Nahum and Habakkuk 650 600 586 King

Nahum and Habakkuk

650 600 586 King Manasseh Amon Josiah Joahaz Jehoiakim Jehoiachin Zedekiah Prophet Nahum Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Ezekiel 605 – 1 st invasion (Daniel) 597 – 2 nd invasion (Ezekiel) 586 – 3 rd invasion (Jeremiah)

Nahum n n “This is a message about Nineveh, the account of a vision seen by Nahum, who was from Elkosh. ” (Nahum 1: 1 – GN) [612 BC – Nineveh destroyed] “One day the LORD spoke to Jonah…He said, ‘Go to Nineveh, that great city, and speak out against it; I am aware of how wicked its people are. ’” (Jonah 1: 1 -2 – GN) [783 -743 BC]

n “Jonah was furious. He lost his temper. He yelled at God, ‘God! I knew it—when I was back home, I knew this was going to happen! That’s why I ran off to Tarshish! I knew you were sheer grace and mercy, not easily angered, rich in love, and ready at the drop of a hat to turn your plans of punishment into a program of forgiveness! So, God, if you won’t kill them, kill me! I’m better off dead!” (Jonah 4: 1 -3 – The Message)

n n n n “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son” (John 3: 16 – GN) “The LORD says, ‘The people I love are doing evil things. ’” (Jeremiah 11: 15 – GN) “My heart cries out for Moab!” (Isaiah 15: 5 – GN) “The LORD says, ‘People of Israel, I think as much of the people of Ethiopia as I do of you. I brought the Philistines from Crete and the Syrians from Kir, just as I brought you from Egypt. ’” (Amos 9: 7 – GN) “Turn to me now and be saved, people all over the world!” (Isaiah 45: 22 – GN) Roman officer – “I tell you, I have never found faith like this, not even in Israel!” (Luke 7: 9 – GN) Canaanite woman – “You are a woman of great faith!” (Matthew 15: 28 – GN)

Terminal Diagnosis n “There is no remedy for your injuries, and your wounds cannot be healed. All those who hear the news of your destruction clap their hands for joy. Did anyone escape your endless cruelty? ” (Nahum 3: 19)

n Israel: – “I wanted to heal Israel, but its sins were far too great. Samaria is filled with liars, thieves, and bandits!” (Hosea 7: 1 – NLT)

Judah: – “The LORD God of their ancestors repeatedly sent messages through his messengers because he wanted to spare his people and his dwelling place. But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words, and made fun of his prophets until the LORD became angry with his people. He could no longer heal them” (2 Chronicles 36: 15, 16, GOD’S WORD). – “Is there no medicine in Gilead? Are there no doctors there? Why, then, have my people not been healed? (Jeremiah 8: 22 – GN). – “The Lord says to his people, ‘Your wounds are incurable, your injuries cannot be healed. There is no one to take care of you, no remedy for your sores, no hope of healing for you. ’” (Jeremiah 30: 12: 13 – GN).

n Babylon: – “Babylon will suddenly fall and be shattered. Cry for it. Bring medicine for its pain. Maybe it can be healed. We wanted to heal Babylon, but it couldn’t be healed. Let’s abandon it and go to our own land. God has judged Babylon. Its judgment is complete. ” (Jeremiah 51: 8, 9, GOD’S WORD). n Egypt: – “People of Egypt, go to Gilead and look for medicine! All your medicine has proved useless; nothing can heal you. ” (Jeremiah 46: 12 – GN)

n “Create a pure heart in me, O God, and put a new and loyal spirit in me. ” (Psalms 51: 10 – GN)

n “So the prophecy of Isaiah applies to them: ‘This people will listen and listen, but not understand; they will look and look, but not see, because their minds are dull, and they have stopped up their ears and have closed their eyes. Otherwise, their eyes would see, their ears would hear, their minds would understand, and they would turn to me, says God, and I would heal them. ’” (Matthew 13: 14 -15 – GN)

n n “The LORD said to Moses, ‘How much longer will these people reject me? How much longer will they refuse to trust in me, even though I have performed so many miracles among them? ’” (Numbers 14: 11 – GN) “The Lord answered, ‘I will forgive them, as you have asked. But I promise that as surely as I live and as surely as my presence fills the earth, none of these people will live to enter that land. They have seen the dazzling light of my presence and the miracles that I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, but they have tried my patience over and over again and have refused to obey me. They will never enter the land which I promised to their ancestors. None of those who have rejected me will ever enter it’” (Numbers 14: 20 -23).

n Stephen: – “And he fell to his knees, shouting, ‘Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!’ And with that, he died. ” (Acts 7: 60 - NLT). n Jesus: – “Forgive them, Father!” (Luke 23: 34 - GN). – “When the captain there saw what happened, he honored God: ‘This man was innocent! A good man, and innocent!’ All who had come around as spectators to watch the show, when they saw what actually happened, were overcome with grief and headed home. ” (Luke 23: 47, 48 – The Message)

n “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. ” – Gandhi

– “Do you have contempt for God, who is very kind to you, puts up with you, and deals patiently with you? Don’t you realize that it is God’s kindness that is trying to lead you to him and change the way you think and act? ” (Romans 2: 4 – GOD’S WORD)

n “And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more” (2 Corinthians 3: 18, NLT). *

n “Jesus said to them, ‘I am telling you the truth: if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in yourselves. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them to life on the last day. For my flesh is the real food; my blood is the real drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them. ’” (John 6: 53 -56 – GN)

n “The members of the Council were amazed to see how bold Peter and John were and to learn that they were ordinary men of no education. They realized then that they had been companions of Jesus. ” (Acts 4: 13 – GN)

n “For from the inside, from your heart, come the evil ideas which lead you to do immoral things, to rob, kill, commit adultery, be greedy, and do all sorts of evil things; deceit, indecency, jealousy, slander, pride, and folly--- all these evil things come from inside you and make you unclean. ” (Mark 7: 21 -23 – GN)

n “Rather, the real Jew is the person who is a Jew on the inside, that is, whose heart has been circumcised, and this is the work of God’s Spirit, not of the written Law. Such a person receives praise from God, not from human beings. ” (Romans 2: 29 – GN)

