Latest / HBCWestminster / 8.14.22 Nahum 1:2-15 Pastor Danny Gardner

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8.14.22 Nahum 1:2-15 Pastor Danny Gardner · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  Well, J. Vernon McGee was a Texas pastor for many, many years. In fact, you can still hear him. Some of his messages are recorded. The audio is recorded online. He has gone to be with the Lord since. But J. Vernon McGee in his, if you can imagine, a very, very thick Texas accent one time said, I will often say that whatever book of the Bible I am currently preaching from is the greatest book in the Bible. Right? I've thought that many times. And then he said this.
• 0:28
  But although I am about to preach from Nahum, I cannot say that about the book of Nahum. I thought, wait, we're going through that as a church right now. He also said, Nahum sounds the death knell for Nineveh. It pronounces judgment by total destruction upon Assyria, and God was just in doing this. Jonah had brought a message from God, and Nineveh had repented, but that repentance
• 0:54
  was transitory. In other words, it didn't stick around. And so God patiently gave this new generation opportunity to repent. But in Nahum's book, the day of grace ends and the moment of doom comes. And Lord, with our Bibles open this morning, we pray that you would be glorified in the preaching of your word. May it be rightly divided and preached with conviction and precision in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Well, who is God? It's a question probably every one of us.
• 1:25
  needs to grapple with at some point in our lives. Who is God? And the story goes that in the Christian school cafeteria, the lunch lady placed a note in front of a pile of apples, which read, take only one, God is watching. Further down the line, a little boy placed another note in front of a plate of cookies, which said, take all you want, God is watching the apples.
• 1:53
  And church, can I ask, is God so trivial and trite and petty? We would say, well, of course not. He far exceeds any caricature that people may have in their minds about him. But if he is indeed greater than a mere apple and cookie supervising lunch lady, then who is he? What does he do? The nature and character of God is often neglected in our studies.
• 2:18
  is often even neglected in the preaching ministries of many pastors. We are very good at studying the nature and character of man with our many flaws and our inadequacies, but few focus on the nature and character of God, immutable, incomprehensible, and eternal. We seem to forget that the only way we can truly know ourselves is to truly know Him, God Almighty, creator and sustainer of heaven and earth, our rock and our redeemer.
• 2:48
  In fact, I believe that one of the quickest and most powerful ways to live a fulfilled and happy life is to take our eyes off of ourselves and to fix them permanently on He who is the author and perfecter of our faiths. I believe if we would do so, our complaining would cease instantly. Our regrets would fade, our joy would be restored, our hope would become fixed, and not because of who we are, but because of who He is. The better we know Him, the better our lives
• 3:19
  will be it is him we proclaim it is his name that we praise it is his character and his attributes that we extol and we must never forget that the character of god is the basis for our very reality the only reason we know anything is because we know god in fact truth itself can only be known as it is revealed according to the character of god our culture is getting an up close and personal view of what happens to a society which turns its back on the truth
• 3:51
  And it begins plumbing the depths of human depravity. We find that there is no truth apart from God's truth. We understand love only as it relates to God. We understand justice only as it relates to God. We understand logic and reason and right and wrong and beauty only as they reflect the nature and character of God. In other words, if we don't know God, we don't know anything. That's what Proverbs 1 and verse 7 even says, that the beginning of knowledge is the fear of the Lord.
• 4:22
  The fear of the Lord is step one, the Proverbs says. And if you don't have step one, then how can you possibly hope to attain step 100 or step 1,000? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, and fools despise wisdom instruction. It is the foundation of wisdom. Every word, therefore, issued from the mouth of a God-hater should be automatically suspect, no matter their expertise or credentials, because they don't know step one.
• 4:49
  They don't know the Lord and do not fear Him. And Nahum 1 gives one of the clearest and most succinct descriptions of the character of God in the entire Old Testament. By answering two questions, in verses 2 to 7, he answers the question, who is God? And then verses 8 to 15, he asks the question, what does God do? Who is God and what does He do? And the focus of our study will really be those first seven verses. We'll touch on the others as well more briefly. But who is God? We know.
