WHO CAN STAND?

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

A prophecy concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum, the Elkoshite.

“The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The Lord takes vengeance on His foes and vents His wrath against His enemies.”

“The Lord is slow to anger but great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebukes the sea and dries it up; He makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither and the blossoms of Lebanon fade. The mountains quake before Him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at His presence, the world and all who live in it.”

“Who can withstand His indignation? Who can endure His fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before Him.”

Nahum 1:1-6

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today, we continue our study of the minor prophets in the Old Testament by looking at Nahum. Before we dive into the book that bears his name, let’s go over some pertinent information, setting the historical period and place.

First, we know Nahum served as a messenger for the Lord during the reign of King Josiah who reigned as the ruler of the southern kingdom of Judah for 31 years from 641-610BC. Given this, we know that Nahum prophesied before the destruction of Israel and Judah by the Assyrians and Babylonians respectively, a destruction that was followed by a seventy year exile.

Secondly, given the period that Nahum served as God’s spokesperson, we know that he did his work at the same time as Zephaniah and Jeremiah in his early years.

Finally, we will see that the focus of Nahum’s prophesies will center on the fall of Nineveh, Assyria’s capital city. This is the same Nineveh that was in the crosshairs of God’s judgment earlier in the Old Testament but then was spared after the city’s people repented following Jonah informing them they would face God’s punishment. As we’ll see in Nahum’s three chapters, the Ninevites went back to their sinful ways and this time around, God wasn’t going to let them off the hook.

With this as a background, let’s look at the first six verses of Chapter 1:

A prophecy concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum, the Elkoshite.

“The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The Lord takes vengeance on His foes and vents His wrath against His enemies.”

“The Lord is slow to anger but great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebukes the sea and dries it up; He makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither and the blossoms of Lebanon fade. The mountains quake before Him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at His presence, the world and all who live in it.”

“Who can withstand His indignation? Who can endure His fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before Him.”  Nahum 1:1-6

Since we know that the Lord’s consequences are about to be pronounced on Nineveh, these words serve as an ominous summation of what the Assyrian city would be up against. It’s downright scary to think about what would happen to anyone who chose to oppose God in any way.

I mean, who can stand against the Lord God Almighty?

Anyone who tries can expect to face the following:

1. A God who is jealous.

“The Lord is a jealous…God.”

God not only expected but commanded that He would be worshiped alone. No other gods were acceptable and if anyone decided to direct their affections toward any other deity, God would deal with that person or persons harshly. He made it clear and He still makes it clear that He is God and He demands that His people always remain faithful to Him.

2. A God who is avenging.

“The Lord is an…avenging God. The Lord takes vengeance…The Lord takes vengeance on His foes”

Do something against God and you can expect He will come against you. No enemy of His will ever be able to stand against His vengeance because no enemy possesses the power of the Lord Almighty.

3. A God of wrath.

“The Lord…is filled with wrath. The Lord…vents His wrath against His enemies. Who can withstand His indignation? Who can endure His fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire.”

It’s never a good place to be when you are facing someone who is angry with you but it’s really a place of utter horror and peril when you are facing the wrath of a God who could easily wipe you off the face of His creation in a moment’s notice. Go back and look at some of the people who decided to be enemies of God. Many of them were completely annihilated, never to see life again.

Indeed, who can withstand the indignation or endure the fierce anger of the Lord?

4. A God who is great in power.

“The Lord is…great in power.”

The word to remember here is “omnipotent” which simply means the Lord is all powerful, perfectly powerful and without rival. Because everyone is subordinate to God’s power, then no one can overcome Him and thus no one will ever gain victory when up against Him.

In other words, no one can stand in opposition to God.

5. A God who does not leave the guilty unpunished.

“The Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebukes the sea and dries it up; He makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither and the blossoms of Lebanon fade. The mountains quake before Him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at His presence, the world and all who live in it.”

People might think they get away with wicked deeds but they don’t and they won’t. God will bring His judgment upon them for the scriptures are truth and the scriptures here assure us that the Lord does not leave the guilty unpunished. Everyone will be held accountable by God for any transgressions they commit.

So what could Nineveh expect after returning to iniquity after receiving God’s pardon?

They could expect a God coming against them who was jealous, avenging, angry, all powerful, and ready to penalize them for their sins.

I think you can figure out they wouldn’t be able to withstand that kind of God.

For no one can stand against God and come out triumphant. It was true in the days of Nahum and it’s still true today.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
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