The Minor Prophets, Revealing the Heart of God July 26, 2015 Part VII – Nahum: The Wrath of God Nahum 1:1-8; 14-15

Have you ever been so embarrassed or humiliated that you wanted to crawl into a hole? You may have tripped in front of someone you like; you may have spilled grape juice on your clothes right before an important speech; or you may have found that you have no money when you try to pay for something. Throughout our lives we want to build beautiful and successful stories, but some embarrassing moments just come to us without our intention. I think as we get older we experience more embarrassments. Whether we like it or not, embarrassment is a part of our life stories. Sometimes we try to ignore or hide the stories. We learn to cope with our embarrassments. However, what if there is no way to recover from an embarrassment? What if humiliation is all we get at the end of life? That is what we can see in the book of Nahum. “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” (3:5). The Almighty God declared that the people in Nineveh would disappear in shame. What did they do to earn such shame? Why was God so angry toward the people in Nineveh? Let’s read our text this morning to find out so that we may not be like the people of Nineveh in shame. [Read Nahum 1:1-8; 14-15]

Have you heard any sermons from Nahum? Have you done any Bible studies about Nahum? Probably not many even if you have. The book of Nahum is not very popular. That is why sometimes it is hard to find where this book is in the Bible. I haven’t preached from the book of Nahum yet, not only because of its style, but because its context is difficult to preach. As we just read, the book is about the destruction of Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria. As you hear the city of Nineveh, another prophet might come to your mind. Yes, Jonah prophesied about Nineveh. What Jonah said was the message of restoration, but now Nahum speaks about the wrath of God. So what happened from Jonah to Nahum? What caused God to bring his judgment against the people of Nineveh?

It had been about 120 years since Jonah called Nineveh to repent. With Jonah’s message, the people of Nineveh repented, and God demonstrated his great compassion by not judging the city. During the same period of time, the Israelites were sinning against God, and God used the nation of Assyria with its capital city in Nineveh to discipline Israel. Now about four generations later, Nahum is prophesying the destruction of the city. Interestingly, there was no hint of the downfall of the city at that time. In fact, Assyria was very prosperous. It was the peak of their military power. They had already destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel (722BC) and were threatening the Southern Kingdom. However, their prosperity became one of the causes of their fall. The Assyrians forgot what they had experienced with Jonah about 4 generations ago, and more importantly they forgot who God is. With their prosperity they ignored God’s mercy and consequently became proud before God. They also became cruel to people, especially to God’s people. God used the Assyrians in his sovereign plan, but now they were sinning against the sovereignty of God. It began with their prosperity.

This is the message for us, too, because when we are blessed, when we are prosperous, we don’t normally seek God anymore. We may say we are not evil like the people in Nineveh. We may say our country is built in Christian faith, but looking at every day news I am not sure our country is still a Christian country. I am not sure if we have more faith than our ancestors. If we

1 follow the pattern of Nineveh, the judgment of Nahum may be for us, too. So what shall we do? After experiencing God’s grace and mercy, how are we supposed to live in God’s sovereignty?

Sovereignty means everything is in God’s control. God is in control over all things in the universe. But does controlling mean interfering with everything in our daily life? A couple of days ago, I was walking around my house and fell on the ground. No reason. I even got a bruise. Was my fall God’s intention? How do we understand God’s control over our lives? The best way to understand God’s sovereignty is to look at it in his time. In other words, in God’s sovereignty, we believe there is a time for everything. As King Solomon described, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4). Believing in God’s sovereignty means confessing that we have no control over time. Therefore, we cannot be proud of whatever we have at this moment. Assyria was the strongest nation at that time, but it came to an end. Babylonia became the next power but it was destroyed, too. The United States of America, I hope, will be the strongest nation forever to bring peace in the world, but there will be a time for this nation, too. When Jesus comes back, everything in this world will disappear except for the kingdom of God. But before the Last Day, if we ignore God’s grace and mercy that he showed us before and if we continue to see more blood in the city, the end of this nation may come much sooner than we think.

This is the same for individual life. We are blessed; we have our children and grandchildren baptized and we think we have done enough, but not at all. Our faith should grow as we get older. Our family should become more faithful as each new generation comes. So if we are not growing in our faith, something must be wrong with us. If children are not faithful like their parents, there may be something wrong in the family. I know not all the parents should be blamed for children’s faith because faith is personal, but if we see some pattern of Nineveh in our family and community, maybe it is time for us to repent. Maybe it is time for us rend/tear our hearts (referencing Joel 2:13). “God is slow to anger and great in power,” but he cannot tolerate sin. Before judgment comes in his time, we need to kneel down before God – cry out to God for this nation, fast and pray for our next generation. If we believe in God’s sovereignty that the time of judgment is coming, we should pray for those who need his mercy today.

As we believe God’s sovereignty over time, we also believe God’s sovereignty over our possessions. My family, my spouse, my children, and even my life are not my own, but they are given by God. Assyria became proud because they ignored God’s mercy. With their pride, they became cruel to other people. Chapter 3 opens with the curse, “Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims!” (3:1) As some Assyrian kings (Shalmaneser II, Sennacherib, Ashurbanipal) boasted with their victories, they built a pyramid with heads; they burnt pregnant women; they speared “heaps of men” on stakes; they stripped off the skins and covered the city wall with those skins. 1 Nineveh was the capital of one of the cruelest, vilest, and most powerful empires in the world. No wonder why the almighty God was against them.

1 Johnson, E. E. (1985). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (p. 1494). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

2 In Gods’ sovereignty, we believe everything belongs to God; what we have is not ours. So we cannot be proud of what we possess. Instead, we become humble and try to help others with our possessions. Do you think you have enough? Do you think you have power and authority? Then be careful. It is the time to be humble before God. Otherwise, we may say “I don’t need God. I am better than others.” On the other hand, if you feel you don’t have enough, don’t be discouraged yet because one day God will provide for what you need. This is how we Christians are different from the rest of the world. When we have more, we kneel down more. When we have less, we praise more because everything belongs to God.

We looked at the two sins of Nineveh – pride against God and cruelty toward people. We are not exempted from those sins, but as we trust in God’s sovereignty, we become humble and gentle.

The message of Nahum is kind of depressing because it is mostly about the wrath of God. But there is still a message of hope. “The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him” (1:7). It is the hope for those who trust in his sovereignty. When Jesus comes back, those who rebel against God’s sovereignty will be eternally humiliated, but those who obey his commands will be eternally restored. It is the good news for Christ-followers, but it is God’s warning for those who don’t believe in Jesus.

Have you experienced God’s mercy for your sins? Have you experienced God’s grace for your salvation? If you have, what are you doing for those people who are living like in Nineveh? What do you do for your children and grandchildren who are following the pattern of Nineveh? They may have experienced the sins of Nineveh – pride and cruelty, but have they heard the good news yet? “How can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:15)

Do you have beautiful feet? I trust you do. You are the one who brings the good news of Jesus Christ. You are the one who proclaims the peace of Jesus Christ. Until Jesus comes again, here we are celebrating his grace and mercy together, and when we dismiss from this place, we spread the good news to all people. People are waiting for you. Let’s go with the good news of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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