ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

 Pulelulu Tisema 20, 2023

God's Battle Cry

Teuaki ki he Tau

NAHUM 1:3-4

[THE LORD'S] WAY IS IN WHIRLWIND AND STORM, AND THE CLOUDS ARE THE DUST OF HIS FEET. HE REBUKES THE SEA AND MAKES IT DRY; HE DRIES UP ALL THE RIVERS; BASHAN AND CARMEL WITHER; THE BLOOM OF LEBANON WITHERS.

NEHUMI 1:3-4

3 Ko Sihova ko e taha tuai ki he houhau, Pea kaukaua ‘i he ivi, Pea ‘ikai ‘aupito te ne faka‘atā ‘a e halaia. Ko Sihova ‘oku ai hono founga ‘i he ‘ahiohio mo e afā, Pea ko e ngaahi ‘ao ko e efu ‘o ‘ene taulaka. 4 Ko e taha ia ‘oku fakamana ki he tahi, ‘O fakamaha ia; ‘Io, ‘oku ne fakamātu‘u ‘a e ngaahi vaitafe kotoa: ‘Oku mahahu‘a ‘a Pēsani mo Kāmeli, Pea ‘oku mae ‘a e fisi ‘o Lepanoni.

The eyes of prophets view what is always there and never seen. The realm of reality on the other side of our sensory perception. They see as with angelic eyes. Thus Nahum sees rivers dried up, mountains withering, and hills dissolving at the presence of God. The Lord, "avenging and wrathful" (v. 2), is on the warpath against Nineveh. God "rebukes [ga'ar] the sea," clearly echoing what happened at the Red Sea (Ps. 106:9). The verb ga'ar, however, and its related noun, g'arah, often denote not a rebuke but a battle cry. Yahweh, "a man of war" (Exod. 15:3), roars a battle cry so terrible, so nightmarish, that even seas flee backward in fear, leaving nothing but dust behind.

On the last day, "the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout [keleusma, a Greek word that can also mean 'battle cry']" (1 Thess. 4:16 NASB). Jesus returns as Warrior and King to vanquish every foe, kill and bury death once and for all (1 Cor. 15:26), and bring us across the Red Sea of this world into the promised land of his kingdom.

Keep us awake and watchful, Lord of hosts, always ready to lift up our heads and see our redemption drawing nigh.