The Dangers of a Forgetful Heart

[Greeting]

Good morning City on a Hill! I truly want to thank you all for having me join you today. It is so nice to see you all, especially in person. Speaking of, isn’t it great to be able to have church services held indoor once again!? I think it’s safe to say that this is largely a long-awaited answer to a prayer. So much of the time I had spent here working with the youth was time spent during the lockdown and through Zoom. Personally, this opportunity to be in person once again has served my dreary heart so well, because I believe God has wired me in such a way where I thrive off of human interaction and companionship. I believe that most everyone is wired this way, to varying degrees, of course. So thankfully, God has met us in this prayer and brought us back to what we’ve longed to have for over a year! Our God is so awesome.

[Intro]

I am confident that most of us, if not all, are familiar with the quote “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it”. This quote has been credited to Spanish author and philosopher George Santayana, as well as Winston Churchill. To this day, the sheer number of people who have resonated with this quote is innumerable!

When we look at our world around us today, we can see just how immediately valid this quote is. The most recent example of this would which many have written about by now would be the COVID pandemic (the argument being that people have not learned from past pandemics the importance of quarantining). Another very clear example of history repeating itself can be seen in the 2007 stock market crash in comparison to the Great Recession in the 1930’s. This one is not quite as well known, but did you know we have had two major dam disasters in the last century? The first was the South Fork Dam in Pennsylvania in 1889. The poor engineering caused 3.6 billion gallons of water to kill collapse through the dam and killed over 2000 people. In 1928, a similar event took place with the St. Francis Dam.

There are hundreds more example of how history has repeated itself because people neglect to learn from it. We will see today that this is exactly what took place with the Ninevites between the time of Jonah’s warning and Nahum’s arrival. Just think how so many disasters could be avoided if everyone took the time to learn lessons from the past! In the Ninevite’s case, we will see just how Dangerous a Forgetful Heart can be. Open with me please to Nahum 1:

Nahum 1 ESV

1 An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh. 2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. 3 The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. 4 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; he dries up all the rivers; Bashan and Carmel wither; the bloom of Lebanon withers. 5 The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it. 6 Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him. 7 The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. 8 But with an overflowing flood he will make a complete end of the adversaries, and will pursue his enemies into darkness. 9 What do you plot against the Lord? He will make a complete end; trouble will not rise up a second time. 10 For they are like entangled thorns, like drunkards as they drink; they are consumed like stubble fully dried. 11 From you came one who plotted evil against the Lord, a worthless counselor. 12 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. 13 And now I will break his yoke from off you and will burst your bonds apart.” 14 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.” 15 Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace! Keep your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows, for never again shall the worthless pass through you; he is utterly cut off.

Context:

Boy there is a substantial amount of judgment here, right?!? You’re probably thinking, “Why is Aaron choosing to teach about this condemning passage about Nineveh?” Well, that’s a fair question to ask. My goal today is to show you WHY this decree came about and HOW this passage shapes your understanding of God’s love and His patience.

When looking at Nahum 1, we can’t understand the context without going back a couple of books over to Jonah. But first, I need you guys to help me out here!

- Who can summarize the story of Jonah in 30 seconds or less?

(SELF-NOTE: make sure to mention that most people usually leave out chapter 4 from their memory of the Jonah story. This tells a lot about Jonah and also a lot about God’s heart for the world)

- What do you know of Nineveh? Who were the residents of this city?

I’m going to momentarily highlight a little background of the nation of Assyria, explain how this information plays a role in the book of Jonah, and then let this information play its role in creating the context for our understanding of Nahum 1.

“The Assyrian People”

- Popular belief that Jonah’s disobedience out of fear of the Ninevites

- Nineveh was part of Assyria. Assyrians were ruthless to their enemies.

o Assyrian king Shalmaneser III was famed for this.

o Bronze etching in Balawat (modern-day Iraq) Palace doors contains images of Shalmaneser surrounded by his enemies’ dismembered hands, feet, and heads, and an intact body impaled on a stake.[1]

o Some images had even depicted Assyrians skinning their enemies!

As true as this information is, I’m going to contend that this probably isn’t the best reading into the book of Jonah (I promise, you’ll see in a moment how this all ties into Nahum 1!).

“The Likelier Reading of Jonah”

Jonah’s attitude

I believe that Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh because He believed that God’s salvation should only be available to Israel.

Flip over to Jonah 4 with me, picking up in verse 1: Jon 4:1-4

Jonah 4:1–4 ESV

1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. 3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”

- Jonah was angry that the Assyrians heeded God’s warning of judgment in chapter 3. He was angry that God also relented from this judgment because of their positive response to the warning.

- If you didn’t catch it in my reading, catch the words there in v. 2b. Jonah hated Nineveh so much that he confesses WHY he did not want to go to Nineveh.

o It was because Jonah knew that God is gracious and willing to forbear with Nineveh. This verse shows that:

§ Jonah didn’t flee out of fear, but rather, because of indignation towards Nineveh.

