Wednesday, January 21, 2026

PT-2 "The People Under Judgment" (Nahum 2:3-5)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/21/2026 9:15 AM

My Worship Time                                                     Focus:  PT-2 “The People Under Judgment”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                  Reference:  Nahum 2:3-5

            Message of the verses: 

“The shields of his mighty men are colored red,

The valiant men are dressed in  scarlet,

 The chariots are enveloped in flashing steel

When he is set up to march,

And the cypress spears are brandished.

 

 The chariots race madly in the streets;

They rush wildly in the squares;

Their appearance is like torches;

They dash to and fro like lightning flashes.

 

 He remembers his mighty ones;

 They stumble in their march;

They hurry to her wall,

And the mantelet is set up.

            This morning I continue to look at these verses with the help of John MacArthur’s commentary on Nahum.

            “Describing the fervency of the battle, Nahum noted that the chariots of the Ninevites would race madly in the streets.  Though the previous depicted Nineveh’s chariots assembled in military formation, they would race madly  once the fighting began.  Nineveh’s chariots would rush wildly in the squares, a reference to the city center where business and civic activity normally took place (cf. Gen. 19:2; Deut. 13:16; 2 Sam. 21:12).”

(cf. Gen. 19:2; Deut. 13:16; 2 Sam. 21:12)

“2  and said, "My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way." They said, "No; we will spend the night in the town square.’’

“16  You shall gather all its spoil into the midst of its open square and burn the city and all its spoil with fire, as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. It shall be a heap forever. It shall not be built again.”

“12  David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-Gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, on the day the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa.”

“With the streets filled with chariots, their appearance glistened like torches as their shiny steel coverings reflected the sun.  As they drove through the city, they would dash too and fro like lightning flashes, displaying forces and projection confidence that Nineveh’s military could repel the imminent threat.

            “The king of Nineveh committed all his resources to defend the city.  Nahum remarked that he [the king] remembers his mighty ones.  The ‘mighty men’ mentioned earlier were Nineveh’s veteran warriors (Nah. 2:3), but the mighty ones  in this context referred to the city’s distinguished nobles.”

(Nah. 2:3)

“3  The shield of his mighty men is red; his soldiers are clothed in scarlet. The chariots come with flashing metal on the day he musters them; the cypress spears are brandished.”

“The king assigned these illustrious heroes to lead the counteroffensive, which they would do with such fervency and haste that some would even stumble in their march as they rushed to hurry to Nineveh’s wall.  Without hesitation, they inspired their troops to defend the most vulnerable areas of the city and even reinforce the perimeter, so that the mantelet was set up.  The mantelet likely referred to the defensive towers of Nineveh, which, according to the Greek historian Diodrous Siculus, were 1,5000 in number and up to 200 feet tall.  Nahum portrayed the entire city rallying behind its leaders to resist the enemy invasion.

            “Thus, the city’s troops were prepared, the chariots readied, the leaders resolved, and the defenses strengthened for the approaching adversary.  With perfect accuracy, Nahum foretold the opening moments of the Battle of Nineveh in 612 BC.  From a human perspective, Assyria’s capital appeared unassailable, but just as God raised up Pharaoh to crush him for His glory (cf. Exodus 9:16; Romans 9:17), so the Lord elevated Nineveh so that His majesty would be displayed in its downfall.”

(cf. Exodus 9:16; Romans 9:17)

“16  But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”

“17  For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’”

Spiritual Meaning for my Life Today:  I see the word “Pride” in this section, and as one looks at the book of Proverbs that word pride is used many times, and it is not used in a good way.  When a person is prideful then he is trusting in himself and not in the Lord.  I have learned from in internet search that the word pride is used 50 times in the Word of God, from both Old and Ne Testaments.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I do not wish to depend on myself for wisdom, but to trust in the Lord who gives wisdom, and then to give glory to the Lord.

From David Jeremiah “Word’s of Wisdoem.”  “Not until we have become humble and teachable…distrusting our own thoughts, and willing to have our minds turned upside down, can divine wisdom Become ours.”  J.I. Packer

Just so you know these cards are in the order that I put them into their container and it seems to me that the Lord is the one who put them in the order that they are in as many times as I look at them they go along with what I am studying.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7)

1/21/2026 9:46 AM

 

 

 

 

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