Israel  already overtaken by the Assyrians; and now, Judah lay in ruble.  Only Jerusalem still stood. The nation had turned their eyes away from God, seeking other pleasures and worshiping idols of gold.  All appeared lost; when Nahum comes with his message of destruction to Nineveh and hope for revival in Jerusalem and all of Judea.  Wherein lay that hope?  What message brought the people to their knees in prayer; ultimately, with God bringing revival through King Josiah? It was this: “Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off” (Nahum 1:15).  Because the messiah will come as promised; hope was renewed.  It may look as though all is lost; but, God is not done and He has the final victory.

What About Us?

Continue reading How to Bring a Revival of Faith When All Seems Lost? →

The Covenant Love and Mercy of God stands firm to those who are His people.  Judah had turned their backs on God during the reigns of Manasseh and Amon.  Instead they chose to worship idols.  This had been the story of God’s people throughout the Old Testament.  God would rescue and save His people; extending His mighty hand of mercy repeatedly.  During the reigns of Manasseh and Amon, the Assyrians with great cruelty attacked with brutality and force against the people of Judah.  There appeared to be no hope, as evil seemed to be winning against them.  Nahum foretold of the fall of Nineveh and the Assyrian nation.  God would step in to save His people; because of His Mercy and His Covenant Love for them.  Right before God’s judgement against Nineveh was enacted in 612, a young King Josiah led the nation of Judah in revival.

What battles are you facing today?  Do the mountains before you seem impassable?  Joni Eareckson Tada has lived a lifetime in a wheelchair since her accident left her a quadriplegic at the age of 18.  She has battled with chronic pain, disability and even breast cancer.  One might wonder how a loving God could allow such tragedy and suffering in one of His children.  Yet, her ministry stands as a portrait of Grace as she presses on.  Her smile and her courage shines forth with His Radiant Glory, displaying it to a world in need of Him. She speaks with great power as she tells the world that her suffering transforms her heart, sifting away the chaff and burning it.  Her pain has driven her to the cross where she has found great joy amid her pain and suffering.  Recently she published a Study Bible titled, Beyond Suffering Bible.

Nahum The Comforter: The Covenant Love and Mercy of God

Continue reading How to Trust the Covenant Love Of God Amid Terror →

Nineveh, a major gentile city in Assyria found God through the preaching of Jonah.  How long did revival last?  One generation had found God; yet, they failed somehow to teach that knowledge to the next generation. The great revival had occurred somewhere between 772 and 754 B.C.  Yet, by 697 B.C., they were known as a cruel, bloody nation.  Meanwhile in the land of Judah; Manasseh had become King.  King Manasseh of Judah returned the people to idolatry.  Because of the nation turning their back on God, they were overtaken by the cruel Assyrians. Two nations stood in the crux of judgement because of their choice. How can one then find comfort in the words of Nahum? His name meant comforter. He spoke words  meant to comfort the remnant of true believers that remained in Judah.  Yet, they come with an admonition for us to teach our children well.

We can read in 2 Kings 21 of the corruption of Manasseh, from idolatry to the shedding of innocent blood.  A tyrannical King whom many of the people of Judah followed with great fervor.  Evil filled the streets and God proclaimed:

2 Kings 21: 10-12

Continue reading How Can Words of Comfort Really Be an Admonition? →

No true love stands without justice.   God must remain true to His righteous nature; therein, justice and truth must reign.  In the days of Jonah, God reached out to a cruel, unrighteous Nineveh with love.  Nineveh was a gentile city, the capital of the Assyrian Empire.  It was located where the modern-day Mosul.  He sent Jonah to foretell of their coming doom unless they repented of their sins.  Miraculously, they turned to God in repentance and the entire city was saved; because, of the revival that followed Jonah’s preaching.   That was somewhere between 100 to 150 years before the book of Nahum.  However, the revival was short lived; just as it was in Judea during the reign of Josiah.  Now, this gentile city once more faced judgement, as would Judah. Love could never be perfected unless justice and righteousness reigned.

