Psalm 121, 122, 123; Nahum 1:1-13; 1 Pet. 1:13-25; Matt. 19:13-22
As we move towards the beginning of Advent we continue our tour of Old Testament apocalyptic prophecy. Nahum gave the prophecy that Jonah longed to give, concerning the Lord’s anger towards Nineveh and its destruction. In this first part of the prophetic word we get an overall picture of the Lord’s anger and the unstoppable nature of His wrath. In verse 3 we see the prophet repeating a portion of the Lord’s own self-disclosure to Moses in Exodus 34. The Lord is able to summon the cooperation of the earth to bring about His fierce judgment and in the end, those who have been faithful to Him will be set free from bondage.
The commandments Jesus lists for the young man all have to do his actions concerning other people. Jesus doesn’t directly mention the commandments concerning loving the Lord. The command He gives the man concerning His possessions exposes His failure to keep those commands not mentioned. The idolatry of possessions is revealed and the man is unwilling to renounce this idolatry. It is easier to focus on the other commandments because they are easier to measure our success or failure in keeping them. Our duty vis a vis the Lord is our primary responsibility as He is the One with whom we are in covenant, who has saved us, but we are more apt to transgress because we de-personalize Him. Ask Him to show you what is most important in your life, if anything is an idol to you.
Be holy as God is holy. Does anyone truly set out to keep this commandment? I know that I don’t typically have that in mind constantly but it would require constant vigilance in order to keep this commandment. We don’t talk much about holiness in life these days, not so many sermons are given on the topic but it is what we are called to do and be. Accepting Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf raises the bar on our lives, not lowers it. We are called to a new life and Peter here says that we are no longer ignorant so we are to live out of this new knowledge and wisdom which flows from the knowledge of grace. A life lived from the former passions is a life of rebellion and sin, when we were God’s enemies and Nahum has told us that it is not good or safe to be an enemy of God.
Let us sing, though fierce temptation
Threaten hard to bear us down!
For the Lord, our strong Salvation,
Holds in view the conqueror’s crown:
He Who washed us with His blood
Soon will bring us home to God.
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