• 5:20
  that the Lord is spirit, that he is altogether different than we are, that he has many attributes which we do not have and which are revealed to us here in the first seven verses of Nahum's vision. Do me a favor, with your Bibles open, quickly scan Nahum chapter 1 and just notice how many of its sentences begin with the statement, the Lord is or the Lord has.
• 5:46
  Do you see how many times in Nahum chapter 1, the Lord is, the Lord is, the Lord is, the Lord is? He's answering this question, who is God? And immediately our eyes are confronted with the statement, the Lord, verse 2, is a jealous God. Do you see that? It's a statement which doesn't even necessarily make sense to us. It's a little bit startling, the Lord is a jealous God, because you may have thought, well, isn't jealousy a sin? I mean, how can God be...
• 6:15
  a jealous God if jealousy is a sin. Now, there most certainly is a sinful jealousy, and perhaps you're having flashbacks to your junior high girlfriend, but not all jealousy is sinful. In fact, appropriate jealousy is actually a godly attribute. Now, what is appropriate jealousy? A godly jealousy is the feeling of ownership that one has in relation to something that rightfully belongs to them. Let me say that again.
• 6:45
  Godly jealousy is the feeling of ownership that one has in relation to something that rightfully belongs to them. For instance, when I was a single man, I often spent time enjoying the company of single women my age. We call that dating. I did this in appropriate settings, in public places, for the purpose of making friends, one of whom I hoped would become my wife.
• 7:14
  On April 3rd, 1999, one of those young ladies did indeed become my wife when on that day, Hallie Durham became Hallie Gardner. On that day, April 3rd, 1999, I nodded in enthusiastic agreement with the Lord's statement from Genesis 2 and verse 18 where he said, it is not good for man to be alone. And I said, you got that right, right? The Lord has provided me a wife. Since my wedding day, I have stopped hanging out in the company of single women without my wife present.
• 7:44
  A bunch of people in here nodding along. I'm wondering about all the people who aren't nodding along. Like, yes, no, that's appropriate. I don't hang out with single women anyway. And listen, it's not that I don't like you, and it's not that I don't want to be your friend, but the nature of our relationship must change because of who I belong to and who I have pledged myself to, right? I mean, that is marriage. Now, imagine for a moment that I did go out one evening with a single woman. We had dinner.
• 8:16
  We took a walk around the lake, we got ice cream, I took her home, and then I drove home. What would Hallie's response be? You would not expect a positive response from my wife, who would be waiting there for me, waiting to ask how my date went. Do you see what I'm saying? I could very easily walk in the front door, she standing there with arms crossed and a tapping foot with a scowl upon her face, and it would be easy for me to say, well, Hallie.
• 8:47
  Stop being jealous. Jealousy is a sin. And you'd say, well, not in this instance. It's not. Jealousy in this instance is very appropriate. In fact, Hallie in that moment would be experiencing a godly jealousy, a proper feeling of ownership in relation to something that rightfully belongs to her. When this text says that God is a jealous God, that's what it means.
• 9:16
  The Lord experiences a righteous jealousy in relation to the things which belong to Him. And so the next obvious question would be, well then what belongs to Him? Psalm 100 says that God made us. We are His. We are His people. The sheep of His pasture. We sing that song frequently. God made us and we are His. If you go all the way back to the beginning, Genesis chapter 1 and verse 1.
• 9:49
  says that God made what else? You guys all right? You with me? This is not a trick question, right? Genesis 1.1, this is one we all know. What did God make? Everything. I mean, everything from top to bottom, heaven to hell, all of it God made. Therefore, all of it God owns. Therefore, God has the right to be jealous of everything, of everything, because it all belongs.
