More of the Intro to Nahum

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/8/2025 9:45 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                   Focus:  “Intro to Nahum”

 

THEMES (GRACE AND WRATH OF GOD)

            I continue to quote from John MacArthur’s commentary in the introduction to Hanum, under the second topic under THEMES, “Grace and Wrath of God.”

            “As Nahum began his prophecy, he explicitly stated that ‘Yahweh is slow to anger’ (Hanum 1:3), a practical expression of God’s grace.  The Lord’s longsuffering was the exact attribute Jonah recounted in his complaint to God fore delivering the Ninevites.  Jonah exclaimed, ‘I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning evil’ (Jonah 4:2).  Nineveh had experienced the blessing of divine grace in the days of Jonah (3:5-10), and Nahum recalled such mercy in his book.  He declared that God is goo and a strong defense on the day of distress (Nah. 1:7).

            “However, a later generation of Ninevites returned to the wickedness that had historically characterized Assyria (cf. Nah. 1:2, 9; 2:13).”  “A jealous and avenging God is the Lord; The Lord is avenging and wrathful.  The Lord takes vengeance on His Adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies.”  “Whatever you devise against the Lord, He will make a complete end of it.  Distress will not rise up twice.”  “Behold, I am against you,” declares the Lord of Hosts.  “I will burn up her chariots in smoke, a sword will devour your young lions; I will cut off your prey from the land, and no longer will the voice of your messengers be heard.’”  “They assumed they could pursue idolatry, immorality, and brutality, without having to face divine judgment (cf. Zeph. 2:15).” “This is the exultant city Which dwells securely, Who says in her heart, ‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’  How she has become a desolation, A resting place for beasts!  Everyone who passes by her will hiss And wave his hand in contempt.”  “Therefore, throughout Nahum’s prophecy, beautiful descriptions of God’s mercy are juxtaposed with somber reminders of His wrath.  Hahum described the Lord as jealous, avenging, wrathful, and righteously indignant (1:2).  He will not leave the guilty unpunished (1:3).  God’s anger is so fierce that no one can endure His judgment (Nah. 1:6; cf. Heb. 10:27, 31; 12:29).  While the Ninevites thought they could withstand or escape divine punishment (cf. Zeph 2:15), Nahum declared that though God is slow to anger, He is also a righteous Judge who is great in power (Nah. 1:3).

            “To illustrate God’s power, Nahum first depicted Yahweh’s supremacy over nature.  He stated that when God pours out His wrath, the sea and the rivers become dry (1:4), the fertile regions of Bashan, Carmel, and Lebanon languish (1:4), the mountains and the hills quake and dissolve (1:5), the immovable rocks are torn down (1:6), and the entire world is thrown into upheaval (1:5).  Focusing on the Ninevites, Hanum stated that God would flood them in judgment so that the city would be destroyed (1:8), pursue them into darkness (1:8), destroy all their wicked plans (1:9), consume them like fire scorches stubble (1:10; 2:13), cut them off irrevocably (1:11, 15; 2:13), and end their name forever (1:14; 2:13).  To any who presume upon God’s grace like Nineveh did, Nahum’s prophecy serves as a sober reminder that though the Lord is abundant in grace and lovingkindness, He is also perfectly holy and righteous.  As the author of Hebrews declares, “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God’ (Heb. 10:31).

Spiritual Meaning for My life today:  I never want to take advantage of the grace and mercy that God has bestowed upon me, but serve Him all the days of my life.  I want to remember that living in the United States brings great freedoms and other things, but I am a citizen of Heaven and am here to get the good news of the gospel out to those that I can.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I continue to trust the Lord to guide my wife into the plan He has for her in dealing with her cancer.

12/8/2025 12:44 PM

 

 

PT-2“The Case of Sodom and Gomorrah” (2 Peter 2:6-8)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/07/2025/9:25 PM

My Worship Time                                             Focus: PT-2“The Case of Sodom and Gomorrah”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                  Reference:  2 Peter 2:6-8

            Message of the verses: “and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them as an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter, and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds),”

            I continue this section by quoting John MacArthur to help us understand that “The word rendered destruction (katastrophe, of which the English word catastrophe is transliteration) indicates complete overthrow and total ruin.  The devastation was so thorough that it reduced those cities to nothing more than ashes.  (The phrase reducing them to ashes is described by one word in the original—tephrosas—an aorist participle from a root verb that can also be translated ‘covered with ashes.’) In fact, God’s judgment was so complete that the ruins remain undiscovered, and the cities’ precise location is still unknown.  It is possible, but not substantiated, that they were buried under what is now mineral-dense water in the southern portion of the Dead Sea.  That this destruction refers to more than physical death  is clear from the parallel text in Jude 7, which says the people of those cities are ‘an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.’  Divine judgment not only buried the people’s bodies under the ashes, but it plunged their souls into eternal judgment.  It is because of eternal punishment that the cities are examples, as are the angels.”

