Yahweh's Severe Anger and Serene Affection

Yahweh’s Severe Anger and Serene Affection

Introduction

Today we begin our series on the book of Nahum, one of the minor prophets in the Old Testament. Nahum is one of the most neglected book in the Old Testament because it is obscure, small, and seldom read. Some think it dry and boring account of an angry God’s dealings with a foreign nation, seeing no value in it. Moreover, the most clear attribute of Yahweh revealed in Nahum is Yahweh’s wrath. Nahum sees Yahweh’s anger as part of his attribute, and many today, are repugnant of such a God who is wrathful. As a result, they have created a god of their own imagination who is nothing but love. Nahum’s God is the Christian God and we cannot neglect an inspired book because of the dictates of the culture. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16–17). If Nahum is “breathed out by God” it is profitable for training in righteousness.

Moreover, Paul says, “Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom 15:4). The indefinite pronoun “whatever” means that anything and everything in the Old Testament was written to instruct us so that through it we have hope. Nahum was written for our instruction so that we may have and maintain hope in God’s global design.

In addition, in our John series, we are in John 5. In this chapter, Jesus garners four witnesses that bear testimony to his oneness with the Father. On of those witnesses is the Old Testament. Jesus said to the Jews, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:39–40). The Scriptures refer to the Old Testament, including Nahum, and according to Jesus, they bear witness about him. Thus, Nahum bears witness about Jesus. With this understanding, the series on Nahum is not a divergence from our John series, but a detour to let the Jesus prove himself true by showing us himself from an obscure, small, and neglected book of the Old Testament.

The attributes of Yahweh in Nahum has been demonstrated before us through the baptisms of our two sisters. The waters into which they were baptized symbolized the ocean of Yahweh’s wrath, in which Jesus was drowned for us, and when they came up out of the waters, that symbolized the new life given us by the mercy and goodness of God. Those who reject the teaching on the wrath of God should not practice christian baptism because in doing so they are preaching in action what they verbally deny. Yahweh, the christian God, is both wrathful and affectionate; if we deny one of his attributes, we deny his own person. Nahum helps guards us from that.

Alongside maintaining and growing our understanding of Yahweh, our covenant God, I have particular prayers and hopes for these sermons, and I will invite you to pray with me that God will accomplish them in us.

As our knowledge of Yahweh grows, I hope that we also grow in our knowledge of Christ Jesus about whom Nahum testifies. So pray with me that the glory of Christ will shine brightly through Nahum in this series. Know that it is only in seeing the glory of God in the face of Christ that we become Christ centered in all things. Do you want to be a more Christ-centered husband, wife, single, youth, coworker, friend, small group member? Then pray with me that Christ will be revealed to us in these sermons. The majesty of Christ humbles the pride that militates against God-honoring peace in our marriage, singleness, and all relationships.

Why Jonah and Nahum in the OT

Besides Obadiah, only Jonah and Nahum are entirely directed to a gentile nation, Assyria. Not only that, these are the only two books in the Old Testament that end with rhetorical questions and share a lot of other similarities. In one Yahweh shows them mercy, but in the other Yahweh judges them. Why do we have these two books in the Old Testament? At least two reasons:

First, they warn us. Yahweh’s interaction with this nation should be a warning for us. We should not live on past grace. We should not presume that because we once experienced mercy that somehow we are entitled to it if we choose to live in sin unrepentantly. Nahum begins where Jonah ends, the reference to Exodus 34:6–7. The passage that was the basis for mercy is now the basis for judgment, not because Yahweh has changed, but because the Assyrians have changed. If we as a church, a nation, change, we should not expect that Yahweh will reveal himself to us as “gracious and compassionate.”

Second, these books humble us. Yahweh’s interaction with this Gentile nation in the two prophetic books should humble us, Gentiles. In Jonah, Nineveh and Gentile sailors enjoy Yahweh’s mercy and covenant steadfast love, while Israel, represented by Jonah is jealous and angry and Israel at the time is not as favored by her God. But the pride of Nineveh has turned things around, Yahweh now judges Assyria to comfort his people. Those of us, Gentiles, who have been grafted in, need not boast. Paul words in Romans 11 captures this well:

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you (Rom 11:17–21).

Through the disobedience of Jonah, Yahweh saved Nineveh, but Nineveh boasted and now endures wrath. Likewise, we who are saved through the Jewish disobedience, if we become boastful, we should be fearful because if God did not spare the natural branch, he will not spare the unnatural. Be humble by the fact that Yahweh should save a Gentile people.

