Author Archive for: meiling

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Habakkuk 2:1-20.  Let’s go!

Habakkuk 2:1 (NLT2) 
1  I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. There I will wait to see what the LORD says and how he will answer my complaint.

On verse 1:  You will find that in both chapters 1 and 2 of Habakkuk, there is an ongoing dialogue that takes place between Habakkuk and God.

In chapter 1, Habakkuk voices his complaint about why God allows injustice and evil to continue (v1-4), and God gives His answer (v5-11).  Habakkuk then voices a second complaint about how God could use wicked people to accomplish His purposes (v12-17).  Now in Chapter 2, Habakkuk decides to wait for God’s answer to his second complaint (2:1), and God will answer in verses 2 to 20.

What can we learn from this?  Let your prayer life not be a one way monologue to God, but a two way dialogue with God.  Don’t just talk to God.  Like Habakkuk, wait for God to speak and take the time to listen for Him.  It’s in the waiting and the listening that life changing things happen.

Hi GAMErs,

Today we begin the book of Habakkuk.  Written approximately between 700 and 600 B.C., the book of Habakkuk is a short but powerful book by a prophet called Habakkuk.  In this book Habakkuk writes down his revelations from God at a time when Babylon is emerging as a world power and Habakkuk’s own nation of Israel is fraught with internal corruption.

Today’s passage is Habakkuk 1:1-17.  Let’s go!

Habakkuk 1:1 (NIV) 
1  The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet received.

On verse 1:  Little is known with certainty about Habakkuk, the author of this book.  In fact the very first line and the very last line of this book tell us more about Habakkuk then all the writing in between.  The first line tells us that Habakkuk was a prophet chosen by God.  The last line, “For the director of music.  On my stringed instruments” (Habakkuk 3:19), tells us that Habakkuk was a musician who probably played and wrote worship music for the temple where people worshiped the Lord.  The body of this book shows us that Habakkuk was sensitive to God’s voice, sensitive to the injustice he saw around him as well as the visions God was showing him. 

Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Nahum 3:1-19.  Let’s go!

Nahum 3:1-15, 19 (NIV) 
1  Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims!
2  The crack of whips, the clatter of wheels, galloping horses and jolting chariots!
3  Charging cavalry, flashing swords and glittering spears! Many casualties, piles of dead, bodies without number, people stumbling over the corpses–……

On verses 1-15, 19:  Here in these verses Nahum describes with vivid imagery the destruction that Nineveh would experience.  In verses 8-10 Nahum compares Nineveh to Thebes of ancient Egypt and how despite all of its power and prosperity, the city still fell.
You might be asking, “How could God be so cruel to Nineveh?”  Keep these things in mind:

God had already shown mercy to Nineveh before, having warned the people of Nineveh in the past.  After initially repenting, the Ninevites eventually returned to being a centre for great wickedness and “endless cruelty” (v19), refusing to take seriously God’s warnings and God’s mercy.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Nahum 2:1-13.  Let’s go!
 
Nahum 2:1-2 (NIV) 
1  An attacker advances against you, [Nineveh]. Guard the fortress, watch the road, brace yourselves, marshal all your strength! 
2  The LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel, though destroyers have laid them waste and have ruined their vines.
 
On verses 1-2:  In these two verses, Nahum envisions two things going on.  First, Nahum sees a siege attack against the powerful city of Nineveh, once known as the most powerful city in the world (v1).  Second, Nahum sees God restoring “the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel, though destroyers have laid them waste” (v2).

Hi GAMErs,

Today we begin the book of Nahum.   Let’s go!

Nahum 1:1 (NIV) 
1  An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

On verse 1:  Here is some background info on the book of Nahum that you may find helpful:
According to many scholars, the book of Nahum was written between approximately 663 and 612 B.C. 
Not much is known about Nahum.  Nahum was a prophet who came from the village of Elkosh.  The whereabouts of the village of Elkosh are not known, although some scholars suggest that it is actually in Capernaum where Jesus would begin his ministry.  Capernaum literally means village of Nahum”.   

Nahum’s name means “comforter”.  This may seem odd given the doomy and gloomy message Nahum has here for the city of Nineveh.  That said, the book of Nahum also contains important words of comfort for Nahum’s own people of Judah.