SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/13/2026 9:29
AM
My
Worship Time Focus: PT-5
“Judgment Affirms God’s Prophecies”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: Nahum
1:15
Message of the verse: “Behold, on the mountains the feet of
him who proclaims good news, Who announces peace! Celebrate your feasts, O Judah; Pay your
vows. For never again will the vile one
pass through you; He is cut off completely.”
This morning I begin the fifth Spiritual Diary on this
verse, a very important verse.
John
MacArthur writes “The nation was called to devote not only their lives but also
their resources to commemorate God’s deliverance. Nahum recognition of God’s saving
intervention in one’s life. The sailors
in Jonah’s day offered vows to Yahweh in response to His willingness to deliver
them (Jonah 1:16).”
(Jonah 1:16)
“16 Then the men feared the LORD
exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.”
“Jonah
himself paid vows because God rescued him from the sea and the fish (2:9).”
(Jonah 2:9)
“9 But I shall sacrifice to you With the voice of thanksgiving; I shall pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.’”
“Nahum
similarly called Israel to pay their vows and give praise to Go specifically
for His judgment on Nineveh. While in
Jonah the vows were paid for God’s mercy to sinners, in Nahum they were to
offer exuberant and continual worship to the Lord for their deliverance.”
Now in urging Israel to pay their
vows, Nahum elaborated on the lasting effects of God deliverance as he explains
“For never again will the vile one pass through you; he is cut off
completely.” Nahum is referring to
the king of Nineveh in all his depravity, and placed him in the ranks of an
antichrist-type figure who opposes God and His people. Now the words vile one in the Hebrew
is (Belial). Here are some verses
that goes along with “an antichrist-type figure who opposes God and His people”
(cf. 2 Cor. 6:15; 1 John 2:18).
(cf. 2 Cor. 6:15; 1 John 2:18)
15 And what accord has Christ with Belial?
Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?”
“18 ¶ Little children, it is the last hour;
and as you heard that the antichrist comes, even now many antichrists have
come, by which we know that it is the last hour.”
Now when we look at what a type of
the antichrists are we can see that John is writing about that in the verse
above, and there are man antichrist types that have come upon the scene, however
John is the author of the book of Revelation, and in that book we read about
the Antichrist who will rule planet earth for seven years, with the last three
and a half years being the worst time in human history, leading up to
Antichrist’s demise as in Revelation 19 Jesus Christ, the King of kings and
Lord of lords returns to planet earth as He promised that He would, and takes
the Antichrist, along with the false prophet and also Satan and puts them into
hell, as Satan will stay there for 1000 years before he is let out for a little
while, and then returns there to stay forever.
John MacArthur continues “The Lord
promised that upon the Assyrian capital’s destruction, this wicked ruler would never
again pass through Israel. God’s
people would find satisfaction in God’s justice, as this evil king would be cut
off completely. Cut in this case is
different than the term used earlier (Hah. 1:12), emphasizing here not only
physical destruction but also divine fury and judgment (Lev. 17:4, 9; 22:3; cf.
Exod. 12:15; 31:14; Num. 15:31; 19:20).
(Lev. 17:4, 9; 22:3; cf. Exod. 12:15;
31:14; Num. 15:31; 19:20)
“and
does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation to offer an offering to the LORD before the
tabernacle of the LORD, the guilt of bloodshed shall be imputed
to that man. He has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from among his
people,”
“9 and does not bring it to the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation to offer it to the LORD, even that
man shall be cut off from among his people.”
15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On
the first day, you shall remove yeast from your houses. For whoever eats
leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be
cut off from Israel.”
“14 Therefore you shall keep the Sabbath, for it is
holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for
whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his
people.”
“31 Because he has despised the word of the
LORD, and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his
iniquity shall be upon him.’”
“20 But the man who is unclean and did not
purify himself, that person shall be cut off from among the congregation,
because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. The
water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.”
“Such
definitive condemnation of this vile one, a strategic tool of Satan was
a sign of what God would do against the ultimate vile one, Satan himself (cf. 2
Cor. 6:15).”
(cf. 2 Cor. 6:15)
“Or
what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an
unbeliever?”
“Just as
Israel’s liberation from Nineveh prefigured their ultimate rescue so the defeat
of Nineveh’s king prefigured the defeat of Israel’s ultimate enemy, Satan. The Lord will prevail over all His enemies,
just as He prevailed over the wicked ruler of Nineveh and the violent Assyrian
army.
“Given the close connection between
comfort and judgment in this passage, commentators designate this portion of
Nahum’s prophecy, and particularly Nahum 1:15, as the key to the entire book.” ““Behold,
on the mountains the feet of him who proclaims good news, Who announces
peace! Celebrate your feasts, O Judah; Pay
your vows. For never again will the vile
one pass through you; He is cut off completely.” “Though the book describes
Nineveh’s catastrophic judgment, it does so to demonstrate that God’s plan is
certain, His promises true, and His prophecies sure. By predicting the spectacular destruction of
Nineveh that would soon come to pass, Nahum provided irrefutable evidence of
God’s sovereignty over the nations and the events of world history. The Lord demonstrated that He would complete
His good purposes for His people. In
this way, the book of Nahum embodies the meaning of its author’s name: comfort.”
Spiritual
Meaning for my Life today: Whatever God has stated in His Word, and I am
really referring to His prophecies will one day come to pass, that is something
I can certainly count on.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: I am trusting the Lord to give success to the
treatments that my wife will receive tomorrow for her cancer treatment.
“Glory not
in wealth if you have it, nor in friends because they are powerful, but in God
who gives all things, and above all desires to give you Himself.” (Thomas A
Kempis)
“Every
good and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of
lights, with Whom There is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James 1:17).
From Dr. David
Jeremiah’s “Words of Wisdom cards.)
1/13/2026
10:21 AM
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