You are listening to the podcast of Richland
Hills Baptist Church. We are located in Richland
Hills, Texas. Our desire here is to believe,
live, and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.
As you're listening to our podcast today, if
you have any questions, you can find us on the
web at richlandhillsbc .com. God bless you. And
we'll be looking at verses 3 through 13. If you
don't have your Bible, you can look on your phone
or the Bible in front of you. There's Bibles
in the pew there. But however you're reading
God's Word this morning. Nahum chapter 2, and
that is in the Minor Prophets. So if you need
to look at the index or the table of contents,
that's okay. So Nahum chapter 2. This past week,
we've been reading in our Bible reading plan.
Some of you have been following along with us
this year as we're reading through the Bible.
I know several of you are, and it's a joy to
be able to do that together and to talk to people
about what we're reading. But we've been reading
through Samuel and Kings. Now, if anybody ever
claims that the Bible is boring, they haven't
read Samuel and Kings, have they? I mean, there's
all sorts of stuff in these books of the Bible.
I mean, you get murder, intrigue, treachery,
violence. There's sexual immorality, adultery.
I mean, it goes on, right? There's so much in
these books. It's sort of like an ancient Jerry
Springer sometimes, right? There's a lot happening.
In fact, there's even a little bit of Maury Povich,
right? David, you are the father, right? And
things like that. It's crazy. And you read it,
you're like, wow, this is intense. And one thing,
as you read through Samuel and Kings, you find
a little bit of, you see this over and over,
this idea of revenge. Humans taking revenge on
others. Joab kills Abner because Abner had killed
his brother. Absalom kills Amnon because Amnon
had assaulted his sister. David was ready to
take vengeance on Nabal because he was a fool,
yet his wife, Nabal's righteous wife, Abigail,
she intervened to keep David from staining the
kingship with his blood. Revenge. But in all
of those cases, one of the things that you see
about revenge is that it not only destroys the
person they're seeking to destroy, but it destroys
the avenger. Human justice at its very best is
flawed, isn't it? When people would seek to get
revenge, it would ultimately, that spirit of
revenge would ultimately consume them. And kill
them. In fact, as human revenge, there would
be multiple layers, right? Now they kill my brother.
Now I'm going to go after them. And it's a never
-ending quest of vengeance. Human justice, at
its very best, is flawed. But yet God's justice,
God's justice, God's vengeance, is righteous,
perfect, and pure. God's justice is not flawed.
God's justice is not filled with envy or rivalry.
God's justice on evil and corruption and immorality
is perfect, righteous, and pure. And this morning
we're going to see in Nahum chapter 2, we're
going to see the justice and vengeance of God
on evil in the complete nature of it. That His
justice is not incomplete, it's not partial,
but it's full. So let us read this morning, Nahum
chapter 2, 3 through 13. The shield of his mighty
men is red. His soldiers are clothed in scarlet.
The chariots come with flashing metal on the
day he musters them. The cypress spears are brandished.
The chariots race madly through the streets.
They rush to and fro throughout the squares.
They gleam like torches. They dart like lightning.
He remembers his officers. They stumble as they
go. They hasten to the wall. The siege tower
set up. The river gates are opened. The palace
melts away. Its mistress is stripped. She's carried
off. Her slave girls lamenting, moaning like
doves, beating their breasts. Nineveh's like
a pool whose water runs away. Halt, halt, they
cry. But no one turns back. Plunder the silver.
Plunder the gold. There's no end of the treasure
or the wealth of all the precious things. Desolate.
Desolation and ruin. Hearts melt. Knees tremble.
Anguish is in all loins. All faces grow pale.
Where is the lion's den? The feeding of the place
of the young lions, where the lions and lionesses
went, where his cubs were with none to disturb.
The lion tore enough for his cubs and strangled
prey for his lionesses. He filled his cave with
prey and his dens with torn flesh. Behold, I
am against you, declares the Lord of hosts, and
I will burn your chariots and 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. Father,
may you bless the reading, the teaching, and
the hearing of your word. And may we be reminded
of your pure and perfect justice. And Lord, may
you remind us as a people. That we are called
to live lives of justice. In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen. To give you a little context, we've been
walking through Nahum the last few weeks. Nahum
is a prophet in the time of the empire of Assyria.
Assyria was the dominant empire at that time.
They had already taken and conquered the northern
kingdom of Israel. And they were mighty. They
were powerful. There was no one like Assyria
at that time. Nineveh was their capital city.
