Tues.’s Devo - Comfort

Read: Nahum 1:1-3:19; Revelation 8:1-13; Psalm 136:1-26; Proverbs 30:7
The Assyrians whose capital was Nineveh was the subject of Nahum’s prophecy. The Assyrians had been the world power of the day and had already conquered Israel, the northern kingdom. They had plans to capture Judah, the southern kingdom and the only thing that could prevent this would be divine intervention.
Nahum means “comfort” and he was there to comfort the people of Judah in God’s ability to protect them and save them from the Assyrians. The fall of Nineveh marked the fall of the Assyrian kingdom. God is in control of all the nations and he intervenes to do his will. God is not quick to judge but his patience cannot be taken advantage of. When he is ready to move, he will move.
God’s heart was to restore the splendor of Jacob and give them hope for a bright future. That is our promise also.
Nineveh means “offspring of ease” which we see every day. These are people who have chosen the pleasure of sin over a life of sacrificial dying to ourselves and letting God live through them. It is easy to fall into that category but God will not let us stay there very long because we have a calling to live out on the earth.
In Revelation, the Lamb opened the seventh seal and all heaven went silent for thirty minutes. Then, the angel took the censer off the altar of incense and hurled it to the earth and the first angel sounded its trumpet. With each of the trumpets, a new curse is released on the earth. The trumpets are sounded before major wars. They tell what happened during that time. The first trumpet describes WW1 where 8 million people were killed. The second describes WW11 where one third of the ships were sunk. The third describes Chernobyl which contaminated 33% of Europe and West Asia’s water supply. The fourth describes the falling of the Berlin wall and the Red Scare.
The All-knowing God knows the end from the beginning and was able to show the future events to John for our benefit. We just have to have eyes to see. Our comfort is in the fact that God will protect the oil and the wine. Death is not our enemy, Satan is and he is powerless against the army of God and the saints of God. We have nothing to fear.
Lord, thank you for your great love and peace that you give to your children. Though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil for you are there with us and your comfort us.