Nahum 3

Introduction

“If Christ has died for me, I cannot trifle with the evil that killed my best Friend.” -Charles Spurgeon. It’s almost a cliche that Christians are “holier than thou.” We refuse to do things that would hurt God and desire to please Him with every aspect of our lives. That’s why we take unpopular stances on abortion, homosexuality, drugs, alcohol, porn, and others. We want to preserve life and live holy unto the Lord. Our lives are spent denying sin and pursuing Christ. “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” -Augustine of Hippo (Confessions, Book 1.1).

But why? What’s the point of avoiding the things the world finds okay? We call certain things sin and other things righteous. What’s the big deal? God shows us what the big deal is in Nahum 3.

I. The Severity of Sin (v. 1-7)

A. Nahum pronounces a woe of judgment against Nineveh (v. 1-3)

1.Nineveh built her power through lies, robbery, cruelty, extreme violence, etc.

a. Nahum depicts the terror of judgment: the sound of whips, galloping horses, swords and spears clashing, countless dead

b. Nineveh’s sin provoked and deserved an equally horrendous punishment. They received the same kind of cruelty as they dealt to other nations. God was sending Babylon against Assyria to destroy it for its continual sin.

2. v. 4-7 give very graphic imagery to show the intensity of sin

a. Nineveh is like a harlot who seduced other nations only to betray them

b. Therefore, God is going to reveal their true nature to the world (showing their nakedness). The deeds of Nineveh are evil and God is against it. So, He was going to make an example of them

c. The message for all people is, “Don’t follow in their footsteps or your end will be like theirs.”

B. We need to learn and remember that sin is against One primary person, God

1. He is Good and loving. The first two commandments encapsulate the intended purpose of creation: to love Him and love others

a. Sin promotes and accomplishes the opposite: hating people and hating God

1. When we don’t treat people like they are special creatures formed in the image of God then we are putting ourselves as god and attempt to beat others down to forge them into our own image

2. That same message declares to the One, True, Living God that we are better.

b. Our sin hurts us, others, and most of all, God Himself

1. Is it any wonder why God is against those who live in and practice sin (v. 5-7)?

2. Sin creates chaos and breeds destruction

2. God never intended for us to sin, His desire is for us to do good. Because righteous actions promote peace, love, and joy

a. Pure and undefiled religion is about helping those in need and being unstained from the world (pure, James 1:27)

b. God created us to do good, to love, serve, and help others

c. But sin puts self first, following the prideful ways of Satan. Now people are not special and the needy should not be cared for, only actions that put self first and and put self ahead matter.

3. God’s powerful and graphic judgment shows the horrible nature of sin and how pivotal it is to abandon sin and pursue righteousness

II. God’s Justice (v. 8-18)

A. God is consistent in His stance on sin

1. We often justify our actions either to make ourselves feel better or to help us go one step further

a. We know lying is wrong, but it isn’t as bad as stealing or murder. So, it’s not as big of a deal, so long as I’m doing it to protect someone I love

b. Where does that mentality get us? That little white lie isn’t a big deal, meaning, we grow numb to sin, which eventually leads us down a path of continual sin and actions that breed more consequences

c. The reality is that all sin is evil, no matter how minute it seems to us. Sin goes against God and His nature and is destructive to us and others

2. God has made known how intense the punishment is for sin and it is a just punishment

a. For sin is so egregious that God must display equal justice, a fitting punishment for the crime (v. 8-11)

1. Nineveh had an abuse of power, stomping on the poor and needy, negligence of life, lack of empathy for God’s image bearers, worship of greed and false gods all amounting to vengeance. God knows the right punishment and will enact it

2. He uses No-amon as an example. It was one of the greatest victories of the Assyrian empire, which solidified Assyria as the dominating world power

aa. No-amon (Thebes) was the capital of Egypt, it was by the Nile and surrounded with water. Assyria swept in like the sea and destroyed it around 30 years before this prophecy (663 BC)

bb. Ethiopia was an ally of Egypt and the joint force of these two nations failed when facing Assyria. They were cast down, enslaved, dashed to pieces

cc. Nineveh, Assyria’s capital, was going to become like that

b. The point is to show an obvious and popular illustration of people who had sin and the destruction that followed. Sinners will reap the same consequences upon themselves

1.Pharaoh comes to mind, he wouldn’t let God’s people go so the 10 plagues decimated Egypt, eventually ending in Pharaoh’s death in the Red Sea

2. Adam knew the consequences of eating the forbidden fruit, but he did it anyway. Effectively bringing a curse upon all creation because he gave in to temptation

3. Cain offered a poor sacrifice and was upset that his brother, Abel’s was accepted. He let his bitterness turn to anger and he killed his brother

B. A lifestyle of sin grows until it reaches a breaking point where God says, “enough!” (v. 12)

1.He is patient, giving many opportunities for repentance, a turning away from evil and pursuing God/His righteousness

a. Just like figs that grow to full ripeness, when they reach a certain point they can be shaken off and fall

1. Nineveh’s sin grew until they were ready to be shaken off and devoured so they could no longer hurt people and sin against God

2. The Lord was going to devour them using Babylon, they were going to be consumed just as they consumed others (v. 13-18)

b. James 1:15 “Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”

2. God doesn’t just call down fire from heaven at the drop of a hat. He waited, giving them opportunity upon opportunity to change their ways

a. The problem? Nineveh and Assyria continued to grow in sinfulness until God finally said enough

b. We Christians need not fear the wrath of God. Jesus took that punishment for us and he has given us a new heart

1.Yes, we stumble and fall into sin because of our corrupt flesh. But God is patient and merciful

2. The only way we need to fear judgment is if we purposefully abandon Christ and pursue a lifestyle of sin

3. 1 John 3:7–10 “Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”

a. It’s not about living perfectly, it’s about living consistently

b. Those who are not in Christ are a ticking time bomb, awaiting judgment and destruction. They dwell in sin and practice it. Jesus redeems our souls and enables us to live for God

c. As Christians we need to choose faithfulness/consistency. Our desire to be faithful is a great sign that we are not headed for wrath and destruction

Application/Conclusion

This begs the question: what can we learn from Nineveh’s bad example? V. 19: Nineveh refused to change and their time ran out. The way they treated God and other nations caused a lack of empathy and mercy. Nineveh was getting what they deserved. In a sense, Nineveh/Assyria accepted the impending doom by their choice to continue down the path of evil. Our lesson should be to do the opposite of Nineveh: love God and love others.

We recognize how evil sin is and we desire to be better, to be Godly. That’s why we pursue God, we learn to love our enemies/our neighbors, we choose to live up to the manner of life God created for us: good, righteous, loving. We need not fear judgment for we belong to God in Christ and we pursue holiness, though we may struggle from time to time. We do not practice sin regularly, as a lifestyle. Rather, we lead a life of godliness. Let us be an example to others, showing the lost that there is a better way than evil, than pride, than greed. Loving God and loving others leads us to a blessed, fulfilling, and hopeful life.

Nineveh serves as an example of a sinful people who refused to repent and received their just desserts. We do not want to end up like them, nor do we want our co-workers, family members, neighbors, fellow Americans, or anyone else to grow in wickedness until it is too late. So, our lifestyles are the opposite of what Nineveh did: we pursue God’s Person and Righteousness, we spend regular time in God’s Word and in prayer, we worship God in song and in service. We love and serve people as God’s image-bearers, we put other’s needs first, we pray for those who persecute us, we encourage one another during trials, we declare the grace and mercy of Christ to all who need it (and we all need it). Live a life that is an example to others, shine the light of Christ by loving God with your whole self and loving others the way Christ loves them.