Now let’s turn to Nahum and explore the first 11 verses, made up of 1 verse, which introduces the book (1:1), 7 verses that are a hymn about Yahweh (theology) (1:2–8), 3 verses of specific application of that theology (1:9–11), marked by the switch from third person (those who, his enemies, the adversaries) to second person, “you.” The description of Yahweh in verses 2–8 is what is characteristic of his nature. Yahweh shows wrath because it is an attribute of his to be just and to punish the unjust. He shows affection because it is in his nature to be good. Let’s take the two main attributes of Yahweh in these verses one at a time and then see how they testify to Christ.

Yahweh’s Severe Anger (Nah 1:2–6, 8)

Nahum celebrates the wrath of Yahweh in two ways, as an attribute of Yahweh and in action, showing it in action.

Yahweh’s wrath as an attribute

First, he announces the wrath of Yahweh as an attribute; it is in Yahweh’s character to be angry. He does not just show wrath he is wrathful. According verse 2, Yahweh is enraged against sin and sinners. He is jealous for his glory and the honor of his name, and anyone who dishonors him, Yahweh will avenge himself on that individual or nation. His anger is an offshoot of his jealousy. When people made in his image fail to honor him his jealousy provokes him to wrath, just as a spouses jealousy stirs anger when he notices that the other is flirting. Note the word “is” in verse 2, “Yahweh is a jealous and avenging God; Yahweh is avenging and wrathful.” Although the Hebrew does not have verb, there are noun clauses that are correctly translated with the English “Is.” This verb shows that these are attributes of Yahweh; to know Yahweh is to know the one who is jealous, avenging, and wrathful. The god who never get angry is the creation of human imagination not the Christian God. If we reject the wrath of Yahweh as part of his character, we reject the cross and make it unnecessary. If God is not in his nature wrathful, why do we need the cross? If we are uncomfortable with this attribute, we are uncomfortable with God because we cannot pick one attribute and despise the other. If we want Yahweh, we get the whole package or not get him at all.

Someone may have asked Nahum, “Why are you so fixated on Yahweh’s jealousy and wrath and vengefulness, is he not also slow to anger?” Nahum would respond, “Yes, he is slow to anger but we must not forget his power.” Do not let your mind deceive you into thinking that attribute of Yahweh as “slow to anger” means he is weak. Do not confuse Yahweh’s forbearance with weakness; he is slow to anger and great in power.

Yahweh’s Power and Wrath in Action

Out of his character flows actions that demonstrate Yahweh’s wrathful nature. Yahweh takes vengeance on his adversaries and stores wrath for all his enemies. Who are these adversaries and enemies of Yahweh? In the immediate context, Assyria and her king are the adversaries. But lest we be deceived, we must note that Assyria and her king represent all of us. We are by nature enemies of Yahweh and deserve nothing but his fury. Yahweh will take vengeance on all mankind because we have all sinned and provoked him to his jealousy. Do you think that these Ninevites were worse sinners than all the other Gentiles, because they were judged in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish (Luke 13:2). Yahweh will by no means let any sin go unpunished; every evil will receive a just payment.

Every instance of the phrase “slow to anger,” except in the book of Proverbs where it applies to humans, in the Hebrew Bible is accompanied by an affirmation of Yahweh’s covenant love (Ex 34:6; Num 14:18; Is 48:9; Jer 15:15; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Psa 86:15; 103:8; 145:8; Neh 9:17). In Nahum what follows is not covenant love but wrath. “Yahweh is slow to anger and great in power and Yahweh will by no means clear the guilty” (Nah 1:3). The reason is because in Nahum the context is about judgment. The phrase “Yahweh will by no means clear the guilty” affirms strongly that God will bring judgment on all guilt (cf. Ex 34:7; Num 14:18; Jer 25:29; 30:11; 46:28; 49:12). Nahum 1:3a uses previous Scripture, Exodus 34, and applies it to Yahweh’s judgment on Assyria.

Nahum 1:3b–5 and 8 describe Yahweh’s wrathful power in action. Nahum pictures Yahweh as a war Warrior riding on the storm and clouds to war against his enemies (Nah 1:3b), a reality that is limited to Christ in the New Testament—only Jesus comes with the clouds in the NT (Dan 7:13; Matt 24:30; Mark 13:26; 14:62; Luke 21:27; Rev 1:7; 10:1; 14:15).

