27; see Psalm 4:4). The wrong sort of anger can ‘’give the devil a foothold.’’ Many married couples have spoken about the importance of applying these verses to themselves; sort things out before you sleep. ‘’Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the devil that kind of foothold in your life.’’ The Message.
- Put off theft and put on generosity (28). It is true that you work to support yourself and your family, but the reason Paul mentions here is in order to help other people who are in genuine need. That’s an interesting perspective on why to earn a living.
- Put off bad words and put on those that benefit others (29). ‘’Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.’’ The Message.
- Put off bad attitudes and actions and put on good qualities (4:31-5:2). Another way to state this is to say, take off everything that is not like Jesus, and clothe yourselves with Christlikeness and Godliness. ‘’Forgive one another as quickly and as thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.’’ The Message. Paul shows that there are ways of thinking and feeling and behaving that can actually cause pain to the Holy Spirit who is in us, with whom we have been ‘’sealed for the day of redemption.’’ (30; see 1:13). The Holy Spirit is God’s ‘mark of ownership’ upon us. He has bought us and one day He is going to come back and take us home. On that day our ‘’redemption’’ (4:30) will be completed. Remember that salvation is in three tenses: we have been saved (4:20-24); we are being saved (4:25-5:7); we are yet to be saved (4:30). ‘’Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted.’’ The Message
- Put off immorality (and everything unbecoming for God’s people) and put on holiness (5:3).
- Put off dirty and trivial talk and put on thankfulness (5:4) ‘’Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, Christians have better uses for language than that. Don’t talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn’t fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect.’’ The Message.
Our passage for today concludes with serious words. The kind of ‘lifestyle’ we are called to put off is really a clear indicator of not being part of God’s Kingdom and under His rule. People who consistently behave in these ways are surely not in the process of being saved from sin, but are heading for judgment (5-7).
Prayer: Lord, help me to put off today the things that displease you, and put on what delights you.
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