210718 Nahum: The Gospel Truth

Title

INTRODUCTION

Here’s a riddle for you. “When is good news not good news?” There are actually three possible answers...

Good news is not good news when it’s not for you. If someone is blessed of the Lord in some aspect of their life it doesnt matter much at all unless you are associated with the situation. For example if someone in Nantucket get’s a pay raise it probably doesn’t matter much to you. So good news isn’t good news when its not for you.

Second possible answer to our riddle is that what is good news for one person may not be good for another. One person’s gain is another’s loss. You might be the loser in the situation.

Maybe the last way we could answer the riddle is that good news is not good news when you don’t believe it. We have heard of battles continuing even when the war ends because the news of victory and defeat was not accepted, it wasn’t believed.

Let me as you another question…Not a riddle this time.

What is the Gospel? PAUSE Answer “Good News.” Every Sunday School kiddo knows the answer...

Good News for whom? For everyone? Is that what the Bible says? Is the Gospel ‘good news’ to everyone?

The Gospel is good news... to those who believe it. The fact that (1) Christ lived perfectly under the perfect standard of the law - fulfilling every aspect of it and then choosing to (2) die on our behalf for all our sins past present and future in fulfillment of Scripture and the fact that He was (3) buried and (4) raised from the dead on the third day in fulfillment of Scripture and that (5) He was seen by many witnesses - these facts are a huge relief. It’s good news to those that are perishing. The Gospel is the sweet message of peace with God. The Gospel is the blessed word of forgiveness and reconciliation with the Almighty. The Gospel announcement is that, “when the casket lid closes that’s not the end.” The Gospel tells us that death is a defeated enemy; that sin has an expiration date and that our Creator loves with an incomparable love… These aren’t pie in the sky hopes, Christ was seen, physically by many witnesses after He was raised from the dead… The Gospel means there is a hope and a future for those that cling with both arms to God’s gracious gift…

But back to my question… Is the Gospel good news for everyone?

May I suggest that no, it is not. For non-believers, for rejecters of the truth the Gospel is not good news...Now I am not talking about a “have’s and have’s not” scenario. I am not saying that the Gospel has any imperfection at all.. I am talking about those that have been exposed to the Gospel and refused it. For those that reject Jesus Christ the Gospel is most definitely not good news.... SLIDE

Hebrews 6:4–6 | 4 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.

For those that do not believe; it the Gospel is an indictment against them. When they have been exposed to the truth and have chosen to approach the Almighty on their own terms, they stomp on God’s gracious gift and they are accountable for that. When is good news not good news? When it is not for you, when you reject it.

Well, today we are going to be in the book of Nahum. The book of Nahum is between Micah and Habbakuk in the Old Testament. PAUSE If that little hint isn’t particularly helpful; just hunt around about 2/3rd’s of the way through the Bible and you will find it.

Nahum is pretty tiny, it only has 3 chapters, but what an amazing three chapters it contains! My goodness! If you enjoy action movies or fast paced books, read Nahum. He must have been a pretty interesting guy to be used of the Holy Spirit in writing this book.

Let’s talk context for a moment because it will really fill in a lot of gaps when we read this chapter… Not too much is known about Nahum. His name means to “comfort” or “to be sorrowful.” Ironically, the name that he bears is very similar to the message he bears. “Sweet words of comfort to the saved” but also “dreadfully sorrowful to the damned.” Some scholars have speculated that he actually lived in the area around Nineveh - which is MAP The town of Alqosh - up there on the board. It’s relatively near to Jonah’s old stomping grounds in Nineveh proper MAP and it boasts of hosting the tomb of Nahum - SLIDE there it is up on the board.

Nahum served around the time of two kings: King of Assyria - King Assurbanipal and the King of Judah, Manasseh, around middle of the 7th century BC. SCHEDULE SLIDE King Manasseh was a rotten son of a good king - King Hezekiah. He took the throne at the age of 12 and reigned 55 years. But man was he evil!? He was a super idolater.... He even sacrificed his own sons to Molech. He practiced witchcraft and divination and was wicked through and through.

Manasseh was so wicked that God MANASSEH SLIDE sent the king of Assyria to capture him and they put leather thongs through his nose like an animal and led him away into captivity. King Manasseh prayed during his captivity to the Lord, perhaps he remembered what his good father taught him and he repented. Astonishingly, the Lord who apparently is truly infinite in grace in mercy; actually returned his kingdom to him. Mind boggling really, because the Bible says that he was more wicked than the nations that the Israelites dispossessed. But he turned, he repented and God restored him.

That leads me to my main point which I hope shines through in this sermonMAIN POINT SLIDE .... its from Jesus’ own words in John 3:18 | 18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

For good news to be good news we need to appropriate it, accept it, believe it and act on it and on the flip side we ought to recognize that this good news that we love and adore is not good news for those that reject Christ. For those that reject the gospel it is a death sentence.

Let’s go to prayer...