• 10:17
  But it doesn't stop there. This says not only has God a jealous God, but verse 2 says he is an avenging God. The Lord is avenging and wrathful. The Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. Three times the text talks about vengeance. Two times it says the Lord stores up wrath for his enemies. And when one properly understands jealousy,
• 10:44
  then the fact that he is also an avenging God makes perfect sense. Consider again that marriage analogy. I am my beloved's, she is mine. If someone were to dare to be unkind or demeaning to my bride, Hallie, what would my response be? Anger? Vengeance? Wrath?
• 11:14
  Right? I'm storing up wrath for such a man. Can I get an amen from all the husbands in the room? You don't get to belittle another dude's wife. You see what I'm saying? Like, no. And if you want to experience the wrath of a husband, make fun of his wife. And we would even say, well, of course that's how he's going to respond. Of course he is. I don't, I will admit, I don't fully understand. And I don't normally track this stuff, but you guys have made a headline news two months ago.
• 11:46
  when Will Smith walked up on stage and smacked Chris Rock in the face. I don't fully understand, and like I said, I don't really pay attention to that stuff, but it's headline news. I can't figure out first why people care, and if you don't know what happened, it really doesn't matter, but Chris Rock, the comedian, made fun of Will Smith, the actor, singer, songwriter guy, made fun of his wife, and Will Smith was in the audience, and so Will Smith stood up, walked up on stage, and smacked him for making fun of his wife. I don't understand first why people care, but I also...
• 12:15
  Don't understand why there are so many people who are upset with Will Smith. He's been castigated over it. Listen, if you don't want to get popped in the mouth, then don't publicly humiliate another guy's wife. I really don't understand. If someone were to stand up in public on national television, no less, and insult and embarrass my wife, then the least thing I would do to that man is pop him in the teeth. If I could figure out how to do something worse, I would. Wouldn't you?
• 12:47
  You experience that jealousy as a husband, and you're like, you don't get to talk to my wife. Only I get to talk to my wife. You don't get to do that. You don't get to demean my wife in public. No way. And if the husband is doing his job, there's something boiling up in him that says, no, it is my job to defend her honor. Now, we would have said, well, Will Smith should have read Romans 12 and verse 19.
• 13:13
  which says, Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, says the Lord, I will repay. You say, well, Will Smith should have read that. You're right, he should have. But it's interesting, isn't it, that the Lord in that text does not say that vengeance is a sin which will never be repaid. He never says that. Rather, he promises to be the payer. You don't need to take vengeance. You don't need to repay. Why?
• 13:43
  Because I do a pretty good job doing that. Do you see what he says? God, as our loving and defending husband, retains the right to take vengeance himself. He stores up wrath to pour out on those who abuse his bride. He does not take kindly to people abusing his bride.
• 14:10
  Notice third in verse three, it says, the Lord is slow to anger. The Lord is slow to anger, and in contrast to his jealousy for Judah is the Lord's patience displayed toward Nineveh. You might expect that his jealousy for his people would lead him to quickness of anger toward his adversaries, that he would be swift to exact judgment. Speed and severity may be human traits, but that is not how the Lord treats.
• 14:40
  His enemies. And listen, friends, that's also good news for us. Because who are the enemies of God? But we who have rebelled against him. The fact that he is slow to anger is good news for us. Amen? Because we at one time before Jesus were his enemies. Raise your hand if you were at one time an enemy of God. Like everybody in here. You shook your fist at the Almighty and you said, not your way, my way. Be done.
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  Right? We were his enemies. And this promise is beautiful, that he is slow to anger. We who are sinners declared war against God. The very first moment we knowingly rebelled and confirmed our sin nature. Romans chapter 5 and verse 1 implies that before we were in Christ, we were his enemies. And it says this, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. You guys catch the opposite implication there?
• 15:40
  If we have not been justified by faith, then it says, then we do not have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We're actually at war with him. If we don't know the Lord, if we've not been justified by our faith in Jesus, then we have no peace with God. We are at war with Jesus Christ. Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 8 says, for at one time you were darkness. I always found that phrase interesting. It doesn't say you were in the darkness.
