A Daily Devotional

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When Rivers Run Dry

"He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth." (Nahum 1:4)

The short three-chapter prophecy of Nahum is directed especially at the wicked city of Ninevah, capital of the grossly cruel empire of Assyria, predicting its imminent destruction. It was fulfilled in the period 612-609 B.C., when Assyria and Ninevah were finally vanquished by a coalition of forces from Babylonia, Media, and Scythia.

However, the prophecy of verse 4 (our text) was not fulfilled at that time, indicating that Nahum's prophecy would have both a near and far fulfillment. Indeed there will be a terrible worldwide drought in the last days, according to other Scriptures as well. The prophet Joel, many years before Nahum, had prophesied that such a calamity would accompany the coming judgments of the "day of the LORD" when "the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness" (Joel 1:15-20).

This judgment is described more vividly in the last book of the Bible. "My two witnesses . . . have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy. . . . And . . . the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up" (Revelation 11:3-6; 16:12).

But in the still more distant future, in the new earth, there will be "a pure river of water of life" (Revelation 22:1) which will never run dry. Even now, the Lord Jesus offers to all who believe "a well of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:14). Speaking of spiritual water, of course, the Lord promised: "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, . . . out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: . . .)" (John 7:37-39).

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Christ Our Passover

"And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt." (Exodus 12:13)

The Jews of the world have been keeping their annual Feast of the Passover for almost 3,500 years, fulfilling the ancient prophecy: "And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever" (Exodus 12:24). This was the beginning of the nation of Israel, when they left Egyptian slavery behind and started their trek to the Promised Land. The lamb had been slain and eaten, its blood placed on the door posts, and the Lord had spared all their firstborn sons when the Destroyer passed through the land of Egypt.

The feast was intended not only to memorialize the ancient deliverance, but also to anticipate the coming day when the "Lamb of God" would take "away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). The night before Christ was crucified, He told His disciples: "With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God" (Luke 22:15-16).

Thereupon, the Lord established His Supper, which Christians will continue to observe to "shew the Lord's death till he come" (1 Corinthians 11:26). He fulfilled all that the Passover prophesied when He shed His blood on the Cross, "For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, . . . with . . . sincerity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:7-8).

Now we look forward to an even greater supper when Christ returns, for the promise is this to all who believe: "Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb" (Revelation 19:9).

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A More Sure Word

"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts." (2 Peter 1:19)

In this important passage, Peter explains the ultimate source of his writings. He did not merely repeat cunningly devised fables when he taught majestic things about the Lord Jesus Christ, but was himself an "eyewitness" of His glory and personally heard the very voice of God on the Mount of Transfiguration (v. 16-18). The three chosen disciples witnessed His prophesied glory and heard God speak of Christ's pleasing Sonship. There could be no doubt of God's special plan for His Son. As eyewitnesses, they bore the onus of bearing witness to the facts.

But he downplayed the importance of his own personal testimony, even though it was a firsthand account and quite important, and he knew it was absolutely correct. The "more sure word of prophecy" he recommended, however, which outshines any human testimony, was the written Word of God, for the Transfiguration confirmed numerous Old Testament prophecies concerning Christ. Prophecies already fulfilled multiply our confidence in the rest of Scripture.

Oral or written testimony of human observers, no matter how trustworthy they may be, is still subject to human error, and not "inerrant" in the same way as Scripture. Christians must always remember that the written Word of God is more certain than personal memories or impressions. The experiences we have must never be viewed as validating God's Word. Rather, God's Word validates our experiences. The early church only had a few portions of the New Testament in those days of beginning, but thankfully, we have it all, and have ready access to it. Peter recognized it as superior to any personal testimony. How much more should we deem it trustworthy and authoritative?

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Gambling at Calvary

"They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture." (Psalm 22:18)

The 22nd psalm is justly famous as a remarkable prophetic preview of the sufferings and death of the Lord Jesus on the cross, written by David approximately 1,000 years before it was fulfilled. It describes in accurate detail the sufferings of the Lord, and the actions of the sneering spectators as they watched Him die.

One of the most heartless acts of the Roman soldiers carrying out the crucifixion was the indignity of stripping Him of the garments He was wearing and then dividing them among themselves, even gambling to determine who would get His seamless vesture. The significance of this cruel scene is indicated by the fact that it is one of the very few specific events in the life of Christ recorded in all four Gospels.

We must not forget that the Lord Jesus Christ once had been arrayed, as it were, in beautiful garments that "smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces" (Psalm 45:. But He who was "equal with God" chose to be "made in the likeness of men" that He might eventually suffer "even the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:6-8) in order to save our unworthy souls. "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9).