In verse 4 Nahum asserts Yahweh’s sovereignty over the waters. “He rebukes the sea and makes it dry.” With this line, the prophet alludes to the Red Sea event. At the Red Sea Yahweh demonstrated his power in that when “Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, Yahweh drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made this sea dry land, and the waters were divided” (Exod 14:21). Israel crossed the sea on dry ground, but with an overwhelming flood “Yahweh threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea” (Exod 14:27). So also in Nahum, he dries up the sea (Nah 1:4), possible to save his people, and then “with an overwhelming flood he makes a complete end of the adversaries” (1:8).

Yahweh’s power subjugates waters; “he dries up all the rivers” and in his anger causes infertility (Nah 1:4b). When Yahweh’s wrath sweeps against the land, all withers. In the Old Testament Yahweh’s wrath and the withering of nature or infertility are bound up. When Yahweh goes out in battle against his adversaries and his wrath sweeps a land, it withers:

“He turns rivers into a desert, spring of water into thirsty ground, a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants” (Ps 107:33–34).

“Why, when I came, was there no man; why, when I called, was there no one to answer? Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a desert; their fish stink for lack of water and die of thirst” (Is 50:2).

Behold, Yahweh will empty the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the slave, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor. The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered; for Yahweh has spoken this word. The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and withers; the highest people of the earth languish. The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left. The wine mourns, the vine languishes, all the merry-hearted sigh. The mirth of the tambourines is stilled, the noise of the jubilant has ceased, the mirth of the lyre is stilled. No more do they drink wine with singing; strong drink is bitter to those who drink it. The wasted city is broken down; every house is shut up so that none can enter. There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine; all joy has grown dark; the gladness of the earth is banished. Desolation is left in the city; the gates are battered into ruins. For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done (Is 24:1–13).

When Yahweh defeats the enemy and resolves the sin problem, he restores fruitfulness and fertility in the land. “He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water. And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in; they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield. By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their livestock diminish” (Psa 107:35–38).

Nahum 1:5 captures another effect that the Divine Warriors power of judgment has on nature. When Yahweh comes out in his power to judge “the mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, and the world and all who dwell in it.” His wrath affects every stable thing in all creation. Mountains in the Old Testament are used often and figures of stability and power. But all such power heaves, quakes, and melt before Yahweh the God of all creation.

The phrase “all who dwell in it” refers to all adversaries of Yahweh. In the book of Revelation “the earth dwellers” always refer to enemies of Yahweh (Rev 3:10; 6:10; 8:13; 11:10; 13:8, 14; 17:8). Based on this understanding, only the enemies of Yahweh will see this side of him.

We find this picture of Yahweh in Nahum 1:3–5 also in the New Testament. When God goes to war against his enemies the natural order is disordered, there is earthquake, darkened sun, bloody moon, stars fall to the ground, sky vanish, and mountains and Island removed (Rev 6:12–17), but when he wins the victory all things are restored and there is fruitfulness again in the land. John records that after the victory is won at the end of the age there will be a fruitful cosmic Eden for all of God’s people.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place (Rev 22:1–6).

Yahweh’s omnipotent power is flexed against all his enemies and has great damaging effects on nature, from the depth of the sea to the hight of the mountains. His power is not restricted and cannot be restrained by anything in all creation. According to Nahum 1:6, Yahweh wrath is poured out towards his adversaries like fire and rocks split into pieces in the face of his angry demonstration of power.

“Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger?” (Nah 1:6). If mountains, rocks, sea, stars, moon, sun, cannot stand his indignation, there is no human being who can. When the day of his wrath comes and his power is unleashed against his foes, John records,

When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 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?” (Rev 6:12–17).

No one will be able to stand before Yahweh indignation; it will be better for rocks to crush someone that for them to face the wrath of Yahweh. But on that day, the rocks will also be seeking refuge but will not find a place and, according to Nahum 1:6, even the rocks will split into pieces. Do not presume that you can stand the wrath of Yahweh.

Yahweh’s Serene Affection

In the midst of the noise of Yahweh ride to battle against his foes, we hear the serene voice of his tender affection to some. Yahweh is not just wrathful, “Yahweh is God.” Nahum worships Yahweh as the one who saves his people. The prophet makes it clear that Yahweh’s acts of salvation flow out of his character and nature as a good God.

Yahweh’s Affection as an Attribute

“Yahweh is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble.” Yahweh in his nature is good.[1] Yahweh in his essence is good. Yahweh’s goodness is often mentioned in the Old Testament in the context of suffering, distress, and when one is reaping the fruit of disobedience and is pleading for mercy (Jer 33:11; Psa 34:9; 100:5; 135:3; 145:9; Lam 3:25). Similarly, in Nahum Yahweh’s goodness is set in a context of trouble. The goodness of God was at the root of Jewish faith. Jesus himself asserted the sole goodness of Yahweh “No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18).

