MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/31/2026
8:39 AM
My
Worship Time Focus:
PT-1 “Destruction
of Prosperity”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: Nahum
2:9
Message of the verse: “Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! And there is no limit to
the treasure—Wealth from every kind of desirable objects.”
I begin to quote from John MacArthur’s
commentary on this verse, and as I have been doing lately will add my comments,
along with quoting all of the verses that he has in his commentary on this
section.
“While the Ninevites fled the flood
and the foe, the Babylonians invaded the city, celebrating with shouts, ‘Plunder
the silver! Plunder the gold!’ Silver and
gold, when used in parallel, represent the sum total of one’s precious
possessions. Having won the battle,
Babylon would plunder and loot the city, not resting until every
treasure was taken. As Assyria’s
adversaries gleefully stripped Nineveh of it wealth, the Ninevites experienced
what they had done for 200 years to other nations, including Israel (cf. Amos
3:11).”
(cf. Amos 3:11)
“11 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "An
adversary shall surround the land and bring down your defenses from you, and
your strongholds shall be plundered.’”
“Nahum’s
prophecy assured God’s people that He had not forgotten their affliction but that
He would soon require an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth from Nineveh
(cf. Exodus 21:24; Lev. 24:20).
(cf. Exodus 21:24; Lev. 24:20)
“24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand,
foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound
for wound, stripe for stripe.”
“20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for
tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him.”
“As Babylonian forces ransacked the city, they
cheerfully exclaimed, ‘And there is no limit to the treasure.’ Because Assyria was a superpower in the
ancient world, Nineveh amassed a vast treasure as the Assyrian army overcome
city after city. Their riches increased
further as conquered nations paid tribute to Assyria. As a
result, there was no limit to Nineveh’s wealth, since treasure
from various lands filled its storehouses to the brim. But when the city fell, the invaders
collected all this wealth for themselves.
“Assyria’s enemies observed that the
Ninevites obtained wealth from every kind of desirable object. Wealth is the same Hebrew word for ‘glory’
or ‘honor,’ conveying the idea of
weightiness. The items Assyria possessed
and Babylon plundered were genuine riches of magnificent quality, and Assyria
had accumulated valuable treasures of all types, representing every kind of desirable
object. Revealing in their success,
Assyria kept a record of its treasures, including chariots, precious metals,
copper, iron, brightly colored fabrics, exotic animals, finely crafted
furniture, and jewels.” (This last sentence came from “Roberson, The Books
of Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah, 93).”
This list contained essentially any object that was desirable, a
word sometimes translated as ‘covet’ (cf. Gen. 3:6; Deut. 5:21).
(cf. Gen. 3:6; Deut. 5:21)
6 ¶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good
for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be
desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some
to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”
“21 "’And you shall not covet your
neighbor’s wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or
his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything
that is your neighbor’s.’”
“The
treasures people longed for Assyria possessed in abundance. Yet under devastating divine judgment,
Nineveh lost all it had acquired. The richest city in the world was reduced to
poverty.”
Now as I read over what happened to
Nineveh as the Babylonians came in and plundered their city it makes me think
of a passage that is found in the book of Revelation which I will now find and
quote in this SD:
9
¶ And the kings of the earth, who
committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail
over her when they see the smoke of her burning. 10 They will stand far off, in fear of her
torment, and say, “Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! For in
a single hour your judgment has come.” 11
And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys
their cargo anymore, 12 cargo of gold,
silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all
kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of
costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, 13
cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour,
wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.
14 “The fruit for which your soul longed
has gone from you, and all your delicacies and your splendors are lost to you,
never to be found again!” 15 The
merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in
fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud, 16 "Alas, alas, for the great city that was
clothed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, with jewels,
and with pearls! 17 For in a single hour
all this wealth has been laid waste." And all shipmasters and seafaring
men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off 18 and cried out as they saw the smoke of her
burning, “What city was like the great city?” 19 And they threw dust on their heads as they
wept and mourned, crying out, "Alas, alas, for the great city where all who
had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been
laid waste. 20 Rejoice over her, O
heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment
for you against her!" 21 Then a
mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea,
saying, "So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and
will be found no more; 22 and the sound
of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will be heard in
you no more, and a craftsman of any craft will be found in you no more, and the
sound of the mill will be heard in you no more, 23 and the light of a lamp will shine in you no
more, and the voice of bridegroom and bride will be heard in you no more, for
your merchants were the great ones of the earth, and all nations were deceived
by your sorcery. 24 And in her was found
the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on
earth." (Rev. 18:9-24)
Notice that Babylon is mentioned in this section and
what John is writing here is the destruction of the final empire in the world
before the Lord Jesus Christ returns from heaven with His saints to end the
final battle on planet earth before the Millennial Kingdom begins. (There will be one more battle at the end of
the Millennial Kingdom, but it will only last for a very short time, and then
after that the Lord will destroy the earth and all of the universe that He
created, something I have mentioned in earlier SD’s.) As I read over this section from Revelation
it certainly reminds me of what happened to Nineveh, especially all of the
great plunder that Babylon takes from this city, and one day as seen in the
fifth chapter of the book of Daniel it will all be taken from Babylon in one
night. I won’t quote the first thirty
verses of the fifth chapter of Daniel, but I will quote the very last verse,
and if you want to take the time to read over this chapter it will be well
worth it to do so. “30 ¶ That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. 31 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom,
being about sixty-two years old.”
Spiritual
Meaning for my Life today: As I look at what I have just written as far
as kingdoms falling quickly it shows me that God is in control of the
kingdoms. It also shows me that God is
in control of the lives of all people, both those who are saved and those who
are lost. It makes me think of the word “pride,”
as pride is what caused Satan to become Satan after God created him as a
perfect angel, and because of pride he fell and because he fell he causes
people today to become prideful.
I remember a song sung by a man
named Roger Miller and although it is not a “Christian Song,” it makes a lot of
sense: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4lW77X0ltc
You can listen to it from the web address above.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: I trust the Lord to use the things that
happened yesterday to bring glory to Him.
“There is
no pit so deep that God is not deeper still.”
(Corrie Ten Boom)
“Thes
things I have spoke to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but
be of good cheer, I have over come the world.” (John 16:33)
1/31/2026
9:29 AM
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