What was the first settlement in North America? Was it Jamestown or Plymouth? Actually, it was Fort Caroline at Saint John’s River in Florida. It was founded this day, June 30, 1564, by the French Protestants, known as Huguenots, and was the first attempt at religious toleration in America. A settler recorded: “We sang a psalm of Thanksgiving unto God, beseeching Him that it would please Him to continue His accustomed goodness towards us.” Unfortunately, the French colony was short-lived. The Spanish, whose treasure ships passed that route, destroyed it, butchering hundreds of men, and taking captive the women and children.

Federer, B. (2003). American minute. St. Louis, MO.: Amerisearch, Inc.

I believe in the sun
even if it isn't shining.
I believe in love
even when I am alone.
I believe in God
even when He is silent.
--- Author Unknown

... from here, there and everywhere

11 The character of even a child is known by how he acts,
by whether his deeds are pure and right.

12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye—
ADONAI made them both.

Stern, D. H. (1998). Complete Jewish Bible-OE
: An English version of the Tanakh (OT) and
B'rit Hadashah (NT) (1st ed.). Clarksville, Md.: Jewish
New Testament Publications.

                         Do it now

     Agree with thine adversary quickly. --- Matthew 5:25.

     Jesus Christ is laying down this principle—Do what you know you must do, now, and do it quickly; if you do not, the inevitable process will begin to work and you will have to pay to the last farthing in pain and agony and distress. God’s laws are unalterable; there is no escape from them. The teaching of Jesus goes straight to the way we are made up.

     To see that my adversary gives me my rights is natural; but Jesus says that it is a matter of eternal and imperative importance to me that I pay my adversary what I owe him. From our Lord’s standpoint it does not matter whether I am defrauded or not; what does matter is that I do not defraud. Am I insisting on my rights, or am I paying what I owe from Jesus Christ’s standpoint?

     Do the thing quickly, bring yourself to judgment now. In moral and spiritual matters, you must do it at once; if you do not, the inexorable process will begin to work. God is determined to have His child as pure and clean and white as driven snow, and as long as there is disobedience in any point of His teaching, He will prevent none of the working of His spirit. Our insistence in proving that we are right is nearly always an indication that there has been some point of disobedience. No wonder the Spirit so strongly urges to keep steadfastly in the light!

     “Agree with thine adversary quickly.” Have you suddenly turned a corner in any relationship and found that you had anger in your heart? Confess it quickly, quickly put it right before God, be reconciled to that one—do it now.

Chambers, O. (1993). My Utmost for His Highest

What do they say?
Here is flesh
not to be peeped
at. No Godivas
these. Thet remain
not pass, naked
for us to gaze
our fill on, but
without lust
This
is the mind's feast,
where taste follows
participation. Values
are in reverse
here. Such soft tones
are for the eye
only. These bodies
smooth as bells
from art's stroking, toll
an unheard music,
keep such firmness
of line as never,
under the lapping
of all this light
to become blurred or dim.

R.S. Thomas.

     Won’t your ears hear what your own mouth says?

     BIBLE TEXT / Genesis 11:26–32 / When Terah had lived 70 years, he begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Now this is the line of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begot Lot. Haran died in the lifetime of his father Terah, in his native land, Ur of the Chaldeans. Abram and Nahor took themselves wives, the name of Abram’s wife being Sarai and that of Nahor’s wife Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah. Now Sarai was barren, she had no child. Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and they set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan; but when they had come as far as Haran, they settled there. The days of Terah came to 205 years; and Terah died in Haran.

     MIDRASH TEXT / Genesis Rabbah 38, 13 / Haran died in the lifetime of his father Terah. Rabbi Ḥiyya the son of the son of Rav Adda of Jaffa: “Terah sold idols. One time, he went to a certain place and left Abraham to sell in his stead. A man came in and wanted to buy one [an idol], and he [Abraham] said to him, ‘How old are you?’ He said to him, ‘I am fifty years old’ or ‘… sixty years old.’ And he said to him, ‘Woe to that man who is sixty years old and will bow to something a day old.’ He [the man] was embarrassed and left. One time, a certain woman came with a plate filled with fine flour. She said to him, ‘Here, offer this before them.’ He took the stick in his hand, broke all the idols, and put the stick into the hand of the biggest [idol]. When his father returned, he [Terah] said to him [Abraham], ‘Who did this to them?’ He [Abraham] said to him [Terah], ‘I can’t hide it from you: A woman came with a plate of fine flour and told me, “Offer this before them.” I brought it to them, when one said, “I’ll eat first!” and another said, “I’ll eat first.” The biggest of them took the stick and broke them.’ He [Terah] said to him [Abraham], ‘Don’t try to fool me! Do they know what’s going on?’ He [Abraham] said to him, ‘Won’t your ears hear what your own mouth says?’ ”

     CONTEXT / This is one of the most well-known Midrash Texts. In fact, it is so famous that many assume that the story of Abraham smashing the idols is in the Bible itself! This is a good reminder of the popularity of certain midrashim. It also reminds us to be aware of what is Bible Text and what is commentary on that text.

