11.u. “There is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.”

Nahum 3:1  Woe to the bloody city, all full of lies and plunder— no end to the prey! The crack of the whip, and rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot! Horsemen charging, flashing sword and glittering spear, hosts of slain, heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end— they stumble over the bodies! And all for the countless whorings of the prostitute, graceful and of deadly charms, who betrays nations with her whorings, and peoples with her charms.

Ezekiel 22:2-3   “And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then declare to her all her abominations.  You shall say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and that makes idols to defile herself!

Ezekiel 24:6-9    “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose corrosion is in it, and whose corrosion has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece, without making any choice.  For the blood she has shed is in her midst; she put it on the bare rock; she did not pour it out on the ground to cover it with dust.  To rouse my wrath, to take vengeance, I have set on the bare rock the blood she has shed, that it may not be covered.  Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.

Habakkuk 2:12    “Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity!

Zephaniah 3:1-3     Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the oppressing city!  She listens to no voice; she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the LORD; she does not draw near to her God.  Her officials within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves that leave nothing till the morning.

  Isaiah 42:24     Who gave up Jacob to the looter, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned, in whose ways they would not walk, and whose law they would not obey?

Hosea 4:2     there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.

Nahum, proclaiming God’s Word against Nineveh, reveals the heart and soul of that city and the people who lead it.  Lies and plunder and killing are used to charm their people into thinking what they are doing are good, right, and without consequences.  Nineveh is not alone in these acts of defiance as recorded over and over again in scripture.  When God is removed from the hearts and minds of young and old children and adults their hearts will turn to what seems right in their own eyes.  When God is removed who is to say what they are doing is wrong when the masses are charmed into joining in and believing the enticements of their lies.  Their satisfaction and sense of well being come from blindly following their leaders.   When the fear of God and worship of Him is willfully abandoned false hopes and self-assurance/reliance will take firm root.  No warnings seem to have been listened too.  No plead to repent and turn away from their sinful actions will be listened too.  No urgent need will be seen.  God is just and His justice is always right and true.  His anger, wrath, and judgment will not be withheld.  Our responsibility as children of God is to be proclaimers of the Good News of Jesus Christ.  God’s Word will never return void.  Sometimes it will be used by the Holy Spirit to convict a person into repentance and the love and worship of God, and sadly it will also harden a heart into hate and defiance of God.  The point is we are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ and proclaim the Love of Jesus Christ.  We may never see the fruit of our discipleship but fruit there will be.  Currently, we can see some of the moral character of our nation crumbling before our very eyes.  When more and more people demand God be removed from school, work, and government what can we expect?  Likewise, when more and more Christians proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ there is hope and we can expect God to do mighty work in our country.

11.s. “The scatterer has come up against you.”

Nahum 2:1   The scatterer has come up against you. Man the ramparts; watch the road; dress for battle; collect all your strength. For the Lord is restoring the majesty of Jacob as the majesty of Israel, for plunderers have plundered them and ruined their branches.

Jeremiah 51:20-23    “You are my hammer and weapon of war: with you I break nations in pieces; with you I destroy kingdoms;  with you I break in pieces the horse and his rider; with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer;  with you I break in pieces man and woman; with you I break in pieces the old man and the youth; with you I break in pieces the young man and the young woman;  with you I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; with you I break in pieces the farmer and his team; with you I break in pieces governors and commanders.

2 Chronicles 25:8     But go, act, be strong for the battle. Why should you suppose that God will cast you down before the enemy? For God has power to help or to cast down.”

Jeremiah 46:9    Advance, O horses, and rage, O chariots! Let the warriors go out: men of Cush and Put who handle the shield, men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow. That day is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, to avenge himself on his foes.

Nahum proclaims the “Scatterer has come”.  God’s coming destruction of Nineveh was the inevitable justice of God.  It was not for the redemption of His people that was primary but the vindication and honor of God. History records numerous times where God has redeemed His people from Israel hating and God-defying nations.  If we look at this it seems as though as one head of the beast of this world is lopped off another reappears.  We see this in Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and other lesser nations of strength, power, and defiance of God and His people.  Prophecies in Daniel and Revelation speak of these major world powers and their destruction, yet another is coming.  There are many nations right now that defy God and His people, but Revelation speaks of “Babylon the Great” and it will be the last world power to arise and defy God and try to destroy His people.

The “Scatterer” has come against you!  Man your battle station, increase your watch, at to your security, get ready for battle, and summon all of your strength.  In this we see God giving clear warning that His justice is coming and calling out to the defiers to prepare for battle against Him.  They don’t stand a chance but their hearts and minds are confident from believing the lies of the Prince of this world, Satan.  They have relied in, trusted in, and believed in their own self-power, strength, and might. Their hearts and minds are hardened.  Self-sufficiency and self-reliance have totally replaced and need for or thought of the Creator of all there is, God.  We need to be mindful of the lies from Satan and not allow any self-sufficiency and self-reliance to take root in our hearts and minds.

63. For the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought.

Deuteronomy 31:16  And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them. Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’

Judges 2:14-15     So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies.  Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.

Psalms 2:12     Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Psalms 90:11     Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you?

1 Chronicles 28:9    “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.

Psalms 104:29     When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.

Isaiah 64:7     There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.

There is nothing hidden from God past, present or future.  Just look at how he spoke with Moses and told him what was going to happen.  We can read over and over again how people who were close to God and living in and under His blessings soon turned away.  It is not as though they did not know God but rather they chose to go their own way and serve self-interests.  Beware of what our culture is selling.  It will surely lead you down a path where God is nothing more than a second thought.  Keep an earnest desire for Him and learn to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey Him.