WEBVTT 00:00:04.360 --> 00:00:06.540 You're listening to the Christ Our Cornerstone 00:00:06.540 --> 00:00:09.699 podcast, Ministry of Christ Our Cornerstone Church 00:00:09.699 --> 00:00:12.400 in O 'Neill, Nebraska. I'm Pastor Logan Merrick, 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:14.560 and it's our prayer that this message strengthens 00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:17.539 your faith and draws you closer to Christ. Let's 00:00:17.539 --> 00:00:24.160 dive in. All right. So we've wrapped up the Book 00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:26.780 of Jonah last week, and now we are diving into 00:00:26.780 --> 00:00:30.019 the Book of Nahum. We're going to go Nahum chapter 00:00:30.019 --> 00:00:32.960 one. This is going to be talking about and unpacking 00:00:33.800 --> 00:00:36.859 God's character, but the portions of God's character 00:00:36.859 --> 00:00:42.119 that we tend to not not like and So the title 00:00:42.119 --> 00:00:46.280 of my sermon is in the shadow of his power understanding 00:00:46.280 --> 00:00:51.960 God's character and so Nahum I've never preached 00:00:51.960 --> 00:00:54.700 this this book before and so this is gonna be 00:00:54.700 --> 00:00:59.380 new for everybody If you aren't aware so Nahum 00:00:59.380 --> 00:01:03.079 is like think of it like the sequel to Jonah 00:01:03.530 --> 00:01:09.430 because what we see, the Ninevites, we see a, 00:01:09.430 --> 00:01:12.090 in Jonah we saw a prophet who was reluctant to 00:01:12.090 --> 00:01:15.430 go, they were his enemies, he finally gets there, 00:01:15.430 --> 00:01:19.049 he gets upset because God is patient and merciful 00:01:19.049 --> 00:01:23.409 towards the Ninevites, and then God spares them 00:01:23.409 --> 00:01:26.670 because they repent, right? So now, we've got 00:01:26.670 --> 00:01:31.810 a century later, a century has now gone by, and 00:01:32.060 --> 00:01:35.599 The Ninevites have gone back to their wicked 00:01:35.599 --> 00:01:38.819 ways. Now, something that I want to point out 00:01:38.819 --> 00:01:41.019 before we dive in, because this doesn't have 00:01:41.019 --> 00:01:43.859 much to do with my sermon, but it does. It is 00:01:43.859 --> 00:01:49.079 important that you understand. Discipleship is 00:01:49.079 --> 00:01:52.620 crucial to passing down the faith from generation 00:01:52.620 --> 00:01:56.640 to generation. If you are apathetic, if you look 00:01:56.640 --> 00:01:59.200 for your pastor, your youth pastor, your kid's 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:02.569 pastor, whatever. to be the one who passes down 00:02:02.569 --> 00:02:06.209 your faith to your kids and your grandkids, you're 00:02:06.209 --> 00:02:10.370 going to lose a generation. And the Ninevites 00:02:10.370 --> 00:02:13.789 are a perfect example of this. They've gone a 00:02:13.789 --> 00:02:16.289 century now and they are right back to where 00:02:16.289 --> 00:02:25.120 they were. And so we now see Nahum is then, God 00:02:25.120 --> 00:02:27.099 sends Nahum who is a prophet. The only thing 00:02:27.099 --> 00:02:29.740 we know about Nahum is what we read in the book 00:02:29.740 --> 00:02:34.900 that is written. And so he, God tells him to 00:02:34.900 --> 00:02:39.180 go and to speak and to prophesy against the Ninevites 00:02:39.180 --> 00:02:42.400 just like Jonah. But unlike Jonah, Nahum goes, 00:02:42.680 --> 00:02:47.360 Roger that, sir. And he's there. So the big idea, 00:02:47.539 --> 00:02:49.099 my big idea of what we're gonna unpack today 00:02:49.099 --> 00:02:52.379 is understanding God's character as both just 00:02:52.250 --> 00:02:55.530 and merciful and how it motivates us to live 00:02:55.530 --> 00:02:58.689 faithfully and seek refuge in Him, especially 00:02:58.689 --> 00:03:01.789 in challenging times. I don't know if I have 00:03:01.789 --> 00:03:04.650 this back there or not, but I have a quote from 00:03:04.650 --> 00:03:07.449 J .I. Packer, who if you've never read his book, 00:03:07.550 --> 00:03:10.770 Knowing God, I highly, highly recommend the book, 00:03:10.870 --> 00:03:13.669 Knowing God. It's really good for growing and 00:03:13.669 --> 00:03:15.949 learning about the doctrine of the faith in a 00:03:15.949 --> 00:03:18.530 deeper way. And so he has this quote because 00:03:18.530 --> 00:03:20.449 he unpacks a lot of the character of God and 00:03:20.449 --> 00:03:23.560 knowing God. The character of God is today and 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:27.919 always will be exactly what it was in Bible times. 00:03:28.719 --> 00:03:30.740 Why do I share that? Because what we're going 00:03:30.740 --> 00:03:34.300 to unpack today is going to be one of those passages 00:03:34.300 --> 00:03:36.939 in the Old Testament that we butt up against 00:03:36.939 --> 00:03:40.139 and we try to ignore it. And then you have progressive 00:03:40.139 --> 00:03:44.740 pastors, progressive Christians who want to say, 00:03:44.819 --> 00:03:48.020 well, that's why. We can't trust the Bible. It's 00:03:48.020 --> 00:03:50.960 not the same God, yada, yada, yada. They, you 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:53.120 know, all the different things. But you have 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:56.419 to see that the same God who rescued and redeemed 00:03:56.419 --> 00:04:00.500 the Ninevites in Jonah is the same God who brings 00:04:00.500 --> 00:04:04.240 ultimately the damnation of the Ninevites. And 00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:07.300 so with that being said, we're going to unpack 00:04:07.300 --> 00:04:12.000 all of chapter one today. So let me grab a chair 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:16.279 because it's... 17 or so verses, 15 verses, something 00:04:16.279 --> 00:04:18.839 like that. So here we go, if you got your Bible, 00:04:20.839 --> 00:04:23.779 it is basically, you go to Jonah, go right past 00:04:23.779 --> 00:04:29.420 Micah, and then you've got Nahum. If you don't 00:04:29.420 --> 00:04:31.060 have a Bible to be right up here, we also have 00:04:31.060 --> 00:04:34.860 one in the back, or have some in the back. Verse 00:04:34.860 --> 00:04:38.399 one, an oracle concerning Nineveh, the book of 00:04:38.399 --> 00:04:42.550 the vision of Nahum of Elkosh. Real fast, some 00:04:42.550 --> 00:04:46.410 translations say burden, which would be the more 00:04:46.410 --> 00:04:52.329 proper translation. And so Nahum is essentially, 00:04:52.769 --> 00:04:57.050 God has brought a burden to him for the Ninevites 00:04:57.050 --> 00:04:59.990 to repent. I'll talk more about that in just 00:04:59.990 --> 00:05:03.589 a second. Verse two, the Lord is a jealous and 00:05:03.589 --> 00:05:06.509 avenging God. The Lord is avenging and wrathful. 