Some people can look back on their family tree and see several, perhaps many, good, strong, godly ancestors there. They might be tempted to think that with a godly lineage, they were spiritually safe and secure. Perhaps there had been a great spiritual revival in the not too distant past in the area you live in. However, that doesn’t last into the next generation. Each generation must dig their own spiritual well. As we look into the Prophet Nahum’s message today, we’ll see God’s Word to the great city of Nineveh.
Nahum is a small book in the Old Testament that is often overlooked, but today we will take a quick look into it. He preached his message from the Lord during the 7th century BC, between 663 - 642 BC. Nineveh was a very large city, and the capital of the kingdom of Assyria. A little over a hundred years earlier the prophet Jonah had been sent by God to preach there, and a great revival had broken out. Nearly all of the city had turned to and accepted Yahweh as their God and Savior. However, once that generation had passed, the people had returned to their pagan gods and wicked, evil ways. Not that long before Nahum, the Assyrians had conquered the northern Kingdom of Israel, and now they were threatening the southern Kingdom of Judah.
As Nahum preaches, God is not happy with the Ninevites and the people of Assyria. The faith that the Ninevites accepted with Jonah was not passed down to their children or grandchildren, and at this time with Nahum, about a hundred years later, His anger has been aroused. Yahweh is omnipotent. He is a holy and jealous God, who will punish the wicked and avenge His own. Though the Assyrians are threatening the southern Kingdom of Judah, He will not let them conquer them. In a very short while, the Kingdom of Assyria would topple, as the Babylonians rise to prominence. Nineveh had forgotten their repentance and revival under Jonah. Now the prophet Nahum prophesied that the Babylonians would so utterly destroy Nineveh that no trace of it would remain. The exact location of this once great city would remain unknown for 2,500 years. It is guessed to be near the modern day city of Mosul in Iraq.
Just as a spouse is jealous when their partner will flirt or cheat on them, breaking their vows, so God is when His people forsake Him for other gods. Throughout Scripture this is portrayed as spiritual adultery. God punished the northern Kingdom of Israel through the conquest by the Assyrians. Later He would do the same with Judah by the Babylonians. This is not a sin that God takes lightly, even today. God is jealous of our love (vs. 2). He chose us, and bought us with His Blood. He does not want us giving our love to pagan gods or worldliness. It is just and right for God to insist on our complete allegiance, and for Him to punish unrepentant evildoers.
God is not quick to anger (vs. 3). He is long-suffering. It took many years following the short-lived revival of Nineveh before He would topple to Assyrian kingdom. Although patient, God’s justice will eventually punish the wicked. God is slow to anger, but when it comes, even the earth trembles. Nature is the theater in which God’s power and majesty is often showcased (vs. 3-5). God gives His true followers time to share His love and truth to the wicked (II Peter 3:9). However, we need to be warned that judgment will come. He will not allow sin to go unchecked forever.
Over the centuries there have been many kingdoms and empires, along with powerful rulers, who have conquered large areas of the world, but all have fallen after awhile. No person or nation can defy God (vs. 6). All people and nations rise and fall, yet God is omnipotent and eternal. Those who have accepted the Lord Jesus as their Savior will find God a compassionate Father. He is a fortress against every attack of the enemy to those who put their hope in Him (vs. 7). He is good, and a stronghold in the day of distress. God knows those who take refuge in Him.
In closing, we need to remember that a faith that those in our past once had will do us no good if we, too, do not share that faith. Just because God had mercy on the Ninevites when they repented, doesn’t mean He would overlook their sins now. It is also so very important for us to pass our faith down to our children and grandchildren. If the Ninevites who came to faith at the time of Jonah had done that, God would not have had to judge them at the time of Nahum. We all need to remember that God will not always hold back His judgment. He will judge sin and wickedness.
No comments:
Post a Comment