I mean, Nineveh had it all together. Nineveh
had all the perks of a capital city. It was known
to be a place that was, again, it was the all
of the world at that time. But we find out in
the last few weeks that Nahum has a prophecy
against this city. Nahum has a prophecy against
this mighty city. Why? Because God is a God of
justice at seeing the evil and violence and wickedness
of Assyria. And he had given them time to repent,
which they had for a time, but Assyria had continued
to live and to operate outside of God's plan
and will and was living in violence and evil.
And so we saw the character of God, that God
is a God who no means can God clear the guilty.
God can't just say, oh, it's no big deal that
you're an evil city and country, Assyria and
Nineveh. God won't just forgive because, oh,
for no reason. God is a God of justice. If God
just said, oh, I forgive you, Nineveh, that wouldn't
be just, would it? Because of all the things
that Assyria had done, there had to be punishment
for this city if they did not repent. And so
God in His justice is going to deal with evil.
And then last week we saw that God is oppressing,
Assyria were oppressing God's people and people
all around the globe at that time and they were
crushing them. God is reminding us that oppression
will not always last. And this morning we find
ourselves right in the thick of it. Now remember,
this is a prophecy. It hasn't happened yet. Nahum
is prophesying, telling us what is going to happen.
But one of the ways that he's going to do that
is he's going to conjure up the images in our
mind, a sensory battle, if you will, for us to
see and for the Assyrians to see what their fate
is. So again, I want you to look at verse 3.
And I want you to imagine that you are one of
the Ninevites. You're there in the capital city.
You're there in Nineveh. And again, this is a
place that has been so powerful. This has been
a place of safety and security. And you look
out over the wall and all of a sudden you see
this mighty army coming. And we know in 612 BC
that Nineveh would be overrun by the Babylonians
and the Medes. They look over and they see a
sea of red coming their way. The shield of the
mighty men is red and at that time, oftentimes
they would have red leather on their shields.
Or it could also be the picture of the bronze
or the copper shields with the sun reflecting
off the copper and it looks red. But nonetheless,
they look over and they see this mighty army
with red shields, and they're just a frightening
look. Not only do they have red shields, but
they're clothed in scarlet. I mean, there's not
just a few of them. There would be many of them,
and they are marching forward. Not only are they
marching, though, the Bible says the chariots,
they come with flashing metal. Assyrian chariots
were some of the most advanced in the world at
that time. They would have metal fittings there
or the bronze or iron fittings. Sometimes the
wheels themselves. And so not only did they see
the red, but they could see the chariots coming
toward them and speeding ahead. And as the wheels,
as the iron and the copper were reflecting the
light, it was like lightning. It says that they
were like flashing metal, gleaming like torches.
I mean, imagine the sounds that they were hearing
of the chariots and the horses and the people
that were, the soldiers that were coming. I mean,
it was a sensory overload and they're looking
and they'd be terrified. All the soldiers, they
had cypress spears in their hands ready to go.
Again, the chariots are rushing toward them to
and fro. And then they look and these soldiers,
they get closer and closer toward the city and
there's such a crush of soldiers that it says
that the soldiers, they're coming up against
them. They stumble as they go. These soldiers
are eager to take down Nineveh. It's almost as
if they can't wait to be the first one and they're
crowding up against the wall. It says that they
have a siege tower set up. Now a siege tower,
which was sometimes, it was called a mantelet.
It was a protective shield. They would put over
the soldiers as they come against the wall so
that no one can shoot an arrow at them or drop
something on them. And so they'd have this shield
as they scaled the walls. They have a shield
while they try to attack the walls and break
down the doors of the city. Then it says the
river gates are opened and the palace melts away.
Now that could be figurative, but I believe this
is a very intentional thing that was happening.
You see, Nineveh was, again, a mighty city, very
advanced. And there was a river that flowed right
through the city, Nineveh. And in fact, even
today, it would be in modern -day Iraq, the Tigris
River. But one of the ways that they would manage
this river that flowed through the city was through
really an advanced system in that time of dams.
And they would have gates and canals. To manage
the water. And again, it was very advanced, but
there's some evidence in history that the city
was destroyed through flooding. And it's very
possible that the enemy would have used this
incredible system against them. Perhaps attacking
the dam or the gates. And again, the gates were
opened. The city was flooded. It says the palace
melts away. So again, imagine you're part of
this city that you feel safe. I mean, you're
a Ninevite. I mean, you are, you are safe. You
don't ever have to worry about anybody coming
against you because you are the mightiest city
in the world. And yet here, there was terror.