00:05:06.889 --> 00:05:10.430 The Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and 00:05:10.430 --> 00:05:14.829 keeps wrath for his enemies. The Lord is slow 00:05:14.829 --> 00:05:18.430 to anger and great in power, and the Lord will 00:05:18.430 --> 00:05:23.990 by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind 00:05:23.990 --> 00:05:26.970 and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his 00:05:26.970 --> 00:05:33.009 feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry. He 00:05:33.009 --> 00:05:38.800 dries up all the rivers. and Carmel wither. The 00:05:38.800 --> 00:05:42.860 bloom of Lebanon withers. The mountains quake 00:05:42.860 --> 00:05:47.779 before him. The hills melt. The earth heaves 00:05:47.779 --> 00:05:50.480 before him and the world and all who dwell in 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:54.220 it. Who can stand before his indignation? Who 00:05:54.220 --> 00:05:57.740 can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is 00:05:57.740 --> 00:06:00.660 poured out like fire and the rocks are broken 00:06:00.660 --> 00:06:05.100 into pieces by him. The Lord is good. a stronghold 00:06:05.100 --> 00:06:07.860 in the day of trouble. He knows those who take 00:06:07.860 --> 00:06:10.699 refuge in him, but with an overflowing flood, 00:06:10.779 --> 00:06:14.199 he will make a complete end of the adversaries 00:06:14.199 --> 00:06:18.519 and will pursue his enemies into darkness. What 00:06:18.519 --> 00:06:21.660 do you plot against the Lord? He will make a 00:06:21.660 --> 00:06:25.579 complete end. Trouble will not rise up a second 00:06:25.579 --> 00:06:29.639 time, for they are like entangled thorns, like 00:06:29.639 --> 00:06:33.139 drunkards as they drink. They are consumed like 00:06:33.139 --> 00:06:37.120 stubble, fully dried. From you came one who plotted 00:06:37.120 --> 00:06:39.779 evil against the Lord, a worthless counselor. 00:06:40.899 --> 00:06:45.199 Thus says the Lord, though they are at full strength 00:06:45.199 --> 00:06:48.259 and many, they will be cut down and pass away. 00:06:49.560 --> 00:06:51.980 Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you 00:06:51.980 --> 00:06:55.500 no more. And now I will break his yoke from off 00:06:55.500 --> 00:06:58.959 you and will burst your bonds apart. The Lord 00:06:58.959 --> 00:07:01.939 has given commandment about you. No more shall 00:07:01.939 --> 00:07:05.060 your name be perpetuated. From the house of your 00:07:05.060 --> 00:07:09.360 gods will be cut off, and the carved image and 00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:12.500 the metal image will make your grave, for you 00:07:12.500 --> 00:07:16.620 are vile. Behold, upon the mountains, the feet 00:07:16.620 --> 00:07:20.339 of him who brings good news, who publishes peace. 00:07:20.939 --> 00:07:24.259 Keep your feast, O Judah, fulfill your vows, 00:07:24.540 --> 00:07:27.100 and never again shall the worthless pass through 00:07:27.100 --> 00:07:32.990 you. He is utterly cut off. All right, so reading 00:07:32.990 --> 00:07:37.430 that, what immediately goes through your mind? 00:07:37.990 --> 00:07:45.529 How you feeling? Vicki said, not good. What else? 00:07:45.889 --> 00:07:49.569 Like what emotions does it draw up when you're 00:07:49.569 --> 00:07:55.149 reading and hearing these words? What is it that 00:07:55.149 --> 00:08:06.750 the emotions that you feel inside? Yeah? Does 00:08:06.750 --> 00:08:15.709 it terrify you? Terrifies me. It terrifies me. 00:08:16.009 --> 00:08:20.490 And that's the point of this chapter in this 00:08:20.490 --> 00:08:24.009 book. It's to do two things. We're going to see 00:08:24.009 --> 00:08:28.629 how beautifully the terror of God is also our 00:08:28.629 --> 00:08:31.389 hope. That's why we had the verse of the week 00:08:31.389 --> 00:08:34.929 that we had. So with that being said, if you're 00:08:34.929 --> 00:08:41.149 taking notes, my first point is magnificence 00:08:41.149 --> 00:08:45.289 of God's might. So when we look at one through 00:08:45.289 --> 00:08:51.850 five, we see his might, Nahum is unpacking. And 00:08:51.850 --> 00:08:55.470 so if we're honest, most of us are far more comfortable 00:08:55.470 --> 00:08:58.149 talking about the gentleness of God than the 00:08:58.149 --> 00:09:01.659 greatness of God. We love the verses that talk 00:09:01.659 --> 00:09:05.759 about his love, his tender kindness, his patience, 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:09.440 right? Those are great passages. Those are the 00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:11.899 ones that bring us comfort. But what should also 00:09:11.899 --> 00:09:14.820 bring you comfort and scare you at the same time 00:09:14.820 --> 00:09:19.240 are these passages like this. But scripture does 00:09:19.240 --> 00:09:21.879 not allow us to reduce God to only the traits 00:09:21.879 --> 00:09:27.019 that we find comforting. Nahum opens his prophecy, 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:29.700 not with a soft whisper, but with a thunderclap, 00:09:29.740 --> 00:09:33.019 that is to get your attention. And so when we 00:09:33.019 --> 00:09:35.379 see the oracle, or as I said, some translations 00:09:35.379 --> 00:09:38.299 say the burden, which means a heaviness concerning 00:09:38.299 --> 00:09:42.299 Nineveh. And so he has this vision, Nahum does. 00:09:42.620 --> 00:09:46.720 And so here's the thing, when you are called 00:09:46.720 --> 00:09:50.759 to minister to a people group or give a word 00:09:50.759 --> 00:09:56.669 or go to and speak to, You should have a burden 00:09:56.669 --> 00:09:59.269 about it. There should be a heaviness about it. 00:10:00.110 --> 00:10:05.970 It should be consuming. You can't sleep. There's 00:10:05.970 --> 00:10:10.070 this sense of these people are lost and they 00:10:10.070 --> 00:10:13.529 need the gospel. And so there's this heaviness 00:10:13.529 --> 00:10:16.809 to the call that Nahum has. He sees the vision. 00:10:17.049 --> 00:10:21.110 He knows what is going to become of Nineveh. 00:10:21.169 --> 00:10:23.940 And so he's pleading. with them to once again 00:10:23.940 --> 00:10:27.500 understand that you may mock the God of Israel, 00:10:27.740 --> 00:10:30.480 but he will have the last laugh. Here's the other 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:35.500 part. The Assyrians, Nineveh, the Assyrians at 00:10:35.500 --> 00:10:38.379 this point have been murdering the Israelites. 00:10:39.379 --> 00:10:41.460 They have taken them captive. They've taken the 00:10:41.460 --> 00:10:43.720 northern part of Israel and they've taken them 00:10:43.720 --> 00:10:46.639 captive and they're murdering them. They're also, 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:51.429 this is awful, but they're, One of the things 00:10:51.429 --> 00:10:55.669 that when I was reading, they were burning children 00:10:55.669 --> 00:11:01.529 alive in order to just cause mass hysteria of 00:11:01.529 --> 00:11:07.690 the Israelites. That's awful. And so God is not 00:11:07.690 --> 00:11:10.669 one to sit by and just allow these things to 00:11:10.669 --> 00:11:12.269 happen, as we're going to talk about in just 00:11:12.269 --> 00:11:15.350 a few minutes. And so the very first line, we're 00:11:15.350 --> 00:11:18.490 reminded that his message is not human opinion. 00:11:18.759 --> 00:11:21.039 It's not the things that make us feel comfortable. 