Jan 20

 Nahum 1 - 3

Reflections:

As I reflect on these books that talks about the destruction of Nineveh, I find a very interesting contrast between them and Jonah, and also more that the book came closely to each other. I now think I can identify with Jonah even more. It wasn't just that he was running away, he had every reason to be bitter against Nineveh as well. This is the capital of Assyria, and God ask him to go and preach salvation to them. In a way, it is like asking someone to forgive their worse enemy. as I reflect on the book of Jonah, the bitterness that Jonah shown towards Nineveh, I start to feel like I understand where he is coming from. And it is not like God doesn't feel unhappy towards them either, as I read about their destruction, I can see that God himself was upset too. The book describe it as God will not let the guilty go unpunished. 

I look at it and see that when men become prideful and think of themselves as higher than God or with potential to become independent, then God comes in swinging. I also noticed that Egypt was cited, also noting that Egypt became a nation used as example as well. Another thing to note is this is before the Babylonian nation becoming a powerhouse. Context that it was also the period where God is long sufferingly tolerating Israel, but also, Israel's timeline hasn't reach its worse point. They however continued to reign for many many centuries before finally getting hammered down.