Nahum
Major Messages From the Minor Prophets • Sermon • Submitted
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· 9 viewsLooking at the positive characteristics of God hidden in the book of Nahum
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Today marks the halfway point in our series Major messages From the Minor Prophets as we prepare to take a look at book number 6 of the 12
And of course because we are doing this series in chronological order instead of in the order these books appear in your Bible that means that today we are looking at the book of Nahum
Now I have a confession to make to you, this series has actually been much more difficult to prepare and preach than I had first expected it to be
The reason that I am finding it more difficult than first expected is because a) a lot of the time the messages shared by these prophets were very similar to one another making it hard to keep a fresh message every Sunday, something that I believe is important to do
And b) the vast majority of the messages brought forth by these men were full of doom and gloom and warnings of God’s wrath
Let me give you an example from this weeks text,
Woe to the city of blood,
full of lies,
full of plunder,
never without victims!
The crack of whips,
the clatter of wheels,
galloping horses
and jolting chariots!
Charging cavalry,
flashing swords
and glittering spears!
Many casualties,
piles of dead,
bodies without number,
people stumbling over the corpses—
all because of the wanton lust of a prostitute,
alluring, the mistress of sorceries,
who enslaved nations by her prostitution
and peoples by her witchcraft.
“I am against you,” declares the Lord Almighty.
“I will lift your skirts over your face.
I will show the nations your nakedness
and the kingdoms your shame.
I will pelt you with filth,
I will treat you with contempt
and make you a spectacle.
Now I do believe that there is a time and a place for such preaching, I don’t think that it’s healthy to do so week after week for 3 months on end
And to be completely honest, knowing the congregation that I am preaching to, you don’t need that type of preaching week after week, it would probably do more harm than good
Preaching should also include building up and encouraging
And so as I approach each of these minor prophets I try to see how I can take what is predominantly a difficult message and put a positive spin on it while still being true to the text
As I studied today’s text this was turning out to be extra difficult and then the Holy Spirit gently whispered to me, ‘Read between the lines.’ and in just a few moments I will show you what I believe He meant
But first some background
Like many of the minor prophets not a lot is known about Nahum, in fact even the location of the city he was from is disputed by historians
What we do know is that his message was directed against Nineveh
You may remember Nineveh from our first prophet in this series, Jonah
Jonah was sent to Nineveh by God but tried to run in the opposite direct, eventually God got him to Nineveh where, much to his dismay the people heeded his message and repented and were spared by God
Now fast forward around a hundred years and not only has Nineveh fallen into its old ways, it is far worse than it has ever been before
According to historians it was known throughout the world at that time as the “City of blood” where the more cruel the act and disgusting the better
They would often decapitate their enemies and build a pyramid with the heads outside of the city gate
In chapter 3:9 God says of them, “For who has not felt your endless cruelty”
Now despite the fact that the message of Nahum is clearly spoken about Nineveh, unlike Jonah, Nahum never went to that city to preach it
Instead Nahum preached his message to the southern kingdom of Judah
So why preach to Judah if you are preaching about Nineveh?
Once again I think the answer is to read between the lines and you will find that although he may be preaching about the judgement and destruction of Nineveh, Nahum is actually speaking a message to the people of Judah
A message that they desperately needed to hear and so do we
You see Nineveh which was a city of the Assyrians was a pain to every nation around them including the 2 kingdoms of Israel and Judah
This is what happened in 722 B.C.
2 Kings 17:1-
In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him.
Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up to attack Hoshea, who had been Shalmaneser’s vassal and had paid him tribute. But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was a traitor, for he had sent envoys to So king of Egypt, and he no longer paid tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore Shalmaneser seized him and put him in prison. The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria and laid siege to it for three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.
From their strongholds in the northern kingdom the Assyrians would send raiding parties into Judah who would pillage and kill at will so you can imagine that the citizens of Judah hated the Assyrians but were powerless to do anything about it
It is now around 650 B.C. when Nahum steps up and gives the following message in what we have broken into 3 chapters
Chapter 1 is the WHAT of God’s judgement against Nineveh
Chapter 2 is the HOW of God’s judgement against Nineveh
Chapter 3 is the WHY of God’s judgement against Nineveh
But as I said earlier let’s read between the lines of what Nahum said and we will find a fantastic message about God’s character that ought to inspire and encourage any of us, no matter the hardships and difficulties that we might be facing
I actually have 12 points to get through today so I am going to be very brief on each point and then move on to the next one so that we can cover them all
So let’s look at 12 characteristics of God hidden in the message of Nahum
In verse 2 Nahum tells us that God is our AVENGER, that it is He who will repay those who have done wrong, including those who have done wrong to His people
The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance on his foes
and vents his wrath against his enemies.
Listen to what Paul says about this to the Christians in Rome who were under severe persecution from almost every side
“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.”
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:
Secondly in the very next verse of our text Nahum reveals 2 more characteristics of God,
The Lord is slow to anger but great in power;
the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.