00:11:21.419 --> 00:11:25.120 It's divine revelation. What follows is not a 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:27.620 political analysis of a serious downfall, but 00:11:27.620 --> 00:11:32.559 a revelation of who God is. So we have God's 00:11:32.559 --> 00:11:35.059 power is revealed in his authority. So when you 00:11:35.059 --> 00:11:37.259 look at verse two, it says, the Lord is a jealous. 00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:42.039 and avenging God. The Lord is avenging and wrathful. 00:11:42.320 --> 00:11:45.639 The Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and 00:11:45.639 --> 00:11:49.480 keeps wrath for his enemies. Do you see repeating 00:11:49.480 --> 00:11:59.860 words there? Avenge. And so when I said what 00:11:59.860 --> 00:12:03.299 I said about what they do to children, God is 00:12:03.299 --> 00:12:08.000 like, oh, there's going to be vengeance. And 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:11.179 so when you see, by the way, when there's three 00:12:11.179 --> 00:12:14.860 words that repeat, that become three, this is 00:12:14.860 --> 00:12:18.039 a poetic way in the Hebrew text, in all Hebrew 00:12:18.039 --> 00:12:22.379 text, that is driving home the point. And it's 00:12:22.379 --> 00:12:26.519 poetic. And so these are not verses we're going 00:12:26.519 --> 00:12:29.679 to put on coffee mugs, right? You're not gonna 00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:32.659 have a coffee mug that you whip out unless you 00:12:32.659 --> 00:12:36.539 just want to... you've got some progressive Christian 00:12:36.539 --> 00:12:39.139 friends that you want to just make angry, but 00:12:39.139 --> 00:12:41.019 the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries. 00:12:41.080 --> 00:12:43.059 Actually, that would actually be kind of cool. 00:12:44.220 --> 00:12:48.019 Noted. But these are verses that we typically 00:12:48.019 --> 00:12:51.940 see on t -shirts, right? We don't see the people 00:12:51.940 --> 00:12:54.220 putting them in their Instagram bios and their 00:12:54.220 --> 00:12:58.460 Facebook bios. We don't see... Football players 00:12:58.460 --> 00:13:00.360 and baseball players putting them on their eye 00:13:00.360 --> 00:13:02.879 black. We don't see people Tattooing it on their 00:13:02.879 --> 00:13:05.820 arms. Why because it's a part of God that is 00:13:05.820 --> 00:13:13.659 terrifying And so We are to we are to read these 00:13:13.659 --> 00:13:16.940 verses and be reminded that God is not weak He 00:13:16.940 --> 00:13:19.799 is not indifferent and he is not passive in the 00:13:19.799 --> 00:13:23.500 face of evil. His jealousy is not insecurity 00:13:23.500 --> 00:13:28.879 It is a holy ownership His vengeance is not rage, 00:13:29.080 --> 00:13:32.559 it is righteous justice. And so here's something 00:13:32.559 --> 00:13:35.779 I pulled from this commentary I was reading, 00:13:36.340 --> 00:13:39.840 and it says this about the jealousy of God. It 00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:42.639 says, unlike jealousy on the human plane, which 00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:45.659 unfortunately involves all the wrong attitudes, 00:13:46.159 --> 00:13:48.919 suspicion, distrust, and rivalry. Actually, I 00:13:48.919 --> 00:13:52.179 think I have it up here if you guys want to write 00:13:52.179 --> 00:13:55.100 it down, because we get God's jealousy wrong. 00:13:55.340 --> 00:13:58.259 by the way, pause while he pulls that up and 00:13:58.259 --> 00:14:00.179 you guys start writing this down. I remember 00:14:00.179 --> 00:14:04.779 seeing a clip, this pretty famous clip of Oprah 00:14:04.779 --> 00:14:08.860 with her pastor, and they were talking about 00:14:08.860 --> 00:14:13.159 how the Christian God they don't like, though 00:14:13.159 --> 00:14:16.440 she claims to be a Christian, because it says 00:14:16.440 --> 00:14:18.600 that God is jealous. And she's like, I don't 00:14:18.600 --> 00:14:21.360 want a God who's jealous. And it's like, you 00:14:21.360 --> 00:14:24.509 don't understand God's jealousy. And so God's 00:14:24.509 --> 00:14:27.769 jealousy shows itself as an eager zealousness 00:14:27.769 --> 00:14:31.129 to maintain the integrity of his own character 00:14:31.129 --> 00:14:34.470 and truth. It has nothing to do with us in the 00:14:34.470 --> 00:14:36.929 sense of he has this thing that he desires and 00:14:36.929 --> 00:14:39.690 wants. The thing he desires and wants is holiness. 00:14:41.049 --> 00:14:47.049 It's glory. And so his jealousness is about his 00:14:47.049 --> 00:14:54.039 people and himself. Nahum is speaking to a people 00:14:54.039 --> 00:14:56.600 who have lived under the shadow of a serious 00:14:56.600 --> 00:15:00.559 cruelty. Nineveh was a global superpower built 00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:03.419 on violence, intimidation, and bloodshed, and 00:15:03.419 --> 00:15:07.120 God is declaring, I see it, I have not forgotten, 00:15:07.419 --> 00:15:11.340 and I am not powerless to stop it. Then comes 00:15:11.340 --> 00:15:15.259 a tension that defines God's character. The Lord 00:15:15.259 --> 00:15:18.580 is slow to anger and great in power. That's what 00:15:18.580 --> 00:15:21.889 it says in verse three. and the Lord will by 00:15:21.889 --> 00:15:27.549 no means clear the guilty. And so notice how 00:15:27.549 --> 00:15:31.669 Nahum puts these two truths together. It says 00:15:31.669 --> 00:15:35.250 that he is slow to anger and great in power. 00:15:36.090 --> 00:15:39.870 God is patient, but he's never impotent. His 00:15:39.870 --> 00:15:43.970 restraint is not weakness. His delay is not absence. 00:15:44.649 --> 00:15:50.169 Judgment delayed is not judgment denied. Remember, 00:15:50.210 --> 00:15:52.850 this has been an entire century that has passed. 00:15:56.149 --> 00:16:01.730 And so here's what Tony Evans said about this 00:16:01.730 --> 00:16:04.269 portion of scripture. He says, God is like a 00:16:04.269 --> 00:16:07.269 husband seeing some chump brazenly hitting on 00:16:07.269 --> 00:16:10.929 his wife and wants to protect her. As Israel's 00:16:10.929 --> 00:16:14.169 husband, the Lord would tolerate no rival gods 00:16:14.169 --> 00:16:16.899 or nations that abused his people. And though 00:16:16.899 --> 00:16:19.679 he is slow to anger, he is furious with his enemies 00:16:19.679 --> 00:16:23.100 and will make them pay the tax of a chump trying 00:16:23.100 --> 00:16:29.120 to mess with his bride. I love that. I love that, 00:16:29.139 --> 00:16:31.700 because I got to thinking about when I read that, 00:16:31.820 --> 00:16:34.299 I'm like, yeah, man, if I saw someone trying 00:16:34.299 --> 00:16:39.240 to harm my wife or hit on my wife, it's going 00:16:39.240 --> 00:16:47.100 down. No matter men in the room. no matter your 00:16:47.100 --> 00:16:52.539 age, if you see another man trying to hit on 00:16:52.539 --> 00:16:58.419 your wife, is it not going down? Yeah. And so 00:16:58.419 --> 00:17:01.820 now you see the Lord is jealous for his bride 00:17:01.820 --> 00:17:03.879 in the sense of, no, no, no, no, you do not get 00:17:03.879 --> 00:17:07.460 to mistreat my bride. And I want you to remind 00:17:07.460 --> 00:17:09.859 yourself of that when you think about how the 00:17:09.859 --> 00:17:13.670 church is constantly being bombarded. In other 00:17:13.670 --> 00:17:16.529 countries, you're seeing martyrs like you've 00:17:16.529 --> 00:17:18.329 never seen them before. And now we are starting 00:17:18.329 --> 00:17:21.630 to really see it. If you have not seen, there's 00:17:21.630 --> 00:17:26.089 a podcast that's going viral where this woman 00:17:26.089 --> 00:17:31.009 said, a white woman, she said, the biggest danger 00:17:31.009 --> 00:17:33.690 and the ones who actually need to be, this is 00:17:33.690 --> 00:17:37.849 what she said, need to be done away with are 00:17:37.849 --> 00:17:41.650 white evangelicals because we are the problem. 