Nahum 3

“Because of the continual prostitution of the prostitute, the attractive mistress of sorcery, who betrays nations by her prostitution and clans by her witchcraft, I am against you. This is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.” Nahum 3:4-5 (HCSB)

The book of Nahum has been doubly valuable for us. It has shown us how prophecy has been completely fulfilled in the past. In doing so, Nahum has assured our hearts that all prophecy, yet to be fulfilled, will come to pass exactly as the prophets have spoken.

“And He said to me, ‘Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.’” Ezekiel 3:1 (NIV)

As Ezekiel was commanded to eat the scroll of the Lord and share its words, so we are encouraged by the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 14:1) to prophesy - literally, to consume God’s Word and seek His revelation, with the expressed purpose of sharing it to a generation that faces an Assyrian-style ultimate end. The more we read God’s Word, the more we learn His character, the more we see the same scenarios of redemption and judgment mounting around us, and the more faithfully we respond to life’s ever-changing social, economic, and religious climates. The Bible reveals attitudes and actions we once considered acceptable to a holy God as dangerously offensive.

I have seen several world dictators come and go in my time: Manuel Noriega, Idi Amin, Sadam Hussein, Pol Pot, Kim Il Sung, Augusto Pinochet, Papa Doc Duvalier, Efrain Rios Montt, Slobodan Milosevic, Foday Sankoh…and many more. They were all men of lies and violence. And they led bloodthirsty regimes that kept whole nations in terror but only for a season. This describes the Assyrians, the fiercest nation of their day. And they bore the filthiness of the flesh and spirit. Prostitution and sorcery were openly accepted as they worshipped their demonic gods. Therefore, God’s face was against them.

Today’s chapter tells of the inevitable end of such nations, along with all who follow in their corruption. When I lived in California, two blocks from where I used to study the Bible in the mornings, there was a “palm reader.”  The palm reading establishment was a well-kept residence; it had a nicely manicured lawn, and the neon sign read “open.”  Sorcery. Three miles away, women were walking the streets, sauntering up to cars, negotiating their bodies for sale. A mile in the other direction, at a local shopping center, I recall being handed a brochure urging me to vote to protect “marital equality,” which was code for “gay marriage.”  And we think our country’s present economic and political downturn is simply the natural response to market and geopolitical conditions? In the words of Nahum: WAKE UP!!

We, too, must “eat” The Book! Read the Bible. Savor its sweetness. Our eyes must be opened to God and (ultimately) to our sinful selves. Yes, it will sour our stomachs, but the restoration that comes from its knowledge is something for which we will be eternally grateful. Hence, we are compelled to share it with others so that they, too, might escape the certain coming judgment.