The physician model A 55 year old man comes to see you after missing his last 25 appointments n He has neglected his high blood pressure and diabetes for years n His diet has been horrible n He smokes 3 packs of cigarettes per day. n He hasn’t taken his medications. Now he is feeling dizzy and has headaches. n

Habakkuk n n “This is the message that the LORD revealed to the prophet Habakkuk. O LORD, how long must I call for help before you listen, before you save us from violence? Why do you make me see such trouble? How can you stand to look on such wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are all around me, and there is fighting and quarreling everywhere. The law is weak and useless, and justice is never done. Evil people get the better of the righteous, and so justice is perverted. Then the LORD said to his people, ‘Keep watching the nations around you, and you will be astonished at what you see. I am going to do something that you will not believe when you hear about it. I am bringing the Babylonians to power, those fierce, restless people. They are marching out across the world to conquer other lands. ’” (Habakkuk 1: 1 -6 – GN)

n “God, you’re from eternity, aren’t you? Holy God, we aren’t going to die, are we? God, you chose Babylonians for your judgment work? Rock-Solid God, you gave them the job of discipline? But you can’t be serious! You can’t condone evil! So why don’t you do something about this? Why are you silent now? This outrage! Evil men swallow up the righteous and you stand around and watch! You’re treating men and women as so many fish in the ocean, Swimming without direction, swimming but not getting anywhere. Then this evil Babylonian arrives and goes fishing. He pulls in a good catch. He catches his limit and fills his creel — a good day of fishing! He’s happy! He praises his rod and reel, piles his fishing gear on an altar and worships it! It’s made his day, and he’s going to eat well tonight! Are you going to let this go on and on? Will you let this Babylonian fisherman fish like a weekend angler, killing people as if they’re nothing but fish? What’s God going to say to my questions? I’m braced for the worst. I’ll climb to the lookout tower and scan the horizon. I’ll wait to see what God says, how he’ll answer my complaint. (Habakkuk 1: 12 -17; 2: 1 – The Message)

n “Then Moses turned to the LORD again and said, ‘Lord, why do you mistreat your people? Why did you send me here? Ever since I went to the king to speak for you, he has treated them cruelly. And you have done nothing to help them!’” (Exodus 5: 22 -23 – GN)

n “Surely you won't kill the innocent with the guilty. That's impossible! You can't do that. If you did, the innocent would be punished along with the guilty. That is impossible. The judge of all the earth has to act justly. ” (Genesis 18: 25 – GN)

n n Job: “I still rebel and complain against God; I cannot keep from groaning. How I wish I knew where to find him, and knew how to go where he is. I would state my case before him and present all the arguments in my favor. I want to know what he would say and how he would answer me. Would God use all his strength against me? No, he would listen as I spoke. I am honest; I could reason with God; he would declare me innocent once and for all. ” (Job 23: 1 -7 – GN) Elihu: “I won’t ask to speak with God; why should I give him a chance to destroy me? God’s power is so great that we cannot come near him. ” (Job 37: 20, 23 – GN)

n “The LORD gave me this answer: ‘Write down clearly on tablets what I reveal to you, so that it can be read at a glance. Put it in writing, because it is not yet time for it to come true. But the time is coming quickly, and what I show you will come true. It may seem slow in coming, but wait for it; it will certainly take place, and it will not be delayed. And this is the message: ‘Those who are evil will not survive, but those who are righteous will live because they are faithful to God. ’” (Habakkuk 2: 1 -4 – GN)

n “Even if the fig tree does not bloom and the vines have no grapes, even if the olive tree fails to produce and the fields yield no food, even if the sheep pen is empty and the stalls have no cattle- even then, I will be happy with the LORD. I will truly find joy in God, who saves me. The LORD Almighty is my strength. He makes my feet like those of a deer. He makes me walk on the mountains. ” (Habakkuk 3: 17 -19 – GOD’S WORD)

n n n “But the righteous person will live because of his faithfulness. ” (Habakkuk 2: 4 – GOD’S WORD) “Abraham put his trust in the LORD, and because of this the LORD was pleased with him and accepted him” (Genesis 15: 6 – GN) “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13: 15, KJV)

n n “For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous shall live by faith. ” (Romans 1: 16 -17 – ASV) “For the good news is a revelation of God’s true righteousness, character, methods and principles that restores trust in God and results in re-creation of a righteous and Christlike character, just as it is written: ‘The Christlike will live by trust. ’” (Romans 1: 16 -7 – TJ)

n n “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved---you and your family. " (Acts 16: 31 – GN) “Have faith in the Lord Jesus…. ” (Berkeley) “They said, ‘Put your entire trust in the Master Jesus. Then you'll live as you were meant to live--and everyone in your house included!’” (Acts 16: 31 – The Message) “Put your trust in the Lord Jesus…” (NEB)

n “Those who know you, LORD, will trust you…” (Psalms 9: 10 – GN)