He who had created the heavens, when He came to earth, had to say that "the Son of man hath not where to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20). And His few remaining possessions were scavenged by His executioners as He died. Yet through His great sacrifice, He has provided "everlasting habitations" for us (Luke 16:9) and "all spiritual blessings in heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3). Indeed, we do know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ!

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Fighting the Creator

"Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?" (Jeremiah 5:22)

Jeremiah, warning his Jewish countrymen of their imminent exile into a pagan land, reminded them how futile it had been for them to rebel against their Creator (v. 19). He did this by noting one of God's mighty works of providence.

The earth is dominated by water, which covers over 70 percent of its surface. If the earth were completely smoothed out, the waters would be almost two miles deep all around the globe. In the primeval creation, water was present everywhere, and the earth was "without form" (Genesis 1:2). But then God had energized the universe's gravitational forces, and the waters soon had a "surface," with this "sea level" controlled ever since by gravity and the configuration of land surfaces established on the third day of creation week. Let the waves of the sea become ever so violent; all they do is abrade more sand from the rocky shores and still further stabilize the sea shore with the beaches so produced.

At the time of the Flood, great masses of water were added to the earth's surface through the fountains of the great deep and the windows of heaven (Genesis 7:11), and the permanent sea level was increased. But this again was stabilized after the Flood, and God promised that the waters would never again prevail over the earth (Genesis 9:15; Psalm 104:9).

Ever since, the tossing waves may produce more sand, but they cannot transgress God's "bound." They even provide a striking picture of the futility of fighting the Creator. Evolutionary humanists, like the pagans of old, may toss and roar, but like the sea, they can never prevail.

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He Shall Prolong His days

"Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand." (Isaiah 53:10)

In this one verse, found in the wonderful 53rd chapter of Isaiah, there is an amazing prophecy of the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ in atonement for our sins, His resurrection from the dead, and the resulting salvation of many lost sinners.

This Old Testament chapter, written 600 years before Christ, contains probably the most complete and cogent exposition of the saving work of Christ on the cross to be found in the entire Bible.

How could it "please" the Lord to bruise His only begotten Son? It could only be because of the great work this would accomplish.

Then, indeed, "the pleasure of the Lord" would be realized. As to the Son, "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied" (Isaiah 53:11).

After the Father has allowed the enemies of His Son to "bruise him" to death, it would be soon known that this was actually "an offering for sin" and that, having satisfied the requirements of God’s holiness, the Son "shall prolong his days." Though He died and actually "made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death" (v. 9), death could not hold Him, and "he shall prolong his days." As He would later proclaim: "I am alive for evermore" (Revelation 1:18).

And because He has done this, He "shall see his seed." "For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings" (Hebrews 2:10). What a wonderful Savior!

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The Everlasting Gospel

"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." (Revelation 14:6-7)

When the Lord Jesus returned to heaven after His resurrection, He left the disciples with the Great Commission to "preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). Unfortunately, over the centuries, there has developed much misunderstanding concerning the content of the gospel ("good tidings") and many have preached "another gospel" (Galatians 1:6) which can never save. This false gospel wears many faces, but inevitably, at its heart will be found the false hope of evolutionary humanism, glorifying man instead of God, worshipping and serving the creature more than the Creator (Romans 1:25).

We can be sure that the gospel preached in our text is the true gospel--in fact, it is called specifically the everlasting gospel! And its great burden is to call people everywhere back to faith in the one true Creator God, who made all things in heaven and earth. The Lord Jesus Christ must be accepted, first of all, as God and Creator, before it can be meaningful to present Him as Savior and Lord. Otherwise, we preach "another gospel" and "another Jesus"--neither of which are even real!

The true gospel must also present Christ as the sin-bearing, crucified, resurrected Savior (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), and as the coming King of kings and Lord of lords (Matthew 4:23; Revelation 19:16). But it must first present Him as omnipotent and offended Creator. Then only, like the angel, do we truly proclaim the everlasting gospel.

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Glorified in the Saints

"And they glorified God in me." (Galatians 1:24)

It is amazing to read in the Scriptures that the God of glory can actually receive yet more glory through His people. But that is what happened in Paul. When he became a Christian, his life changed completely, and those who saw the change glorified God in Paul.

Jesus prayed that this would be so, not only in Paul, but in all His followers. In the upper room before His crucifixion, He prayed: "I pray for them . . . which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them" (John 17:9-10).

He is glorified when we, like Paul, become His. But then He is further glorified as we grow in Him. Paul himself prayed for those whom he had seen come to Christ: "Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him . . ." (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12).

