April 3, 2016 Welcome Brothers and Sisters.

Nahum 1: 9-15 “Behold on the Mountains”

Examine: The name Nahum, or “comfort,” is a strange name for this book, because the book of Nahum is a book of judgment. It is a book of harsh pronouncements of doom against a people who had abandoned the ways of God. As you know sequels are a continuation of a story. Nahum is sort of “Jonah: The Sequel.” Jonah is the story of a disobedient prophet who refused to follow God’s call to preach to Nineveh. He boarded a ship headed in the opposite direction; was thrown overboard because he had caused a great storm; was swallowed by a great fish; then was thrown up on dry ground and given a second chance to go to Nineveh. He eventually went to Nineveh, but he still didn’t want to deliver God’s message of repentance.

Why the reluctance? Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, the mortal enemy of Israel. Nineveh was a wicked city, the epitome of everything Jonah hated in the gentile world. It was a synonym for godless tyranny. Ninevites had a reputation for cruelty that is hard to fathom in our day. Their specialty was brutality of a gross and disgusting kind. When their armies captured a city or a country, the soldiers would perform unspeakable atrocities- Skinning people alive, decapitation, mutilation, ripping out tongues, making pyramids of human heads, piercing the chin with a rope, and forcing prisoners to live in kennels like dogs. Everyone feared and hated the Assyrians. Eventually Jonah preached God’s message and Nineveh repented. God spared them from His judgment for now.

Some 100 to 150 years passed and they returned once again to their legacy of oppression and brutality. Their cruelty increased to slavery and torture. The Assyrians attacked and destroyed Israel and then invaded Judah and overran all the outlying towns and laid siege to Jerusalem. Explain: In those days of trouble God sent Nahum with a divine message of judgment for Nineveh. His words provide us with great understanding of God’s judgment. 1) The man: Judgment for one can mean comfort to others. Nahum means “comfort.” God was going to judge a evil nation but bring comfort to Judah. 2) The message: God’s power will punish wrong. The Assyrians had returned to their wickedness and evil ways. God rules!

The summation of Nahum’s message: Beware, I am against you. This is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts. “I will make your chariots go up in smoke and the sword will devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the sound of your messengers will never be heard again” (Nahum 2:13). 3) The Meaning: The God of love is also the God of judgment. The idea of judgment does not fit with the picture we want of a loving God. Some how that idea does not mesh with the goodness of God. But the fact is that God brings judgment as a part of His goodness. God must punish the evil doer, “His judgment is an inevitable expression of His goodness on behalf of the victims of evil.

4) The Meaning: The God of salvation is also the God of judgment. Most of us are not comfortable with God’s role as the judge. We prefer the meek and mild Savior. We want love and forgiveness, but not the accountability and judgment. In the Bible, we have a clear picture that Jesus, the One who was slain for our sins, will be the One executing judgment on our sin. God, in the person of Jesus Christ, is the only One qualified to be both Savior and Judge. (Assyrians were destroyed in 612. BC by Babylonians) Experience: As we look at this text and see the judgment of God coming upon the Assyrians, we also need to know and understand the reasons why. Yes, one is that a good God will deal with evil in the world and punish the veil doer. But, another point to notice that God will judge evil to protect His people. At this time Judah were still His to protect.

1) Judah had Heavenly Assurance: (Verses 2-6) Nahum says clearly, “The Lord is good.” The word “good” means, “pleasant, agreeable, rich, valuable.” 2) Judah had Heavenly Assistance: Nahum reminds the embattled people of God that God is “a stronghold in the day of trouble.” the word “stronghold” means, “a place of safety, protection and refuge; a safe harbor in the storm.” 3) Judah had Heavenly Acquaintance: We are told that. “He knoweth them that trust Him.” The word “knoweth” means “to know intimately; to know by experience.” The word “trust” means, “to flee for protection; to trust God.”

Points for us: Church when the Bible says, “God is jealous,” (1:2) that does not imply that God is guilty of sin. God is no afraid of losing us. God is not afraid that someone will take us away thru evil. We are His and no one can ever change that. What it means, is that God views us as a precious possession, I Peter 2:9. It means He places Himself between us and those persons or events that would harm us. Judah was His and God acted for them. He does for us as His children today also. We also have: Heavenly Assurance, Heavenly Assistance, Heavenly Acquaintance. Regardless of the realm of life: finances, government, people, pain, problems, sickness, or even death, “The Lord is good!” We are living in hard times, but “The Lord is good!” In fact, He is good to all people, in all places, in all situations, and at all times.

In spite of how things look, feel, or appear, “The Lord is good!” That is the assurance we have in all situations, circumstances, and conditions of life. One last point to make is this, What you sow you shall reap! God will not allow rampant and unrestrained wickedness to prosper and increase indefinitely. Even though God is good and “a stronghold in the day of trouble” (Nahum 1:7), He will act against those who reject Him and will refuse to respond to His warning messages (1:6-10). It is inappropriate and unfair to expect God’s continual blessings while showing stubborn unwillingness to acknowledge Him in the way we govern ourselves and conduct our daily lives. So today as His children, trust in Him for protection and take warning from Nineveh.