Nahum 2:11-3:7. In yesterday’s reading we saw that we need to keep our eyes fixed on eternity not on the wild crazy life that is swirling around us.  Nahum began a prediction about Israel’s long time enemy Assyria.  Remember that Nahum is writing about 650 BC to the Southern Kingdom, Judah.  This is only a part of the original nation of Israel.  The other part, the Northern Kingdom had been dismantled by Assyria over seventy years before (722 BC).  The interesting thing about that is that Judah actually called on Assyria to help them fight against the Northern Kingdom (for more on that read through the posts on Isaiah).  It’s funny how human relationships change.  Friend or allies one minute enemies the next.  It happens in personal relationships as well as between nations.

James 1:17 tells us that God does not change, however.  The “shifting shadow” is a reference to the shadow of a a turning object on another object and is probably a reference to the shadow of the earth on the moon which causes the “phases” of the moon.  It could also refer to an eclipse.  The idea is that, unlike the moon through out the month, God is always consistent in how he acts toward us.  Therefore God should always look the same to us. In Hebrews 13:8 we see this same idea applied to Jesus, he is always the same; forever.  In today’s reading Nahum continues his prophecy about Assyria.  The lion in verse 11 is probably a reference to the king or leader of Assyria, the lioness and cubs would be the queen and his children.  Verse 12 describes how the lion killed for his queen and his cubs, a pretty ugly picture of bloody flesh lying around.  In verse 13 we see that God is against this “lion”.  God is going to stop the “lion” and his army from killing any more prey.  But why?  I think a clue is in verse 12, the “lion” killed for his cubs and lioness.  Now that is normal in the animal world but in the human realm we are supposed to live for God and for his purposes.  There was plenty of killing that went on in the early days of the nation of Israel as they dispossessed the Cannanite people from the land but the reason God gave for the killing was the idolatry of those people.  God had the big picture in mind, he knew the Cannanites did not have their eyes on eternity and that they were going to draw the Israelites away too.  It’s like the story of Adam and Eve.  The devil tempted Eve to eat the fruit that God had told them not to eat.  “look how nice it looks Eve, and if you eat it you will know things you never knew before.”  Sure like pain, suffering, death, and alienation from God.  But Eve took the bait and Adam did too.  Sometimes we need to cut ourselves off from things because they will interfere with us focusing on forever with God.

In chapter three God focuses our attention on this bloody legacy of the Assyrian people.  Pillage is the stuff an army takes when they conquer a land, it’s stuff for them selves.  This army took a lot and left only bodies behind.  In verse 4 we are told that it is because of the “harlotries of the harlot” or “whorings of the whore”.  That’s pretty strong language.  A harlot is a person who has sex for money.  But that is not the real idea here.  God set up rules for human existence.  One of those rules is that we only marry and have sex with one person.  It’s not because God didn’t want us to have a good time, it was so we would have a way of understanding faithfulness.  Marriage helps us understand what kind of relationship we need to have with God.  In human relationships, one husband or wife.  In spiritual relationships, one God.  God was keeping his eyes on our eternal well being.  The prostitute in verses 4 is a symbol of unfaithfulness to God.  This is further explained when it talks about her charms or sorceries.  Both those words carry the idea of magic, spells, witchcraft, and more.  It’s about worshipping spirits rather than God.  Finally verse 4 gets back to the influence this nation of Assyria was having on others around them.  People were being led away from God.  Because of all of this verses 5-7 describe how God is going to make an example out of the Assyrian nation.

All together we can see that God is consistently interested in our eternal well-being.  One time Jesus was talking to his followers about how he needed to die to save us.  Peter was upset about the idea.  Maybe he was focusing on the fact that the Messiah (the promised coming savior) would set up the promised forever kingdom.  Jesus accused him of talking like the Devil would talk.  Then he told his followers that gaining the whole world (an offer the Devil actually made to Jesus, Matthew 4:8-9) was a bad trade for eternity (Matthew 16:24-26).  As tragic as dying the first death is (see yesterday’s post) dying the second death is the real tragedy.  There is a restoration from the first death there is no coming back from the second death.  In describing the second death Jesus said it is a place where their “worm does not die”.  That is to say there is no separation from that torment, it is forever.  So God does not change he want to see s many people as possible turn back to him and to eternity in Heaven with him.   Jeus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  He is the one who never turned back from his goal of dying to save a lost world.  We do turn though.  We all turn away from God, according to Isaiah we have all gone astray (Isaiah 53:6) but with God’s help and because of the forgiveness Jesus has made possible we can all turn back to God.  Turn to him today and look only to him now and forever.

God thank you for Jesus.  Thank you that all my wrong deeds were laid on him.  Thank you for making that path back to you.  Thank you that because of Jeus the Holy Spirit can live in me and guide me.  Help me listen to him.  Help me not live for self, help me not live for today, help me not be like an animal.  Let me live for what you made me for.  Help me be faithful to you.