All because of the wanton lust of a prostitute, alluring, the mistress of sorceries, who enslaved nations by her prostitution and peoples by her witchcraft. – Nahum 3:4

Today's Scripture Reading (June 14, 2026): Nahum 3

If we take the Bible seriously, then every part of creation grew out of a common point in human history. Maybe you don't accept the story of Adam and Eve as a historical account. Still, even if the story of Adam and Eve is only a legend, the human race still likely developed from a single point, likely in southern Iraq, and spread to the rest of the world from there, which means that at some point in the past, we all shared a belief in some common deity. Some argue that the monotheism of the Abrahamic religions grew out of various polytheistic faiths, but I believe the reverse is true. In the beginning, we had an understanding of God, even if it was very vague. I had a conversation with a Hindu believer a few years ago, and she asked me if I believed in one God. I said I did, and her reply has stuck with me. "My faith teaches me that there are many gods, but deep down, I think you are right. There is only one."

Paul, in his letter to the Romans, would seem to agree with this shift from monotheism to polytheism.

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles (Romans 1:20-23).

Prostitution and harlotry in the prophetic writings are often code words for turning away from faith. Maybe we wouldn't expect that a foreign nation could turn away from God, but we need to be reminded that the story of Jonah tells of a revival in the Assyrian Capital as the people turned away from their national gods. But the revival was short-lived. The people turned to God in Jonah's presence, but fell away since the prophet had left the city. Their sin was not just that they turned away from the monotheistic God to whom Jonah had pointed them, but that they had spread their false religion to the nations, spreading lies against the truth Jonah had shared with them.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 21

The chariots storm through the streets, rushing back and forth through the squares. They look like flaming torches; they dart about like lightning. – Nahum 2:4

Today's Scripture Reading (June 13, 2026): Nahum 2

Over the years, I have spent a lot of time in traffic. I don't think I am predisposed to road rage, though I have seen a lot of it over the years on the road. Where I am vulnerable is when people get mad at me, especially if I have no idea why they are angry. I remember one trip home a few years ago when a guy in a big truck decided to pull a U-turn on a residential street. I came around the corner to find the road blocked by this guy and his truck. My response was to pull over to one side of the road; I admit that when I made the turn, I was closer to the middle of the road than I should have been. In my defense, I didn't know a truck was going to be blocking my way. So I pulled over to let the truck do its thing.

I thought everything was okay until the driver pulled up beside me and gave me the universal one-finger greeting for hello. Then he pulled over and parked. So, I parked (Do not try this at home). I got out and went over to him. I am a fairly big guy, and he was relatively small, so when I walked up to him, it was obvious that he was looking for something he could use as a weapon if things turned bad. Knowing that, I kept everything as calm as I could. I asked my new acquaintance what was wrong, and he responded that he believed I was trying to block him. I assured him that I wasn't, apologized, and then turned and went back to my vehicle. Maybe the most unnerving part of the whole confrontation was that I noticed he watched me intently until I disappeared out of sight.

Some people read this passage in Nahum and wonder if Nahum was seeing a contemporary traffic jam on the ancient streets of Nineveh. Chariots that storm through the streets looking like torches that run back and forth might be a description of a scene that any traffic camera of an urban center during rush hour might reveal. However, it is not a contemporary rush-hour scene that is being described, but rather the bedlam of Nineveh overrun by its enemies. The end of Nineveh would see armies flowing into the city from several different directions. The city and its defenses would be overwhelmed in a way that couldn't have been imagined fifty years before the fall of the city. History records that the city's end occurred in 612 B.C.E. In that year, the city was overrun, and bitter fighting raged from house to house. No place was safe. And when the fighting ended, the city was razed. The former mighty city of the Assyrians was gone, never to attain any importance ever again. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Nahum 3

But with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness. – Nahum 1:8

Today's Scripture Reading (June 12, 2026): Nahum 1

It had been about a hundred years since Jonah tried to escape going to Nineveh by making a detour to the south coast of Spain and the city of Tarshish. A century has passed since a whale swallowed Jonah and then spewed the prophet up onto the coast. It has been a hundred years since Jonah presided over a revival in Nineveh. Unfortunately, over those hundred years, the revival in Nineveh has died, and the people have returned to their evil ways. So, Nahum gets to proclaim the judgment of which Jonah could only dream.

Nahum says that "an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh" (Nahum 1:8). For the people who first heard these words, the prophecy of Nahum had to bring the minds of the people in his audience back to the time of Noah and the days of the flood that covered the earth. There is no doubt about the power of the Assyrian Empire. The Empire had itself been a metaphorical "overwhelming flood" that had dominated the known world. The Empire stretched from parts of Iran through modern-day Iraq and into Syria and Turkiye, and down through Jordan and Israel into Egypt, and even into the eastern part of Libya. And as Nahum makes this prophecy, Assyria is still strong.

But within fifty years, the nations would come together to defeat the Assyrians. It will be a "tidal wave" of opposition as the Babylonians and Persians join with other smaller powers to overcome the Empire. Not far down the road, both the Babylonians and the Persians would also have their time on the world stage before giving way to a Greek flood.

