The Judgment of God

Nahum 2:13 ~ "Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard."

In today's text, we step ahead one hundred years from the days of Jonah and we find ourselves back in Nineveh. Two generations has passed between the time when the former prophet proclaimed God's judgment. At that time the city repented and God spared them from His wrath.

It only takes a moment to remember what the king of Nineveh proclaimed to the entire city during the days of Jonah, "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish" (Jonah 3:7-9). 

However, things have changed. The city went forward without remembering the warning from the LORD. There is no indication that the repentant generation spoke to the next concerning the mercy of God and their deliverance from His wrath. And in two generations, the city had returned to their wickedness. If they had told the next generation of the proclamation of Jonah, it was certain that the subsequent generations did not listen to or believe the warnings. The city turned back to their evil as if they decided that God was unaware of their sin. They are as the psalmist described in Psalm 94:7, "And they say, 'The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.'"

How often is it that, after the warning from the LORD, a people return to their sins? There is a tendency to think that because immediate judgment does not fall upon this sinful world that God does not actually care much about sin. But the truth is, God is patient with this fallen world, but the day of wrath will come. And Nineveh learned this the hard way.

Could there be any graver statement than the LORD proclaiming, "I am against you?" That is the most dreadful, horrifying message a people could hear. We love the statement of Romans 8:31, "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" But who can be for us if God is against us? If the LORD has determined judgment against a people, there is none who can rescue out of the hand of God. Hebrews 2:2-3 testifies, "For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?"

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, but there is no promised blessing for a nation that forsakes Him. Though our land may be as in the days of Nahum, yet let us hear the warning of our Lord Jesus Christ and do as He commands, repenting of our sins and turning to Him for salvation. He is a tender and merciful Savior who will not forsake any who come to Him in humble surrender. For even in the midst of a wicked and fallen land God speaks to His people words of hope, "Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace! Keep your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows, for never again shall the worthless pass through you; he is utterly cut off" (Nahum 1:15).

Let us go to Him who is the Prince of Peace and the One who, by His sacrifice, gives good news to all who believe. And, while we have time, let us make sure the generations to come hear the warning of God to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

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