A Severe Stronghold
Notes
Transcript
Nahum 1:1-8
Many Christians avoid giving time and energy in the 12 minor prophets of the OT (Hosea-Malachi), as do many pastors. Why?
They are foreign to us in many ways
They are in a unique writing style and often in a mix of styles
They deal a lot with wrath and punishment
They take work and thought to make the proper Gospel connections
They are in the OT
My prayer is that we will not neglect them, but study and love them
This book is written with wrath and hope as its themes
This book is for Judah and Assyria
This introductory section is a hymn
This hymn is a declaration of universal judgment
(vv.1-2) The LORD is jealous
How is He jealous?
Is it as C.S. Lewis thought of God before He came to faith?
He thought if God as one who had a craving for our worship like a vain woman wanting compliments, or a vain author presenting his new books to people who never met or heard of him
He lays claim to all men
He has created all men
He has made man in His image for His glory
He is worthy of all honor and glory
He is jealous for our worship in all of life
Isaiah 42:8- I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.
He is avenging and wrathful
He never lets sin go unpunished
His anger is righteous
His judgment is always in perfect proportion to the offense
Sin is a really big deal
One of the signs that we are out of touch with the realities of God is when we make light of sin in our lives
“It was just a little white lie”
“It was just a cuss word, and it wasn’t even the F word”
“It was just a few answers on my homework that I copied”
“It was just an extra glance, it's not like I committed adultery”
(vv.3b-6,8) The LORD is unfathomably mighty
He wields infinite power
He wields power over the heavens
His way is in whirlwind and storm
The clouds are the dust of His feet
He wields power over the waters
Rebukes the sea and makes it dry
Dries up all the rivers
Psalm 106:9- He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry, and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
He wields power over the earth
The mountains quake
The hills melt
The earth heaves
Psalm 135:5-7- For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
Who can stand before Him?
Noone
We all stand guilty in our sin
(v.3a) The LORD is slow to anger
He does not give quick vent to His wrath
He is gracious and merciful toward sinners
Exodus 34:5-9- The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”
His slowness to anger reveals His quickness to forgive
This passage is crying out “look to Jesus!”
2 Peter 3:7-9- But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
He is quick to forgive all who come to Him in faith in His Son
Christ bore the hot indignation of God for our sin
By His blood, you are cleansed from sin
The Gospel is inexpressibly great because your sin was unimaginably deep and His grace is endlessly high
(v.7) The LORD is a stronghold
Becasue of Christ, He knows all who take refuge in Him
He knows you intimately
He will not abandon you
He is good, and through Christ, His goodness is 100% FOR YOU… you who He knows by name
Becasue of Christ, He is a stronghold through all of life’s troubles
Psalm 46:1- God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Arthritis and headaches
Sickness and Cancer
Financial hardship
Catastrophic wildfires and the horror of war
Tragic loss
Discouragement you feel before today is done
Becasue of Christ, He will be your stronghold when you stand face to face
Revelation 6:15-17- Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
Revelation 7:9,13-15- After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,... (13) Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
Consider the severity and kindness of God. He is severe toward those who would rebel against Him and rob Him of His glory. But He is a tender stronghold for all who receive the crucified Christ by faith. They will joyfully hide in the shelter of His presence forever.