His way is in the whirlwind and the storm,
and clouds are the dust of his feet.
It’s almost as if Nahum wants us to realize that God’s punishment on the wicked is not delayed because He is powerless to do anything about it but rather that God is 2) patient and 3) powerful
And who among us should not be grateful that God is patient when it comes to His wrath, for who here would not have experienced His wrath by now?
Peter contextualizes it for us in the modern day this way,
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
2 Peter 3:9-10
God is indeed patient but don’t be fooled into mistaking that patience for His approval of your sin because He is able and will eradicate all sin when His time is right
Now we move on to verse 4 for the next characteristic
He rebukes the sea and dries it up;
he makes all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and Carmel wither
and the blossoms of Lebanon fade.
Our 4th characteristic is that God is in Control
When the unthinkable happens in our lives our first thought tends to be, “Where is God?” and the answer is simple, “God is on His throne and in control even if you can’t see it!”
Who can speak and have it happen
if the Lord has not decreed it?
Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
that both calamities and good things come?
Lamentations 3:37-38
“ ‘The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people.’
We’re 1/3rd of the way there so let’s keep moving, next we move to verse 7 where Nahum fits in 3 important characteristics of God
The Lord is good,
a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him,
#5 God is good!
Psalm
Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
He’s good, there’s no flaw in Him or in His ways and His desire is for us to follow those ways and we will find that they always produce good results!
#6 He is a refuge when there’s trouble
When we need it He is a stronghold, a solid place, a fortress where we can stay and be safe
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Psalm 46:1-
No matter what happens it cannot shake the Lord and in Him we are safe and secure
#7 is kind of different because on the surface it seems to speak of the providence of God as it pertains to how He looks after our needs
He takes care of us and that is in and of itself a great thing
But the word for “cares for” is the Hebrew word “Yaw-dah” which is perhaps better translated by the KJV when it says
(KJV 1900)
7 The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble;
And he knoweth them that trust in him.
The word talks about “making oneself intimately known, not just relationally, but experientially
Now we may be used to hearing this today but can you imagine the incredible reaction this would have garnered from Nahum’s original audience
To know and experience the Lord God almighty on an intimate and personal level is not something we should ever get used to or take for granted
Characteristic # 8 is found in verse 9
Whatever they plot against the Lord
he will bring to an end;
trouble will not come a second time.
Don’t allow the current state of things to fool you, God IS and WILL BE the ultimate victor
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Colossians 2:9-
Oh could I preach on that for the next hour but we still have 4 more hidden characteristics to look for and the next one is in verse 13
Now I will break their yoke from your neck
and tear your shackles away.”
This was spoken to Judah not Nineveh and it shows us that #9 God sets us free!
I was raised on the music of the gospel quartets with groups like Nations and I still have some of their albums which I listen to from time to time
And on their live album the tenor singer, Dan Tomen Jr. is introducing a song and he refers to God as “the setter freer” and that term has always stuck with me since my childhood
That’s why I love to sing that song “I Am Free” because He is the setter freer no matter what it is you are in bondage or captivity to, He is the setter freer
Likewise characteristic #10 is that He gives peace
Look, there on the mountains,
the feet of one who brings good news,
who proclaims peace!
Celebrate your festivals, Judah,
and fulfill your vows.
No more will the wicked invade you;
they will be completely destroyed.
Life is more hectic and stressful and worrisome than it has ever before
And just a couple of weeks ago we had our own experience with terrorism as 2 young lives were snuffed out while eating supper at restaurants on a street in Toronto
How do you find peace when the world is coming apart at the seems
Simple it can only be found in one place, in one person, in Jesus Christ
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
We also find our 11th characteristic at the end of that same verse as God promise to protect His people, “Celebrate your festivals, O Judah, and fulfill your vows. No more will the wicked invade you; they will be completely destroyed.”
and fulfill your vows.
No more will the wicked invade you;
they will be completely destroyed.”
Of course this speaks of the day when God will put all things under His rule but even in the meantime we can count on His protection
But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.
Okay now for our 12th and final characteristic and for this one we have to go to chapter 2:2
The Lord will restore the splendor of Jacob
like the splendor of Israel,
though destroyers have laid them waste
and have ruined their vines.
He is the God who restores
Make no mistake that enemy kills, steals, and destroys as tells us and he is very good at his job and I am certain that at some point he has done that to you and if not he will
But we can rest in the assurance that God is still that God that restores and no matter the enemy has taken from you God can and will restore it to you if you will look to Him to do so
In the 51st Psalm David confesses his sins to God and cries out for forgiveness and mercy and then in verse 12 asks this
Psalm 51:12
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
What is it you are missing? What has God’s Word promised you that you no longer have? What has the enemy stolen from you?
Like David confess your sin to God, trust in His forgiveness and mercy and ask Him to restore that which is missing
So there you have it, the book of Nahum, a book of judgement and wrath but when you read between the lines it is a book of hope and encouragement revealing a God who we can call upon rely upon
Let’s Pray
I Am Free