00:17:43.909 --> 00:17:47.349 So, brothers and sisters, just prepare yourself. 00:17:47.529 --> 00:17:50.630 It could get worse before it gets better. But 00:17:50.630 --> 00:17:55.390 as we're about to see, it gets better. So God's 00:17:55.390 --> 00:17:59.910 power displayed over creation. That's what we 00:17:59.910 --> 00:18:03.490 see next in verse three. Nahum now shifts our 00:18:03.490 --> 00:18:06.410 gaze from nations to nature. He does this because 00:18:06.410 --> 00:18:12.009 the pagans worship nature. So his way is in... 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:14.599 The whirlwind and storm and the clouds are the 00:18:14.599 --> 00:18:18.579 dust of His feet. What we call chaos, God calls 00:18:18.579 --> 00:18:21.920 a pathway. The storm is not something He reacts 00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:25.180 to, it is something He walks through. The clouds 00:18:25.180 --> 00:18:28.380 aren't obstacles, they are the dust kicked up 00:18:28.380 --> 00:18:31.599 beneath His feet. How do we know that this is 00:18:31.599 --> 00:18:36.619 true? How do we know that He is one who can walk 00:18:36.619 --> 00:18:40.599 through a storm? We saw it displayed, did we 00:18:40.599 --> 00:18:43.829 not? You see it in the New Testament. Jesus is 00:18:43.829 --> 00:18:45.750 walking on the water in the midst of a storm 00:18:45.750 --> 00:18:49.890 to his disciples. He also rebukes storms, does 00:18:49.890 --> 00:18:56.410 he not? Verse four, he rebukes the sea and makes 00:18:56.410 --> 00:18:59.410 it dry. He dries up all the rivers, the Bashan, 00:18:59.490 --> 00:19:03.190 the Carmel wither and the bloom of Lebanon withers. 00:19:03.849 --> 00:19:07.150 These are all symbols of fertility, of strength 00:19:07.150 --> 00:19:11.210 and abundance. Nahum is saying, if God speaks, 00:19:11.349 --> 00:19:15.210 oceans retreat, rivers disappear, and the most 00:19:15.210 --> 00:19:19.829 lush regions collapse. Creation itself responds 00:19:19.829 --> 00:19:23.970 to his command. Verse five, the mountains quake 00:19:23.970 --> 00:19:27.329 before him, the hills melt, the earth heaves 00:19:27.329 --> 00:19:29.430 before him, and the world and all who dwell in 00:19:29.430 --> 00:19:36.609 it. Mountains are symbols of what? What are mountains 00:19:36.609 --> 00:19:42.259 symbols of? Let me ask you like this. Is it just 00:19:42.259 --> 00:19:47.140 easy to just move a mountain? No. So mountains 00:19:47.140 --> 00:19:52.220 are symbols of permanence. And to know that these 00:19:52.220 --> 00:19:55.380 symbols of permanence shake and hills are symbols 00:19:55.380 --> 00:19:59.119 of stability, they melt, the earth itself trembles 00:19:59.119 --> 00:20:02.019 because nothing created is stronger than its 00:20:02.019 --> 00:20:06.549 creator. My buddy Mike who the one I've told 00:20:06.549 --> 00:20:10.750 you guys about who owns Chick -fil -a We meet 00:20:10.750 --> 00:20:13.029 every week and we do a Bible study together and 00:20:13.029 --> 00:20:15.069 his this week he was like, hey, man, let me ask 00:20:15.069 --> 00:20:18.750 you something What do you think about when the 00:20:18.750 --> 00:20:22.650 when the scriptures talk about? Mountains being 00:20:22.650 --> 00:20:24.990 thrown into the sea and bowing down. Like do 00:20:24.990 --> 00:20:28.109 you think that's just like allegory and I said 00:20:28.109 --> 00:20:31.809 yes and no Because what do you mean? I said, 00:20:31.849 --> 00:20:34.140 well, I don't think they're Jesus is physically 00:20:34.140 --> 00:20:37.079 saying that in the moment, but do I think he 00:20:37.079 --> 00:20:40.539 can do it? Yeah. He can literally look at him 00:20:40.539 --> 00:20:42.400 out and go, yeah, actually, I think I'm gonna 00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:46.079 have you over there. And it just go, yes, sir, 00:20:46.720 --> 00:20:51.440 right? That's the God that we serve. And when 00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:55.599 you think about a God like that, a God who has 00:20:55.599 --> 00:20:59.940 the ability to move permanent structures with 00:20:59.940 --> 00:21:05.230 just his voice, That's terrifying. And it also 00:21:05.230 --> 00:21:10.450 is comforting. So what does this mean for us? 00:21:10.609 --> 00:21:12.730 Church, this confronts us in two ways. First, 00:21:12.849 --> 00:21:16.210 it reminds us that no nation, no ruler, no system 00:21:16.210 --> 00:21:19.750 is beyond God's authority. You have to remind 00:21:19.750 --> 00:21:22.549 yourself of that when you see the world in utter 00:21:22.549 --> 00:21:26.029 chaos, you have to remember that nothing is outside 00:21:26.029 --> 00:21:29.299 the realm of His sovereignty. When the world 00:21:29.299 --> 00:21:31.859 feels like it's unraveling and wars and justice 00:21:31.859 --> 00:21:34.859 and moral confusion are rampant, Nahum reminds 00:21:34.859 --> 00:21:37.299 us that God is not wringing his hands in heaven. 00:21:38.299 --> 00:21:41.559 The same God who brought Nineveh low still remains 00:21:41.559 --> 00:21:47.019 today. Second, it forces us to ask, do we truly 00:21:47.019 --> 00:21:50.359 trust God's power or do we only trust our perception 00:21:50.359 --> 00:21:55.799 of control? By the way, that's what causes anxiety. 00:21:57.509 --> 00:21:59.549 Pastor Logan, what are you talking about? When 00:21:59.549 --> 00:22:02.049 you're no longer trusting in God's power, but 00:22:02.049 --> 00:22:05.730 your own. When you're no longer in control of 00:22:05.730 --> 00:22:09.289 a situation or the thought of not being in control, 00:22:09.630 --> 00:22:14.029 it causes anxiety. It's easy to trust God when 00:22:14.029 --> 00:22:16.769 life is calm. It's much harder when the ground 00:22:16.769 --> 00:22:20.509 shakes. But Nahum says, even then, especially 00:22:20.509 --> 00:22:24.390 then, God is sovereign. So where is Christ in 00:22:24.390 --> 00:22:26.650 the text? Because we want to find Christ in the 00:22:26.650 --> 00:22:29.579 text. So for us reading this on the other side 00:22:29.579 --> 00:22:31.700 of the cross, we cannot miss the connection to 00:22:31.700 --> 00:22:34.180 Christ because John tells us all things were 00:22:34.180 --> 00:22:36.859 made through him. And what does it say? And without 00:22:36.859 --> 00:22:41.640 him was not anything made. And so if you want 00:22:41.640 --> 00:22:43.740 to write this down, I have this right up here. 00:22:44.359 --> 00:22:47.480 The same power that shakes mountains took on 00:22:47.480 --> 00:22:50.740 flesh. When Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves, 00:22:50.859 --> 00:22:53.920 the disciples asked, who is this? And Nahum answers 00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:56.880 the question. This is the Lord of the storm. 