Finally, He shall be glorified when He comes again. "When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven. . . . he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe . . ." (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10).

As we give glory to Christ in word and deed, He truly was, and is, and will be, glorified in His saints. This is a privilege greater than can be measured, which more than compensates for any opposition this generates from the world. "If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified" (1 Peter 4:14). Therefore, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may . . . glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).

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True Discipleship

"Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31-32)

One may come to a mental acceptance of certain facts about God and deceive himself into thinking he believes on Christ, but the genuineness of that faith needs to be tested before it is judged as real. "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?" (James 2:19-20). Works, of course, do not save one's soul, but the faith that does save is a faith that produces good works.

An earlier group of listeners had also "believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them |literally, 'did not believe on them'|, because he knew all men" (John 2:23-24). It is essential that we believe on Him, but even more essential that He believe on us!

The test is simple! If we continue in His Word, then we are real disciples. Our dedication to Christ is measured by our obedience to His Word. If we question His Word, or resent His Word, or try to avoid obeying His Word, by "interpreting" some preferred meaning of our own into His Word, then we urgently need to examine the genuineness of our belief in Christ.

If we are His disciples and do continue in His Word, then He makes us a wonderful promise: "Ye shall know the truth." Literally, this is "come to know the truth." As true disciples (that is, "learners"), we have His assurance that our continuing studies in His Word will yield an ever-increasing comprehension of God's created and revealed "truth," with ever-growing freedom to understand and obey the perfect will of God.

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Thanksgiving in Heaven

"And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats |thrones|, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O LORD GOD Almighty, which are, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned." (Revelation 11:16-17)

This is the final reference in the Bible to the giving of thanks. It records a scene in heaven where the 24 elders, representing all redeemed believers, are thanking God that His primeval promise of restoration and victory is about to be fulfilled. The petition "thy kingdom come" (Matthew 6:10) is now ready to be answered.

Similarly, the final reference to the offering of praise is also set in heaven. "And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" (Revelation 19:5-6).

The word "alleluia" is the same as the Hebrew word "hallelujah," meaning, "Praise ye the Lord!" Thus, the joyful notes of praise for who He is and thankfulness for what He has done will resound through heaven when Christ returns. Then, forevermore, the very lives of all His saints will be perpetual testimonies of thanksgiving and praise.

This is our destiny, if we have received Christ by faith as Savior and Lord. It is important that our lives even now begin to reflect such a character, that we may be the better prepared as the day approaches. "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name" (Hebrews 13:15).

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The Essence of Sin

"Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD GOD had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" (Genesis 3:1)

The first entrance of sin into the world was Satan's subtle suggestion to Eve that God's word might not be true and authoritative after all. Then came Satan's blatant "Ye shall not surely die" (v. 4), openly charging the Creator with falsehood. Ever since that time, the basic root of every sin has been unbelief--the implicit denial of the Creator's Word.

Therefore, God's judgment on human sin will be in relation to His Word. Jesus said: "There is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me" (John 5:45-46). He also said: "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day" (John 12:48). In principle, the Lord Jesus tells us that both Old Testament ("the law of Moses") and New Testament ("the law of Christ") will be witnesses against us at God's judgment throne.

In fact, at the final judgment, the "books" are specifically said to be the basis of God's condemnation of the unsaved: "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened . . . and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works" (Revelation 20:12). These books surely include the books of the Bible, wherein are written the laws of God, against which men and women are to be judged. Since even one transgression makes one guilty (James 2:10), none could ever stand at the judgment by his own works. But since unbelief is the essence of sin, faith in God's Word, and in the person and work of the Savior revealed in God's Word, brings forgiveness, salvation, and righteousness.

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When the Earth Trembled

"Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth." (2 Samuel 22:

The terrible scenes depicted in verses 8-17 of this chapter (essentially the same as Psalm 18:7-16) go far beyond even any poetic license that David might properly use to describe his own personal deliverance from his enemies. They do, however, make sense in connection with the great earthquake and midday darkness at the scene of Christ's crucifixion (Matthew 27:45, 51), thus helping to confirm that this is indeed one of the Messianic psalms.

But they seem to go beyond even this, for the physical convulsions experienced around the cross were only a foretaste of those that will soon occur when "he ariseth to shake terribly the earth" (Isaiah 2:19). In that great coming day of judgment, God will "shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land" (Haggai 2:6).

Similarly, in the distant past, there was a worldwide cataclysm at the time of the great Flood, and similar scenes took place then. David's experiences thus became also a type of those experienced by Noah, as he was saved through the water of judgment. Both Noah and David, in fact, were types of the incarnate Creator, testifying both to "the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow" (1 Peter 1:11).