You look out. You see this army coming. You see
the floodwaters rise. And the next thing you
know, you see the palace. This glorious palace.
This palace, all of a sudden, it washes away.
It's gone. Not only that, but it says its mistress
is stripped. She's carried off. Now some people
see that as perhaps the queen. I believe that
mistress there is most likely Ishtar, the prophetess
that they worshipped. The goddess, I mean. Ishtar,
this goddess, this statue, it's a picture of
the statue of Ishtar being taken down. Being
stripped, being carried off. And again, they
worship this goddess there in this city. And
not only that, but they had temple prostitutes
and young women that were there that were serving
her. And it says they're lamenting. They see
their goddess and she's just being carried off
like just a piece of garbage. Imagine the terror.
A UR city that would never have to worry about
anything. And now, and just a... moments breath
you see your city destroyed you see the enemies
you see even your mighty goddess is gone the
people are running they're frightened it says
they're like a pool whose waters run away They're
like a pool that you're draining, and just like
that, I mean, just all the people are draining
out of the city. They're leaving. They're fleeing
for their lives. And there's even people that
are saying, hey, stop, stop, don't leave. And
it says, no one turns back. Plunder the silver.
Plunder the gold. There's no end to the treasure
or the wealth of all the precious things. The
plunderers come, the soldiers, and they find
all the treasures of Nineveh. And Nineveh would
have had many mighty treasures. And remember,
they had been in power for hundreds of years,
conquering nation after nation after nation,
stealing and plundering all of their goods. There
was no lack of resources for Nineveh. No lack
of gold and silver. It's all gone. It's stripped
away. And we see this attack. We see how terrifying
it is. A city that, again, was so powerful. You
know, of course, it's not a perfect picture of
it. But again, we understand what it's like for
something so powerful. To be brought down. And
the terror that comes with that. And many of
you living through September 11th. And you see
New York City. A city that again it seems so
powerful at our times. And you see the attack.
And maybe you remember that time. And again the
fear that spread through our land. Didn't it?
Nineveh was frightened. None of them was terrified.
But yet, not only are they terrified, but we
see here that they're going to be taunted by
the prophet. I want you to look at verse 10.
Now, one of the things that we're not really
used to, but it's very common in the prophetic
writings and the prophets, is that sometimes
they would taunt the enemy. especially when the
enemy was filled with pride and arrogance. And
so verse 10 through 12 is really the taunt of
them saying, hey, look at you, look what happened.
Desolate, desolation and ruin. Hearts are melting
and knees tremble, anguish in all the loins,
all the faces grow pale. They're saying, hey,
remember, you used to strike terror and violence
on all the other people. You used to come into
the cities and cause their hearts to melt and
for their knees to tremble and for their faces
to grow pale. Guess what? What goes around comes
around. Because now it's happening to you, Nineveh.
And now you are terrified. Now you are in anguish.
Now your city is desolate and ruined. And he
says, where is the lion's den? The feeding place
of the young lions. Now that's actually very
important and very strategic. The lion was a
symbol of strength for many nations, but especially
for Assyria. For Assyria, the lion was a picture
and it was used sometime in their imagery of
strength. In fact, there's even some ancient
works that you can see that show the lion from
that city. And so the lion, and we know the lion,
again, is a mighty animal. An animal that strikes
fear. And now, look what the prophet Nahum is
doing. Again, he's taunting. Where is this lion's
den? The feeding place of the young lions. Where
the lioness and the lion went. Where the cubs
were. And none to disturb. He says, where is
this place? The lions would come and they would
come back to their... den to this mighty city
your military your your mighty people your lions
they used to go out and fight and now they're
coming back to assyria or coming back to nineveh
but what happened to it it's gone and they used
to bring back all their prey they fill it with
caves with prey guess what you have none left
They're saying, listen, you used to fill your
city with all the plunder and all the stuff you
would take from your prey. Guess what? It's all
gone. You're not so bad anymore, Nineveh. It's
been a while since I've used an illustration
from the movie Rocky, so it's about time I do
that again. Rocky chapter, not chapter, Rocky
3. Rocky 3, he's fighting Mr. T or Clubber Lang.
I like that one. And in there, Clubber Lang is
very arrogant. He's very arrogant. He's mocking
Rocky and very critical of him and just jabbing
him, all the things. Beats him. Rocky comes back
in the last chapter. fight that they have. Rocky
learns his weakness. There's this scene where
he's fighting, and they're fighting, and Rocky
is kind of tapping his head and says, you ain't
so bad. You ain't so bad. The next thing you
know, Rocky, there's anger that forms in Clubber
Lang, and Rocky beats him, but you see that taunting,
but you see the taunting work because of the
arrogance of the person. Nineveh had been very
arrogant, but now was the end. Behold, I am against
you, declares the Lord of hosts. He says, listen,
Nineveh, you've had your run. You had your opportunity.