            Now although the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah would probably have known the message of righteousness and judgment Noah preached after the Flood (as passed on by Noah and his family), they rejected it nonetheless.  Now instead, what they did is that they chose to live in sin and perversion, most notably homosexuality (Gen. 19:4-11).  “⁴ But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: ⁵ And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know (sexual relations) them. ⁶ And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, ⁷ And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. ⁸ Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. ⁹ And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. ¹⁰ But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.¹¹ And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.”  More than twenty times in Scripture these cities are used as an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter (see Matt. 10:14, 15; 11:23, 24; Luke 17:28-32).  We can see that God used them and their holocaust to send an unmistakable warning to future generations of rebellious sinners—namely, that depraved people cannot pursue ungodliness and also escape God’s vengeance and everlasting judgment (cf. 3:7, 10; Matt. 25:41; Rom. 1:18; 2:5, 8; Eph. 5:6; 1 Thess. 2:16; 2 Thess. 1:8; Heb. 10:26-27; Rev. 6:17).

            Now prior to their destruction, God revealed the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah to Abraham as seen in Genesis 18:26-27; also compare Gen. 13:13).  In response, the patriarch expressed his sincere concern for any righteous people who may still be living there.  He even implored the Lord to withhold His judgment for their sakes as seen In Genesis 18:23-33.  “²³ And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? ²⁵ That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? ²⁶ And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. ²⁷ And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: ²⁸ Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. ²⁹ And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake. ³⁰ And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. ³¹ And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. ³² And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake. ³³ And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.”  Now the Lord was willing to spare the city if as few as ten righteous inhabitants could be found.  But when even that minimum could not be met, the Lord then destroyed that wicked place, and if one thinks about this as to what the destruction was involved one can get an idea of what the Lord thinks about homosexuality. 

            I will quote one paragraph from MacArthur’s commentary to finish this SD, but there is still more in this section to look at, and Lord willing, I will look at it tomorrow evening.

            “As in the previous illustration of the Flood, Peter comforted his readers by reminding them of those who escaped punishment.  During the Flood, God graciously preserved Noah and his family.  In this instance, during the demolition of Sodom and Gomorrah, God rescued righteous Lot, along with his two daughters.”  12/7/2025 9:55 PM

 

 

 

“Intro to Nahum” (Themes PT-1)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/6/2025 9:45 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                   Focus:  “Intro to Nahum”

 

THEMES

            I continue this morning to quote from John MacArthur’s introduction to the book of Nahum as he writes “Various theological themes appear in the prophecy of Nahum, filling out the purpose of the book.

Judgment on Sinners

            “The overarching focus of Nanum’s prophecy is God’s judgment against Nineveh for its unrepentant wickedness.  Nahum opened the book by emphatically declaring that God would execute vengeance against His adversaries (Nah. 1:2).  The Lord stated that because Nineveh had devised evil against Him (1:9), He had taken His stand and was against Nineveh (2:13).  The major part of the prophecy delivers a detailed description of the coming destruction of the city.  While raging torrents would flood the city (1:8; 2:6), fire would also burn it to ashes (2:13; 3:13, 15).  Though the Ninevites would prepare themselves for war (2:3-5; 3:12-17), they would ultimately flee in search of safety (2:8; 3:3, 7, 18).  Just as the Assyrians had devastated other nations (3:8-10), Nineveh too would be conquered and decimated (3:7, 11).  As a result, surrounding nations would rejoice and celebrate its demise (3:19).

            “As Nahum foretold Nineveh’s imminent destruction, he also used language that alluded to end-time prophecies.  For example, he portrayed Nineveh as a locust horde that assaulted Israel (Nah. 3:16-17), just as Joel prophesied regarding Israel’s enemies at the end of the age (cf. Joel 2).  But Nahum also prophesied that Nineveh itself would be destroyed by an enemy that attacked like a locust swarm (Nah. 3:15).  In similar fashion, Joel predicted that God will afflict Israel’s future enemies just as they afflict Israel (Joel 2:25; 3:1-21).  By using similar language and imagery, Nahum indicated that his prophecy concerning Nineveh was the near prophecy that foreshadowed and guaranteed the distant prophecies given by Joel.

Comfort For Israel

            “While the focus of Nahum’s prophecy was divine judgment on Nineveh, his message also intended to provide hope for God’s people.  The righteous are comforted by knowing that the Lord will hold the wicked accountable for their evil deeds.  God’s holy justice will prevail.  Providing this comfort, Nahum declared that the Lord is good and a stronghold for those in need (Nah. 1:7).  Moreover, He knows those who take refuge in Him (Nah. 1:7). While Israel’s affliction was the result of their rebellion against the Lord (2 Kings 17:6-17), God nonetheless promised that He would remove this affliction (Han. 1:12).  He added that Nineveh’s destruction would be good news for Israel (1:15).  Similarly, describing the fall of Nineveh, God stated that the peoples will rejoice because the wicked will be eliminated (3:19).  As his name indicates, Nahum brought comfort through his prophecy of God’s judgment on Assyria.  The Lord further promised that He would restore the majesty of Jacob and Israel (2:2).

