MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/26/2026
8:52 AM
My
Worship
Time Focus: PT-3 “Irreversible Judgment”
Bible
Reading &
Meditation Reference: Nahum 3:18-19
Message
of the verses: “Your shepherds are sleeping, O king of
Assyria; Your mighty ones are lying down. Your people are scattered
on the mountains, and there is no one to regather them. There
is no relief for your breakdown, your wound is incurable. All who
hear the report about you will clap their hands over you, for
on whom has not your evil passed continually? (Nahum 3:18-19 NASB)
MacArthur writes:
“After discussing Nineveh’s shepherds, mighty ones, and lost sheep,
Nahum proceeded to focus on the king himself.
Depicting the king’s death, the prophet wrote that there is no relief
for your breakdown. “Breakdown refers to the broken bones (cf. Lev. 21:19;
24:20) or, figuratively, to the collapse of an entire structure or system (cf.
Isa. 1:28; 60:19).”
(cf. Lev. 21:19; 24:20)
“19 or a man who has an injured foot or an injured
hand,”
“20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for
tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him.”
(cf. Isa. 1:28; 60:19)
“28 But rebels and sinners shall be broken
together, and those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed.”
“19 The sun shall be no more your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your
everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.”
“The
Assyrian king would suffer a torturous death when his capital city fell, with
his bones crushed and no relief for his pain. Nahum further stated of the king that your
wound is incurable, indicating that the king would incur a fatal injury
(cf. 1 Kings 22:34-35; Jer. 10:19).”
(cf. 1 Kings 22:34-35; Jer. 10:19)
“34 But a certain man drew his bow at random and
struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate.
Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, "Turn around and carry me
out of the battle, for I am wounded." 35 And the battle continued that day, and the
king was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians, until at evening he
died. And the blood of the wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot.”
“19 Woe is me because of my hurt! My wound is
grievous. But I said, "Truly this is an affliction, and I must bear it.’”
“This
language not only predicted the ruler’s agonizing demise but also underscored
that he would suffer the way Israel had suffered under Assyria (cf. Jer. 30:12,
15; Mic. 1:9). The Lord would avenge His
people, in that what the ding did to Israel would be done to them.”
(cf. Jer. 30:12, 15; Mic. 1:9)
“12 "For thus says the LORD: Your hurt is
incurable, and your wound is grievous.”
“15 Why do you cry out over your hurt? Your pain
is incurable. Because your guilt is great, because your sins are flagrant, I
have done these things to you.”
“9 For her wound is incurable, and it has come to
Judah; it has reached to the gate of my people, to Jerusalem.”
“With the death of the Assyrian king would come the
death of the Assyrian empire. The
surrounding nations, seeing Assyria fall, would rejoice: “All who hear the report about you will
clap their hands over you.” Instead
of being mourned, the king of Nineveh would have no honor in his death. Those who hear of his demise would respond
not in grief but with joy and celebration.
This moment would be the culmination of Nineveh’s destruction and
shame. But it would also mark the
turning of sorrow into joy for those who suffered under Assyrian oppression.
“Nahum, whose name means comfort,
demonstrated that God would bring His people consolation by judging
Nineveh. Nahum’s prophecy came to pass
when the city fell in 612 BC. Just as
the fulfillment of Nahum’s prophecy demonstrated the trustworthiness of the
more distant biblical prophecies (Nahum 1:15; 2:9; 10; 3:17; cf. Isa. 52:7;
Joel 2:1-32; Hag. 2:7-8), so also the joy depicted by Nahum prefigured the
future celebration of Christ’s victory over all His enemies (cf. Ps. 110:1; Rom.
16:20; 1 Cor. 15:25-26).”
(Nahum 1:15; 2:9; 10; 3:17; cf. Isa. 52:7;
Hag. 2:7-8)
“5 The mountains quake before him; the hills
melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it.’
“9 Plunder the silver, plunder the gold! There is
no end of the treasure or of the wealth of all precious things.’
“10 Desolate! Desolation and ruin! Hearts melt and
knees tremble; anguish is in all loins; all faces grow pale!”
“7 ¶ How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet
of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of
happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns.’”