     How does this Midrash on idolatry come out of this verse? Rabbi Ḥiyya the son of the son of Rav Adda (that is, the grandson of Rav Adda) evidently sees a connection between the sin of the father and the premature death of the son. Haran died in the lifetime of his father Terah because Terah sold idols. One time, he, Terah, went to a certain place, in other words, went away. He left Abraham to sell in his stead, to look after his “idol store.” A man whose identity does not matter came in and wanted to buy an idol, and Abraham said to him, “How old are you?” He, the man, said to him, “I am fifty years old” or “sixty years old.” Again, this detail is unimportant. What matters to Abraham is that this mature man is willing to buy a day-old idol and worship it. And he, Abraham, said to him, “Woe to that man who is sixty years old and will bow to something a day old.” He, the unnamed man, was embarrassed and left without buying an idol. Abraham is a good monotheist and a poor idol salesman.

     One time (perhaps the phrase means here “another time”), a certain woman came with a plate filled with fine flour. The Hebrew word סֹלֶת/solet is often used in the Bible to describe the high-quality flour that was to be presented in certain sacrificial offerings. She said to him, “Here, offer this before them.” Abraham seems to be left in charge not only of sales but also of service! He took the stick in his hand, broke all the idols, and put the stick into the hand of the biggest idol. Is the woman still standing there, or did she leave before Abraham broke the idols? If we use the model of the previous story, where he taught the customer a lesson, then we might assume that the woman stayed. Abraham used this incident to teach his father a lesson. When Terah returned, he asked Abraham who had done this. Abraham told him that it was the biggest idol, to which Terah responded, “Don’t try to fool me! Do they know what’s going on?” He, Abraham, said to him, Terah, “Won’t your ears hear what your own mouth says?” “You’re being a hypocrite! You say that the idols could not have done this, that they have no intelligence or power, yet you somehow believe in them and sell them to others as gods. Father, listen to what you are saying!”

Katz, M., & Schwartz, G. Searching for Meaning in Midrash: Lessons for Everyday Living Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society.

     Jehovah of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. --- Psalm 46:7, 11 ASV

     “Jehovah of hosts,” the unpronounceable name, the incommunicable name, the name that stood as the sign and symbol of the infinite things of God. Classic Sermons on the Apostle Peter (Kregel Classic Sermons Series) Jehovah was the name that most forcefully gave expression to the facts concerning God that were beyond human comprehension—his absoluteness, without beginning, without end, without counsel taken, without forethought—for there was no thought before him—Jehovah.

     This phrase, “Jehovah of hosts,” teaches us that Jehovah is absolute, sufficient, and superior. It declares to us that God is the Lord of the heavens and all their inhabitants.

     As the phrase passes our lips we are amid the eternal expanse, the unfallen intelligences—the vision of any one of which would blind us. And suddenly we move to the earth. The stars grow dim until they are but flecks [in the] night; the angels pass from our vision and we are on one small planet, in one small country looking into the face of one lonely man—Jacob. The psalmist says that the God who is the God of all the hosts is the God of that individual, as surely and positively interested in that one speck of thinking life as in all the unfallen intelligences of the upper spaces—as surely and as positively committed to that man as to all the order of the infinite universe.

     Of all people for astute, hard-driving meanness, recommend to me Jacob. But God is “the God of Jacob.” Oh, my soul, here find your comfort! I do not know whether it helps you, but it helps me. He is the God of Jacob, mean as Jacob was. This is the thing on which my faith fastens. Was that man such a person as I am? The longer I live the more astonished I am at that infinite grace that found me and loves me and keeps me. The meanness that lurks within, the possibilities of evil that I have discovered make me ask, “Will God look at me?” He is “the God of Jacob.” He was his God and loved him notwithstanding all his meanness, led him, told him where to rest his head.