            “As noted above, Nahum not only predicted events that would be fulfilled in the near future; he also used language that referenced end-time prophecies.  When he stated, “Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who proclaims good news” (Nah. 1:15), he alluded to the prophecy of Isaiah which anticipated the good news of God’s eschatological triumph (cf. Isa. 53:7).  Nahum’s description of Nineveh’s demise was the near prophecy that foreshadowed and confirmed the distant prophecy given by Isaiah.  In this way, Nahum offered comfort to God’s people, not only regarding what the Lord would do to Assyria in the near-term, but what He will do for Israel in the end.”

12/7/2025 9:44 AM

 

 

PT-1“The Case of Sodom and Gomorrah” (2 Peter 2:6-8)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/06/2025/6:00 PM

My Worship Time                                             Focus: PT-1“The Case of Sodom and Gomorrah”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                  Reference:  2 Peter 2:6-8

            Message of the verses: “and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them as an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter, and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds),”

             This evening we begin to look at Peter’s third historical illustration of divine judgment, Peter descended to the perverted depths of Sodom and Gomorrah, and that is a really long way down to the sexual sins of homosexuality.  At one time, they were the main cities  of the Jordan plain or basin as seen in Gen. 13:12; 14:8; and Deut. 29:3, as they were located in the Valley of Siddim or Salt Sea, near the southeast corner of the Dead Sea.  Before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis favorably describes the area as fertile—and ideal place for raising crops and animals (13:8-10).  Just take a moment to look at what this despicable sin did even the land where it was going on, Sodom and Gomorrah.

            Now because of their gross sin, God condemned both cities to destruction.  The judgment described in Genesis 19:1-28 was a small-scale parallel to the worldwide Flood (which occurred about 450 years earlier).  Like Noah and his family, Lot and his daughters were the only inhabitants to escape.  All of the other citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah were obliterated this time by incineration and asphyxiation rather than drowning.  Genesis 19:24-25 sums up the account like this:

“Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven, and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.”

            Now I want to do just a little bit more of research on where these people came from, and once I quote some Scripture then I think you will know what I am talking about.  This starts after Noah and his family were out of the Ark and so we begin reading in Genesis 9:20 “then Noah began farming and planted a vineyard.  21 He drank of the wine and became drunk, and uncovered  himself inside his tent.  22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.  23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father’s nakedness.  24 when Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him.  24 So he said, “Cursed be Cannan; A servant of servants, He shall be to his brothers.”  26 He also said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant.  27 “May God enlarge Japheth, And let him dwell in the tents of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant.”

            28 Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood.  29 So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years and he died.”

            I can kind of remember from studying this in the past that Ham’s descendants would have been the ones that lived in Sodom and Gomorrah.  Japheth’s family were the ones that steeled in Russia, and Japheth was where the children of Israel came from.  In Luke 3:36 we see read “the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the  son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.”

            I will close this evenings SD with a thought and that thought is that family background means something.  I remember a quote from a sermon I heard from John MacArthur who talked about two different family backgrounds, and these were in the United States.  One of the families had a lot of criminals in their line, and the other family had many preachers and many godly men, even a United States Senator came from this family.  So as I said family background means something, either mostly good or mostly bad.

12/6/2025 6:37 PM

PT-2 Historical Context" Nahum

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/6/2025 9:45 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                   Focus:  “Intro to Nahum”

 

PT-2 HISTORICAL CONTEXT

            I continue looking at what John MacArthur wrote in “Historical Context of Nahum.

            “The looming threat of Assyria continued as the empire sought to reinforce its power in the ancient Near East.  A building inscription from the time of Esarhaddon (ca. 681-669) records that the Judaean king Manasseh was summoned to provide assistance to build an Assyria’s palace, suggesting that Judah likely served as Assyria’s vassal. Later, when Manasseh rebelled against Assyria, Ashurbanipal (ca. 669-663 BC) took him captive and exiled him to Babylon (then under Assyrian rule; ca. 648). The author of 2 Chronicles described Assyria’s gruesome tactics vividly, saying “Yahweh brought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria against them, and they captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze chains, and took him to Babylon” (2 Chr. 33:11).  The brutality of Assyria continued to define the empire as it had done throughout its history.

            “Beyond Judah, Ashurbanipal expanded his rule even down to Egypt.  In 663 BC, he campaigned against Thebes (No -amon), the capital of Egypt, and decimated the city.  Describing this conquest, Ashurbanipal boasted:

From Thebes [I] carried away booty, heavy and beyond counting: silver, gold, precious stones, his entire personal possessions, linen garments with multicolored trimmings, fine horses (certain) inhabitants, male and female.  I pulled two high obelisks, cast of shining zahalu-bronze, the weight of which was 2,500 talents, standing at the door of the temple, out of their bases and took (them) to Assyria.  (Thus) I carried off from Thebes heavy booty, beyond counting.” “Pritchard, ed., The ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 295.

