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Christ was God, the express image of His person. It is the shield of the mighty which we see is covered with blood. “I am” is God. “I am thy shield” is the Word of God seen by Abraham. But John says the Word was God. Nahum says, “The shield of his mighty men is made red.” This is our shield. In the day of the wrath of God against sin we are guarded by the red shield, which is the blood of Christ. “I am thy shield,” is the word of God to all His mighty men of faith. But Nahum sees it as the shield of blood. We are guarded therefore by the shield of blood from the wrath of God against sin. Furthermore, Nahum adds, “The valiant men are in scarlet.” This is the preparation God had in mind for us. In the day of the Cross of Christ the shield of God was made red, because for us they spilled His blood. Let us therefore be valiant, for we are covered by the blood of our Lord Jesus. The shield of the mighty is red, and the valiant are in scarlet. How do we know? We are taught by the Spirit. “The chariots,” says Nahum, “shall be with flaming torches.” We are set as lights in this world; we are pictured as the mighty, the valiant, the charioteers with the flaming torches, even as we saw the tongues of fire descend on them at Pentecost. Without the flaming torches we cannot manage the chariots. Unless we stand covered by the blood of Christ we dare not be among the valiant. Until we are covered by the red shield we are not found among the mighty. But when we are behind that shield, clothed in scarlet, with the chariot of Israel and horsemen thereof, we are set on fire for God, we are set to shine as lights in the world, we are imbued with His Spirit to be among the valiant, to take our place with the mighty men of God in this world now. And let us never forget, “I am” also “thy exceeding great reward.” All of our reward is bound up in Him who is our shield and our covering. It is His chariot we drive, with His horsemen, with His lamp as our light of life here.
“And the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.” It is the rushing mighty wind which shakes the fir trees. Our Lord said, “Take up the cross and follow Me.” We started with the one Tree, the Cross of Christ. But after the Resurrection of Christ the message of the Cross is carried by every believer into all the world. The one Tree bore fruit, and, carried by the wind, its seed became a forest of trees. With the rushing mighty wind behind them the disciples are spilled out into the streets of Jerusalem. They are terribly shaken. The Cross is not a message of upper room but a message of the streets of a city. That is where we are meant to be. If we are alive with the power of God, vibrant with the baptism of fire, our tongues are affected first in the upper room. But if we are shaken out we must appear thereafter on the streets of our city. Men do not come to church to mock us to say we are drunken. We are to carry the message of the Cross out to them if we would suffer its reproach. We too need a day of preparation. Then we too need to be terribly shaken. We need to be shaken out of our complacency. The souls of men are being lost. We need to be shaken out of the comfortable way of life we have carved for ourselves. We need to be shaken out of our religious rut. We are the people of the Cross, but we are tall and proud. Sometimes we prefer to grow out of the rock in lonely isolation. Let us pray that the rushing mighty wind might come our way. We will be terribly shaken, but if we are not, how can we follow our Lord? His was first the dreadful day of preparation. His was first the shield of blood, the scarlet covering, the chariot of fire. For us He went all the way, and rose triumphant from the dead. Who is mightier than He, or who more valiant? Can our day be worse than His day? Can our cross exceed His Cross? “And the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.” There is no tree on earth to compare with the Tree on which our Saviour died.
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Nahum Chapter Two Part 4 of 9
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Christ was God, the express image of His person. It is the shield of the mighty which we see is covered with blood. “I am” is God. “I am thy shield” is the Word of God seen by Abraham. But John says the Word was God. Nahum says, “The shield of his mighty men is made red.” This is our shield. In the day of the wrath of God against sin we are guarded by the red shield, which is the blood of Christ. “I am thy shield,” is the word of God to all His mighty men of faith. But Nahum sees it as the shield of blood. We are guarded therefore by the shield of blood from the wrath of God against sin. Furthermore, Nahum adds, “The valiant men are in scarlet.” This is the preparation God had in mind for us. In the day of the Cross of Christ the shield of God was made red, because for us they spilled His blood. Let us therefore be valiant, for we are covered by the blood of our Lord Jesus. The shield of the mighty is red, and the valiant are in scarlet. How do we know? We are taught by the Spirit. “The chariots,” says Nahum, “shall be with flaming torches.” We are set as lights in this world; we are pictured as the mighty, the valiant, the charioteers with the flaming torches, even as we saw the tongues of fire descend on them at Pentecost. Without the flaming torches we cannot manage the chariots. Unless we stand covered by the blood of Christ we dare not be among the valiant. Until we are covered by the red shield we are not found among the mighty. But when we are behind that shield, clothed in scarlet, with the chariot of Israel and horsemen thereof, we are set on fire for God, we are set to shine as lights in the world, we are imbued with His Spirit to be among the valiant, to take our place with the mighty men of God in this world now. And let us never forget, “I am” also “thy exceeding great reward.” All of our reward is bound up in Him who is our shield and our covering. It is His chariot we drive, with His horsemen, with His lamp as our light of life here.
“And the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.” It is the rushing mighty wind which shakes the fir trees. Our Lord said, “Take up the cross and follow Me.” We started with the one Tree, the Cross of Christ. But after the Resurrection of Christ the message of the Cross is carried by every believer into all the world. The one Tree bore fruit, and, carried by the wind, its seed became a forest of trees. With the rushing mighty wind behind them the disciples are spilled out into the streets of Jerusalem. They are terribly shaken. The Cross is not a message of upper room but a message of the streets of a city. That is where we are meant to be. If we are alive with the power of God, vibrant with the baptism of fire, our tongues are affected first in the upper room. But if we are shaken out we must appear thereafter on the streets of our city. Men do not come to church to mock us to say we are drunken. We are to carry the message of the Cross out to them if we would suffer its reproach. We too need a day of preparation. Then we too need to be terribly shaken. We need to be shaken out of our complacency. The souls of men are being lost. We need to be shaken out of the comfortable way of life we have carved for ourselves. We need to be shaken out of our religious rut. We are the people of the Cross, but we are tall and proud. Sometimes we prefer to grow out of the rock in lonely isolation. Let us pray that the rushing mighty wind might come our way. We will be terribly shaken, but if we are not, how can we follow our Lord? His was first the dreadful day of preparation. His was first the shield of blood, the scarlet covering, the chariot of fire. For us He went all the way, and rose triumphant from the dead. Who is mightier than He, or who more valiant? Can our day be worse than His day? Can our cross exceed His Cross? “And the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.” There is no tree on earth to compare with the Tree on which our Saviour died.
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