00:22:59.079 --> 00:23:02.220 The one who commands creation is also the one 00:23:02.220 --> 00:23:05.920 who stepped into it to save, to redeem, and to 00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:16.059 rule it. Point number two. Majesty of God's justice. 00:23:16.400 --> 00:23:19.460 We look at verses six through eight right here. 00:23:20.660 --> 00:23:24.259 After showing us the sheer magnitude of his power, 00:23:24.859 --> 00:23:27.180 Nahum now presses the question that naturally 00:23:27.180 --> 00:23:30.509 follows. If God is this powerful, what happens 00:23:30.509 --> 00:23:32.829 when that power is directed towards justice? 00:23:33.930 --> 00:23:35.849 At least that should be the natural question 00:23:35.849 --> 00:23:41.650 that follows. Because you want to know, let me 00:23:41.650 --> 00:23:50.710 back up. What scares you more? A bad dude with 00:23:50.710 --> 00:24:00.369 a lot of power or a good dude with power? a bad 00:24:00.369 --> 00:24:05.509 dude with power, right? But a good dude with 00:24:05.509 --> 00:24:12.150 power and a lot of power does what? It makes 00:24:12.150 --> 00:24:14.509 you find comfort, right? That's why we love superheroes, 00:24:14.509 --> 00:24:22.630 right? The city's metropolis with Superman can 00:24:22.630 --> 00:24:25.410 rest easy because no matter the strong enemy 00:24:25.410 --> 00:24:29.359 that comes along, They know Superman is good 00:24:29.359 --> 00:24:32.839 and can fight and take on any superpower, right? 00:24:34.599 --> 00:24:38.519 So the thought of knowing that an all good God 00:24:38.519 --> 00:24:42.700 who is all powerful, him being good again brings 00:24:42.700 --> 00:24:46.420 comfort. And so who can stand before his indignation 00:24:46.420 --> 00:24:49.539 and who can endure the heat of his anger? Remember, 00:24:49.660 --> 00:24:52.799 when we think about the heat of his anger, this 00:24:52.799 --> 00:24:55.220 is the same God who literally breathed out the 00:24:55.220 --> 00:24:59.279 sun. His wrath is poured out like fire and the 00:24:59.279 --> 00:25:03.019 rocks are broken into pieces by him. These are 00:25:03.019 --> 00:25:05.259 not hypothetical questions. These are meant to 00:25:05.259 --> 00:25:08.920 humble us. Nahum is not asking who might survive 00:25:08.920 --> 00:25:12.160 God's anger. He's asking who could possibly endure 00:25:12.160 --> 00:25:19.960 it. And the answer, no one. Not the angels, not 00:25:19.960 --> 00:25:25.500 us. When God's justice is unleashed, it is not 00:25:25.500 --> 00:25:29.079 negotiable. Not even rocks, symbols of strength 00:25:29.079 --> 00:25:33.319 and permanence remain intact. You can put this 00:25:33.319 --> 00:25:35.359 right up here for me, Dustin. This reminds us 00:25:35.359 --> 00:25:38.500 of something we often forget. Sin is not small 00:25:38.500 --> 00:25:43.900 just because it's common. We love to make our 00:25:43.900 --> 00:25:46.099 sin seem small because it's like, oh well, you 00:25:46.099 --> 00:25:53.319 know, everyone does it. Or how many, I actually 00:25:53.319 --> 00:25:59.150 saw this. I saw this as a meme, it was a charismatic 00:25:59.150 --> 00:26:00.970 Facebook group that for some reason came up on 00:26:00.970 --> 00:26:02.710 my feed and they were making fun of Baptist and 00:26:02.710 --> 00:26:05.450 it was actually truth and pretty funny, but I 00:26:05.450 --> 00:26:07.970 don't think it's just too Baptist. And it says, 00:26:08.130 --> 00:26:10.970 how many times do you have to go to a Baptist 00:26:10.970 --> 00:26:16.869 revival and hear an evangelist there scream about 00:26:16.869 --> 00:26:20.410 sin all the while the buttons on his shirt are 00:26:20.410 --> 00:26:25.519 screaming for mercy, meaning he's fat. And it 00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:31.720 says the hypocrisy, and there's truth to that. 00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:40.119 There's truth to overeating, gossip, things that 00:26:40.119 --> 00:26:43.000 we tend to minimize and put up with in the church, 00:26:43.160 --> 00:26:48.359 God does not see as minimal. And so when you 00:26:48.359 --> 00:26:51.519 read passages like this and you see that those 00:26:51.519 --> 00:26:55.660 sins are not small, it should terrify you to 00:26:55.660 --> 00:26:59.200 wake you up. We live in a culture that minimizes 00:26:59.200 --> 00:27:03.279 wrongdoing. It reframes evil as mistakes and 00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:08.700 treats accountability as oppression. What's wrong 00:27:08.700 --> 00:27:10.640 with our culture? Nobody wants to take accountability. 00:27:11.559 --> 00:27:13.700 But scripture tells us that God's wrath is not 00:27:13.700 --> 00:27:19.759 emotional volatility. This is settled, holy opposition 00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:23.960 to all that destroys his creation. and so justice 00:27:23.960 --> 00:27:29.359 that does not compromise. God does not just ignore 00:27:29.359 --> 00:27:33.359 injustice. He does not excuse wickedness and 00:27:33.359 --> 00:27:37.000 he does not move on from evil. Nineveh's cruelty 00:27:37.000 --> 00:27:41.019 had a due date and so does all unrepentant sin. 00:27:42.539 --> 00:27:45.680 This should sober us all. Not because God is 00:27:45.680 --> 00:27:49.700 cruel, but because he is just. A God who never 00:27:49.700 --> 00:27:53.339 judges evil is not loving. He is indifferent. 00:27:54.059 --> 00:27:57.599 I'm going to say that again so you hear it. A 00:27:57.599 --> 00:28:04.059 God who never judges evil is not loving. He is 00:28:04.059 --> 00:28:07.720 indifferent. And indifference is not goodness. 00:28:09.180 --> 00:28:11.839 Yet right in the middle of this terrifying display, 00:28:12.119 --> 00:28:15.720 Nahum does something unexpected. He moves to 00:28:15.720 --> 00:28:18.079 verse seven where it says, the Lord is good, 00:28:18.220 --> 00:28:21.059 a stronghold in the day of trouble. He knows 00:28:21.259 --> 00:28:25.099 He knows those who take refuge in Him. So right 00:28:25.099 --> 00:28:28.579 there, in the middle of the wrath and fire and 00:28:28.579 --> 00:28:32.380 shattered stone, the same God whose justice cannot 00:28:32.380 --> 00:28:35.200 be endured is also a refuge to those who are 00:28:35.200 --> 00:28:39.559 trusting. This is why it's good news. This is 00:28:39.559 --> 00:28:43.680 why it's the gospel. Nahum says that, notice 00:28:43.680 --> 00:28:46.599 what Nahum says. He says, not God is useful, 00:28:47.039 --> 00:28:51.809 not God is tolerant, but the Lord is good. and 00:28:51.809 --> 00:28:55.269 not a distant good, but a stronghold, a place 00:28:55.269 --> 00:28:59.309 you run when danger is real, a shelter you cling 00:28:59.309 --> 00:29:03.670 to when judgment is coming. When I was putting 00:29:03.670 --> 00:29:09.789 this together, I had in my mind, I had, you remember 00:29:09.789 --> 00:29:12.690 the old, not the remake, but the old movie Twister 00:29:12.690 --> 00:29:15.250 from the 90s? Do you remember at the beginning 00:29:15.250 --> 00:29:19.009 when the Twister's coming and they all run down 00:29:19.009 --> 00:29:25.140 to, to the storm shelter, which by the way, they 00:29:25.140 --> 00:29:28.420 live in Oklahoma, like has more tornadoes than 00:29:28.420 --> 00:29:31.460 anybody. And the dude didn't decide to make sure 00:29:31.460 --> 00:29:34.279 that the latch actually worked that year. So 00:29:34.279 --> 00:29:36.099 he's sitting there fighting against it, right? 