Memory Verse
The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.
Habakkuk 3:19
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Three different prophets…yet all three present similar messages of judgment to the people.
Obadiah – He shares with the Edomites that disaster is coming, due to their blatant arrogance toward God and persecution of God’s children. He told them in verse 15 that all their evil deeds will fall back on their own heads.
Micah – He shares with the people of Israel that judgment will come because of the sins and rebellion of Israel and Judah and he lists their sins (fraud, greed, debauchery, oppression, hypocrisy, heresy, injustice, extortion, lying, murder and many others). Micah does give them hope and consolation as he describes God’s love, when he says the truth is that judgment comes only after countless opportunities to repent, to turn back to true worship and obedience. His message to them was simple:
- Do what is right
- Love Mercy
- Walk Humbly with your God
God shows His anger in action as He judges and punishes sin, but He also shows His love in action as He offers eternal life to all who repent and believe.
Nahum – Nahum’s message is one of judgment against Nineveh and the Assyrians. The Assyrians were a continual thorn in Judah’s flesh. The oppression Judah experienced seemed never ending. In the midst of Nahum’s pronouncement of judgment came a word of comfort, a vivid reminder to Judah of God’s relationship with them.
As I studied these three books dealing with this lesson today many thoughts were racing through my mind, but the one for us to focus on today is this word “judgment.” Most people don’t like this word. They find it harsh and basically a “finger pointing” kind of word.
This word judgment is used in many different ways in the Bible. Some references teach us it has to do with being judged for doing bad things to other people. Other references pertain to exercising sound judgment or showing a lack of judgment.
This word judgment has a function: the Bible says that, “When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world,” so judgment is actually to save us rather than to condemn us (1 Corinthians 11:32).
This word judgment also gives us caution/warning: we are warned in the Bible to be careful about judging others. When we do, we are condemning ourselves because we do the same things to others whom we are passing judgment onto (Romans 2:1). Society typically judges by appearances rather than by the things that truly matter (John 7:24). The Bible says that “God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14), so we do not need to sit in judgment of one another.
This word judgment will also provide us with solutions/remedies: It tells us to “stop passing judgment on one another. Don’t put stumbling blocks or obstacles in our brother’s way” (Romans 14:13). Instead, we should judge ourselves (1 Corinthians 11:31). Mercy triumphs over judgment: “So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you. (James 2:12-13).
I studied a little deeper in the book of Nahum during today’s lesson probably more than others, as this prophet of comfort gave us three truths in Chapter 1, verse 7 about God’s relationship with us:
- “The Lord is good” I believe Nahum wanted the people to remember that God knew what they were experiencing. He wasn’t oblivious to their sufferings, and He had always been and would continue to be faithful to them. God is not oblivious to what is going on in our lives either, and we must remember that God is absolutely faithful to us everyday.
- God is “a stronghold in the day of trouble” The phrase “day of trouble” is a reference to any tragic experience of life we will face. Nahum is reminding us that God is our stronghold, He is our fortress behind whose walls we can find our only real security in life. There will be tragedies and problems that creep into our lives but, what God promises is that when that “day of trouble” comes, we are so secure in Him that no situation in life can change His love for us.
- “He knows those who take refuge and trust in Him” Nahum points Judah to a relationship of trust in God and that God is completely sufficient to those who take refuge in Him. God knows each of us as intimately as He knew Judah and is fully sufficient to meet us when our life explodes out of control.
Nahum gave a message of hope for God-followers and yet a message of doom for those who oppose Him.
God gives a message of hope to those who repent, believe & receive: “At one time we, too, were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life” Titus 3:3-7 NIV.
And yet God also gives a message of doom to those who oppose Him: You will ultimately stand before Him on the day of judgment, and when your name is not found in the Book of Life, you will be thrown into the lake of fire Revelation 20:15.
This word “judgment” begins in our life from the day we are born and will follow us all the way through to our moment standing in front of our Father.
Is there anything we need to change in our life today that will affect the outcome of our coming judgment? If so, will you make the choice to follow God and live? Or disobey and face the coming judgment?
It is God’s will for everyone to experience His love and mercy. None should suffer needlessly unless they choose to.
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Let’s Pray:
God, I thank You for each person who reads this lesson. As they seek the stories of Your judgments in Your Word help each one to see and know that they have a choice: one of hope or one of doom in the decisions about following You/choosing You. Guide them, Lord, to “do what is right” to “love mercy” and to “walk humbly with You, Lord,” instead of seeking revenge and wanting to make judgments ourselves on others or situations. Help us to fall at Your feet for You, O Lord, are the only one in a position to judge the actions of others. In Your Holy name I pray.