“This conquest left such an impression on Judah that Nahum referred to it and listed various horrors from the battle, as He prophesied the impending destruction of Nineveh (cf. Nah. 3:8-10).  Nahum’s prophecy, in effect, announced that not only would Nineveh fall but that the Ninevites would experience the same violence their armies had inflicted on others.

            “The magnitude of Nineveh’s demise was stunning given the city’s historic significance.  Among the first major cities in the history of the world, Nineveh is originally mentioned in Genesis 10:11-12, when Nimrod built “Nineveh and Rohoboth-Ir and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah.”  Nineveh’s distinction endured as it boasted the glory of an ancient temple for Ishtar, the goddess of love and war (ca. 2300 BC).  Prominent kings such as Hammurabi (ca. 1792-1750 BC) and Tiglath-pileser I (ca. 1115-1071 BC) acknowledged the greatness of Nineveh and developed it unto a grand metropolis.  Located on the east bank of the Tigris River (in modern-day Iraq), with ample water to cultivate plentiful crops, Nineveh enjoyed an abundance of trade and rich agriculture.  Being the capital of Assyria, Nineveh was home to Assyria’s royal houses, including the grand palace of Sennacherib (cf. 2 Kings 19:36; Isaiah 37:37).  Nineveh also became a major cultural center in which Ashurbanipal (ca. 669-663 BC) built an impressive library.  With the inner city being approximately three to four square miles, the outer city stretched to about fifty-five miles all around.  According to Jonah 4:11, with more than 120,000 children in Nineveh, the total population was likely about 600,000 people.  God therefore, appropriately referred to Nineveh as “the great city” (Jonah 1:2).

            “Nineveh’s history was marked by both magnificence and brutality.  So, God raised up Nahum to confront this formidable and vile capital.  Though God has spared Nineveh in the time of Jonah as an expression of His surpassing grace, the Ninevites subsequently returned to their wicked ways.  Therefore, Nahum pronounced judgment on them, and exactly as he prophesied, Nineveh was destroyed in 612 BC. Its destruction was so complete that the ruins of the city were not discovered for over 2,400 years, until the nineteenth century.”

            Now I have completed this section, Lord willing in tomorrows SD I will begin to look at “THEMES.”

Spiritual Meaning for my Life Today:  When I look at the kind of history that I have been writing about this morning I realize that this is all in God’s plans.  Nations rise and fall, but God is in control of all of this as He has written history even before it takes place because He is God and can do that.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to trust the Lord as He is also in control of what is going on with my wife, and so the best thing we can do is to trust Him.

12/6/2025 10:34 AM

 

“The Case of the Ancient World” (2 Peter 2:5)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/05/2025/9:15 PM

My Worship Time                                                    Focus: “The Case of the Ancient World”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                      Reference:  2 Peter 2:5

            Message of the verses: “and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;”

            I have to say in the beginning of this SD that the second chapter of 2 Peter is one of my favorite chapters in the Word of God, ya I know I have a lot of favorite chapters, but this one ranks pretty high.

            Not only did God judge certain fallen angels as we have learned, but he also did not spare the ancient world.  Now in fact, He wiped out the full breadth of earth’s population by drowning all of the ungodly in the flood, which is called the Noahic flood.  The ancient world refers to the people living at the time of the Flood, all of whom were wicked.  The world was destroyed because:

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.  The Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.” (Gen. 6:5-7)

            God, however, preserved Noah, who was righteous, a true worshiper of God immersed in a wicked and corrupt society.  Resisting the suffocating evil around him, Noah walked with God, along with his wife, his sons, and their wives, who constituted the seven others whom the Lord preserved from destruction in the ark.  It was more than a century before the Flood actually came, as God revealed to Noah His plan to send judgment:

“But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.  These are the records of the generations of Noah.  Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.  Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.  Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence.  God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.  Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.” (Gen 6:8-13)

Now while building the ark, Noah also labored as a preacher of righteousness, warning people of impending death and divine retribution and calling them to repent.  Years earlier, Enoch had preached a similar message:

It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” (Jude 14-15).   We looked at this when I was studying Jude right before I began this study of 2 Peter.

John MacArthur writes:  “Flood translates kataklusmos, from which the English cataclysm derives.  The Genesis account, along with current geological evidence, indicates that the Flood truly was cataclysmic in every sense (cf. Gen. 7:10-24).  Because of man’s sinfulness, God destroyed every person and every land animal (except those in the ark), covering the entire planet with water—even the peaks of the highest mountains (Gen. 7:19-20). 