In this remarkable passage, therefore, one can see not only David's deliverances, but also those of Noah in the distant past, Christ at the cross, and all the saints in the climactic time of judgment in the future. The earth once shook terribly at the time of the Flood, then again when its Creator died on the cross. But one greater still is yet to come--"so mighty an earthquake, and so great" that "every island |will flee| away, and the mountains |will not be| found" (Revelation 16:18-20).

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Fruit of Our Lips

"By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name." (Hebrews 13:15)

Unique to the United States is the national holiday Thanksgiving. We are encouraged to recognize the bounty and wonder of our land, and express gratitude in some formal way.

In many homes, however, thanks have become a vague expression of happiness for prosperity rather than a "sacrifice of praise" to our El Shaddai.

Would you pray this prayer of thanksgiving with me?

O, Lord God of heaven and earth, our finite minds and feeble speech can never produce fitting praise of Thee. Although our hearts sometime fill with gratitude and overflow with the joy of knowing Thee, we stumble at our innermost thoughts. Please hear the groaning of our spirit as we try to hold Thee to our breast. Please, Father, receive our childlike thanks and our murmured whispers of love.

And, O Father in heaven, we thank Thee for Thy mercy. Every day we claim its renewed power. Every day we must have Thy mercy extended to our lives.

Help us, O God, to heed the prompting of Thy Spirit in our hearts and to obey Thy Word. We accept the gentle chastening of Thy loving hand and yield to Thy voice.

We gratefully acknowledge that all things come from Thee, and we pray that Thy bounty would supply our daily bread, and that Thy mercy and grace would forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

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Contend for the Faith

"Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." (Jude 3)

Jude long ago addressed a problem in his day which is still very real in our day among Christians. It is easier and more comfortable just to teach and preach about the blessings of our common salvation than it is to contend for the faith, but the latter is more "needful." The word conveys the idea that he was so constrained, evidently by the Holy Spirit, as actually to be in distress about this compelling need. Similarly, his exhortation to "earnestly contend" does not mean to "be argumentative," but rather, to "agonize with intense determination." It is one word in the Greek, epagonizomai (literally, "agonize over"). Defending and contending for the faith is serious, urgent business.

That which we are to defend is "the faith"--the whole body of Christian truth, wherever it is under attack. It would, of course, be especially important to contend for the doctrine of special creation, which is the foundation of all others, and which is the doctrine perpetually under the most concerted and persistent attack by the adversary.

That faith has been, long ago, "once delivered" to the saints. The sense of these words is "once for all turned over for safekeeping." The Lord has entrusted us with His Word, completed and inscripturated, and we must keep it, uncorrupted and intact, for every generation until He returns, preaching and teaching all of it to every creature, to the greatest extent we possibly can.

Finally, note that the safeguarding of the faith was not merely to specially trained theologians or other professionals, but to "the saints." Every Christian believer is commanded to "earnestly contend for the faith."

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Ministering Spirits

"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" (Hebrews 1:14)

Although most Christians are aware of the biblical doctrine of angels, few appreciate what a tremendous resource this may be. Even though they are invisible to us, angels are real, and are more involved in our personal lives than we realize.

The primary purpose for which they were created by God was, according to our text, to be servants (i.e., "ministers") to those who are to inherit salvation. They are beings of great wisdom, "to know all things that are in the earth" (2 Samuel 14:20). Furthermore, they "excel in strength" (Psalm 103:20). They can travel at tremendous speeds, "being caused to fly swiftly" (Daniel 9:21). Furthermore, there exists "an innumerable company of angels" (Hebrews 12:22), so God is able to dispatch any necessary number of them to "do his commandments" (Psalm 103:20) on behalf of His people.

Since their very existence is related to the heirs of salvation, they are intensely interested in all of God's plans and in our own individual roles in those plans--"which things the angels desire to look into" (1 Peter 1:12). They serve as guardian angels (Psalm 34:7; 91:11), especially in relation to children (Matthew 18:10). They are present in each local church (Revelation 2:1; etc.) and, while they minister to the church, they also themselves learn "by the church the manifold wisdom of God" (Ephesians 3:10). They are directly involved in the accomplishment of many providential miracles, such as Daniel in the lion's den (Daniel 6:22). Finally, they accompany each believer at death into the presence of the Lord (Luke 16:22; 2 Corinthians 5:.

Perhaps, in that day, we'll meet the particular angels who have been assigned to our own protection and guidance and can thank them properly.