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  it doesn't say you were subject to darkness it says at one time you were darkness the darkness was actually emanating out from us but now it says in christ you are light in the world and so walk as children of light and viewed from that perspective the lord's slowness to anger is actually an extension of his divine jealousy why isn't god
• 16:38
  quick to pour out his wrath on his enemies? And the answer is because if he was quick to do that, none of us could be saved. He is jealous for us. He actually wants us to come to repentance. And because he so desperately wants us to repent, he waits. He waits to condemn us.
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  2 Peter 3 9, it's one of my favorite verses. I quote it all the time from the pulpit. 2 Peter 3 9, the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promises, the way that some count slowness, but rather it says, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance. Why is he slow? To anger, in order to give us time to repent. Notice 4, the Lord is great in power. Verse 3 says, the Lord is slow to anger.
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  And he's great in power. And in one brief statement, that phrase, the Lord is great in power, the author reminds his readers that God has both the strength and the authority to see anything through. If there happens to be some kind of a delay in that promised retribution where God would pour out his wrath on sinners, that delay would not be due to any lack on his part. There is no impotence in God, but rather because of a...
• 17:59
  conscious choice made by the God of heaven. He's got the power to do it. He's got the authority to do it. Therefore, there must be a reason that he would be waiting, and I would refer us back up to that promise from 2 Peter 3. Why would he wait? Because he loves us. Notice 5, verse 3 says, the Lord is just. Verse 3, the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. He will not clear the guilty. Now, the word just, as you know, is a legal term.
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  In this context, it refers to the exercising of divine government. The Lord rules the universe. He rules that universe through law. He expects those laws to be followed. The rebellion against those laws is, by extension, rebellion against the lawgiver.
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  And when we chafe against the rule of God, we aren't merely chafing against the rule. Rather, we are shaking our fist at the ruler, the one who made the rule. And the Lord, being just, has no other option than to punish sin. And follow me in this line of thinking, church, because this creates kind of a funny little paradox, dichotomy, maybe in our thinking. A universe where sin is not punished is an unjust universe, right? And it's a universe where none of us would want to live.
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  We want justice on earth. That is what we want. In fact, have you noticed how many judges or district attorneys or sheriffs or whoever are being elected and then recalled? Because the people in those districts and regions are saying, wait, you're not doing your job. Have you noticed how many?
• 19:40
  They've got a recall election. Like, get that guy out of there. Why? Because he's not hard enough on crime. We want these guys to be hard on crime. Judges, district attorneys, sheriffs, we want them to be hard on crime. We don't want crime rampant in our neighborhoods, right? And so when somebody does something wrong, punish them for it. That's what we want on earth. But it's interesting that we expect that heaven's judge then will just kind of automatically acquit everybody who happens to show up.
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  We want punishment for crime here. But then when we get there, there are so many of us that just say, oh, no, just let everybody in. And we'll say, well, wait. Why would we want it here but not want it there? We won't tolerate it here. Why would we tolerate it there? And what I believe verse 3 is saying when it says the Lord will by no means clear the guilty, what I think it's saying is that a God who doesn't punish sin is a God who isn't doing his job and therefore a God who must be recalled. That's what we would do if he was on earth.
• 20:42
  he's just he punishes sin notice six the lord made creation he sustains creation he is sovereign over creation you pick up in verse three it says his way is in the whirlwind and the storm and the clouds of the dust of his feet what a vivid picture that is when the lord steps it creates tornadoes and clouds and thunderheads that what would terrify us on earth are just his
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  footsteps he continues he rebukes the sea and makes it dry droughts belong to god he commands the oceans he dries up the rivers he tells them where to go verse 4 says bashan and karma wither the bloom of lebanon withers we're going to come back to that why would he name those three it's really interesting the mountains quake before him the hills melt the earth
• 21:41
  heaves before him the world and all who dwell in it. Who can stand before his indignation? It's a rhetorical question. No one can, he says. Who can endure the heat of his anger? No one can. His wrath is poured out like fire and the rocks are broken into pieces by him. It's interesting that the author, like I said, mentions those names, Bashan, Carmel, and Lebanon, since all of those places are in the north, where at the time of Nahum's writing, Assyria, these people controlled.