     Notwithstanding the failure and wreckage of this life, despite that it is anything but what God meant it to be, that in its attempts to create its own destiny has led itself into blight and vain ambition, yet the inspiring word comes to me—“the God of Jacob.” He has created us, and we have broken all his laws, but he is our God still and broods over us tenderly, our folly notwithstanding.
--- G. Campbell Morgan

Wallis, D. (2001). Take Heart: Daily Devotions with the Church's Great Preachers

     Queen Victoria was celebrating sixty years on the British throne when Rudyard Kipling published his poem “Recessional.” Not everybody in Great Britain liked the poem because it punctured national pride at a time when the empire was at its peak. “Recessional” was a warning that other empires had vanished from the stage of history and theirs might follow in their train. God was still the Judge of the nations. Kipling wrote:

     Far-called, our navies melt away;
On dune and headland sinks the fire:
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget! Recessional and, the Moon of Other Days.

     The prophet Nahum would have applauded the poem, especially Kipling’s reference to Nineveh, for it was Nahum who wrote the Old Testament book that vividly describes the destruction of Nineveh, the event that marked the beginning of the end for the Assyrian Empire. (Nineveh was destroyed by the Medes and Babylonians in 612 b.c., but the empire didn’t collapse immediately. Remnants of the army and of political leadership struggled on until they were overpowered in 609 at the battle of Haran. But when Nineveh fell, it was the death knell for the empire.) Nahum made it clear that God is indeed the Judge of the nations, and that “pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18, NKJV). In the seventh century B.C., the very mention of Nineveh brought fear to people’s hearts, but today, Nineveh is mentioned primarily by Bible students, archeologists, and people interested in ancient history. Sic transit gloria!

     In his brief book, Nahum makes three declarations about God and Nineveh.

     1. God Is Jealous: Nineveh Will Fall (Nahum 1:1–15)

     The prophet characterizes his inspired message as both a “burden” and a “vision,” something he felt and something he saw. The word translated “burden” simply means “to lift up” and was often used to describe prophetic messages that announced judgment. Isaiah used the word ten times in his prophecy as he wrote about “the burden of Babylon” (Isa. 13:1), “the burden of Moab” (15:1), etc. These burdens came as a result of the visions God gave His prophets (“seers”) of dreadful events determined for the nations. It wasn’t easy to be a prophet and see what lay in the future, and they felt the burden of their messages. Nineveh isn’t mentioned by name until Nahum 2:8, but its destruction is the theme of the book.

     God speaks of Himself (Nahum 1:2–8). Three important words in this paragraph need to be understood because they all relate to the character of God: jealousy, vengeance, and anger.

     Jealousy is a sin if it means being envious of what others have and wanting to possess it, but it’s a virtue if it means cherishing what we have and wanting to protect it. A faithful husband and wife are jealous over one another and do everything they can to keep their relationship exclusive. “Jealous” and “zealous” come from the same root, for when you’re jealous over someone, you’re zealous to protect the relationship.

     Since God made everything and owns everything, He is envious of no one, but since He is the only true God, He is jealous over His glory, His name, and the worship and honor that are due to Him alone. In the second commandment, God prohibited the worship of idols and backed up the prohibition with this reason: “for I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God” (Ex. 20:5).

     When we studied the Book of Hosea, we learned that the Lord was “married” to Israel in a covenant relationship, and any breach of that covenant aroused His jealous love. He will not share His people with false gods any more than a husband would share his wife with his neighbor. “For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (34:14, NKJV). “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God” (Deut. 4:24, NKJV; and see 6:15; 32:16, 21; 1 Kings 14:22). Nineveh was a city given over to iniquity, especially idolatry and cruelty, and God’s jealous love burned against their pride and willful breaking of His law.

     In Scripture, vengeance is usually presented as a sin. Both Jesus and Paul warned about it (Matt. 5:38–48; Rom. 12:17–21). But a just and holy God cannot see people flouting His law and do nothing about it. “It is mine to avenge; I will repay.… I will take vengeance on my adversaries and repay those who hate me” (Deut. 32:35, 41, NIV). The God’s people prayed to God to avenge them when other nations attacked them. “O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongs—O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth!” (Ps. 94:1, NKJV) When God takes vengeance by judging people, it’s because He is a holy God and is jealous (zealous) for His holy law.

     God’s anger isn’t like human anger, which can be selfish and out of control. His is a holy anger, a righteous indignation against all that defies His authority and disobeys His law. God’s people ought to exercise a holy anger against sin (Eph. 4:26), for, as Henry Ward Beecher said, “A person that does not know how to be angry does not know how to be good.” He was speaking, of course, about righteous anger that opposes evil. If we can stand by and do nothing while innocent,helpless people are mistreated and exploited, then something is wrong with us. “Anger is one of the sinews of the soul,” wrote Thomas Fuller. “He who lacks it has a maimed mind.”