            “Ungodly (cf. 2:6; 3:7; Jude 4, 15, 18), from the Greek asebeia is the one-word characterization of ancient humanity—a term that refers to a complete lack of reverence, worship, or fear of God (cf. Matt. 24:11, 24; 1 John 4:1-3; 2 John 7).  The early church fathers used to describe atheists as heretics.  Like the false teachers of Peter’s time, the ungodly of Noah’s day—through their rebellious immorality—eventually brought God’s judgment upon themselves.”

            Now I am going to quote a small portion from MacArthur’s commentary as he writes talks about some godly men who wrote about the flood.  “For a detailed biblical and scientific examination of the Flood, see John C. Whitcomb, Jr., and Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Flood [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1961]: for a concise defense of the biblical doctrine of a worldwide flood, see Morris, Science and the Bible, rev. ed. [Chicago: Moody, 1986], chap. 3, “Science and the Flood.”)

12/5/2025 9:47 PM  

 

“Intro to Nahum” (Pt-1 Historical Context)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/5/2025 10:57 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                   Focus:  “Intro to Nahum”

 

PT-1 HISTORICAL CONTEXT

            “Nahum delivered his prophecy concerning the destruction of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, likely between 663 BC and 654 BC.  At this time, Assyria was still a powerful empire that dominated the ancient Near East under the reign of Ashurbanipal (ca. 669-663 BC.) Northern Israel had been exiled by Assyria (722 BC, cf. 2 Kings 17), while Judah, under King Manasseh (ca. 695-642 BC; cf. 2 Kings 21), remained in a politically precarious situation, facing a constant threat from Assyria.

            “The Assyrian threat of cruel subjugation defined the ancient Near East for much of its history.  The Black Obelisk depicts Shalmaneser III (ca. 859-824 BC) receiving tribute from Jehu, the defeated king of Israel (ca. 841 BC; cf. 2 Kings 9-10; Hos. 1:4).  This Assyrian king is also pictured in various images surrounded by piles of dismembered heads, hands, and feet, along with bodies impaled on stakes.” “JoAnna M. Hoyt, Amos, Jonah, & Micah, Evangelical Exegetical Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2018) 354.”  “An Assyrian relief from Sennacherib’s campaigns (ca. 701 BC) likewise portrays a pile of heads at the feet of an Assyrian soldier, while another shows Assyrians skinning their enemies.” “Ibid., 354-55”  Known for its violent war practices, Assyria was infamous for bloodthirsty brutality.

            “Assyrian aggression and hostility temporarily subsided during the reign of Israel’s king Jeroboam II (ca. 793-758 BC).  During that time, Assyria turned  its focus inward due to internal conflict and external pressure from an enemy nation Uratu.” “Daniel DeWitt Lowery, ‘Assyria,’ The Lexham Bible Dictionary (WA: Lexham, 2016); and Brian Neil Peterson, ‘Uratu,’ The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2016).  “In addition, the Assyrian generation of this time included the Ninevites who repented at the preaching of Jonah and turned to worship the God of Israel.  However, Israel’s reprieve from the Assyrian threat was short-lived.  In the generations after Jonah, the Ninevites returned to their old ways.  The Assyrian army conquered the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC and took the people into captivity.

            “After Shalmaneser V (ca. 727-722 BC; 2 Kings 17:1-5; Hos. 10:14) besieged the northern kingdom of Israel, Sargon II (cf. 722-705 BC; cf. 2 Kings 17:6; Isaiah 20:1) completed the conquest and sent the nation into exile (722 BC).  The focus of Assyria’s wrath then shifted to the southern kingdom of Judah (ca. 701 BC; cf. 2 Kings 18:13; 2 Chr. 32:1; Isa. 36:1-39:8).  During the reign of Hezekiah over Judah (ca. 715-686 BC), Hezekiah rebelled against Assyria (cf. 2 Kings 18:7), even though Judah had previously served the Assyrians during the reign of Ahaz (ca. 735-715 BC; cf. 16:7-9).  Provoked by this rebellion, Sennacherib (ca. 705-681 BC 0 marched against Judah and conquered forty-six cities surrounding Jerusalem.” “James Bennett Pritchard, ed., The Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 3^rd ed., with Supplement (Princeston: Princeston University Press, 1969), 287-89.”  “Even though Hezekiah subsequently sought to appease Sennacherib with tribute (cf. 18:13-16), the pagan king demanded unqualified surrender (cf. 18:17-24).  Laying siege to Jerusalem, the Assyrian commander Rabshakeh threatened the people of Judah, even contending that Yahweh  was not able to defend Jerusalem (cf. 18:13-19:13).  This threat, however, was quelled when God sent the Angel of Yahweh to put to death 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night (cf. 2 Kings 19:35-36; Isa. 37:36).”

            I have to say that for me this kind of typing is more difficult that it was a few years ago, and the problem is with all of the dates and things like that so I think it best to stop at this time and then pick it up tomorrow, Lord willing.

