Monday 14th July
Read Nahum 3:1
“Woe to the city of blood,
full of lies,
full of plunder,
never without victims!” (NIVUK)
Nahum begins the final section with a declaration of doom. Such declarations are not uncommon in scripture. Jesus pronounced woes upon the religious leaders of Jerusalem (cf Luke 11:42-54). It is what immediately precedes the woes that is most interesting as we approach Nahum and Nineveh.
“Then the Lord said to him, ‘Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But now as for what is inside you – be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.” (Luke 11:39-41) (NIVUK)
Woes are pronounced after Jesus considers what ‘is on the inside’. What lies within condemns them. It is a similar situation with Nineveh. What is on the inside is rotten and disgusting. Nineveh is a city filled with blood. It is violent, deceitful and greedy within. For this, doom falls.
We would be wise to constantly reflect on what lies within our own hearts. Pray that they are changed within by God.