00:29:36.099 --> 00:29:40.500 And then he gets taken off. But that's what I 00:29:40.500 --> 00:29:44.720 thought of was that scene when God's justice 00:29:44.720 --> 00:29:48.259 is moving through, the people get into the storm 00:29:48.259 --> 00:29:52.539 shelter to hide. And he protects them as his 00:29:52.539 --> 00:30:01.359 justice rips through. So. A place you run when 00:30:01.359 --> 00:30:03.559 danger is real, a shelter you cling to when judgment 00:30:03.559 --> 00:30:06.819 is coming. And then there's this quiet, comforting 00:30:06.819 --> 00:30:11.180 line. He knows those who take refuge in him. 00:30:12.640 --> 00:30:15.539 God's justice is not blind. His mercy is not 00:30:15.539 --> 00:30:19.359 generic. He knows his people. He recognizes those 00:30:19.359 --> 00:30:22.680 who run to him instead of away from him. And 00:30:22.680 --> 00:30:29.480 so justice confronts evil. God's goodness does 00:30:29.480 --> 00:30:33.819 not cancel his judgment. It goes on in verse 00:30:33.819 --> 00:30:36.299 eight and it says, but with an overflowing flood, 00:30:36.400 --> 00:30:39.319 he will make a complete end of adversaries and 00:30:39.319 --> 00:30:41.859 will pursue his enemies into darkness. Here's 00:30:41.859 --> 00:30:48.059 the thing. Did you know that What happened to 00:30:48.059 --> 00:30:49.900 Nineveh? Do you guys know what wiped Nineveh 00:30:49.900 --> 00:30:57.400 off the map, literally? You do? Oh, you three 00:30:57.400 --> 00:31:05.660 do? Oh, yeah. What is it? But how? How? How did 00:31:05.660 --> 00:31:09.819 they do that? That's right. Babylon did ultimately 00:31:09.819 --> 00:31:13.019 destroy them. But what did they do? You know? 00:31:13.740 --> 00:31:18.750 No? It did. That's why it uses the word flood. 00:31:19.369 --> 00:31:24.069 If you don't know, Babylon, ultimately the Persians 00:31:24.069 --> 00:31:27.589 reconstructed the way their waters moved into 00:31:27.589 --> 00:31:31.230 Nineveh. And so one, they begin to like dehydrate 00:31:31.230 --> 00:31:33.190 them all, but they moved all the water where 00:31:33.190 --> 00:31:35.829 it created a massive flood. They created a dam 00:31:35.829 --> 00:31:38.390 and then released it and it just washed them 00:31:38.390 --> 00:31:41.829 all away in a gigantic flood. And here's what's 00:31:41.829 --> 00:31:48.839 interesting. It says, It says in the text that 00:31:48.839 --> 00:31:51.339 the Ninevites would ultimately be forgotten. 00:31:52.319 --> 00:31:54.839 They would be trampled on. They were so trampled 00:31:54.839 --> 00:32:00.819 on that even within 50 years, literally where 00:32:00.819 --> 00:32:03.440 they had been, where Nineveh was, where Assyria 00:32:03.440 --> 00:32:06.779 was, had been completely washed over, where people 00:32:06.779 --> 00:32:08.599 didn't even know where it was anymore. It wasn't 00:32:08.599 --> 00:32:11.079 until recently that we even know where Nineveh 00:32:11.079 --> 00:32:17.400 was. And so the prophecy is true. And so there 00:32:17.400 --> 00:32:21.960 is a loophole, no escape route for persistent 00:32:21.960 --> 00:32:25.099 rebellion. Evil will not simply fade away, it 00:32:25.099 --> 00:32:28.960 will be dealt with completely and finally. And 00:32:28.960 --> 00:32:31.660 this is uncomfortable, but it's necessary because 00:32:31.660 --> 00:32:34.779 if God does not ultimately confront evil, then 00:32:34.779 --> 00:32:38.000 injustice wins and the victims of oppression, 00:32:38.619 --> 00:32:45.339 violence and cruelty are left without hope. Sometimes 00:32:45.339 --> 00:32:50.019 war is just, brothers and sisters. When the evil 00:32:50.019 --> 00:32:53.500 is bad and you want to go, we should all just 00:32:53.500 --> 00:32:55.759 put our guns down. Well, guess what? Evil does 00:32:55.759 --> 00:33:03.859 not rest. And so where is Christ in this passage 00:33:03.859 --> 00:33:08.279 part? This is where we must look to Christ because 00:33:08.279 --> 00:33:10.740 every question raised in Nahum finds its answer 00:33:10.740 --> 00:33:14.509 at the cross. Who can stand before God's indignation? 00:33:16.329 --> 00:33:21.029 It's the Sunday School answer. Jesus. He has 00:33:21.029 --> 00:33:23.750 to be the one. God knew that, right? God knew 00:33:23.750 --> 00:33:27.049 that no one could stand in his indignation, and 00:33:27.049 --> 00:33:30.289 so he had to stand in our place. Who can endure 00:33:30.289 --> 00:33:35.740 the heat of his anger? Only the Son of God. bearing 00:33:35.740 --> 00:33:37.920 it for us. I've got this right up here, if you 00:33:37.920 --> 00:33:40.039 would, Dustin, you can write this down. On the 00:33:40.039 --> 00:33:43.319 cross, God did not suspend his justice. He satisfied 00:33:43.319 --> 00:33:49.279 it. The wrath that Nahum describes was not ignored. 00:33:50.039 --> 00:33:54.299 It was poured out on Christ. Justice fell fully 00:33:54.299 --> 00:33:59.019 and mercy flowed freely. So when we run to God 00:33:59.019 --> 00:34:01.880 as a refuge, we are not escaping justice. we 00:34:01.880 --> 00:34:04.660 are hiding in the one who already endured it. 00:34:04.700 --> 00:34:10.559 Amen. And so church, this calls us to two responses. 00:34:10.820 --> 00:34:14.019 First, we are to take sin seriously, not just 00:34:14.019 --> 00:34:17.579 the big sins, not just the cultural villains, 00:34:17.679 --> 00:34:19.920 but our own pride, our bitterness, our lust, 00:34:20.079 --> 00:34:22.440 our self -righteousness, and the quiet rebellion 00:34:22.440 --> 00:34:27.199 that we lead every day. God's justice is majestic 00:34:27.199 --> 00:34:31.719 because it does not fully or does not play favorites. 