Beyond Anger
Opening Prayer
Help me, Lord, to see You at work in this messy world and in the stresses of my own life.
Read Nahum 2:1–13
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
[1] An attacker advances against you, Nineveh. Guard the fortress, watch the road, brace yourselves, marshal all your strength! [2] The LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob like the splendor of Israel, though destroyers have laid them waste and have ruined their vines. [3] The shields of the soldiers are red; the warriors are clad in scarlet. The metal on the chariots flashes on the day they are made ready; the spears of juniper are brandished. [4] The chariots storm through the streets, rushing back and forth through the squares. They look like flaming torches; they dart about like lightning. [5] Nineveh summons her picked troops, yet they stumble on their way. They dash to the city wall; the protective shield is put in place. [6] The river gates are thrown open and the palace collapses. [7] It is decreed that Nineveh be exiled and carried away. Her female slaves moan like doves and beat on their breasts. [8] Nineveh is like a pool whose water is draining away. “Stop! Stop!” they cry, but no one turns back. [9] Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! The supply is endless, the wealth from all its treasures! [10] She is pillaged, plundered, stripped! Hearts melt, knees give way, bodies tremble, every face grows pale. [11] Where now is the lions’ den, the place where they fed their young, where the lion and lioness went, and the cubs, with nothing to fear? [12] The lion killed enough for his cubs and strangled the prey for his mate, filling his lairs with the kill and his dens with the prey. [13] “I am against you,” declares the LORD Almighty. “I will burn up your chariots in smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will leave you no prey on the earth. The voices of your messengers will no longer be heard.” Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Have you ever wondered why there is so much chaos and suffering in the world? When there is so much bad news in the world, it is hard to recognize the good. Sometimes wejudge God on the basis of what we see now, rather than on what he is accomplishing in the long-term.Nahum continues to declare his oracles against Nineveh: not even their messengers will be left tospeak of their history after they are gone. Nineveh’s destruction would be complete, and so itwas, at the fall of the Assyrian empire. This can be confusing. Didn’t Jonah preach to Nineveh?Didn’t the people repent? Any repentance was short-lived. More than a generation later, Nahumdeclares their destruction for their wickedness.But God gave them a chance. And in the midst of the harsh declarations, we see one verse thatorients the rest. God isn’t a sadist. He is restoring his people to the land in a way thatwas central to the old covenant. Eventually, he would bring about a new covenant through Jesusthat would make conflict over physical territory unnecessary. What good things is God bringingto fruition in your life today, even through difficulty or messiness?When there is so much bad news in the world, it is hard to recognize the good. Sometimes we judge God on the basis of what we see now, rather than on what he is accomplishing in the long-term.
Nahum continues to declare his oracles against Nineveh: not even their messengers will be left to speak of their history after they are gone. Nineveh’s destruction would be complete, and so it was, at the fall of the Assyrian empire. This can be confusing. Didn’t Jonah preach to Nineveh? Didn’t the people repent? Any repentance was short-lived. More than a generation later, Nahum declares their destruction for their wickedness.
But God gave them a chance. And in the midst of the harsh declarations, we see one verse that orients the rest. God isn’t a sadist. He is restoring his people to the land in a way that was central to the old covenant. Eventually, he would bring about a new covenant through Jesus that would make conflict over physical territory unnecessary. What good things is God bringing
to fruition in your life today, even through difficulty or messiness?
Apply
Do you know someone who is going through a difficult or “messy” time? What can you do today to encourage them?
Closing prayer
Lord, sometimes I focus so much on the negative that I can’t see You at work in my life. Show me Your goodness today.
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2025 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.