Ensure That Your Bad News Is Not Good News

Nahum 3:19
Nothing can heal you;
your wound is fatal.
All who hear the news about you
clap their hands at your fall,
for who has not felt
your endless cruelty?

New Living Translation
There is no healing for your wound; your injury is fatal. All who hear of your destruction will clap their hands for joy. Where can anyone be found who has not suffered from your continual cruelty?

Amplified Bible
There is no relief and healing for your hurt; Your wound is incurable. All who hear the news about you Clap their hands over [what has happened to] you. For on whom has your [unceasing] evil not come continually?

Contemporary English Version
You’re fatally wounded. There’s no hope for you. But everyone claps when they hear this news, because your constant cruelty has caused them pain.

Jonah and Nahum were prophets sent to Nineveh. Jonah preached and they repented and God forgave the sins of Nineveh. Unfortunately, the people of Nineveh went back to their sins. The sins of Nineveh were many and it included wanton gruesome murder of their victims. God did everything to dissuade Nineveh from its evil path to no avail.

God sends Nahum to announce that God is fed up and it’s over for them. Nahum comes to announce to Nineveh that this time they will pay for their sins. Through Nahum God narrates all the evil they have done, as evidence against them. God tells Nineveh that this time, it’s over. God will not allow Nineveh to have any more victims.

Our text today is the last verse of the book of Nahum. The final words of prophet Nahum to Nineveh. Nahum tells Nineveh that there is no hope for that nation. Whatever hope was there has been squandered in a careless attitude towards the things of God.

Genesis 6:3
Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

Revelation 22:11
Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”

A time comes when God stops the back and forth with human beings. Where God pleads with people to repent, they repent briefly then go back to sin. God pleads again and they repent briefly again before going back to sin again. A time comes when God says it’s over its enough. We should be careful not to get there. We should listen to God and make up our minds to forever belong to God. Nineveh got to a point where there was no room for them to repent and turn back. Nahum tells Nineveh that there is no hope for them!

The message that captures our attention today is that everyone will clap and rejoice at the downfall of Nineveh. God says that people will rejoice and clap because Nineveh has been ruthless and merciless to everyone. Everyone has felt the cruelty of Nineveh. Everyone will cheer as Nineveh goes down.

The bad news of Nineveh’s downfall will be good news to all people. People have suffered under the heavy hand of Nineveh. Some behaved like supporters of Nineveh in order to survive the reign of terror, but now they are freed and they rejoice as Nineveh dies. Nineveh lived so bad a life that its bad news became good news to the whole world.

May God save us from living like Nineveh. May God save us from living such bad lives that when terrible things happen to us, the world rejoices. We should be sensitive about how we treat people around us and under us so that our bad news is not their good news. Nineveh was so bad that its downfall was the best news to the world. Ensure that your bad news is not good news!

Think of your life in the family with your spouse and children. Think of your life with your parents and siblings. Think of your life with relatives. Think of your life with neighbors. Think of your life with business partners. Think of your life with workmates, juniors, and seniors. Ensure that you live your life so that your bad news will not be celebrated as good news!

If you are a thief or murderer terrorizing a community, wouldn’t your bad news be good news to the community? If you are high-handed and ruthless and have left everyone in fear of you and quiet, won’t those same people celebrate your bad news? If you have caused anyone to shed tears because of malicious and unfair treatment, won’t such persons consider your bad news to be good news? God tells Nineveh that everyone will clap and rejoice as Nineveh comes down because all have felt the mistreatment by Nineveh. Ensure that your bad news is not everyone’s good news!

Take note that it is not the victims of Nineveh that will bring Nineveh down, no! It is God who in His act of Justice will bring Nineveh down. The victims of Nineveh will rejoice at what God has done to Nineveh. May God save us from Nineveh. May God save us from being Nineveh. May we live so well that our bad news will not be good news to anyone, in Jesus’ name, Amen!

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