Nahum 1:1-15: A God of Wrath and Refuge

A God of Wrath and Refuge
Nahum 1:1-15

Our Scripture Reading this morning comes from Nahum 1:1-15. Hear now the words of the Living and True God:

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.

 May God bless the reading of his Word.

  In 1945, The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Upon impact, the blast leveled nearly five square miles of the city. For reference, that’s about 3,800 football fields. Tens of thousands of people were killed instantly, while others slowly died from the bomb’s radiation. And then 3 days after the first bomb, they dropped another one on Nagasaki – with a combined death toll of roughly 240,000 people. And this was not just Japanese soldiers who died, but their civilians as well.

The mushroom cloud became a symbol of death; an image of humanity’s ability to unleash devastation on a scale previously unimaginable, and some argue it’s a level of devastation man was not meant to have. But it’s important to remember that, during WW2, Japan was known for their violence. Japan is estimated to have killed 19–30 million people across Asia during that time, far more than the bombs. So, on the one hand, the bombs unleashed massive devastation. On the other hand, many saw the bomb as the only way to end Japan’s ongoing violence.

Of course, two things can be true at the same time. In our broken world, some situations don’t have simple answers, and here, we see that history is often messy. Because we all have some sense of justice; we want punishment for evil and protection for the innocent – but when we attempt to weigh the scales of justice, we often do so with partial vision and limited ability. Even our most righteous deeds and intentions remain stained by sin.

So, because our abilities remain limited, and our judgments often remain clouded, we need a Judge who sees clearly. We need to recover a vision of God bigger than our attempts at justice. Because God’s justice is never clouded, His scales are never crooked, and His verdicts are never compromised. Only God judges rightly and saves completely, only God judges with perfect wrath and provides perfect refuge. Which brings us to the main idea of today’s passage…

Main idea: Worship God knowing that He brings both wrath and refuge.

Nahum 1:1 reads, “An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.” So, V.1 establishes that this book communicates the prophet Nahum’s vision concerning the capital of the Assyrian Empire - Nineveh. Written in about 620 B.C, Assyria dominated the region with brutal military campaigns. Although Nineveh had repented under Jonah’s preaching a century earlier, they had now returned to violence and ungodliness.

At this point, the northern kingdom of Israel was already gone, taken into exile by Assyria. So, Nahum writes to the southern kingdom of Judah - who lived under the shadow of Assyrian oppression for nearly 100 years. And so, in the midst of Judah’s suffering under the wicked Assyrian regime – God sends a prophet. But unlike Jonah, this prophet does not come to warn Nineveh – instead, he comes to pronounce judgement.  

V.1 establishes Nahum as that prophet as he communicates a vision from God. It’s also worth noting that, though it’s hard to see in our English translation, Nahum writes this chapter as a Hebrew poem – which impacts the way he describes things and the way he arranges the themes of his message, as we’ll see moving forward. But for the entire chapter, Nahum proclaims that…

I. God Brings Wrath and Refuge, 2-15

This whole chapter, Nahum will present these two truths side by side. God brings both wrath and refuge, judgement and salvation. And he begins, in vv. 2-3, by showing that…

A. God Perfectly Judges with Patience and Power, 2-3a

^“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.”

Nahum’s message begins with the very character of God. But of all the attributes that he could’ve started with, Nahum starts with God’s “jealousy”.

“The Lord is a jealous” God. Now, we might get jealous when someone else has what we think we deserve – when someone else gets a promotion, a raise, whatever it might be. We get jealous when other people have what we desire. But God’s jealousy is not exactly like that. God’s jealousy is more like a husband who sees another man make a move on his wife. If his wife entertains this other man, it will evoke a reaction. But even if his wife shows no interest in this other man, the husband’s love for his wife still evokes a reaction because someone seeks to take away the person that means the most to him. And so the husband’s jealousy seeks to guard and protect his wife.

And it’s that kind of jealousy that God has for His people; a love that seeks to guard and protect His people from those who seek to steal them away. And in Nahum’s day, God directs His holy jealousy at Nineveh. They had set themselves up as kings and forcefully claimed Judah for themselves, but God would not allow it any longer. Judah belongs to God, and He will not permit Assyria to sit on His throne or claim His people any longer. That’s why Nahum begins the way He does, because it’s God’s love that produces jealousy, which leads to His avenging. “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.”