But James Boice (1938-2000) reminds us that this wasn't just a figurative flood. While it wasn't the overwhelming flood that Noah knew, there was a flood that helped to take down the Assyrian Capital.

"According to secular accounts, during the final siege of Nineveh by a rebel army of Persians, Medes, Arabians, and Babylonians, unusually heavy rains caused the rivers to flood and to undermine the city's walls, which then collapsed…the invading armies entered the city through this breach in its defenses" (James Montgomery Boice).

Jonah tried to escape his mission by taking a boat to Tarshish, but he was stopped by a storm and high waves that threatened to sink the boat he was on. It was a whale, or a big fish, that saved the prophet and threw him up onto dry ground. But the water that sank Nineveh, both figurative and literal, didn't carry a message of salvation for the people. This time, the water would carry the final vote.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Nahum 2

When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the LORD. – 2 Kings 19:1

Today's Scripture Reading (June 11, 2026): 2 Kings 19

Our modern society is built on the idea that no single person should hold all the political power in a nation. Some kings boasted of their all-powerfulness, especially in the ancient world. Still, as societies became more advanced, we began to recognize that strength comes from two or more coequal sources of power being forced to talk and negotiate with each other to get something done. This concept of the division of powers is worked out in several ways. Sometimes it was a Sovereign and the Senate or Parliament. Sometimes it is found in the interplay between the House of Lords, or upper house, and the House of Commons, literally a political house made up of elected common people like you and me. It is often displayed in regional governments, where the Federal and State or Provincial governments are forced to cooperate on specific projects. But whatever the system, the division or separation of powers ensures that no one person is all-powerful and can do whatever they want. It can be frustrating, especially for the Sovereign or the Political leader, but the system works. However, not only does it work, but it makes us strong.

In Judah, this division of power was structured around the distinction between secular and religious authority. The King, with his advisors, ran the earthly portion of the country. But Israel and Judah were designed from the very beginning to be a nation with two Kings: a secular King who sat on the throne of the country, and God, represented by his priests serving in the Tabernacle and later the Temple. Both were essential to the effective running of the nation.   

Some Kings did not like that separation. They felt that they should be able to go it alone; to rule the secular portion of the nation as well as the religious part. Hezekiah probably knew well the story of Uzziah, his great-grandfather. Uzziah was King, but his pride led him to enter the Temple and burn incense before the altar, something only a priest was supposed to do. Uzziah was the King and had come to believe that he was the ultimate authority in Judah. But Uzziah was wrong, and the Bible says that his disobedience caused him to be struck with leprosy, and for the rest of his life, the King lived alone, away from all who mattered to him.

Hezekiah is disturbed by all that is happening around him. And in his distress, he puts on the outward signs of mourning. But Hezekiah does not allow his pain to carry him away from God. He also does not allow his grief to drive him into sin the way that Uzziah's pride had caused him to sin. In his pain, the King goes to the temple, but not into the holy place itself, a space reserved for only the priests of the nation. The King of Judah enters into the court as any worshipper would, and stands before the priests to ask for intercession. And in doing so, Hezekiah honored God and recognized that whenever any of us come and stand before the throne of God, we do so as equals. The most powerful King and the poorest of supplicants share the same status – they are worshippers of the living God.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Nahum 1

See Also Isaiah 37:1

 

Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love. – Psalm 48:9

Today's Scripture Reading (June 10, 2026): Psalm 48

Charles Spurgeon imagines three people that we might meet in church. The first is a lady who is dominated by her aches and pains. Her hurts dominate every waking moment and every conversation that she has with friends. If you dare to visit her at her house, you can be assured that she will tell you about every place that hurts. But it is not just the physical pain. She has been hurt by those around her emotionally. Whether they intended to hurt her makes little difference; the hurt is the same. The problem is that she concentrates the impressive force of her personality on the pain that she is going through. It is at this point that Spurgeon interjects into the situation. What would happen if she took just a little of that personal force to meditate on God's unfailing love? What would happen if she lifted her eyes for a moment to see the love that God has for her and every person that comes within her circle of influence?

The preacher then turns his attention to a businessperson. It is a hard time to be in business. And sometimes it seems that everybody wants to make the task a little harder. The bottom line isn't all that the man wishes that it might be. And so, it is business struggles that predominate everything the man says. He complains about not being able to make ends meet. And yet, he still can put food on the table. He started with nothing, and now he has a little more. While it might not be all that he dreamed, still, he has something. What would happen if he took just a little time out to meditate on God's unfailing love? What would it cost to speak to those around him about how he has benefited from the love of God?

The last story that Charles Spurgeon tells is of the Christian who complains about the church. Are there any who truly believe, or is the Christian Church filled with Sunday-only Christians, or ChiNOs (Christians In Name Only)? There is no doubt that, as Christians, we provide our enemies with a lot of ammunition. But is there anything positive we could discuss? Do we, as Christians, feel the unfailing love of God? Do we dare to share that love and forgiveness with those we come in contact with?