§ I’m not Jonah, but it looks like this text clears up for us that Jonah did not have righteous anger in mind. He was angry about Israel’s past history under Assyrian brutality.

- Flip over to 2 Kings with me. Open up to 2 Kings 14:23-25 [read]

2 Kings 14:23–25 ESV

23 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, began to reign in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. 24 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. 25 He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher.

25 …, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher.”

o We see that Jeroboam was an evil king, but a little tid-bit for you: during his reign, Israel was standing well, politically.

o So much could be said just between these 2 passages, but for the sake of time, this suggests to us that Jonah was being sent to Nineveh in a time when there was no direct threat to Israel politically.

Summary: Neither fear of Nineveh’s barbarism nor political threats were the source of Jonah’s unwillingness to deliver God’s message to Nineveh. It was his indignation alone that served as his basis to disobey God.

Ninevite’s response explained

Last piece of information to tackle before we delve back into Nahum. Flip back one chapter into chapter 3 of Jonah. Picking up in verse 1: (Jon. 3:1-5)

Jonah 3:1–5 ESV

1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

Many have taken this passage to be a sign of proof that there was salvific repentance in the Ninevites. They take verse 5 along with Nineveh’s King’s response in verses 7-9 to be their proof point in this explanation.

Now admittedly, my knowledge of the Hebrew at this current point in time is limited. But I think this is something worth thinking about:

[rhetorical]

Do you recall what the sailors’ response was when they were amidst the storm and saw that the only way to calm the storm was to throw Jonah off the boat?

o Jonah 1:14 says, “Therefore, they called out the Lord, ‘O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.’”

§ Both times that the word “Lord” is used here, the sailors use the word “Yahweh”. This is God’s covenant name with Israel!

- This is not the word the Ninevites use when the word “God” is used in Jonah 3:5, 7, and 9. They used the word “Elohim”.

o Though I’d love to nerd out and spend another 20 minutes on this little tid-bit alone, here’s why I mention this:

§ The word “Elohim” could refer to the plain idea of a “god” or “gods” in general. For purposes of today’s message and tying into Nahum, I’ll give you exactly what is important to know about this:

· The wording and syntax here does not refer to salvation. What it DOES indicate is that the Ninevites believed the truth in the message they were being told, not believing in the God who sent the message.[2]

§ We don’t know why! Scripture never tells us why. But it’s very possible that they were desperate and taking any/all signs they could get their hands on.

§ [rhetorical]

Did you know the word “Nineveh” means “House of Fishes”?

§ [rhetorical]

Did you know that Ninevites worshipped a fish god?

§ What I’m about to say isn’t evidenced biblically, nor am I suggesting you read in between the lines to create a new meaning from this book, but don’t you think that if the Lord Yahweh had allowed Jonah to be swallowed by a fish, only to then be vomited out and to preach to a nation of fish worshippers that God is warning them to turn away from their evil, that this nation of fish worshippers would listen?

· To them, they’re witnessing a man who survived being swallowed by their god telling them to turn away from their evil. Of course they’ll listen!

[Transition] Nineveh, a nation of Assyrians, who were gruesome towards their adversaries, have been shown impartiality by God to turn from their wicked practices. When God used Jonah through the swallowing and vomiting of the fish to get the attention of a fish-worshipping nation, He did to with the intent to catch Nineveh’s attention! When Jonah proclaimed the message to them that God told him to communicate, even the King of Nineveh quickly heeded these words out of fear of further subjugation and national decline. And though there doesn’t seem to be salvific repentance from the Ninevites towards Yahweh, God STILL relented in delivering their destruction. My friends, this is a display of God’s pure patience, which is exactly what we see as we flip our Bibles back over to Nahum 1:

I. God Exercises Patience Before He Enforces Justice (v. 2-8)

a. [Explanation] Here is an attribute of God that we see frequently throughout the Bible. God is slow to anger. Verse 3: “The Lord is slow to anger and great in power…” And again, verse 7 says, “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble…”. God does not act facetiously in this exercise of His wrath.

i. There is about a 100-150-year gap between Jonah 4 and Nahum 1. Not only did Nineveh revert to its former ways, but God still waited 150 YEARS before moving towards vengeance!

ii. The remainder of the verses between 2-8 are a further description of His great power.

