MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/20/2026
10:18 AM
My
Worship Time Focus: PT-3 “Inevitable Judgment”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: “Nahum
3:8-13”
Message of the verses: “8 ¶
Are you better than Thebes that sat by the Nile, with water around her,
her rampart a sea, and water her wall? 9
Cush was her strength; Egypt too, and that without limit; Put and the
Libyans were her helpers. 10 Yet she
became an exile; she went into captivity; her infants were dashed in pieces at
the head of every street; for her honored men lots were cast, and all her great
men were bound in chains. 11 You also
will be drunken; you will go into hiding; you will seek a refuge from the
enemy. 12 All your fortresses are like
fig trees with first-ripe figs— if shaken they fall into the mouth of the
eater. 13 Behold, your troops are women
in your midst. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire has
devoured your bars.”
This will be a short SD as there is not much left to quote
from John MacArthur’s commentary.
“Describing the helpless state of
Nineveh’s citizens, God declared, ‘Behold, your people are women in your
midst!’ Nineveh considered itself to
be valiant (Nah. 2:3), mighty (2:5) and even like a lion (2:11). But the Lord assessed the Ninevite people as
being like women. In ancient Near
Eastern culture, women generally lacked fighting ability (cf. Jer. 50:37;
51:30), dominant physical strength (cf. Isa. 19:16), and leadership training
(cf. Isa. 3:12).
(cf. Jer. 50:37; 51:30)
“37 A sword against her horses and against her
chariots, and against all the foreign troops in her midst, that they may become
women! A sword against all her treasures, that they may be plundered!”
“30 The warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting;
they remain in their strongholds; their strength has failed; they have become
women; her dwellings are on fire; her bars are broken.”
(cf. Isa. 19:16)
“16 for those who guide this people have been
leading them astray, and those who are guided by them are swallowed up.”
(cf. Isa. 3:12)
“12 My people— infants are their oppressors, and
women rule over them. O my people, your guides mislead you and they have
swallowed up the course of your paths.”
“The weak
and cowardly citizens of Nineveh would succumb fully to their enemies when ‘the
gates of your land are opened wide to your enemies.’ Not only would the gates be opened
but they would be opened wide, giving Nineveh’s enemies full
access to the city. Having entered with
force, the Babylonians would set fire to the city so that the fire consumes
your gate bars, destroying the beams used to seal and secure the gates (cf.
2 Chron. 14:7; Neh 3:14, 15). Once the
gates were destroyed, stopping the invasion was no longer possible.”
(cf. 2 Chron. 14:7; Neh 3:14, 15)
“7 And he said to Judah, "Let us build these
cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is
still ours, because we have sought the LORD our God. We have sought him, and he
has given us peace on every side." So they built and prospered.”
“14 Malchijah the son of Rechab, ruler of the
district of Beth-haccherem, repaired the Dung Gate. He rebuilt it and set its
doors, its bolts, and its bars. 15 And
Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the
Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it and covered it and set its doors, its bolts, and
its bars. And he built the wall of the Pool of Shelah of the king’s garden, as
far as the stairs that go down from the city of David.”
“The reference to Thebes set a historical precedent for
God’s judgment of Nineveh. Because it
was fresh on his mind, Nahum likely proclaimed his prophecy shortly after Thebes
fell.” This comes from the “date”
section at the beginning of John MacArthur’s introduction to the book of
Nahum: “The prophecy of Nahum is
typically dated to a time between 663 BC and 627 BC.” “Thebes was conquered around 663 BC, but
partially rebuilt around 654 BC. It is
likely that Nahum prophesied between those two dates, since the image he
painted of Thebes was that of a city still in ruins. At this time approximately forty years prior
to the destruction of Nineveh (in 612 BC), Assyria was still a prominent
power. By predicting Nineveh’s fall decades before it took
place, Nahum’s prophecy testifies bot to God’s perfect knowledge of the future
and His inexorable judgment of the wicked.”
Spiritual
Meaning for my Life today: As
I look at the highlighted portion above, I am so very thankful that I know the
God of heaven through His Son Jesus Christ, as I don’t need to be concerned
about the future because He has it in His hands.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: Two things on my mind for this
section, things that I have mentioned earlier and the first is I am thankful
that the Lord is in control of my wife’s health as she is battling cancer. Second I am thankful that what I need to
teach Sunday school this Sunday will be given to me by the Lord.
From the
pen of David Jeremiah: “Nearly all men
can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” (Abraham Lincoln)
The king’s
heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever
He wishes.” (Proverbs 21:1)
2/20/2026
10:47 AM
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