Spiritual Meaning for my Life Today:  God is always in control of things as seen in the story told of the death of 185,000 Assyrians after Hezekiah went into his room and prayed that the Lord would give Judah relief from Assyria.  God surely answered his prayers.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I continue to trust the Lord to care for my wife’s cancer in a way that will bring glory to His Name.

12/5/2025 11:42 AM

PT-2“The Case of the Fallen Angels” (2 Peter 2:4)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/04/2025/6:45 PM

My Worship Time                                                     Focus: PT-2“The Case of the Fallen Angels”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                      Reference:  2 Peter 2:4

            Message of the verses: “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;”

            We begin this evening’s SD by first of all talking about the phrase “cast them into hell” which is actually the translation of a single word, tartarosas.  “The verb, used only here” writes MacArthur who goes on to write “in the New Testament, is derived from Tartarus, which is in Greek mythology identified as subterranean abyss that was even lower than Hades (hell).  Tartarus came to refer to the abode of the most wicked spirits, where the worst rebels and criminals received the severest divine punishment.  Much like Jesus used the term Gehenna (the name for Jerusalem’s garbage dump, where fires burned continuously) to illustrate the inextinguishable torments of eternal anguish (Matt. 5:22, 29-30; 10:28; 19:9; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5), Peter used a familiar word from popular Greek thought to designate hell.  The pseudepigraphal book of 1 Enoch, a well-known work to most New Testament Jews (cf. Jude 14), also mentions Tartarus (1:9).  Peter must have been confident that his readers understood exactly what he meant, since he offered them no additional explanation of the term.” I for one am happy with the research that MacArthur did on this subject so that I can better understand it myself and also pass the information along to all those who read my Spiritual Diaries on my blogs.

            “Further, Peter describes this demonic incarceration by saying that God committed the fallen angels to pits of darkness.  Committed (paredoken), as in Acts 8:3; and 12:4, means to turn over the imprisonment. Pits of darkness (cf. Matt. 8:12) is the best translation, even though some ancient manuscripts read ‘chains’ (hence the King James translation).  Whether the rendering is pits or ‘chains,’ the idea is the same—it refers to loss of freedom in a place of confinement, a fate demons feared (cf. Matt. 8:29; Luke 8:31).  Those who were sent there were reserved for judgment, like guilty prisoners awaiting final sentencing and execution at the las day (cf. Rev. 20:10).

            “But two important questions still arise from the text:  To which fallen angels does this action refer?  And what did they do to deserve such severe imprisonment? What Peter does not expand on, Jude does:

            “And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. (Jude 6-7).

Those demons ‘did not keep their own domain,’ meaning that they moved out of their proper sphere of existence and behavior—‘their proper abode.’ Jude 6 is a reference to the events of Genesis 6:1-4 in which certain fallen angels possessed mortal men and then cohabited with women.  The egregious transgression of those demons was a clear violation of the boundaries God had set for them.  Jude 7 compares their ‘gross immorality’ to that of Sodom and Gomorrah who ‘went after strange flesh’ (i.e. , practiced homosexuality, a perversion which God wholly condemns—Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Rom. 1:26-27; 1 Cor. 6:9).”  Now recently I studied the book of Jude before moving onto the book of 2 Peter and I wrote some similar things that are in this portion above while studying Jude.

            “Of course, Peter’s primary purpose here was not to get lost in the details of this account about fallen angels, especially since his readers were apparently already familiar with it.  Instead, he used this illustration to emphasize the main thrust of his argument—namely, that God severely judges all those who oppose Him and His truth.  Like those angels, rebellious false teachers will face divine wrath.”

I have discussed this issue with demons cohabitating with women, which MacArthur states happened before the flood, and he also states that this is one of the reasons that God destroyed the earth by a flood saving only Noah and his wife, his sons and their wives, seven in all.  The reason he makes this issue is that if demons were really cohabiting with women then their offspring would not be a part of the human race, and therefore Christ would not have been able to save these beings because He is both God and Man.

12/4/2025 7:20 PM

 

 

 

“Author & Date of Nahum”

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/04/2025/9:30 AM

My Worship Time                                                                    Focus: “Author & Date of Nahum”

            This morning I continue to quote from the introduction to John MacArthur’s commentary on the book of Nahum.  I have just finished a couple of days ago on my study of Jonah and have mentioned that Nahum is written about the same city, the city of Nineveh, but some 100 years later, and things have changed a lot since Jonah visited that city.  I begin this morning’s SD by quoting from MacArthur’s commentary where he writes about the author.