Amen
About Beverly McCormick
Thank you, Beverly, for such a good study this morning. You have shown us that there is much more to the word ‘judgment’ than we normally think about. As I was studying for today II Peter 3:9-15 came to my mind. Because God is Holy He will have to judge, BUT because He is merciful He is patient giving everyone the opportunity to repent and “live holy and godly lives” (vs.11).
Some of your statements stuck in my mind; “the truth is that judgment comes only after countless opportunities to repent….”; “He wasn’t oblivious to their sufferings,…and we must remember that God is absolutely faithful to us everyday..”; “God knows each of us as intimately as He knew Judah and is fully sufficient to meet us when our life explodes out of control.” “Thank You, Jesus!”
Thank you for sharing 2 Peter 3:9-15 Clella! Another good reminder of God’s patience, and mercy!!
Clella, thanks for the reminder of how patient our God is, I sometimes wonder how He can be and I laugh sometimes thinking he probably would like to spank me right about now, and yet he lovingly shows me the right paths and waits on me to take them. Thanks for sharing your insight with us today
thanks, bev, for reminding us through the Scriptures of the Great I AM’s faithfulness in judgment AND in mercy. He is so patient, and longsuffering…always multiplying grace upon grace to His people! i am so thankful for that but also so thankful that we have been given ability and enablements through our Lord Jesus Christ to DO these things. praying for each of us that we LOVE justice, show MUCH mercy, and walk humble today with the One we love! <3
We have so much to learn about God’s character, don’t we, Coleen? I am humbled each time He teaches me a new lesson in mercy and grace!!
Thanks Coleen, He is kinda like the Energizer Bunny in many ways, He keeps giving and giving and giving! I pray that I will always give back in service to Him and others in all my days
Great blog today friend!! So glad you’re a part of this team! Great words of hope!!
Thanks Kim, I am glad to be back with all you sweet ladies.
It was during this section of the book writing process that my faith was tested the most. I had situations in my home with hearts holding harsh judgments and showing no mercy, hearts choosing to love and help correct the harsh thinking. Others who were standing by trying to decide which side of the fence they were going to fall on. All the while, they were coming to me for the ultimate decision on who was right or wrong, stayed or went, etc.
Just in the last 3 weeks since beginning this study, I have been told that “new” young people to our home were nervous to come around because they were afraid they would be judged. That word is all over our house these days. Once the young people came, they only found love and fellowship. I began feeling offended and … well… Judged. As I began working those feelings out with my Father, I realized the hurt and damage was in them. They needed to experience unconditional love and mercy to bring them to a right relationship with God.
Hopefully, these young people will be around long enough, our family will have the proper impact for the Kingdom, so they will see Jesus and His love in all we do. There is Judgment, but we get to choose which type gets applied to our lives. I choose to seek justice, love mercy and walk HUMBLY with my God.
Thank you for sharing this Teresa. It spoke volumes to my heart today! Bev’s blog today was also a great reminder to seek God’s mercy and grace in all things, and to offer it to others, as well. This study is truly opening my eyes in so many ways. And I am thoroughly enjoying going through the OT like this!!!
Teresa thanks for sharing this personal story with us today, I too have faced many battles in this same area since last December with many people, I hold fast to what God is teaching me and pray that others will allow God to show them its with love that I sometimes must stand stronger, and I also pray for God to soften my heart or keep me quiet when I need to as well. Its these personal stories that truly elevate our growth with the Lord so again thanks for teaching us about this subject thru your personal examples. Have a great evening
God’s Judgement with his people through the prophets Obadiah, Micah, and Nahum show God’s protection, God’s discipline and finally God’s justice. God is there to protect us!! He knows we are unable to live in perfection but we must repent and be restored so that we can walk with HIM!!! God disciplines us to keep us close to him!! HIS message is so simple Trust me, Obey me, and Follow me!! So simple but like the Israelites we often find ourselves trusting the world, living by our own rules, and following our own desires!! Help us Oh Lord to give it ALL to you so we may live under your protection and guidance!! Thank You for beIing merciful to us Lord!! May we be humble and know where our Strength comes from!!
Or thinking that we need to fix things, and THEN turn to God, huh, Lorraine? We make things so difficult for ourselves!!
Thanks Lorraine for sharing with us today, if we would just let God have the reigns He would pull us closer to HIm instead of us trying to pull Him our way…..our lives would be so much better huh? thanks for this sweet reminder
We are given the opportunity to change our ways and walk with God – living in repentance & free of condemnation brings this verse to mind – Deuteronomy 5:33 – You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess. – The Lord declares we SHALL live and wants us to be well what a God we serve.
Amen Anne!