9/19/2013時不與尼尼微城

經文:那鴻書1－3章

中心思想:那鴻書1章

提要

        「多給誰，就向誰多要。」尼尼微早就有認識獨一真神的機會，在約拿宣講之後，這偌大的外邦城市曾歷經悔改，上帝也仁慈的延緩祂的審判，但一百五十年後，那鴻向曾盛極一時的尼尼微宣佈毀滅的信息，這時亞述人已經遺忘了他們的復興，而走回暴力血腥、祭拜偶像和自高自大的老路！結果巴比倫人徹底毀滅這個城市，仿彿它從來沒有存在過似的－－這個預言果然慘痛的一一實現了！

每日與主同行

        一個尼尼微，卻兼具兩種身分－－外邦人與拜偶像的人，他們同時也在上帝的判決之下，前者在約拿宣講信息之後就悔改，以至於「就不降災禍與他們」；後者卻深深的感受到那鴻刺痛的指責。前者大獲生機；後者卻消滅殆盡，究竟差別在何處？ 
        從尼尼微悲慘的結局裏可以找到重要的屬靈意義：教導下一代的原則。尼尼微的復興極為短暫，並不是因為投入悔改的人不夠真誠，而是因為他們未將對上帝新的了解傳給下一代，以至多年後，這位「來自大海的先知」約拿和他所代表的上帝全然被遺忘了!復興的效果於是銳減，甚至沉寂了，之後他們又回到外邦的宗教儀武中。
        現在你明白教導後代認識上帝的真理是何等重要了吧!如果沒有這樣的認識，需要面對同樣危機的時候，你已經學會靠著上帝的力量克服萬難，而他們卻很可能會失敗。和你的孩子分享一則上帝正在教導你的真理，千萬記住，他們對上帝認識的程度，有－部分得靠你傳授真理的信心而定。

默想

何處覓行蹤(鴻3：11)
        那鴻宣稱尼尼微城「必被埋藏』，所言真是不差!主前六一二年尼尼微毀滅之後，這座城就消失了幾乎有二千五百年之久!

金言

那鴻的信息如雷貫耳，深入人心，就像戰士的雄偉與戰車的奔騰一般。

No More Time for Nineveh

Scriptures:Nahum 1-3

Heart of the Passage:Nahum 1

Overview

        "To whom much is given, much is required." Nineveh had been given the privilege of knowing the one true God. Under Jonah's preaching this great Gentile city had repented, and God had graciously stayed His judgment. But now, about 150 years later, Nahum proclaims the downfall of once-mighty Nineveh. The Assyrians had forgotten their revival and had returned to their habits of violence, idolatry, and arrogance. As a result, Babylon would so destroy the city that no trace of it would remain—a prophecy fulfilled in painful detail.

Your Daily Walk

        One Nineveh, and yet really two—both pagan and idolatrous, both under God's sentence of judgment. One repented after Jonah's preaching and received a "stay of execution." The other felt Nahum's stinging condemnation. One was allowed to live; the other was annihilated. What made the difference?
        An important spiritual truth can be found in Nineveh's sorry end: the principle of communication to the next generation. Nineveh's revival was short-lived, not because the people involved were insincere in their repentance, but because they failed to pass on their newfound knowledge of God to the succeeding generation. As the years rolled along, Jonah, the "prophet from the sea," and the great God he represented, were largely forgotten. Revival dwindled and died, and in its place returned all the old pagan practices.
        Do you see the importance of teaching the truths of God to your offspring? Without that knowledge they are likely to fail when confronted with the same kinds of crisis situations which you, in God's strength, have learned to conquer. Share with your children a spiritual truth God is teaching you. Remember, their knowledge of God will depend in part upon your faithfulness in passing on the truth.

Insight

How Missing Is Missing (3:11)? — 
        When Nahum proclaimed to Nineveh, "Thou shall be hid," he meant what he said! After Nineveh's destruction in 612 B.C., the site lay obliterated and undiscovered for nearly 2,500 years!

Adage

Nahum's message rumbles and rolls, leaps and flashes, like the horsemen and chariots he describes.