00:34:32.480 --> 00:34:36.519 And second, we must take refuge quickly. Don't 00:34:36.519 --> 00:34:39.780 flirt with grace while ignoring repentance. Don't 00:34:39.780 --> 00:34:42.039 admire God's mercy from a distance, but you should 00:34:42.039 --> 00:34:45.179 run to him. Claim to Christ because the only 00:34:45.179 --> 00:34:48.380 safe place from God's justice is inside God's 00:34:48.380 --> 00:34:53.900 mercy. So Nahum is teaching us that God is not 00:34:53.900 --> 00:34:57.150 divided. He is whole. His power, His justice, 00:34:57.289 --> 00:35:00.530 and His goodness, they are not competing traits, 00:35:00.570 --> 00:35:03.010 but they dovetail together. They compliment each 00:35:03.010 --> 00:35:06.570 other. They are perfectly united. And that means 00:35:06.570 --> 00:35:09.190 the God who judges evil is the same God who offers 00:35:09.190 --> 00:35:11.769 safety to the repentant. So the question is no 00:35:11.769 --> 00:35:14.489 longer, is God powerful or even is God just? 00:35:14.610 --> 00:35:16.289 The question becomes, where are you standing 00:35:16.289 --> 00:35:20.920 when justice moves? I want to put this. another 00:35:20.920 --> 00:35:24.139 way in case you are struggling with this idea, 00:35:24.139 --> 00:35:26.099 you feel like, yeah, these are two competing 00:35:26.099 --> 00:35:28.420 things. They're not. And let me put it in a way 00:35:28.420 --> 00:35:30.219 that you will understand it. I think I've used 00:35:30.219 --> 00:35:38.340 this this allegory before. But if there was a 00:35:38.340 --> 00:35:43.199 man looking to break into my home to do damage 00:35:43.199 --> 00:35:47.099 to not only my home, but to my family. whether 00:35:47.099 --> 00:35:50.840 he has ill intentions to harm them or kill them, 00:35:51.559 --> 00:35:56.699 is it loving of me to just say, take them, but 00:35:56.699 --> 00:36:03.460 don't hurt me? No. All the men in this room and 00:36:03.460 --> 00:36:06.260 all the ladies in this room would be able to 00:36:06.260 --> 00:36:09.760 rightfully so throat punch their pastor for being 00:36:09.760 --> 00:36:16.539 a passive. The word I want to use is another 00:36:16.539 --> 00:36:20.980 word for a hot dog, and so you would all be like 00:36:20.980 --> 00:36:25.079 you didn't love your family well at all, right? 00:36:26.639 --> 00:36:32.059 But if I stand between the bad guy and my family 00:36:32.059 --> 00:36:35.119 and the bad guy gets what's coming to him because 00:36:35.119 --> 00:36:38.159 I'm doing all I can to protect my family, you 00:36:38.159 --> 00:36:41.320 would say that's loving, right? And justice was 00:36:41.320 --> 00:36:44.639 also had in that moment, right? So you see how 00:36:44.639 --> 00:36:46.679 these two things don't compete but they're one. 00:36:46.739 --> 00:36:49.719 You can't have love without justice and you can't 00:36:49.719 --> 00:36:56.619 have justice without love. Number three, mastery 00:36:56.619 --> 00:37:01.340 over malevolence. I felt really good about that 00:37:01.340 --> 00:37:05.099 word, by the way. I forgot to tell Tracy, hopefully 00:37:05.099 --> 00:37:11.599 she's watching this. So in verses nine through 00:37:11.599 --> 00:37:14.159 11, Nahum now turns directly to the plans of 00:37:14.159 --> 00:37:17.139 the wicked and he does not give them much credit. 00:37:17.599 --> 00:37:19.460 In verse nine, he says, what do you plot against 00:37:19.460 --> 00:37:22.840 the Lord? He will make a complete end. He will 00:37:22.840 --> 00:37:25.199 not rise up a second time. What is he saying? 00:37:27.639 --> 00:37:30.920 There will be no round two. Once you get knocked 00:37:30.920 --> 00:37:34.460 out, you ain't getting back up. You can scheme 00:37:34.460 --> 00:37:37.760 all you want, but you won't get a rematch. Evil 00:37:37.760 --> 00:37:40.079 does not get the final word. God doesn't merely 00:37:40.079 --> 00:37:43.679 respond to wickedness, he ends it. What humanity 00:37:43.679 --> 00:37:47.099 cannot restrain, God can shut down completely. 00:37:49.260 --> 00:37:51.719 Verse 10, he says, for they are like entangled 00:37:51.719 --> 00:37:54.480 thorns, like drunkards as they drink. They are 00:37:54.480 --> 00:37:58.260 consumed like stubble fully dried. Ever lit an 00:37:58.260 --> 00:38:01.199 old, like have you ever lit a Christmas tree, 00:38:01.280 --> 00:38:03.300 a real Christmas tree that's like all the sap 00:38:03.300 --> 00:38:04.619 and stuff has run out of it? You ever lit that 00:38:04.619 --> 00:38:10.550 thing on fire before? is a big flame. That's 00:38:10.550 --> 00:38:14.590 what goes through my mind. Christmas tree, massive 00:38:14.590 --> 00:38:18.230 bonfire. Nahum's point is simple, what looks 00:38:18.230 --> 00:38:20.710 dangerous and threatening is an actual fragile 00:38:20.710 --> 00:38:24.469 thing in the hands of God. Evil often appears 00:38:24.469 --> 00:38:27.889 powerful, but it is disordered, unstable, and 00:38:27.889 --> 00:38:30.750 ultimately combustible. It becomes a dried up 00:38:30.750 --> 00:38:37.210 Christmas tree. Verse 11, for you come, For you 00:38:37.210 --> 00:38:40.130 came one who plotted evil against the Lord, a 00:38:40.130 --> 00:38:43.429 worthless counselor. Nineveh believed its strategies, 00:38:43.550 --> 00:38:46.289 its leaders and its power structures made it 00:38:46.289 --> 00:38:51.769 untouchable. But God calls their mastermind worthless, 00:38:52.010 --> 00:38:54.570 not because the harm wasn't real, but because 00:38:54.570 --> 00:39:00.130 it was never sovereign. Rome thought it was untouchable. 00:39:03.690 --> 00:39:08.659 Many times, I've heard people say that America 00:39:08.659 --> 00:39:14.179 as a superpower and as the biggest and baddest 00:39:14.179 --> 00:39:17.599 country on the planet can't be touched. It will 00:39:17.599 --> 00:39:19.460 always remain that way specifically because the 00:39:19.460 --> 00:39:21.539 way our economy is structured and all these other 00:39:21.539 --> 00:39:25.360 things. And I'm like, you're not a Christian, 00:39:25.500 --> 00:39:30.119 are you, saying this? Because I beg to differ. 00:39:31.239 --> 00:39:36.150 God definitely does the humbling. How many of 00:39:36.150 --> 00:39:39.929 you guys have been to the beach before? How many 00:39:39.929 --> 00:39:45.170 of you guys have dug and made sand castles and 00:39:45.170 --> 00:39:50.050 stuff in the beach? Just Noah and a few. You 00:39:50.050 --> 00:39:54.250 guys are missing out. So, you know, growing up 00:39:54.250 --> 00:39:57.369 in Florida, we go to the beach and I can remember 00:39:57.369 --> 00:40:02.280 trying to build moats, like big moats. And because 00:40:02.280 --> 00:40:04.840 I would create these sandcastles and then I would 00:40:04.840 --> 00:40:07.179 hope that the moats would fill with water and 00:40:07.179 --> 00:40:09.539 it would cause the waves and stuff. The water, 00:40:10.039 --> 00:40:12.719 the tide that was coming in would then go around 00:40:12.719 --> 00:40:17.440 my sandcastle. Spoiler alert, my sandcastle didn't 00:40:17.440 --> 00:40:21.760 make it, Doug. Never did. No matter the moat, 00:40:21.940 --> 00:40:24.840 no matter the safety mechanisms I tried to put 00:40:24.840 --> 00:40:28.440 in place, the ocean, I could never beat it. I'm 00:40:28.440 --> 00:40:31.699 over. And that's what this reminds me of as a 00:40:31.699 --> 00:40:34.340 visual, like a child that's building an elaborate 00:40:34.340 --> 00:40:37.820 sandcastle right where the tide is coming. Doesn't 00:40:37.820 --> 00:40:40.300 matter the buckets, the walls, the towers, it 00:40:40.300 --> 00:40:42.420 looks impressive for a moment, but the ocean 00:40:42.420 --> 00:40:45.119 doesn't rush. It doesn't panic. It just simply 00:40:45.119 --> 00:40:49.699 arrives. Knocks it over. And that's Nahum's point. 00:40:49.800 --> 00:40:52.920 God doesn't scramble to stop evil. He doesn't 00:40:52.920 --> 00:40:55.699 adjust his plans. He just simply moves forward 00:40:55.699 --> 00:40:59.059 and evil collapses under the weight of his sovereignty. 00:40:59.579 --> 00:41:01.820 You know, when the book of Revelation talks about 00:41:01.820 --> 00:41:04.579 when Christ returns, there's going to be a war. 00:41:05.639 --> 00:41:07.699 It won't be much of a war, brothers and sisters. 