SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/30/2025 9:14
AM
My
Worship
Time Focus: PT-2 “Intro to “Comfort through
Judgment”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: Nahum 1:9-15
Message
of the verses: “9 ¶ What do you conspire against the LORD? He will make an utter
end of it. Affliction will not rise up a second
time. 10 For while tangled like thorns, And while drunken
like drunkards, They will be devoured like stubble fully dry.
11 Out of you comes One who plots evil
against the LORD, A wicked
counsellor. 12 Thus says the LORD: “Though they
are quiet and likewise many, Yet they will be cut down when
he will pass through. Though I have afflicted you, I shall afflict
you no more; 13 For now I shall break off his yoke from
you, And burst your bonds apart.” 14 And the LORD
has given a command concerning you, “Your name will be perpetuated
no more. Out of the house of your gods, I shall cut
off The carved image and the moulded
image. I shall make your grave, for you are vile.”
15 (2:1) Behold, upon the mountains The feet
of him who brings good news, Who proclaims
peace! Oh Judah, keep your feasts, Perform
your vows. For no more Will the wicked
man pass through you; He is utterly cut off.”
I continue looking at the introduction to the above
verses written by Nahum using John MacArthur’s commentary along with some of my
comments and also quoting many of the verses that MacArthur inserts in his
commentary.
“That the judgment of God can bring
comfort to His people is a theme found throughout Scripture. The saints have often cried out to the Lord
asking Him to hold evildoers accountable.
David did so, beseeching God to pour out His burning indignation on the
enemies of Israel (Ps. 69:4).”
(Ps. 69:4)
“4 (69:5) Those who hate me without a
cause Multiply more than the
hairs of my head; My destroyers are
mighty, They are wrongfully my
enemies; Though from whom I have
stolen nothing, I still must
restore it.”
The
psalmist called such vindication the salvation of Zion 4 (69:35-36)
(69:35-36)
“35 (69:36) For God will save Zion And will rebuild the cities of
Judah, That they may live there and
possess it. 36 (69:37) Also, the
descendants of his servants will inherit it,
And those who love his name will dwell in it”
“(cf.
Psalms 5, 6, 11, 12, 35, 37, 40, 52, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 79, 83, 94, 137, 139,
and 143). Looking to the future, Ezekiel
prophesied that God will judge Gog in order to ‘return the fortunes of Jacob
and have compassion on the whole house of Israel’ (Ezekiel 39:25). The Apostle John, seeing a vision of the
fall of eschatological Babylon, urged the saints to celebrate, saying, ‘Rejoice
over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has
pronounced judgment for you against her’ (Ref. 18:20; cf. 6:9-10; 19:1-2).”
(cf. Rev. 6:9-10 and19:1-2)
“9 ¶ And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under
the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of
God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice,
saying, “How long, oh Lord, holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood
on those who live on the earth?”
“1 ¶ And after these things, I heard a
loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and honour and power belong to the Lord our
God! 2 For true and righteous are
his judgments, because he has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth
with her fornication, and he has avenged the blood of his servants at her
hand.”
“As these
examples illustrate, the Lord’s holy judgment fulfills His promises by avenging
His people and righting the wrongs done against them. Divine judgment is therefore a great consolation
to the righteous.”
“Nahum’s revelation also provided
comfort in another important way. It
demonstrated the veracity of divine prophecy because the events it predicted
regarding Nineveh came to pass exactly as they were foretold. The precise fulfillment of Nahum’s
predictions (near prophecies). Per Old
Testament law, a true prophet was one whose predictions came to pass with
perfect accuracy (Deut. 18:21-22).”
(Deut. 18:21-22)
“21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we
know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’— 22 When a prophet speaks in the name of the
LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the
thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it
presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.’”
“Because prophets often made predictions that went
beyond their lifetimes. They would also give a more immediate prediction to
certify their credibility. For example, in 1 Kings 13:1-5, a man of God
prophesied that nearly three centuries later the righteous king Josiah would
come to the throne and remove false religion from the land. To verify this distant prophecy, the man of
God also declared that the altar before him would split open and ashes would
pour out. Because that immediate
prediction took place, the people knew that his distant prophecy would also
occur.”
(1 Kings 13:1-5)
“1 ¶ And behold, a man of God went from
Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD, and Jeroboam stood by
the altar to burn incense. 2 And he
cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, “Oh
altar, altar, thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, a son will be
born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and on you, he will
sacrifice the priests of the high places who burned incense on you, and
they will burn men’s bones on you.’” 3 And he gave a sign the same day,
saying, “This is the sign which the LORD has spoken: Behold, the
altar will be split apart, and the ashes on it will be poured out.” 4 And it came to pass when the king heard the
saying of the man of God, who cried out against the altar at Bethel,
that Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.” And
his hand, which he stretched out towards him, was withered, so that he could
not pull it back to himself. 5 The altar
was also split apart, and the ashes were poured out from the altar, according
to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the
LORD.”
Spiritual
Meaning for my Life Today: Realizing that God is in complete
control of the things that go on, on planet earth, and realizing that in order
to be humble, I must do the things that God has called me to do in complete
humility.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: Trust the Lord to continue to work in my
heart so that like king David, I can be humble before him all the days of my
life.
12/30/2025
9:46 AM
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