“〔耶和华〕万不以有罪的为无罪。他乘旋风和暴风而来,云彩为他脚下的尘土。” - 鸿 1:3
在约拿的年代(参看3月21日灵修)大约150年之后,那鸿先知预言尼尼微城将会沦陷。这个城市是当时庞大的亚述帝国的首都。拥有连接地中海和印度洋海域的重要河流系统,尼尼微获得赚取大量财富的途径。透过贸易和商业,亚述人从帝国的每一个区域收集金、银、和铜。
可是,这些亚述人也剥削被他们统治的人。圣经告诉我们,亚述如何抢掠以色列的十个支派和掳走他们作奴隶,又使余下的两个支派犹大和便雅悯成为它的殖民地。神的子民受到的伤害一直都没有得到解脱。
尽管约拿以前曾经向尼尼微传讲神的恩典、而百姓也已经悔改了,可是当亚述人在扩展他们帝国的版图时,他们便渐渐愈发变得傲慢和败坏了。那鸿宣讲尼尼微城将会沦陷,亚述最终自食其果。一场内战使尼尼微被它从前的臣民掳掠了。
神藉着那鸿告诉衪的子民,他们需要信靠衪,而不要倚赖世人的做法。战争的风暴使当日最强大的帝国降卑,而有罪的人是不会逃脱惩罚的。唯有神“本为善,在患难的日子为人的保障。”
祷告
主啊,你的能力激动我们。求你保守我们远离罪恶,叫我们的心不断转向你,又让我们时常在你里面得到保障。阿们。
那鸿书 1:1-8
1论尼尼微的默示,就是伊勒歌斯人那鸿所得的默示。
2耶和华是忌邪施报的神,耶和华施报大有愤怒,向他的敌人施报,向他的仇敌怀怒。
3耶和华不轻易发怒,大有能力,万不以有罪的为无罪。他乘旋风和暴风而来,云彩为他脚下的尘土。
4他斥责海,使海干了,使一切江河干涸。巴珊和迦密的树林衰残,黎巴嫩的花草也衰残了。
5大山因他震动,小山也都消化。大地在他面前突起,世界和住在其间的也都如此。
6他发愤恨,谁能立得住呢?他发烈怒,谁能当得起呢?他的愤怒如火倾倒,磐石因他崩裂。
7耶和华本为善,在患难的日子为人的保障,并且认得那些投靠他的人。
8但他必以涨溢的洪水淹没尼尼微,又驱逐仇敌进入黑暗。
Where Will You Go In The Storm?
"The Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet." - Nahum 1:3
About 150 years after the time of Jonah (see March 21), Nahum prophesied about the fall of Nineveh. This city was the capital of what was now the vast Assyrian Empire.
With the great river system that connects the Mediterranean region to the Indian Ocean, Nineveh had access to enormous wealth. In trade and business, the Assyrians accumulated gold, silver, and copper from all over their empire.
But the Assyrians also exploited the people they ruled. The Bible tells of how Assyria pillaged ten of the tribes of Israel and took them away as slaves, leaving the two tribes of Judah and Simeon as its vassals. This injury to God’s people was never undone.
Though Jonah had preached God’s grace to Nineveh and the people had repented back then, the Assyrians had grown proud and corrupt as they expanded their empire. Nahum preached that Nineveh would fall, and in the end Assyria reaped what it had sown. A bitter civil war saw Nineveh sacked by its former subjects.
Through Nahum, God told his people that they needed to trust in him rather than the ways of the world. The storms of war brought low the greatest empire at that time, and the guilty did not go unpunished. God alone “is good, a refuge in times of trouble.”
Prayer
Lord, your power overwhelms us. Keep us away from sin, and turn our hearts continually to you. Let us find refuge in you always. Amen.