Nahum 3

Day 1655

Clap your Hands in Celebration!

Nahum 3

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, September 27.

 

The desire for justice is built into the human psyche; it’s a God-given instinct, an aspect of what it means to be made in the image of God. I grew up watching old-fashioned Westerns. I loved it when the good guys won, and the bad guys got what was coming to them. Happy endings are satisfying, and when we get one, we clap our hands in celebration! The prophet concludes his oracle of judgment in Nahum 3:18-19, with concluding words of celebration – rejoice because evil has been vanquished and God has prevailed:

 

Your shepherds are sleeping, O king of Assyria; your nobles are lying down. Your people are scattered on the mountains and there is no one to regather them. There is no relief for your breakdown, your wound is incurable. All who hear about you will clap their hands over you, for on whom has not your evil passed continually?

 

Assyria had been tried and found guilty in the divine court of God’s judgment, and the penalty for their sin was the death of their long-standing empire. All who had suffered under their evil regime breathed a collective sigh of relief and clapped their hands over their defeat. It was a good day because justice had been done. Anyone who has had a crime committed against them or knows of someone who has been the victim of injustice, knows the deep desire for a righteous judgment against the offender. We desire justice to be done and for it not be perverted. Our soul cries out for God to make all things right! This is the promise of Nahum!

 

Seize the moment and clap your hands in celebration of the victory of Jesus Christ – “O clap your hands, all peoples; shout to God with the voice of joy. For the Lord Most High is to be feared, a great King over all the earth” (Psalm 47:1-2).
 
 

God bless you!

 

If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.

 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.

 

 
 

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