Over the last two posts we have shown from Nahum chaper one how mighty and evil the city of Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire was. We have also seen how they were no match for God. Yesterday we saw that God is jealous – meaning that He has a burning desire to see justice and righteousness. Based on that fact of God, vengeance on Nineveh was assured. We also saw that God is slow to anger. That is why His judgment doesn’t always come quickly. He gives man time to repent. Today we see two more characteristics of God in Nahum chapter one that makes Nineveh no match for Him.
God is great in power (v3b-6). God’s being slow to anger in taking vengeance on Assyria was certainly not because of lack of power or a need to build up His strength. His power is evident.
His power is seen in His ability to control hurricanes and storms (v3). The people of Nineveh certainly didn’t have that power.
His power is seen in His being above the clouds – He walks on the clouds. Can the Assyrians do that? Can King Sennacherib do that? (v3)
His power is seen in His ability to cause seas and rivers to dry up (v4). He did so for Israel when He parted the Red Sea and the Jordan River. Jesus showed this divine power when He calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee and walked on water. Can any Assyrian mimic this?
His power is seen in His ability to cause fertile lands to wither and cause the elements to shudder (v5). In other words, who are the people of Nineveh when compared to God? His delay in bringing judgment isn’t because of a lack of power – it’s because of an abundance of grace.
The conclusion is obvious. No one can withstand His power. The Assyrians thought they could. In 2 Kings 18:35, as they laid siege on Jerusalem, the captain of Sennacherib’s armies asked this question, “Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their land from my hand that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?” He thought he was invincible He thought he was no match for this Jewish God. But he found out wrong, as we saw yesterday, when the angel of the Lord came while his army was sleeping and slew 185,000 of his fighting men.
We must remove any thoughts from our minds of God being limited in power and compare His power with any force in our life that we see as great. J.I. Packer put it this way, “We are modern men, and modern men, though they cherish great thoughts of man, as a rule have small thoughts of God.”
God is great in power (v3b-6). God’s being slow to anger in taking vengeance on Assyria was certainly not because of lack of power or a need to build up His strength. His power is evident.
His power is seen in His ability to control hurricanes and storms (v3). The people of Nineveh certainly didn’t have that power.
His power is seen in His being above the clouds – He walks on the clouds. Can the Assyrians do that? Can King Sennacherib do that? (v3)
His power is seen in His ability to cause seas and rivers to dry up (v4). He did so for Israel when He parted the Red Sea and the Jordan River. Jesus showed this divine power when He calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee and walked on water. Can any Assyrian mimic this?
His power is seen in His ability to cause fertile lands to wither and cause the elements to shudder (v5). In other words, who are the people of Nineveh when compared to God? His delay in bringing judgment isn’t because of a lack of power – it’s because of an abundance of grace.
The conclusion is obvious. No one can withstand His power. The Assyrians thought they could. In 2 Kings 18:35, as they laid siege on Jerusalem, the captain of Sennacherib’s armies asked this question, “Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their land from my hand that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?” He thought he was invincible He thought he was no match for this Jewish God. But he found out wrong, as we saw yesterday, when the angel of the Lord came while his army was sleeping and slew 185,000 of his fighting men.
We must remove any thoughts from our minds of God being limited in power and compare His power with any force in our life that we see as great. J.I. Packer put it this way, “We are modern men, and modern men, though they cherish great thoughts of man, as a rule have small thoughts of God.”
God is jealous. God is slow to anger. God is powerful. And finally, Nahum reminds us that God is good (v7-8). This jealous and powerful God that takes vengeance on His enemies is just as powerful in protecting those who trust Him (v7). In verse 8, Nahum predicts the destruction of the city of Nineveh which occurred in 612 BC just as he said it would. And that’s just the beginning 8 verses of this amazing book of Nahum which is the sequel to the story of Jonah and the Whale.
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