After all this time – suffering under Assyria’s regime – God had not forgotten His people; Judah had not lost His love. And God would now come to reclaim Judah as He executes vengeance on His enemies. But Nahum immediately follows God’s vengeance and wrath with His patience. V.3 says “The LORD is slow to anger and great in power.”

The Lord delivers punishment with great power, but He does not do so impulsively; He does not react our of pettiness or lose control of His emotions – like we often do. Instead, the “Lord is slow to anger”.  Now, I’d imagine that some people in Judah might’ve struggled with this. They might have questioned why the Lord was patient with Ninevah at all, considering how wicked they were. Judah might have thought, ‘If God loves us so much, what’s taking Him so long?’

But if the Lord were not slow to anger, Judah would have perished long before Nineveh ever rose to power. You see, throughout 1&2 Kings, we’re told that Judah was consistently guilty of idolatry. And in Isaiah 1:2, God says the people of Judah are, “Children I have reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.”  

God refers to Judah as a rebellious child; a child that has turned away, a child that is against Him. Judah deserved judgement just as much as Nineveh. If God were not slow to anger, Judah would have perished. But instead, God withheld His anger – He showed Judah patience so that they might repent. And He does the same with us today; as 2 Peter 3:9 says the Lord, ^“9 …is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

God remains slow to anger so that His children may repent. When we fall short, when we sin, when we rebel, He calls us to return to Him. Do we recognize the tremendous grace God shows us every single day?Because none of us deserve His patience. If God were to bring down His wrath today, He’d be perfectly just to do so. And yet, in His grace, He remains ‘slow to anger’ that we might return to Him.

But, “The LORD is slow to anger and great in power…” as Nahum continues, saying “The Lord will by no means clear the guilty.” God restrains His wrath for a time, but He will hold the guilty accountable. And make no mistake; sinful man, without a Savior in Christ, stands guilty before the Sovereign God. He will not let sin go on forever and Nahum proclaims that God’s patience for Ninevah has run out. Nineveh may have repented under Jonah’s preaching all those years ago, but they have since turned away from God and will now face His wrath.

Now, you may hear this message of vengeance and wrath and feel unsettled.  But it’s worth noting that the name Nahum in Hebrew means comfort. God sends this prophet to comfort His people as He confronts His enemies. God wants Judah to find comfort in His coming judgment because He will defend His people.

And so, we too must find comfort in God’s judgement – not because we delight in destruction. And not because we’re innocent – because we are not – but because the same God who “will by no means clear the guilty” took our guilt in our place. The wrath God keeps for His enemies is the wrath Christ took on the cross for us. And so, in Christ, we no longer come before God as enemies, but as His beloved children. The jealous and avenging Lord becomes our comfort because His justice was satisfied by His Son.

So, just as Judah found comfort in the words of the prophet, do we find comfort in the work of the Son? Do we continually repent and turn to our Savior? Do we trust in the perfect judgement of our righteous Lord? And do we rest in Jesus; knowing He is slow to anger and great in power to save? God perfectly judges with patience and power. And as we continue into the second half of v.3 into v.7, Nahum goes on to describe the power of God’s judgement, demonstrating how….

B. God Commands the Storm and Shields His People, 3b-7

“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.”

Here, Nahum paints a picture of God’s power and strength; He strides across the heavens, with clouds trailing like dust behind His steps. The mighty winds and storms are commanded by the Almighty Himself. The waters that nations depend on, the rivers that sustain life, regions known for their lush fruitfulness – they all shrivel when God speaks.

“The mountains quake… the hills melt… the earth heaves.” Creation itself trembles before Him.

“Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger?” No one can. The Lord pours out His wrath like fire…As Hebrews 10:31 says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” This is a nightmare for Ninevah. This description of God’s judgement not only points to the great power of the Lord, but it also exposes us as utterly vulnerable; none can withstand God’s wrath.

