Less flipping: 2 Kings 23:1-28, 2 Chronicles 34:20-35:19, Nahum
In the book of Nahum we see that the repentance of Ninevah, brought about by God's message delivered by Jonah, one of the most reluctant prophets of the Bible, was very short-lived. Nahum prophesies the ultimate destruction of the Ninevites but comforts Judah with a promise of restoration and hope.
The book of Nahum shows us that God will judge all sin with His holy wrath, and that He restores and protects His people.
Nahum prophesies the destruction of Ninevah, but he starts with God, with the character of God.
Mike Leake has a great sermon on Nahum here, and I strongly encourage you to read it if you have time as he goes into each of these points in detail. But Nahum 1:2-8 reveal that God is a jealous God, God is an avenging God and that God is a wrathful God. He is slow to anger and great in power. He is good and is a refuge in times of trouble.
We see in the Cross that the wrath of God is poured out. The wrath that should be mine and should be yours was poured out upon Jesus Christ. For every sin we commit is against an infinite King. Therefore our sin is infinite. It requires an infinite sacrifice. It must be atoned for. God’s wrath will come flooding against it. Oh, this is serious. We must not miss the seriousness and the extent of God’s wrath. We can catch a glimpse in Nahum. We read in Nahum 3:2-7 what the Lord will do. We see in 2:13 that He is utterly against them. All of us stand before God with that same judgment. All of us have whored after other lovers. We have not treasured God as He ought. And for His name’s sake He is going to punish sin.
If we can see that this is what happened on the Cross. It is a display of the ugliness of sin and the awesome might, power, and wrath of God. He poured out His wrath upon Jesus. His wrath to the full!
Can you see what that means for those of us who are in Christ? There is NO more of God’s wrath to be poured out! It has been poured out upon Jesus Christ. That means that His wrath will not come against your sin. Every ounce of sin you have committed and ever will commit is covered by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Oh, what precious blood it is. It covers it. That is what the word atone means. Covers. And because the sacrifice of Christ is infinite and infinitely precious it covers it completely—forever.
And now God has restored us in such a way and will continue to restore us in such a way that we might forever enjoy Him and treasure Him and rejoice before Him as we ought. Oh, He has given us the greatest gift of all—the gift of Himself. Oh what grace. The Cross is a display of the wrath of God and it is also a display of His love.
Tomorrow's passage: Book of Habakkuk, Zephaniah 1-2:7
2 comments:
I really liked this BlueLetterBible commentary on Nahum. A very interesting look at the history, the fulfillment of Nahum's prophecy, how this was actually a message of hope for Judah, and the various aspects of the wrath of God.
The "slow to anger" phrase stood out for me. When I think about what God must have been thinking, I would assume that His anger would be immediate. As a parent, I don't think I am modelling "slow to anger" I am more of a "0-60" kind of angry. It encourages me to be more "slow to anger" because in the grand scheme of things I am pretty sure God has more to be angry about with me than I do with my kids :)
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