Nahum chapter 3

Where does the time go? One minute it is Friday, the next time I turn around, it is Monday morning!!! Anyhow, continuing with the book of Nahuam, here is the final chapter.

This to me was so reminiscent of Revelation chapter 18, where Babylon is destroyed:
2 With a mighty voice he shouted:
Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird.
3 For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.

Nineveh here is paying the penalty for her sins, just as Babylon did, and will pay the penalty too. The people were secure, confident in their own abilities, their wealth, their riches, living in luxury and pleasure, and sure of their success, no matter what they turned their hands to. They gave no thought to God, the Creator, the one from whom we receive all that we have - home, food, a job, wife/husband, children, school, college, belongings, possessions.

Without God, what do we really have here in this world? We may have a comfortable lifestyle, we may live in extreme poverty scrabbling around to find enough food from one day to the next, we may have more riches than a man could ever dream possible, or we may live in a cardboard tent, striving to stay dry and warm each day. But no matter how much we have, or how little, without God in our lives, we have nothing. Our lives are empty and meaningless and there is no hope.

But with God in our lives, we have hope, we have salvation, we have the knowledge that we have eternal life and that treasure is being stored up in heaven for us right now. But it is not just a case of sitting back and waiting for death, waiting for the riches of heaven. God did not put us where we are today so we can ignore others, concentrate on building up our own little nest egg (albeit in heaven). We are to show the love of Jesus wherever we go, to bring the light of the gospel to all men, not just a few chosen ones, the ones whom we feel comfortable in sharing it with.

I for one do not want to know that because I did not open my mouth and say something when the opportunity arose, that someone I met did not receive the gospel message and ended up suffering in the flames of the lake of fire for all eternity. We have a responsibility to let others know about Jesus, to share the good news with all men. But it doesn't mean that we all have to become preachers, or stand on a street corner with a megaphone every Saturday afternoon, or walk around with placards saying "the end of the world is nigh." God has given each one of us different gifts. Some of us are great public speakers, able to convict people through the power of the spoken word. Others are great writers, able to write the most amazing books, whether fact or fiction, that cause people to stop and think, to turn to God, or at least start to follow the signposts. Some people are so caring, such comforters, such amazing people that they bring the light of Jesus wherever they go, and others want what they have. Others live their lives in such a way that no matter what happens, they trust in God, and people start to ask questions because after all, how can they have undergone so much, and yet still believe and trust in God?

Jonah had the gift of prophecy, and was able to convict the people of Nineveh the first time, Nahum also was a prophet, but by the time he reached Nineveh, the sin of the people was so ingrained, they could not change their ways. It is so sad to think that the same could be true of people we know and love, and I just pray that my family will not be included in this number.