God had saved the city of Nineveh; however, the light of truth only shown for a brief period and now Nahum predicts their demise.  God did not send Nahum to the city as He had Jonah. Why?  J. Vernon McGee remarks as to the difference:

He (God) sent Jonah to Ninevah because Nineveh was a great wicked city, but they were totally ignorant of God.  When the message was brought, the city turned to God, all the way from the king on the throne to the peasant in the hovel.  As a result, God spared the city.  Now 100 to 150 years have gone by, and the city has relapsed and returned back to its old way.  Why doesn’t Nahum go?  Because they have already had the light, and they’ve rejected it.¹

FROM LIGHT TO UTTER DARKNESS

Continue reading When Justice Must Reign for Love to Be Complete →

We cry out to God from the dark night, seeking Mercy.  However, He remains upon His throne.  Why is it that when all is well, we forget He is the only truth and light; without Him there is no hope of light!  Come, let us seek Him while it is still day; that, He may be the hope, the joy, and the light that guides our path.  I wrote this poem today, from a saddened heart.  All around us we see evil, anger and sorrow.  If only we would turn and run to our Savior, He has promised, “Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:12-13)

From the Dark of the Night, for Mercy We Cry

by Effie Darlene Barba

From the Dark of the Night, for Your Mercy We Cry

As we look to the heavens and scream out, “Lord, Why?”

Why so much evil, such suffering and pain

Won’t You reach down in Might, to this evil restrain

Before our dear nation doth fall like the rest

When we once had been known, as Christians, the best

Then God Replied,

“Look there around you, Oh, do you not see?

That You all have forgotten to focus on me

So, busy you run from life to and fro

While seeking great treasures and idols below

Have You forgotten I am the truth and the light?

Without me, there is only darkness of night!

 

When you shut out my presence all you will see

Is the evil that remains in the absence of me!

How is it then, that you would forget?

I AM all you need for peace, love and joy; yet

You only seek me when your life is beset

By sorrows so filled with pain and regret

 

Did I not give my all, that you might be set free?

From the evil and pain that you find without me

You struggle through trials so filled with strife

While I stand here to offer you a new life

From the nothingness, darkness is all that you see

While being can only be found in me

 

I sent you my Son who died on a cross

To pay for your sins, at such a high cost

Because of my love, I gave you my best

That then within me you your heart could find rest

There can never be Grace without Justice, you see

For evil does reign in the absence of me

 

I cannot deny my righteousness, child

For evil would then unchained run a wild

It is an act of my grace, the earth does still spin

Awaiting one more heart for to win

Turn from your sins and seek me, my face

There you will find such perfect love, joy and grace

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS:

In the absence of righteousness, pure evil exists.  That being true, why do we not seek God who is Righteousness.  Without Him, nothingness exists; blackness of the heart and soul.  Although, we may pretend or present ourselves as otherwise; because, His Grace has extended itself to reach out and demonstrate His Glory through men and women.  At times, even through those who have not believed.  However, if God removed His hand of  Grace for a second in time; this world would plunge into utter darkness, chaos as evil took over. So, we must turn from the dark night to seek His face!

ISAIAH 29:

 

¹⁵ Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?

 

¹⁹ The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

 

²³ But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.

²⁴ They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.

ISAIAH 30

¹² Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon:

¹³ Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.

¹⁴ And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters’ vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit.

¹⁵ For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.

 

¹⁸ And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.

¹⁹ For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.

²⁰ And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:

²¹ And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR?

If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior: I urge you to go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link. Because there is nothing more important than this, I urge you to seek Him today.

OR ARE YOU IN OF NEED PRAYER?

If you have a prayer request email me by clicking here or comment here

OTHER RESOURCES AVAILABLE

If you want to know more about  books I have written:  You can read more about each one at: Book Resources.

©Effie Darlene Barba, 2017

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post.  I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned except for my own books.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

 

Photo by Kelvin Smit on Unsplash