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  Their might militarily was beyond measure at the time. They were seen as invincible. In fact, they were the nation that God had raised up in order to punish the northern tribes of Israel. They probably seemed, to those two remaining tribes, Judah and Benjamin, seemed invincible. They were constantly living under the threat of a Syrian invasion. And here he says, even they who inhabit the north, Bashan, Carmel, and Lebanon.
• 22:40
  Even they will one day melt like wax in the hot sun with none to rescue them. The Lord is sovereign over all things. And then in verse 7, finally, he says, the Lord is good. You guys see that? If you guys like to underline in your Bibles, if you circle certain phrases, that's a good one to circle. The Lord is good. Psalm 107 in verse 1 says, the Lord is good. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. We'll try it again.
• 23:16
  Because nobody did it. I kept waiting for the redeemed of the Lord to say so. Are you guys ready? Psalm 107, the Lord is good. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. The Lord is good. Say it with me. The Lord is good. Turn to your neighbor. Look at them, whoever you're sitting by. Tell them, the Lord is good. You're supposed to say it. It actually commands us to say it. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. You say, well, why do we have to say it? Because nobody else will.
• 23:42
  Why do the redeemed of the Lord have to say it? Well, because if the redeemed of the Lord don't say it, who's going to say it? The Lord is good. And we, of all people, should know that truth. We stand upon that truth. Our grace is founded upon that truth. The Lord is good. And even when nothing else is good, we can retreat to that truth.
• 24:07
  The Lord is good for most of our lives. We have all lived under the assumed truths of two basic statements. There are two basic statements which are said all the time and that we just assume are true. First, that the Pope is indeed Catholic, right?
• 24:32
  I don't know why we say it that way, but that's how we say it. Well, is the Pope Catholic? You know, it's just this assumed truth. And everybody in the room just says, well, yeah, we assume he's Catholic. And second, that bears do indeed go to the bathroom in the woods. We assume that's where they go. It's just a truth that is stated which needs no further evidence or proof.
• 24:55
  The Pope is Catholic and bears go to the bathroom in the woods. Those are the two statements that we all have lived under all of our lives. They are so universally agreed upon that they need no further proof. They are called axioms. An axiomatic statement is a statement that is so universally accepted as truth that it needs no further evidence. Now listen again to J. Vernon McGee. The goodness of God is an axiom from Scripture.
• 25:24
  and an axiom for life. It is a statement which should be so universally agreed upon that it needs no further proof. You say, well, why would that be an axiom? Consider for a moment, church, if we served a jealous, wrathful, powerful, just, and sovereign God who was not good. What if he wasn't good? What if he was wicked and angry and spiteful?
• 25:58
  and held grudges but he was all of those other things powerful and just and all of that but was not good where would we be i mean honestly what would that mean for us wouldn't be good in fact i'm of the opinion that none of us would even be here this whole thing would have ended a long time ago right around genesis chapter three right where they sin he's like i told you not to sin and that was it
• 26:30
  And the whole thing just went on as, I don't know, as if humans never existed, I guess. I don't even think we would be here. Our very existence proves the axiom. The Lord has to be good because if he's not good, none of us would exist. Isn't that true? If God were all of those other things but hated us, man, we'd have ceased to exist a long time ago. We'd be in trouble. Verse 7.
