Nahum

Just read Nahum. Wow- what a great book. Sort of dark and scary if you don't read it in light of God's Covenant faithfulness and in light of his righteousness.

This line grabbed me:

"You have increased your traders more than the stars of heaven--
The creeping locust strips the vegetation and flies away. Your officials (guardians) are like the swarming locust. Your marshals are like hordes of grasshoppers settling in the stone walls on a cold day. The sun rises and they flee, and the place where they are is not known."

Economic hard times and the resulting life hardships are not new. Corruption is not new. And God is in control. Reading history and biblical prophecy like this remind me of how good we have it and how thankful I should be that my life is not in danger- although I do see some similarities with those in authority and driving profitability- the traders. This prophecy was against Nineveh and their violence and greed. These were the same people that Jonah was called to go and minister to and the people who subsequently repented. The book of Nahum seems to be predicting the fall of Nineveh in 612 B.C.