Sunday 13th July
Read Nahum 2:13
“‘I am against you,’
declares the Lord Almighty.
‘I will burn up your chariots in smoke,
and the sword will devour your young lions.
I will leave you no prey on the earth.
The voices of your messengers
will no longer be heard.’” (NIVUK)
Yahweh speaks for the second time. The word is clear and unequivocal and utterly terrifying.
‘I am against you’ (v13a)
What this means in practice is that their power is broken, chariots and armies destroyed, no one weaker than them on the planet. No longer will their heralds announce doom or mercy to the cities under their sway – their mere messengers will be silenced.
Lest we not sit long in the awful fate of a long dead and deservingly judged nation it is important to meditate upon their fate. The writer to the Hebrews has absorbed the lesson from the justice of God fully. He does not see it as something to rejoice in when the enemies of God get their just deserts. He sees it as a warning to everyone to persevere in faithfulness and trust…
“For we know him who said, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ and again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:30-31) (NIVUK)
“But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.” (Hebrews 10:39) (NIVUK)