Yahweh’s Affection in Action

Yahweh goodness is most clearly seen in that he is “a stronghold in the day of trouble and he knows this who take refuge in him” (Nah 1:7). The day of trouble here refers to the day when his wrath is revealed; the day Yahweh makes a complete end of his adversaries. When Yahweh’s wrath is sweeping away his adversaries, when he overwhelms them with an overflowing flood, he will be a stronghold to those who take refuge in him.

The phrase “he knows” refers to covenantal saving knowledge. This is not abstract intellectual knowledge; rather it means the intimate affectionate knowledge that leads to salvation. In Exodus 2 Yahweh saved Israel from Egypt because he knew them. Moses records that “During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew” (Ex 2:23–25 emphasis mine).

Yahweh knows redemptively those who take refuge in him. To take refuge in Yahweh is identical to trusting Yahweh. This understanding finds support in the LXX that translates the verse as “The Lord is good to them that wait on him in the day of affliction; and he knows them that reverence him” (Nah 1:7 Brenton Translation, emphasis mine). Yahweh therefore knows those who wait for and trust in him and he shields them as a refuge in the day of his wrath. While the adversaries will be destroyed with the flood of his anger, Yahweh will be a stronghold for his own. Note that this is an attribute of Yahweh not just something that he does. It is his attribute to be good to those who trust him. He has been this way and will always be this way. He was good yesterday to those who trusted him, he is good today to those who trust him, and he will be good to those who trust him.

A Brief Survey of Yahweh’s as Refuge in the Day of Trouble

Yahweh was a refuge for Noah at the flood when he swept away his adversaries in the flood of his anger. “Noah found favor in the eyes of Yahweh . . . And Yahweh shut him in [the ark]. . . Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark” (Gen 6:8; 7:16, 23; cf. 8:1).

Yahweh was a refuge for Israel when the darkness of his anger covered all Egypt. He kept the camp of the Jews in light.

Yahweh was a refuge for Israel when in his wrath he killed all the firstborns in the land of Egypt simply because Israel trusted him and put blood on their door posts.

Yahweh was a refuge for Israel at the Red Sea when he unleashed the sea on the Egyptians in his anger. The Egyptians were swept away in the flood of Yahweh’s wrath, but Yahweh was a refuge for Israel and they crossed the sea on dry ground.

Yahweh was a refuge to Israel from all their enemies when they journeyed to the Promised Land, such that these enemies, Edom, Moab, Canaan, “became still as stone till your people, O Yahweh, pass by” (Exod 15:6)

Yahweh was a refuge for Israel in the wilderness from his own wrath. When Israel sinned against him, he shielded them from his wrath for the sake of his name. “They rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. ‘Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt’” (Ezek 20:8–9).

Yahweh was a refuge for Israel when he swept the inhabitants of Canaan, the Promised Land, to give the land to Israel (cf. Gen 15:16).

Yahweh was a refuge for Israel from his wrath when Israel sinned against him by asking for a king. “Samuel said to the people, Fear not: ye have indeed wrought all this iniquity; only turn not from following the Lord, and serve the Lord with all your heart. And turn not aside after the gods that are nothing, who will do nothing, and will not deliver you, because they are nothing.” (1 Sam 12:20–21).

Time will fail us to list all the countless times when Yahweh was a refuge for Israel and has been a refuge for us. How blessed are those who take refuge in Yahweh. Do you trust him, do you wait for him? If you do not, I urge you to run to him now for refuge from Yahweh’s wrath. Only Yahweh can protect you from his wrath that you deserve.

Above all the instances we have listed, Yahweh is a refuge for us from his wrath in that he poured it out on Christ. He made Christ to be sin, although Christ knew no sin, so that Christ will drink the cup of his anger and secure safety in Yahweh’s presence forever. Jesus Christ is the pinnacle of Nahum 1:7; it is in him that this verse finds its best possible expression. Jesus is the goodness of Yahweh revealed, Jesus is the refuge from Yahweh’s wrath.

Paul says, “we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:3–5).

The appearance of the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior refers to the appearance of Christ. The goodness of God in Nahum 1:7 finds its best expression in Christ.

[1]Christensen suggests that the lamed should be understood as an asseverative, emphasizing Yahweh’s protection for his people. So, “Yahweh is good because—like a fortress—he protects them in the time of distress.” D. L. Christensen, “The Acrostic of Nahum Reconsidered,” ZAW 87 (1975), 22.