 

AUTHOR

            “The author of the book is God’s prophet Nahum the Elkoshite (Nah. 1:1).  Nahum came from Elkosh, a town whose location is unknown.  Three possible locations have been proposed: 1) Al Qosh, located in Northern Iraq, and potentially suggesting that Nahum came from a city taken captive by Assyria in 722 BC; 2) Capernaum (ie., “Village of Nahum”), which is mentioned in the New Testament (e. g., Matt. 4:13; 8:5; 11:23; 17:24); and 3) a general geographical location in Judah, important to the prophet since he mentioned it in Hahum 1:15. The reference to Nahum as an Elkoshite indicates that Nahum was a specific historical figure, associated with his hometown, and therefore having a distinct identity.  Scripture similarly refers to Amos of Tekoa (Amos 1:1), Jeremiah of Anathoth (Jer. 1:1), and Joseph of Arimathea (Matt. 27:57; Mark 15:43; Luke 23:51; John 19:38).  By introducing himself with such specificity, Nahum demonstrated that he was willing to be held accountable for the message he preached (cf. Deut. 18:22).  His prophecy reveals that he was zealous to see the Lord’s righteous justice prevail against the wickedness of God’s enemies.”

 

DATE

            “The prophecy of Nahum is typically dated to a time between 663 BC and 627 BC.  Since the destruction of Thebes (No-amon) in 663 BC was fresh in Nahum’s mind (cf. Nahum 3:8-10), he must have received this prophecy not long after that date.  Inasmuch as Nahum envisioned Assyria to be a prominent nation still, his message would have been most relevant prior to the weakening of the empire with the death of Ashurbanipal around 627 BC.  Most notably, because Nahum made no mention of the restoration of Thebes in 654 BC, he likely delivered the prophecy between 663 BC and 654 BC.  In light of this Nahum would have preached long after the fall of Nineveh took place in 612 BC, which demonstrates that his prophecy was indisputably predictive.

Spiritual Meaning for My life Today: It is important to understand the background of the books in the Bible that I am studying and I appreciate that John MacAruhur takes the time to set the stage of the books that he writes to include the background of those books.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to trust that the Lord’s will will be done in my wife’s fighting of her battle with cancer.  She is a very brave woman who can handle the Kemo she is receiving and I am proud of this and thankful that the Lord is using this to help rid her body of cancer.  My prayer for both of us is that we will learn what the Lord desires for us to learn as we go through this difficult trial.

12/4/2025 9:54 AM

 

 

PT-1 "The Case of the Fallen Angels" (2 Peter 2:4)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/03/2025/8:35 PM

My Worship Time                                                            Focus: “The Case of the Fallen Angels”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                      Reference:  2 Peter 2:4

            Message of the verses: “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;”

            We begin this evening with what will be a fairly long section that may take at least a couple of days to get through.  I have to say that this is one of my favorite parts of 2 Peter to look at.

            Now the short phrase for if introduces a conditional sentence that extends all the way through verse eight.  If, however, does not imply uncertainty here and probably should be rendered “since.”  Now since God did not spare the angels of heaven when they sinned against Him, and it should be noted that God did not provide any means of salvation for them, as humans who pervert His truth should not expect to escape His vengeance either.  Now angels, like mankind (mankind (Matt. 23:45-51; 25:48; 16:1-8; 19:12-27; 1 Cor. 4:2), were responsible to honor God and obey His truth, and those who rebelled were sentenced to eternal punishment.

            Now let me take a moment to talk about the fact that angels who had fallen could never be restored again, while humans who have fallen can receive forgiveness from the Lord.  Now not all humans will receive the forgiveness, but the ones who have received forgiveness have it because of what Christ did for them on the cross, as He died to take their place.  You see the second person of the godhead became a man in the person of Jesus Christ, and that made Him both man and God in one body.  This is why humans can receive forgiveness, however there is no substitute for angels who have fallen.  If I am correct there were about one third of the angels who followed Satan when he rebelled against God, and so that one third of the angels will all spend eternity in hell along with their leader, Satan.  I hope this short paragraph gives enough information to understand this topic.

            John MacArthur writes “The spiritual dynamics of how and why angels sinned remains, in many ways, a theological mystery.  The highest ranking of all the angels, Lucifer, wanted to exalt himself to a position of equality with God.  As depicted in the dramatic language of Revelation 12:3-9, one-third of the angels joined Lucifer’s heavenly revolt, arrogantly opposed God, and were expelled from heaven (cf. Isa. 14:12-21; Ezek. 28:12-19; Luke 10:18).”  The two passages, Isaiah, and Luke give great information about the fall of Satan and the angels.

            “But Peter is probably not referring here to the angels who originally fell, since t hey were not immediately incarcerated in hell nor confined permanently to pits of darkness to await their final judgment.  In fact, they are the demons who are now loose in the world, securing Satan’s unholy purposes.  The apostle Paul identified them when he wrote, ‘For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places’ (Eph. 6:12; cf. 2:1-2;1 Peter 5:8).  When the Lord returns, the demons (along with Satan) will be bound during Christ’s millennial reign (Isa. 24:21-23; Rev. 10:1-3) and eventually cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10).”

12/3/2025 9:10 PM

 

PT-1 “Intro to Nahum”

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/3/2025 8:31 AM

My Worship Time                                                                          Focus:  PT-1 “Intro to Nahum”

            This SD and the following ones will be a bit different as I quote from John MacArthur’s commentary on Nahum which I promised I would do in my last SD after I finished looking at the book of Jonah.