Prayer

Father God, You display incredible mercy to Your people in this passage. You demonstrate Your power and Your sovereignty through and through. You prove that You love Your people and that You will destroy the wicked.

Father it is with fear I bring this message because it is only because of Your grace that any of us can hear it and internalize it. None of us deserve salvation. We are all here in spite of ourselves and because of Your grace.

Father, my request is that You help us to enjoy the privilege of being bought with the infinite price of Your Son’s life. To revel in Your goodness and grace because You, God, You paid it all, for every sin and every trespass. Help us to glorify You well today. In Jesus’ name I request this, amen.

SERMON

Ok, before we start reading I want to add just one more bit of context to our mind. Jonah had come to Nineveh about 100 years before Nahum and he preached the worlds shortest sermon, Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” Do remember from a couple of weeks ago what the response was? Everyone repented from the king to the lowest servant all turned and God graciously granted them another century. But now they are not going to repent. They are so proud, so wicked, so evil that God is going to wipe them out. The king himself is likely one Assurbanipal, here how this guy introduces himself. It’s almost comical. This was found on a inscription on a building....

Ashurbanipal, the mighty king, king of the universe, king of Assyria, king of the four regions of the world, king of kings, unrivaled prince, who, from the Upper to the Lower Sea, holds sway and has brought in submission at his feet all rulers; son of Esarhaddon, the great king, the mighty king, king of the universe, king of Assyria, viceroy of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad; grandson of Sennacherib, the mighty king, king of the universe, king of Assyria, am I

Wow… the hubris and pride are mind blowing… I have more I could say about this proud king of Nineveh but what really matters is how God assesses him. So let’s jump into the text and read about the revealing of the true king of the Universe that takes vengeance on His enemies READ SLOW SLIDE

I. The Revelation of YHWH (1:1–11)

I.a. YHWH takes vengeance on His adversaries (1:1–3)

1 The oracle of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. 2 A jealous and avenging God is the Lord; The Lord is avenging and wrathful. The Lord takes vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies. 3 The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, And the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. In whirlwind and storm is His way, And clouds are the dust beneath His feet.

The Lord is jealous over His people, He is jealous over His land. He may use the wicked to discipline His people but He will absolutely still establish justice by destroying the wicked. It is amazing in my mind how often the Lord gives His name in these different books of the Bible, over and over again He references how He referred to Himself as He did in Exodus 34:6-7. In that passage the Lord introduced Himself and says His name.

Exodus 34:6–7 | 6 Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; 7 who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”

The faithful covenant keeping people of Judah hearing this message that Nahum brought back must have gotten excited hearing it. Oh, man! You Assyrians are going to catch it now! When the Presence of the Lord arrives you will know it.... Verse 4 SLIDE

I.b. The presence of YHWH (1:4–5)

4 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; He dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither; The blossoms of Lebanon wither. 5 Mountains quake because of Him And the hills dissolve; Indeed the earth is upheaved by His presence, The world and all the inhabitants in it.

As I meditated on this passage, it struck me that these things: the quaking of the world and its upheaval and the drying out of the land could all be attributable to the manifestation of God’s glory. You see, the glory of God, His כְּבֹדִ֑ it’s His significance His authority His importance, it is His weightiness…

The Lord’s declaration of His heft has a literal application. When He descends the mountains quake. When He touches the ground it splits. His power commands the earth to quake and the earth to buckle…

But His כְּבֹדִ֑ His glory is also bright, it is light, it is the pillar of fire that withers all that it comes into contact with. These wicked people, these people of Nineveh that likely did not heed the warning of their forefathers 100 years ago are going to face the furious glory of the Lord SLIDE

I.c. The righteous wrath of YHWH (1:6-11)

6 Who can stand before His indignation? Who can endure the burning of His anger? His wrath is poured out like fire And the rocks are broken up by Him. 7 The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him. 8 But with an overflowing flood He will make a complete end of its site, And will pursue His enemies into darkness. 9 Whatever you devise against the Lord, He will make a complete end of it. Distress will not rise up twice. 10 Like tangled thorns, And like those who are drunken with their drink, They are consumed As stubble completely withered. 11 From you has gone forth one who plotted evil against the Lord, A wicked counselor.

I take it that this wicked counselor is the King of Nineveh Assurbanipal. Although he was extremely wicked he was also extremely well educated and had the first major organized library in the world. SLIDE Here is a picture from the British Museum that has some of the tablets from Assurbanipal’s library… You probably cannot see it but there is a placard in the upper left that says “the first library to contain all knowledge.” Assurbanipal was a smart guy, in his own estimation he probably thought he was as smart or smarter than Solomon. Here is what he said about his own intelligence.

I, Ashurbanipal, king of the universe, on whom the gods have bestowed intelligence, who has acquired penetrating acumen for the most recondite details of scholarly erudition (none of my predecessors having any comprehension of such matters), I have placed these tablets for the future in the library at Nineveh for my life and for the well-being of my soul, to sustain the foundations of my royal name.

King Assurbanipal had thought he was super smart but he wasn’t because our text says that He plotted evil against the Lord.