But ultimately, I'm against you, God says. Your
chariots that were so advanced, so mighty, so
state -of -the -art, they're going to burn away
in smoke. And that sword that you used to strike
others with, I will cut off your prey from the
earth. You'll no longer have any plunder. And
the voice of your messengers shall no longer
be heard. So that's a picture of their military
being defeated. Their chariots, their young lions
were the warriors. Their messengers out there
declared victory in the battle. He says, you're
not going to hear that anymore. You're done.
And what we learn in this is the complete nature
of God's judgment that will come on Nineveh.
And this complete nature of His judgment is just
and pure and perfect because God is God and He
knows the evil that they have done. But the question
then that we have to ask ourselves this morning
is what exactly is the takeaway for you and I?
Because Nineveh is an ancient city. It's long
ago. There's a couple of things I want us to
see. One is that Nineveh was also, they were
guilty because yes, they were violent. Yes, they
were wicked, but they also came against God's
people. And so one of the applications is a warning
to all nations. When you come against God's people,
there will be justice and judgment. So you ought
to be careful. But then it's also a warning against
any nation that would disregard God and promote
evil of any kind. And so you and I, as we are
people and citizens of this country here, I believe
it's also a warning to our nation. It's also
a warning to the United States that guess what?
God will deal with evil of any kind in any place
for any country. Because God is a God that raises
up kings and he brings them down, right? And
so it's a reminder to you and I as citizens of
this country, which I believe is the greatest
because I'm very partial. But guess what? God
will bring judgment on this nation just as he
did on any other nation. If we will continue
in evil. I mean, you think about, in a lot of
ways, again, the different evils that we have
seen. Violence. Violence against the unborn.
Racism. Ethnic hatred. Sexual immorality of all
types. Greed and corruption. The exploitation
of people. We see the worship of power and politicians
and people. Disregard for God and for, again,
even the laws. We see this rising in our nation.
Again, we see the violence against one another
taking hold. You can't go a day or two without
reading some tragic story of violence, can you?
And then you have leaders of all stripes using
and abusing their power for personal gain. And
I believe that we are a nation that has, again,
we have turned away From some of the foundational
things that we believed as a nation. And if we're
not careful, this nation will end up in the heap
of all the judged nations of old. Now I know
because we are so hyper -focused on this. That
some of you might be keeping score a little bit,
saying, hey, did he say more things that are
against my party or that party? Guess what? When
our nation is judged because of evil and wickedness,
it won't be because of one party or the other.
It will be because of all of us have turned away
from God. It's not about that. What it's about
is God's people. And God has called us as a people
to honor Him and to declare His glory in all
things. And I'm afraid that even God's people,
we have been sucked up in this political machine
and that we have allowed power and influence
to supersede our responsibility. To be messengers
of the gospel. And that's a sad thing. We've
come to a place in our nation that, again, you
hear this for every cycle. That we're always
now, what are we doing? Well, we're just voting
for the lesser of two evils. But do you know
what that means? We're voting for evil. You might
say, well, yeah, I mean, we know, but it's just
the way it is. You're right, it's pragmatism.
But yet we feed this system. And yet we are supposed
to be a people that we promote the good and the
righteous. And the question is, are we doing
that as we should? Now I do not have an inside
track with God and could tell you that God has
judged our nation in any particular way. I can't
tell you that because I don't know the mind of
God. But what I can tell you is what God has
done in the time of old that we see in the Bible.
That there's never been a nation that has turned
its back on God or been a nation of evil and
wickedness. That has lasted. These nations. Guess
what? They're gone. Most of them. And so for
us. God's people. We have to avoid the temptation.
Of seeking power. And seeking control. And we
have to be a people that are on our knees. Praying
for our nation. Praying for morality. Praying
for. our people, God's people, to do the right
thing first. Guess what? We're always pointing
our fingers and saying, hey, look at the world,
look what they're doing, while we are often doing
the very same things. And yet we are so quick
to point out the evil of the world and so slow
to point out the evil in our own lives. And so
it may be time for us to clean up our house first,
right? And the reality is that you and I, that
we have to look at our own hearts and lives.