Maybe these people and the responses feel a little Pollyanna to you. But here is the reality: we will feel what we focus on. I am not saying everything is good, but if our focus is on everything that is going wrong, we will be living in the worst era we can imagine. But if we are willing to meditate on God's love, it gives that love a window into changing our lives. And not only will we experience God's love, but it is only by meditating on that love that we will be able to share it with the world around us.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 19

 

God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. – Psalm 47:8

Today's Scripture Reading (June 9, 2026): Psalm 46 & 47

Abraham began his life in the city of Ur of the Chaldees. The city is in the southern portion of modern-day Iraq. But God called him away from his childhood home and to a place where Abraham had never been, and possibly, the Patriarch never even knew existed. Abraham followed God and went to the place to which he believed God had called him. It was at this new place in the land of Canaan that Abraham came to an understanding with God.

I will make you into a great nation,
    and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you (Genesis 12:2-3).

Abraham, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to allow me to bless you, and you will share that blessing with the world around you. I am going to start with you, but it is going to multiply through your descendants, which will be greater than even the number of grains of sand that lie by the sea. This "blessed to be a blessing" will be the mission statement of the Jewish people. They will receive the blessing of God and share it with the world around them.

Sometimes, the Jewish people succeeded, but often they failed. As a result, Jesus came and reinforced the same message that had been given to Abraham. It is a hard teaching, but Jesus said he had come for the Jewish people, to reinforce the message that they would become a channel of God's blessing to be shared with the world. Paul probably understood this mission the best. He gathered people around him who would channel blessings to people who were not Jewish. Paul took that message of blessing to the world.

Muhammad was born in Mecca in 570 C.E. He grew up and looked at the world around him. He felt that something was missing. His people were tribal and often consumed by fighting among themselves. He looked at the Jews and Christians, whom he considered to be distant cousins and descendants of Abraham, and mourned that they had a book. Muhammad believed that the unity of the Jews and the Christians was because of the existence of this book. He desired a book for his people, whom he believed were the descendants of Ishmael, the oldest son of Abraham, and of Sarah's maidservant, Hagar. The question we have been asking ever since has been "Was Muhammad right?" I believe he might have been, but if our Muslim brothers and sisters are descendants of Abraham, then the mission remains the same. I will bless you so you can bless the world.

None of the three Abrahamic religions has done this "blessed to be a blessing" well. But our mission hasn't changed.

The Psalmist argues that God rules over the nations. He is not a national God who is bound by the borders of the nations. He is God over all. And he continues to bless us so that we can make this world a better place. The only question is this: Which of the children of Abraham will take up the mission and make it theirs? God is still on the throne and still blessing us. It's time we started being a blessing to the world around us.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 48

It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Gihon spring and channeled the water down to the west side of the City of David. He succeeded in everything he undertook. – 2 Chronicles 32:30

Today's Scripture Reading (June 8, 2026): 2 Chronicles 32

It is the Deh Cho River, though you probably don't recognize it by that name. That is because in 1828, Sir John Franklin encountered the river and suggested that it be called the Mackenzie River. It was the name "Mackenzie" that was put onto maps and government documents. But that name ignored the river's existing name: the Deh Cho River, given by the Dene people who were native to the area. Deh Cho means "The Big River." The Deh Cho River is a massive waterway that runs from "The Great Slave Lake" to the Arctic Ocean in the Northwest Territory of Northern Canada. And the Deh Cho River brings life wherever it goes.

So, it is not surprising that, as the Deh Cho River began to look cloudy and water tests showed an increase in toxicity, a group of Elders met on the banks of the river on September 7, 2006. They wanted to know what was happening to the great river. Their message was that life depended on the river's water. But the message went beyond just what was happening to the Deh Cho River. Water is essential to life – all water and all life. We don't exist without it. This group of Elders developed what they called "The Keepers of the Water Declaration."

Water is a Sacred gift, an essential element that sustains and connects all life. It is not a commodity to be bought or sold. All people share an obligation to cooperate in ensuring that water, in all its forms, is protected and conserved with regard to the needs of all living things today and for the generations yet to come (Keepers of the Water Declaration).

Water is essential to everything that we hold dear.

In ancient times, the people understood this need for water. Towns were built beside rivers and lakes. I suspect that most people can point to the river on which their community is built. Maybe the water is not as majestic as the Deh Cho River, but there is water running close by most human settlements. One of the purposes of an enemy siege was to separate the city from its source of food, but, even more importantly, to isolate the urban environment from its source of water. A city could not survive if its people had no water to drink.

One of the great achievements of Hezekiah was that he took water from the Gihon Spring and allowed it to flow into the west side of Jerusalem, bringing the water of the spring into the City of David. But words don't quite sum up the task that Hezekiah had decided to undertake. Bringing the water from the spring meant cutting through 643 meters of rock, an intimidating task for people in the ancient world. Hezekiah decided to plot the intended passageway and then had workers start at each end and work toward the middle. It had to follow precise measurements or the two tunnels would completely miss each other. It was a significant achievement for an Eighth Century B.C.E. king, and maybe evidence that he really could achieve whatever he put his mind toward. Because we are all Keepers of the Water, and we still need water to survive. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 46 & 47