Psalm 2:1–6 | 1 Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. 5 Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, 6 “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”

That King is Jesus and when He returns it matters not how wicked His foes are or how smart they are… they will all be destroyed which is what is going to happen to Nineveh… There is destruction in store for her but hope for Judah SLIDE

II. Destruction for Nineveh, Hope for Judah (1:12–15)

II.a. Nineveh defeated despite its power (1:12–13)

12 Thus says the Lord, “Though they are at full strength and likewise many, Even so, they will be cut off and pass away. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no longer. 13 “So now, I will break his yoke bar from upon you, And I will tear off your shackles.”

Judah, has its troubles and it has been unfaithful but they have a standing covenant with the Lord. He will protect His people and He offers them hope through the difficulty.

I love this passage: “I will break his yoke bar from upon you and I will tear off your shackles…” That is so evocative of what Christ did for believers. Although believers were dominated by the world the flesh and the devil they are redeemed from all unrighteousness. They are saved and transferred into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son.

Just like the world and the devil Nineveh and its false gods will be judged as well. Verse 14 SLIDE

II.b. Nineveh and its false gods judged (1:14)

14 The Lord has issued a command concerning you: “Your name will no longer be perpetuated. I will cut off idol and image From the house of your gods. I will prepare your grave, For you are contemptible.”

YHWH is Lord over all, not just Judah. He will execute His righteous wrath against the false gods and against Nineveh. Our passage closes with verse 15… SLIDE

II.c. Good News for Judah/Bad news for Nineveh (1:15)

15a Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace!

When is good news not good news? When it’s not for you! These people of Nineveh are going to be destroyed but that is wonderful news for the people of Judah. That skulked under the shadow of King Assurbanipal and his father Essarhadon and grandfather Sennacherib. The nation of Assyria and its capital is toast, and oh how the people of Judah must have desperately wanted to hear this good news. So the Lord gives it to them and tells them to celebrate…

15b Celebrate your feasts, O Judah; Pay your vows.

Just as Jonah confirmed that he would honor his vow for his deliverance so the Lord calls Judah to remember her vows made to YHWH for deliverance. Remember, remember the fox hole prayers and vows of repentance and make good because you have been saved. Verse 15 closes out with these wonderful words that I overlay on top of my own hope for eternity.

15c For never again will the wicked one pass through you; He is cut off completely.

Never again will the wicked one have his way with you. Never again will sin impact you. Never again will temptation be felt. Never, never, never....

SLIDE

V. The Connection to Christ (Romans 10:14–17)

I want to tie all this together as I close and cinch it up close to us personally. The book of Nahum is book of good news and bad news. Good news for those that trust in God for salvation and bad news for those that plotted against the Lord, rejecting His gracious warnings.

Chapter 1 of Nahum closed out with those words “Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace!”

and Paul quotes them in Romans 10 in relation to believers. He says we are the ones to bring good news but they won’t hear unless we get up off our duff and tell it to those around us... Romans 10:14-17 says

Romans 10:14–17 | 14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?

These are rhetorical questions but they all can be answered with a resounding, “They can’t!” He continues in verse 15....

15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”

Like Nahum we, believers, we carry a good message. A great message! A message of a dead and conquered enemy. The one who carried the message of good news to Judah, it says his feet are beautiful. Beautiful, good, anticipated, waited for. Carrying a message that this predator will never hunt you again. You will never have to worry about this nation of Assyria coming and deporting you and your children… humiliating your king, dooming you to a reality of captivity and enslavement… That is over.

There is a parallel for believers… Do you know anyone that will spend eternity in hell that is without hope and needing the Gospel? Are they praying night and day for some way out of their hopelessness? Is that you? Do you have the beautiful feet that will carry to them the Good News of the Gospel? Believers we sleep with calm minds each night because we know that if the worst should happen we will spend eternity with our God. Death is a defeated foe and our sin has been dealt with… But do we know anyone that is losing sleep or dulling their mind with alcohol or drugs because they know they are doomed? Do you have the good news that they are needing, waiting for?

Maybe, but although hearing it is good, we need to remember that “we don’t do the saving.” Unless the Lord enables them to believe - they are lost. We know lots of people headed toward hell because although they heard the good news they did not believe it. Paul closes out with verse 16 and 17 with those words.

16 However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”

Not everyone is the answer. Not everyone. Only the ones whom the Lord has saved based upon His own sovereign choosing which is what the previous chapter was about. The Lord chooses whom to save and whom to allow to have their own way... Verse 17 closes out with these words

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Like Nahum we have an assignment from the Lord. Our job is to go to our friends, our enemies, our jobs our community and tell them the word of Christ. What they do with that information is up to them and the Lord.

Let’s close in prayer.

MAP

CONTEXT

MAIN POINT

“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already

SERMON

CONCLUSION

Isaiah 40:9 | 9 Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, Lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; Lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”

Isaiah 52:7 | 7 How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

Romans 10:15 | 15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”