     In Nahum 1:2, Nahum wrote that God was “furious” (“filled with wrath,” NIV); and in verse 6, he described God’s “indignation” as so fierce and powerful that it is “poured out like fire” with the power to “shatter” the rocks (NIV). However, verse 3 assures us that God’s wrath isn’t a fit of rage or a temper tantrum; for “the Lord is slow to anger” (see Jonah 4:2; Ex. 34:6; Num. 14:18).

     God is so powerful that if His anger were not a holy anger, and if He were not “slow to anger,” He could easily destroy everything. He controls the forces of nature (Nahum 1:3); He opened the Red Sea for the people of Israel to march through, and he can turn off the rain and make the most fruitful areas of the land languish (v. 4). (Lebanon on the north, Carmel on the east, and Bashan on the west were known for their fruitfulness. See Isaiah 2:13; 33:9; and 35:2.) At Sinai, He made the mountain shake (Ex. 19:18), and when He pleases, He can cause the people of the world to tremble (Heb. 12:18–21).

     The God that Nahum introduces to us is a jealous God who is angry at sin (Nahum 1:2), but He is also a good God who cares for His people (v.7). Nahum invites us (as Paul put it) to “consider the goodness and severity of God” (Rom. 11:22, NKJV). “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16), but He is also light (1:5), and His love is a holy love. He is a refuge for those who trust Him, but He is an “overwhelming flood” to those who are His enemies.

     God speaks to Nineveh (Nahum 1:9–11, 14). He informs the leaders of Assyria that He knows their plots (vv. 9, 11) and will cause all of their plans to fail. When the proud nations plot against God, He laughs at them and turns their schemes into confusion (Ps. 2:1–4). The Assyrians had plotted against Judah in the days of King Hezekiah, and God thwarted their plans (Isa. 36–37), but the Lord wouldn’t allow this to happen a second time. Instead of marching out triumphantly, the leaders would be like drunks entangled in thorn bushes, and stubble burned in a prairie fire (Nahum 1:10).

     The plotter mentioned in verse 11 is the king of Assyria, and God addresses him in verse 14, making three declarations: (1) his dynasty will end, because he will have no descendants; (2) the help of his gods and goddesses will end, because they will be destroyed; and (3) his life will end, because God will prepare his grave. What a solemn message for a man who was sure his plans would succeed! Why would God do all these things? The answer is plain: “You are vile!”

nbsp;    God speaks to Judah (Nahum 1:12–13, 15). Although the Assyrian army outnumbered the army of Judah, and Assyria had more allies to help them fight, that didn’t mean Assyria was bound to win, for God was fighting on behalf of Judah. Yes, the Lord had used Assyria to chasten Judah in the past, but that would not happen again. (Isaiah 10:5–18 explains that Assyria was God’s tool (“the rod of My anger”) to chasten Judah because of her idolatry, but the Assyrians had gone too far and been too ruthless. In his pride, the king of Assyria had boasted of his past victories, so the Lord announced that He would humble him. This God did when His angel destroyed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night (37:36–38; see 10:16).) This time, God would break the yoke and remove the shackles that Assyria had put on Judah, and Assyria would attack them no more.

     In ancient days, news was carried by couriers, and the watchmen on the walls scanned the horizon hoping that messengers would bring good news. In this case, it was good news indeed: the courier would announce that Nineveh was fallen and the Assyrian army defeated and in disarray (v. 15). (Nahum 1:15 in our English versions is 2:1 in the Hebrew text. What a contrast between the announcement of peace in 1:15 and the declaration of war in 2:1!) Judah could now live in peace and enjoy her annual feasts and regular religious festivals.

     You find this same statement in Isaiah 52:7, where the messenger announced the defeat of Babylon, and Paul quoted the verse in Romans 10:15 and applied it to the proclamation of the Gospel to lost sinners. We don’t usually think of feet as being beautiful, but they certainly are beautiful when they enable a messenger to carry good news that God has defeated our enemies. To Judah, it meant that Assyria was completely destroyed and could never again invade her land. To us who trust Christ, it means that He has completely defeated sin, death, and Satan, and that we are now free to enjoy the blessings of salvation.

W. W. Wiersbe, (1996) Be Amazed (Minor Prophets): Restoring an Attitude of Wonder and Worship (The BE Series Commentary)