1. Verse 6 says “Who can stand before His indignation? Who can endure the heat of His anger?”

2. You may wonder why God speaks so strongly against Nineveh in this passage. Some of you may even wonder, “well 150 years isn’t even that long of a time period”. Let me pose 2 items to process:

a. ��First - In the grand scheme of history, God has proven to not play favorites. He has offered salvation to all. Consider why He sent Jonah to Nineveh to begin with!

i. That book even ends with God saying to Jonah, “…should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left…?”

ii. Before God jumped into condemnation, He was patient. In his patience, He sent them a prophet to give them the opportunity to turn from sin and to follow the One True God.

b. Second – How long did God need to be patient with you before you finally turned around? If you reflect on the magnitude of your sin and the number of years that it took for you to be pulled out of the curse of sin, would YOU consider it to be a short amount of time?

i. See, some of you have been saved by grace. Some of you are still resisting to give your hearts to Jesus. What will it take for you to realize that He is extending His patience to you for as long as breath is in your lungs?

b. [Transition…] God is incredibly forbearing. Far beyond you could even attempt to comprehend. But don’t be fooled into thinking that you can simply live on borrowed time. Because even though God is patient, He is also a:

II. God is For Justice and His Children (v. 9-15)

a. [Explanation] Justice must come into the picture at some point. Forbearance cannot last forever.

i. Right away in verse 9, it’s clear that there is only so much time given before justice must be acted upon. Nah 1:9

Nahum 1:9 ESV

What do you plot against the Lord? He will make a complete end; trouble will not rise up a second time.

1. God took a nation as great as Assyria and brought it to its knees within the blink of an eye. This is to demonstrate His absolute power over even the nations. Verse 12 says “Though they are at full strength and many, they will be cut down and pass away…” (Nah 1:12)

Nahum 1:12 ESV

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.

a. Assyria was very feared by every nation who neighbored them. Could you imagine the awe and fear that dropped on their face when God delivered the crushing blow to this nation who had controlled the fears of everyone around them?

2. Again, in verse 14, “No more shall your name be perpetuated; from the house of your gods I will cut off the carved image and the metal image.”

a. God Himself decreed the death of Assyria.[3]

i. The Assyrians persisted in their idol worship. Once they’d overrun a city, they’d remove the gods in that city’s temple and insert their own gods’ images.

ii. The Assyrians had Israel under captivity for almost 70 years!

ii. There’s so much travesty and gloom that shadows over on the surface of Nahum chapter 1. That is, until we reach verse 15, most commonly claimed to be the key verse of the whole book!

1. “Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace!” – Nah 1:15

Nahum 1:15 ESV

Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace! Keep your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows, for never again shall the worthless pass through you; he is utterly cut off.

a. To Judah, this would have been the most promising statement of hope they could ever expect to hear. This peace meant that Judah would return to its wholeness as prior to their captivity.

b. This verse speaks of evangelists who would come forth to declare Judah’s freedom from captivity and return to peace in their land!

c. To Christians today, who have been illumined to the beauty of the good news of the gospel, we know that the Ultimate Peace Bringer is none other than Jesus Himself.

i. Which of you lacks peace in their life? Which of you are longing for insurmountable peace to cover the totality of your life? Come to Jesus!

b. [Transition] Judah was promised hope in this verse, but the greater Prince of Peace is who we as Christians look to now!

Application:

1) The most apparent application point based on the surface-reading of this text is evangelism! God used Jonah and Nahum to tell a nation that they need to turn from their sins. God may not be calling us to evangelize to a nation, but He IS calling us to evangelize to people, to persons, to individuals, to turn from their sin and to find the beauty and hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Let me ask you: When was the last time you took up an opportunity to share the gospel with someone? Does your gospel presentation bring the person face-to-face with sin and offer the solution of Jesus?

2) Assyria was very oppressive and harsh towards God’s chosen people. You may not currently be in the same shoes as what the Israelites were enduring then, but maybe you are going through a very challenging time right now. Maybe that’s caused by an oppression of sorts within your immediate circles in life. Maybe it’s not oppression, but you’re just battling very heart-sinking matters in life and you can’t quite get your head up above water. Nahum 1 is inherently fixated on the sovereignty of God. That means God is 100% control over everything in this life, including your own. Just like God did not forget the cruelty that His people faced, He will not forget what you are going through. He is with you now and will always be. Lean into His arms and trust that God will raise you up through this season.

3) This much should be self-evident, but plainly put, do not allow yourself to regress into inhabiting a forgetful heart. When God works in your heart to pull you through different sins and spiritual struggles in your life, He does so to show you that by His power, He has given you victory. We as humans tend to be very forgetful. We get preoccupied by many matters, some trivial, others are more valid concerns. But when we forget the lessons God has taught us in this ongoing spiritual process, where He chisels away at our sin and turns us into a masterpiece based on the image of His Son, we wallow once again in our sin which He delivered us from. This forgetful heart is very dangerous. And though God is a God of endless patience, He must act on His justice in time. Learn humbly, submit quickly, and walk in the way of your Master.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barker, Kenneth L. Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah. Vol. 20. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999.

Hoyt, JoAnna M. Amos, Jonah, & Micah. Edited by H. Wayne House and William D. Barrick. Evangelical Exegetical Commentary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018.

https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-events/10-worst-ways-history-has-repeated-itself.htm

[1] JoAna M. Hoyt, Amos, Jonah, & Micah: Evangelical Exegetical Commentary (Bellingham: Lexham Press, 2018), 354-355.

[2] Hoyt, Amos, Jonah, & Micah, 484-485.

[3] Kenneth L. Barker, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 189-190.