            “More than a hundred years after Jonah preached to Nineveh, God raised up the prophet Nahum to pronounce judgment on the same city.  Though the Assyrians repented in Jonah’s day and received mercy, later generations presumed upon God’s grace and returned to their wicked ways.  So, Nahum prophesied woe against them, demonstrating that although God is merciful and gracious, He is also righteous and holy.  In promising to pour out His wrath on wicked Nineveh, God also His people by reminding them that He will bring evildoers to justice.

            “Nahum’s message parallels that of his predecessor in at least eight ways.  First, just as Jonah declared that God is longsuffering and gracious (Jonah 4:2), so Nahum acknowledged divine grace while affirming that the Lord is also jealous and avenging (Hahum 1:3).  Second, in Jonah God orchestrated a storm and then calmed the sea (Jonah 1:4, 15-16; 2:10-3:5), and in Nahum God directed the rivers to flood Nineveh in order to destroy the city (Nahum 1:8; 2:6).  Third, in Jonah God allowed the prophet to reach dry land (Jonah 2:10), and in Hahum God rebuked the sea and made it dry in judgment (Nahum 1:4).  Fourth, in Jonah the common people were spared (Jonah 3:5-10), but in Nahum all the people were scattered (Nahum 1:2; 3:18).  Fifth, in Jonah the message reached the king and he repented (Jonah 3:5-10), but in Hahum God addressed the king and described his demise (Nahum 3:18-19).  Sixth, in Jonah both the sailors and the prophet offered vows to God (Jonah 1:6; 2:9), so Nahum called Israel to pay their vows and give praise to the Lord for His judgments (Nahum 1:15).  Seventh, the book of Nahum ends with a question (Nahum 3:19), the only two books in Scripture to do so.  Finally, Nahum’s description of the Ninevites mourning at the fall of their city intended to evoke the prophet Jonah and his ministry.  Nahum expressed that the women moaned like doves (cf. 2:7), recalling the prophet Jonah since his name is the Hebrew word for ‘dove’ (jonah).

            “The parallels demonstrate that the book of Nahum is the sequel to the book of Jonah, though with vastly different conclusions.  The city that received divine grace became the city that was destroyed by divine wrath.  Nineveh serves as a memorial to both the mercy and wrath of God.  While the Lord gives grace to the worst of sinners who repent, He also executes judgment on those who refuse to turn from their sin (cf. 2 Peter 3:3-9; James 5:7-9). Nahum’s prophecy demonstrates that God will avenge His people by punishing the wicked and preserving the righteous (Nahum 1:15; cf. Isa. 52:7).

TITLE

            “The book is titled after the name of the prophet Hanum (i. e., ‘comfort’ or ‘comforter’), which is related to the name (‘Nehemiah’ (i.e., “Yah[weh], comforts”).  Despite the prophet’s name, the message Nahum preached was one of judgment.  This tension indicates that God intended Nahum’s prophecy to communicate both comfort and judgment—comfort to Israel that the Lord was zealous for the protection of His people, and judgment against Nineveh that God would destroy the nation of her wickedness.”

            Lord willing I will continue the different phases of the introduction to Nahum in John MacArthur’s commentary in tomorrow’s SD.

12/3/2025 8:57 AM

 

“The Precedent for Judgment” (2 Peter 2:4-8)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/02/2025/6:20 PM

My Worship Time                                                               Focus: “The Precedent for Judgment”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                  Reference:  2 Peter 2:4-8

            Message of the verses:  “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds).”

            Here is what we will be doing this evening in this Spiritual Diary.  This is an introduction to these verses, and MacArthur gives this introduction to it which I will quote, and then we will see that after this introduction that these verses will be looked at in different sections.  Tonight’s  SD will just be composed of the introduction.

            “Peter continues his denouncement of false teachers by referencing three well-known accounts of divine judgment from the book of Genesis.  It my have been tempting for some of Peters’ original readers to doubt whether or not the false teachers doubt whether or  not the false teachers would really ever be punished.  For the moment, they seemed to be flourishing—circulating their spiritual lies and basking in their popularity, sensuality, and wealth.  So Peter reminded his readers of biblical history, noting that just as God judged faithfully in the past, so He will also uphold justice in the present.

            “As the apostle gives an overview of three Old Testament examples, he highlights the height of God’s wrath (in the case of fallen angels), the breadth of God’s wrath (in the case of the ancient world at the time of the Flood), and the depth of God’s wrath (in the case of Sodom and  Gomorrah).  In other words, there are no creatures too lofty, too numerous, or too base to escape divine judgment—His vengeance will be meted out on all who oppose Him.  And, as Peter points out in this passage, the false teachers of his day were no exception.”

            In tomorrow evening’s SD will begin to look at “The Case of the Fallen Angels”, Lord willing.”

12/2/2025 6:38 PM