And if we have any evil, anything in our lives,
any sin, then we have to first and foremost,
we need to cleanse ourselves of that. We need
to turn away from sin and turn to God. That if
we have anything in us that does not reflect
Christ, that we need to repent. And for some
people, that may be repenting for the very first
time. You've never put your faith in Christ.
You've never trusted Jesus. It may be that. It
may be I'm ready to follow Jesus, to turn away
from the things of this world and turn to Christ.
And I'd say today is that day to do it. But it
also may be for others who are followers of Christ.
If we've allowed anything in our hearts and lives
that is not of Him, then we need to repent. Turn.
And then as you move beyond the individual, we
move to the collective, and then we say, are
we, as God's people in this church, are we doing
what we can do for the promotion of good and
righteousness in this nation? Are we people that
are seeking the good of others and the glory
of God? And then you go farther and then you
ask this morning, we were talking in Sunday school
about honoring the government and honoring God
has set up a structure that we are called to
honor the government and to pray for our leaders.
Are we praying for our leaders in this nation?
Are we expecting our leaders to live moral lives.
I remember even in my lifetime that there was
a time that we expected our leaders to live moral
lives, didn't we? There was a whole movement
called the Moral Majority. We expected there
to be morality in public office, but that seems
quaint now, doesn't it? We've allowed it. That's
on us. We've allowed the degradation of our government.
God's people have excused evil and wickedness
and immorality because it's fit their quest for
power. And I believe it is now, it is not only
now, it's a time as far past time for us to be
people again that expect morality. We expect
our leaders to live. No, we know they are not
perfect. They are fallen people. But we do expect
there to be a people that are moral. Because
if we do not honor God, judgment will come far
sooner than we can imagine. And again, like I
said earlier, it's so easy to hear a sermon like
this and try to keep score and wonder, well,
I wonder what he's saying or what he believes.
Just don't bother. Guess what? If you want to
know what my political thoughts are, just ask
me. I'll tell you. But that's not what this is
about. It's not about that. This is about being
a nation that honors God. Being a people that
seek the good of others. Being a people that
seek to be moral and to live lives that honor
God. That's what this is about. Because we too
could be like Nineveh. A city washed away because
of their wickedness. So I pray that this morning
that you and I, that we would take the log out
of our own eye. You and I individually and then
as a people before we start inspecting the speck
in other people's eyes. And that we as a nation,
as a people, that we would seek the good. So
this morning, let us be reminded that God's justice
is impartial. God's justice will come on all
people. Remember, God brought justice even on
His people Israel. He allowed them to be in different
times because of their sin and unrighteousness.
So even this nation, if we're not careful, we
will be judged. Let us pray. Father, we thank
You for Your Word. We thank You, God, that You
are a God of justice, that You are a God of righteousness.
That You are a God, Lord, that You seek, Lord,
for us to honor and worship You. And Lord, as
we consider this passage this morning with Nineveh,
Lord, in the... destruction that would come.
It's foreign to our ears so often, but Lord,
we know and realize that God, that you, Lord,
that you through your word are always teaching
us. And I pray that this morning as we hear these
words, Lord, that we are stirred in our hearts.
We are stirred in our hearts to be a people that
love you. To be a people that honor you to live
moral lives. Not in our own strength, Lord, but
through the power of Christ. God, I pray that
we would be a people that love you. And Father,
in our love for you, we would love others. That
we would love our nation and we would pray for
our leaders. That, Lord, we would be on our knees
before you praying that our leaders would have
godly wisdom. That our leaders would live lives
that would honor you. God, that we would pray
that our leaders are seeking the good of all
people. Father, forgive us that in so many ways
we have turned from you. In so many ways we have
let power and control and politics take more
precedence in our life than honoring you. So
Lord, we repent of that this morning. Lord, may
you stir in us a desire to turn back. Let it
begin with us. Let it begin with us. For those
that are gathered in this room, let that turn
back to you begin even today. Because Father,
when you do mighty things, it always begins with
one. And God, as we, as a humble people, Lord,
if we will turn to you, may you do a work. So
Lord, as we have a time of prayer, may this prayer
first be that we're getting right with you. But
Lord, may we also pray for our nation. Father,
may you use this time. Use this time for our
good and your glory. In Jesus' name.