SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/18/2026 8:00
AM
My
Worship Time Focus:
PT-3 “The
Purpose of Judgment”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: Nahum
2:1-2
Message of the verses: “The one who scatters has come up against
you. Guard the fortification, watch the
road; Strengthen your loins, instill your power with exceeding courage. For Yahweh will restore the majesty of Jacob
Like the majesty of Israel, Even though those who empty them have emptied them
to destruction and ruined their vine branches.”
“1
¶ The scatterer has come up against you.
Man the ramparts; watch the road; dress for battle; collect all your strength.
2 For the LORD is restoring the majesty
of Jacob as the majesty of Israel, for plunderers have plundered them and
ruined their branches.” (ESV)
I continue to quote from John MacArthur’s commentary
along with some of my thoughts and also looking at the verses that he mentions
in this section for today.
“The prophet’s call to Nineveh to
prepare for battle (presented as a charge to guard, watch, strengthen, and instill)
made a powerful rhetorical point. No
matter how well-prepared the Ninevites might be, they could not overcome or
resist the judgment of God against them (cf. Joel 3:9-17).”
(cf. Joel 3:9-17).”
“9
¶ Proclaim this among the nations:
Consecrate for war; stir up the mighty men. Let all the men of war draw near;
let them come up. 10 Beat your plowshares
into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, "I am a
warrior." 11 Hasten and come, all
you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves there. Bring down your warriors,
O LORD. 12 Let the nations stir
themselves up and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to
judge all the surrounding nations. 13
Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the
winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their evil is great. 14 Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of
decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars
withdraw their shining. 16 The LORD
roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the
earth quake. But the LORD is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people
of Israel. 17 "So you shall know
that I am the LORD your God, who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem
shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through it.”
“The Lord’s
decree was to destroy Assyria and avenge Israel. Thus, Nahum exclaimed, For Yahweh will
restore the majesty of Jacob, like the majesty of Israel.’ Nineveh’s destruction served as a
guarantee that God would preserve His people, and one day exalt Israel to a
position of majesty and lofty dignity (cf. Job 39:11).”
(cf. Job 39:11)
“11 and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no
farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?”
“At the
end of the age, the Lord will elevate Israel above all the nations so that they
will be the pride and joy of the world (cf. Isa. 24:14; 60:15; Mic. 5:4).”
(cf. Isa. 24:14; 60:15; Mic. 5:4)
“14 They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
over the majesty of the LORD they shout from the west.”
“15
¶ Whereas you have been forsaken and
hated, with no one passing through, I will make you majestic forever, a joy
from age to age.”
“4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in
the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And
they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.”
“God’s
chosen nation will then become distinguished like the patriarch Jacob
and live up to the God given name Israel, meaning ‘he who strives
with God’ or ‘God strives.’ That
name served as a constant reminder to Jacob that the only reason he prevailed
was because the Lord fought on his behalf (Gen. 32:26-28; 35:10; Hos. 12:5; cf.
Gen. 3:17; Exod. 14:14, 25).
(Gen. 32:26-28; 35:10; Hos. 12:5; cf.
Gen. 3:17; Exod. 14:14, 25).
“26 Then he said, "Let me go, for the day
has broken." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless
me." 27 And he said to him,
"What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." 28 Then he said, "Your name shall no longer
be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and
have prevailed.’”
“10 And God said to him, "Your name is
Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your
name." So he called his name Israel.”
5 the LORD, the God of hosts, the LORD is his
memorial name:”
“17
¶ And to Adam he said, "Because you
have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I
commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;”
“14 The LORD will fight for you, and you have
only to be silent.’”
“25 clogging their chariot wheels so that they
drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from before Israel,
for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.’”
“Through
Nahum, the Lord similarly promised to cause His people to prevail, so that one
day Israel also will be exalted among the nations (cf. Isa. 2:3; Zech. 8:23;
14:16-19) just as Jacob formerly was (Gen. 47:10).”
(cf. Isa. 2:3; Zech. 8:23; 14:16-19)
3 and many peoples shall come, and say:
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God
of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his
paths." For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the LORD from
Jerusalem.”
“23 Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days
ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew,
saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’’”
“16
¶ Then everyone who survives of all the
nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship
the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do
not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no
rain on them. 18 And if the family of
Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no
rain; there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that
do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 19
This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the
nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths.”
(Gen. 47:10)
“10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from
the presence of Pharaoh.”
Spiritual
Meaning for my Life Today: Now as I go over the commentaries written by
John MacArthur it amazes me that he puts so many Scripture references in
them. The Bible surely is the most
wonderful book ever written, and one of the reasons is it comes from the hand
of God and in the original copy there are no mistakes in it, for it is perfect just
like the Author.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: I continue to trust the Lord in how
He is dealing with the cancer that my wife has, and that He will use it to His
glory and for her good.
From David
Jeremiah’s words of wisdom: “If we
ignore Divine directives, we cannot enjoy God’s blessing.” (David
Jeremiah). Blessed is the man who
walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor
sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the Law of the Lord,
and in His Law He meditates day and night. (Psalm 1:1-2).
1/18/2026
8:30 AM
No comments:
Post a Comment