First Baptist Church, Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Devotional: Nahum 2

Today’s passage: Nahum 2

Helpful thoughts:

  • The defeat and destruction of Nineveh is depicted in chapter 2.
  • God reminds the people of Assyria, no matter who the nation is who brings about this destruction (The Medes and Babylonians), they were to know that it happened according to His sovereign will.
    • And in the end, the fall of Assyria would eventually lead to the restoration of Israel (Verse 2).
  • The Khoser river ran through the city of Nineveh.  It is thought that the enemy armies could have closed up the dam which controlled the flow of water into the city prior to their invasion.  This would have cut off the cities water supply.  But after the water had built up over time, if the dam was opened up or destroyed, the water would have raced toward the city and done a great deal of damage.  This is depicted in verses 6 and 8, and possibly as a metaphor in verse 7 as well.
  • The imagery of lions refers to the kings.  The “young lions” would then be the princes (Those next in line to the throne).

Questions to consider:

  1. How might the last phrase in verse 13 have sounded in the ears of the Assyrians and the Jews after what had occurred years prior in 2 King 18:28-35?
  2. When the world (People, governments, etc.) thinks they are stronger than the Lord, are they?  When it looks like they are “winning,” are they?  Who can defeat the LORD of hosts?
  3. To what day is all history moving toward?  What will be true of all who have put their faith and trust in the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ, when he comes to rule and reign?

Devotional: Nahum 1

Today’s passage: Nahum 1

Helpful thoughts:

  • Nahum was given the job that Jonah had wished for, to prophecy against Nineveh.  This prophetic book was likely written in the mid-600’s B.C.  This was over one hundred years after the events of the book of Jonah took place.
    • By the time of Nahum’s writing, the northern kingdom of Israel had already fallen to the Assyrian Empire.  Nineveh was their capitol.
  • The Lord is over all the world.  The gods of the Assyrian people (Carved and metal images) could never stand against Him!
  • Those who are safe are those who take refuge in Him (Verse 7).

Questions to consider:

  1. Where have you read the words in verse 3 before (Exodus 34:6-7)?  How does God forgive sin and also by no means clear the guilty?  How does this point us to Christ (Romans 3:21-26)?
  2. When others plot against God’s people, who are they really plotting against? (Verse 9, and also Acts 9:1-4)
  3. The content of this prophecy had not yet been fulfilled, and yet Nahum encourages the people to live as though it was as good as done (Verse 15).  How can this encourage our faith?  What has God declared that He will not do?

Devotional: Psalm 150

Today’s passage: Psalm 150

Helpful thoughts:

  • The conclusion of the Book of Psalms!  A final call for everything and everyone to praise the Lord with everything you’ve got.
  • God’s praise is warranted by all that He has done and everything that He is.
    • His greatness is an excellent greatness, unlike any other.  Our God is holy.
  • As the full orchestra is welcomed into this worshipful arrangement, there is a full crescendo and grand finale with the loud clashing of cymbals.  Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!

Questions to consider:

  1. What can we learn about God when we see that reflection on His excellent greatness results in a celebration?  Why doesn’t His excellent greatness result in being somber or distraught or petrified?
  2. What has God done for His people in His excellent greatness to bring about our praise?
  3. How can you praise the Lord today?  While you may not join a symphony, in what ways can your life resound to His praise today?

Devotional: Psalm 149

Today’s passage: Psalm 149

Helpful thoughts:

  • The people of God have a Maker and King who takes pleasure in them!
    • This truth elicits praise and worship.
  • Our Maker and King is coming and will rule and reign on this earth.
  • The judgment of God is coming.  To those who are in Christ, this is a day of victory.  To those who have rejected their Maker, it will be a day of destruction and defeat.

Questions to consider:

  1. Reading verses 4 and 5 together, whose glory do the godly exult in?  How does God’s glory increase our humility?  How does the increase in our humility give us greater awareness and joy in God’s glory?
  2. Why will it be such an honor for God’s people to be with Christ when He returns (Verse 9)?  On what basis are we even considered worthy to be on the victory side and not suffering defeat?

Devotional: Psalm 148

Today’s passage: Psalm 148

Helpful thoughts:

  • God is the creator and rightful ruler of all things.  He is worthy of all praise and obedience!
  • The Jewish people are not the only ones who are to praise the Lord.  God’s sovereignty extends over the “Kings of the earth and all peoples.”
  • Raising up a horn is a figure of speech which refers to a display of power.  It’s possible this psalm was written after the return from exile, a time of victory for Israel.

Questions to consider:

  1. How do the sun, moon, stars and the rest of nature praise the Lord?  What do they declare? (Psalm 19:1-6)
  2. If God showed gracious favor to Israel and wants all nations to praise Him, what must one of the purposes have been for Israel?  What/Who was the world to see when they looked at Israel?  Who is the world to see when they look at the Church today?
  3. In what way was the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus the greatest display of God’s power?  In Christ, how has God and how will God “raise up a horn for His people?”

Devotional: Psalm 147

Today’s passage: Psalm 147

Helpful thoughts:

  • The three stanzas of this psalm start out, “Praise…”, “Sing…”, “Praise.”
  • God is sovereign over every detail in all of creation and He has chosen to have a relationship with those who fear Him.  He is far above and beyond all we could comprehend and yet He draws near to His people with steadfast love.
  • It is a special thing to be a child of God.  We must not take it for granted.

Questions to consider:

  1. How does considering the immensity of God’s power, knowledge, and rule humble us?  Why is this humility right and good?  What is the good that results from our humbling?
  2. According to this psalm, how many things do we have that we should thank God for?  Is there any good gift that isn’t from the Father (James 1:17)?
  3. In what ways have the truths of verses 19-20 appeared to have “changed” after the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20)?  In what ways are those truths still the same?

Devotional: Psalm 146

Today’s passage: Psalm 146

Helpful thoughts:

  • The psalm begins and ends with “Praise the LORD!” or from the Hebrew “Hallelujah!”
  • God is ultimately worthy of our eternal trust and hope.
  • All the power and wealth in this world pale in comparison to the power and worth of our God.  The “weakest” person who has God is more blessed that the “strongest” person without God.

Questions to consider:

  1. What attributes of God do we see on display in this psalm?
  2. How would the characteristics shared of man in verses 3-4 be spoken of in reference to God?  e.g. There is no salvation in man, but what about in God?  Man’s plans perish, but what about God’s?
  3. Who does not hope in the Lord (Verse 9)?  What would be their outcome?  What does the truth of verse 10 demand for anyone who would refuse to submit to the Lord? What does the hope of the last line of verse 7 and following offer to those who are bound by sin?

Devotional: Psalm 145

Today’s passage: Psalm 145

Helpful thoughts:

  • This is the final Psalm of David.
  • God is worthy of praise that lasts “forever and ever” and His greatness is “unsearchable.”  As highly as we value God and as passionately as we want to declare His praise, He is even bigger and better!
  • This psalm speaks of God’s common grace (To “every living thing”) and His special grace (To “all who call upon Him”).

Questions to consider:

  1. How many different words can your find for some way of communicating God’s goodness and good works? (e.g. “Extol,” “praise,” etc.)
  2. How can this psalm help us understand more of what our experience will be in eternity, when our sin is taken away and we are able to see God more and more clearly for all that He is?  How wonderful will Heaven be!?
  3. How has God satisfied all your needs, both in this life and for eternity?  What are some reasons you can praise Him right now?