00:41:07.860 --> 00:41:12.619 It'll be over pretty quick. So we have this fulfillment 00:41:12.619 --> 00:41:15.860 in Christ. This truth reaches its climax in Christ. 00:41:16.019 --> 00:41:19.570 The greatest act of human evil, the cross. was 00:41:19.570 --> 00:41:22.409 meant to silence Jesus forever, but instead it 00:41:22.409 --> 00:41:25.869 became the means of salvation for us. Sin plotted, 00:41:26.269 --> 00:41:28.769 death conspired, and the grave prepared itself, 00:41:28.869 --> 00:41:33.070 but God overturned it all. How does Jonah, the 00:41:33.070 --> 00:41:36.289 last part, or in chapter three, how does Jonah 00:41:36.289 --> 00:41:39.630 put it? You guys remember when I talked about 00:41:39.630 --> 00:41:45.889 the grave? It says that the fish vomited up Jonah. 00:41:47.420 --> 00:41:52.059 The grave vomited forth Jesus. The resurrection 00:41:52.059 --> 00:41:54.280 declares once and for all, God is not reacting 00:41:54.280 --> 00:41:57.360 to evil, he's ruling over it. And so when we 00:41:57.360 --> 00:42:00.119 see injustice, when we see corruption or darkness 00:42:00.119 --> 00:42:03.179 pressing in, we do not lose heart, we remain 00:42:03.179 --> 00:42:06.179 steadfast. God sees it, God knows it, and God 00:42:06.179 --> 00:42:10.059 acts. Evil never gets the final word because 00:42:10.059 --> 00:42:13.940 Christ already has. And here's our final point. 00:42:15.949 --> 00:42:19.969 the mercies of God's refuge. The final verses. 00:42:21.510 --> 00:42:23.650 Tony Evans in his Bible commentary says this, 00:42:23.769 --> 00:42:26.829 he says, here the Lord promises to deliver Judah 00:42:26.829 --> 00:42:30.070 from the hand of Assyria. He had previously used 00:42:30.070 --> 00:42:32.630 Assyrians as a tool to punish his people for 00:42:32.630 --> 00:42:35.469 their sin, but he would punish Judah no longer 00:42:35.469 --> 00:42:39.429 and would turn his vengeance on Assyria instead. 00:42:39.590 --> 00:42:45.070 The divine lawn mower was ready. They would be 00:42:45.070 --> 00:42:47.929 mowed down. The Lord's threat directed toward 00:42:47.929 --> 00:42:50.650 the Assyrian king showed how weak he really was 00:42:50.650 --> 00:42:53.530 in the grand scheme of things. The king would 00:42:53.530 --> 00:42:56.969 have no offspring and the Lord himself would 00:42:56.969 --> 00:43:00.909 prepare his grave. So after power, after justice, 00:43:01.389 --> 00:43:04.829 after the collapse of evil, God speaks to comfort 00:43:04.829 --> 00:43:08.449 his people. And he says this in verse 12. Thus 00:43:08.449 --> 00:43:11.730 says the Lord. Though they are at full strength 00:43:11.730 --> 00:43:14.110 and many, they will be cut down and pass away. 00:43:14.489 --> 00:43:17.150 Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you 00:43:17.150 --> 00:43:21.789 no more. God acknowledges their suffering, but 00:43:21.789 --> 00:43:26.010 he also declares its end. Affliction is not permanent, 00:43:26.289 --> 00:43:29.030 oppression is not final. God's people are not 00:43:29.030 --> 00:43:32.429 forgotten. Then in verse 13 he says, and now 00:43:32.429 --> 00:43:35.409 I will break his yoke from off you and will burst 00:43:35.409 --> 00:43:39.659 your bonds apart. This is the language of liberation. 00:43:39.719 --> 00:43:42.519 This is the language of freedom. The weight that 00:43:42.519 --> 00:43:45.019 crushed them, the burden that enslaved them, 00:43:45.280 --> 00:43:48.719 God doesn't lighten it. He breaks it fully off. 00:43:51.119 --> 00:43:55.179 Have you guys ever read Pilgrim's Progress? The 00:43:55.179 --> 00:44:00.000 burden that Christian is wearing, right? And 00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:03.599 it's this massive, massive burden that he continues 00:44:03.599 --> 00:44:10.010 to move towards. the city, right? And then finally 00:44:10.010 --> 00:44:12.449 he is liberated, the burden is liberated. This 00:44:12.449 --> 00:44:16.190 is Jesus with our sin. This is the gospel, being 00:44:16.190 --> 00:44:19.010 liberated from the thing that enslaves you, that 00:44:19.010 --> 00:44:22.630 burdens you. But notice that Jesus takes the 00:44:22.630 --> 00:44:25.849 burden upon himself. Think of carrying a heavy 00:44:25.849 --> 00:44:29.530 pack for miles. At first you adjust, then you 00:44:29.530 --> 00:44:31.889 endure, and eventually it becomes all you can 00:44:31.889 --> 00:44:34.630 think about. Relief doesn't come from learning 00:44:34.630 --> 00:44:37.250 how to carry it better. It comes when someone 00:44:37.250 --> 00:44:41.170 finally takes it off. And that's what God promises. 00:44:41.710 --> 00:44:44.590 He says, we're not gonna have better coping mechanisms 00:44:44.590 --> 00:44:48.329 and we're not gonna learn to endure longer. He 00:44:48.329 --> 00:44:49.889 says, no, I'm just gonna bring deliverance. I'm 00:44:49.889 --> 00:44:54.329 gonna take that from you. And so we get peace 00:44:54.329 --> 00:44:57.710 after the battle. In verse 15, behold upon the 00:44:57.710 --> 00:45:00.010 mountains, the feet of him who brings good news, 00:45:00.030 --> 00:45:03.880 who publishes peace. After judgment, after war, 00:45:04.119 --> 00:45:07.659 after fear comes good news. Remember what I always 00:45:07.659 --> 00:45:10.300 tell you guys, you cannot have good news without 00:45:10.300 --> 00:45:14.559 the bad news. And so peace is not a wish here. 00:45:14.559 --> 00:45:19.139 It's an announcement and God has acted. The enemy 00:45:19.139 --> 00:45:21.940 is defeated and rest is now possible. But first, 00:45:22.239 --> 00:45:24.860 before the good news, you had to know that you 00:45:24.860 --> 00:45:31.139 were enslaved by a vicious and vile slave owner. 00:45:32.679 --> 00:45:35.500 And here we see these, we hear these words echo 00:45:35.500 --> 00:45:38.320 in the gospel. Jesus says, come to me all who 00:45:38.320 --> 00:45:42.000 are labor and heavy, what? Layden, and I will 00:45:42.000 --> 00:45:46.480 give you rest. The yoke is broken, the burden 00:45:46.480 --> 00:45:49.519 is lifted, and the peace is secured, not just 00:45:49.519 --> 00:45:52.820 from enemies outside of us, but from the sin 00:45:52.820 --> 00:45:58.920 and bondage within us. And so church, Nahum has 00:45:58.920 --> 00:46:04.500 shown us who God is. His might, unmatched. His 00:46:04.500 --> 00:46:08.340 justice is righteous, his sovereignty is unchallenged, 00:46:08.340 --> 00:46:12.900 and his mercy is always available. So the same 00:46:12.900 --> 00:46:15.559 God who shakes mountains is a refuge for the 00:46:15.559 --> 00:46:18.699 weary. The same God who judges evil is the one 00:46:18.699 --> 00:46:24.739 who brings peace. And so, do you see how this 00:46:24.739 --> 00:46:29.199 terrifying text also brings us peace and comfort? 00:46:31.599 --> 00:46:34.380 So the question is not whether is God powerful. 00:46:34.539 --> 00:46:36.900 The question should be, where do you stand in 00:46:36.900 --> 00:46:42.019 relation to Him? Are you resisting His rule or 00:46:42.019 --> 00:46:45.260 are you resting in His refuge? Because the safest 00:46:45.260 --> 00:46:48.440 place in all of creation is not far from God, 00:46:48.860 --> 00:46:51.539 but is in the shadow of His power. Let's pray.