“7 And I will shake all nations, so that the
treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory,
says the LORD of hosts. 8 The silver is
mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts.”
(cf. Ps. 110:1; Rom. 16:20; 1 Cor.
15:25-26)
“ 1 ¶ «A
Psalm of David.» The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand, until I
make your enemies your footstool.’”
“20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under
your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”
“25 For he must reign until he has put all his
enemies under his feet. 26 The last
enemy to be destroyed is death.”
“The only
other passage that describes the clapping of hands using the same language as
Nahum is Psalm 47, which declares that the world will clap its hands when
Yahweh returns and subdues His adversaries (Ps. 47:1-4). Thus Nahum’s prophecy not only pointed to
comfort in the immediate term but also assured God’s people of the ultimate
comfort they will experience in the future.”
(Ps. 47:1-4)
“1 ¶ «To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of
Korah.» Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! 2 For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared,
a great king over all the earth. 3 He
subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet. 4 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of
Jacob whom he loves. Selah”
“Revealing the reason for the
celebration over the death of Nineveh’s king and Assyria’s fall, the prophet
concluded his book with a rhetorical question:
“For on whom has not your evil passed continually?” People would rejoice at Nineveh’s fall
because it marked the end of an empire known for its flagrant wickedness. Assyria’s atrocities were pure evil and
they passed through the surrounding nations continually with
violent destruction (cf. 2 Kings 15:29; 17-19; 2 Chron. 32; 33:11; Isa.
10:5-14; 14:24-27). The victims of Assyria brutality would respond to Nineveh’s
demise with exuberant joy.”
“This rhetorical question at the end
of Nahum corresponds to the rhetorical question at the end of Jonah, God asked
if He should not have pity upon Nineveh (Jonah 4:11). In Nahum, God asked if people should not
rejoice over the destruction of Nineveh.
Such a stark
contrast illustrates the point that sinners must not presume upon God’s grace. While the Lord was ready to show mercy to a
people who repented, He was equally ready to render judgment against those who
remained impenitent in their sin. As Nineveh was flooded and
burned, its people exiled and it king humiliated, the message of Nahum reminded
his readers to remember both God’s grace and His justice. In Jonah’s generation, the Ninevites turned
to the Lord and received His kindness and mercy. But in Nahum’s generation, they reveled in
their sin, refused to repent, and received His wrath. As the author of Hebrews warned, ‘See to
it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking.
For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on
earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who
warns from heaven’ (Heb. 10:25).
Only those who turn away from sin and turn to the Lord in faith will
escape His eternal wrath (Rom. 10:9-13).
Only then will they have true comfort, both in this life and the life to
come.”
(Rom. 10:9-13)
“9 because, if you confess with your mouth that
Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you
will be saved. 10 For with the heart one
believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes
in him will not be put to shame.” 12 ¶ For there is no distinction between Jew and
Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call
on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the
name of the Lord will be saved.’”
There is no better advice that I can give to those who
read this Spiritual Diary than what is found in the verses above, for if you
follow what Paul wrote to the Romans in these verses with all of your heart,
then you will pass from death to life and become a child of God.
It has been my privilege to write
these Spiritual Diaries on the books of Jonah, which began on August 23, 2025,
and then the book of Nahum which began on December 3, 2025 and completed this
morning. I have to admit that understanding
all of what was written in these Spiritual Diaries on, especially Nahum has
been difficult, but it is my desire that as I have put all of these many
Spiritual Diaries onto my blogs, that the Holy Spirit of God will use them to
the glory of my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ to Him be glory now and forever
Amen.
In tomorrow morning’s SD I will
begin to write Spiritual Diaries on the book of Luke which I began a while ago
in my Evening Spiritual Diaries so we will study Luke in both the morning’s SD’s
and the Evening SD,s.
Spiritual
Meaning for My Life Today: As I finished both Jonah and Nahum
I have learned many things and it is my desire to use these things to walk with
the Lord more spiritually.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: I
trust that as I continue to write my Spiritual Diaries that the Holy Spirit of
God will continue to use them as He takes them around the world for the glory
of my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.
2/26/2026
9:52 AM