• 27:00
  An axiomatic statement, the Lord is good. It calls him a stronghold in the day of trouble. When you're in trouble, run to him. It says that he knows those who take refuge in him. Those who know him and he knows them can take refuge in him. In fact, he will even take us in. Why? Because he is good, jealous, avenging, patient, powerful, just, sovereign, and good. That's who God is. But what does God do? And if you were going to sum it up very simply,
• 27:29
  God follows through. If you want to know what he does, that's what he does. God follows through. If someone ever asks you, what does God do? The simple answer can be he does what he says he's going to do. He keeps his promises. Fundamental to his nature is the keeping of his word. 2 Timothy 2 says that he cannot deny himself. We enjoy quoting Isaiah 55 where it says the word of the Lord will not return void. And why will it not? Because the God of the word will ensure it is fulfilled.
• 27:59
  Isaiah 26 says simply that God does not, indeed cannot, tell a lie. When Jesus said that he does the work of his Father in John 5, that is the work to which he referred, the fulfilling of the Father's promises and prophecies. And the remainder of Nahum 1 describes the work of God by boiling it down to two main categories. God punishes the wicked and promises to rescue his people. And so let's look. Pick up with me in verse 8. Notice how he punishes the wicked. And church, it ain't good.
• 28:28
  Verse 8, but with an overflowing flood, he will make a complete end of the adversaries, his enemies. He will pursue his enemies into darkness. What do you plot against the Lord? Can you imagine all these little generals scheming together about their battle plan to go against God? The weapons they will bring. And the author just says, what are you plotting against the Lord? He's going to make a complete end of you. Trouble will not rise up a second time. You ain't getting up off the mat. They're like tangled thorns, like drunkards as they drink. They're consumed with stubble, fully dried.
• 29:00
  From you came one who plotted evil against the Lord, a worthless counselor. Thus says the Lord, though they are at full strength and many, they will be cut down and pass away. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no more, and now I will break his yoke from off of you and will burst your bonds apart. The Lord has given commandment about you. No more shall your name be perpetuated. From the house of your gods I will cut off the carved image and the metal image. I will make your grave, for you are vile. Man.
• 29:30
  Nineveh's destruction will be complete. It will be conclusive, like chaff that is completely burned up, like a drunkard who was unable to recover. So utter will be their demise that their name will even be forgotten. You see in verse 14, your name shall no more be perpetuated. Nobody's even going to remember your name. Your children will be barren. God literally told Nineveh that he would bury them.
• 29:56
  Verse 14, I am digging your grave. I will make your grave. I'm digging a hole, Nineveh, and I'm putting you in it, and no one will be left to mourn you. God punishes his enemies, but notice this promise. He does not forget his people. Verse 15, behold upon the mountains the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace. I've heard this message preached that that good news there is the gospel good news. Behold upon the mountains.
• 30:26
  the feet of him who bring good news, publishes peace, referring to an evangelist, an evangelist who would come, proclaim peace, the feet of him. He's delivering this message of good news. I've heard choir arrangements even where it's sung that way, and certainly the gospel is good news, and the blessed are the feet of those who bring it. But that's not what this is referring to in context. This good news.
• 30:48
  would be good news to the judeans who were living under threat of assyrian invasion the good news that they were waiting for is that the assyrians had been completely annihilated oh what great news that would be your enemy has been destroyed by god and they cannot get up they will not get up you no longer need to live in fear of them and so the lord said keep your feasts o judah fulfill your vows never again shall that worthless man pass through you he is utterly
• 31:18
  Cut off. That good news that they were waiting for was that Nineveh had truly been condemned. The promise of God had been fulfilled. And at church, God is not an uptight lunch lady, and He isn't watching the apples. He's not watching the cookies either. He's jealous for you. He made you, and you're His. He's avenging. Like a husband who loves his wife and will defend her, He is slow to anger, not willing that any would perish, but that all would come to repentance. He is powerful and just. He made us. He sustains us.
• 31:51
  and he's good. He does what he says he's going to do, punishes the wicked, but also rewards the righteous. And God, we rejoice in this truth. God, thank you for your word, which reveals who you are. God, because the better we know you, the more fulfilled our lives will be. You are the focus of our lives, and so Lord, may we fix our eyes on you, the author and perfecter of our faiths. In Jesus' name, amen.