And yet, in verse 7, Nahum’s message shifts. “The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.” Nahum places this message of hope right in the middle of the chapter. He tells us the safest place in the universe is not away from God, but in God. He acts as both a shelter of salvation and an all-consuming fire.

Think of the massive wildfires California has become known for: giant flames ripping through forests, destroying everything in their path. Imagine standing inside one of those wildfires – completely surrounded by flames closing in on you. Some firefighters have found themselves in that exact situation – completely exposed and surrounded – inside the wildfire with no way out. In that desperate and terrifying situation, they sometimes survive by conducting what’s called an “escape fire”.

So, what they do is they intentionally start a small fire and burn the ground around them before the wildfire closes in. They preemptively burn away anything the wildfire could use for fuel, and then they stand inside that completely burned up area. So, when the wildfire finally reaches that scorched patch of ground, it has nothing left to burn. Instead – when the flames reach that area – they weaken, they come to a halt, and they pass around the already burned ground.  In that terrifying situation, the only safe place to stand is where the fire has already burned and cannot burn again.

Similarly, God pours out His wrath like fire. But – in Christ – we stand in the only place safe from it. Because in Christ, we stand where the fire of God’s wrath has already burned and will not burn again. In Christ – we no longer have to fear the flames because our Savior fully took that fire for us and left nothing more to burn. On the cross, the wrath our sin deserves was poured out and emptied on Christ so that we would never have to take it ourselves. The Lord provides escape from His wrath in the wounds of His Son.  

Brothers and sisters, let us run to Jesus. Let us cling to the cross and stand in our Savior. Because outside of Christ, there is no protection; no shelter, no refuge, no ground that can withstand the heat of His holy anger. Will you stand exposed and face that fire on your own? Or will you stand secure in Christ?

“The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows those who take refuge in Him.” Nahum shows us how God both commands the storm and shields His people. Nahum then displays the scope of God’s judgement, showing how…

C. God Brings A Complete End to Evil, 8–11, 14

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.”

Nahum now puts the strength of God’s judgement next to the scope of God’s judgement. He repeats in vv.8&9 that the Lord will make a complete end of evil.

He describes God’s wrath as a flood – like in the days of Noah, God’s wrath floods the earth and washes all wickedness away. It says God chases His enemies into darkness; into a judgment that overwhelms, that they cannot escape and will not return from. Evil will not rise a second time. Nahum then describes the evil of Nineveh: He starts in v.9, saying, “What do you plot against the LORD?”. So, it’s not only that they were violent towards God’s people; they were defiant towards God Himself. They plotted against Him.

Vv.10-11 then describe the futility of Ninevah’s plotting with 3 different images: He describes them as entangled thorns – they appear dangerous and difficult to handle at first, but they’ve trapped themselves and remain unable to break free. Like staggering drunkards – they boast in their strength but remain unable to think clearly. Like dry stubble – they remain unable to resist the flames. God exposes their plotting as both weak and worthless; completely unable to survive.

And so, in light of all their wickedness and plotting, Nahum directly addresses Nineveh and delivers a decisive judgement. Skipping down to 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. I will make your grave, for you are vile.’” The empire that once seemed invincible will be forgotten; its gods silenced; its legacy reduced to rubble.

We see God do this all throughout the Old Testament: Whether it’s the Egyptian army, the Walls of Jericho, the mighty Philistines or the Babylonian Empire, none can stand before the Lord. God sees these mighty kingdoms of the world and says: “I will make your grave.”

And this remains important for us today. Because when we see evil in the world – corruption in governments, violence in our communities – it can shake us, it can make us feel really small, helpless; like there’s nothing we can do about it. Though God brought judgement upon Ninevah; the same kind of pride, rebellion, and self‑exaltation still exists in the world today.

But remember, Nahum preached these words to comfort Judah. God wanted His people to know that evil empires do not get the last word- not in their day, and not in ours. The fall of Nineveh reminds us that God still rules over the nations, still humbles the proud, and still defends His people. The same God who brought Assyria to the grave continues to prepare the grave for evil today.

But evil is not only “out there”; in the world – it’s also “in here,” in the human heart. When we sin, we partake of the same kind of plotting as Ninevah; we turn away from God, go our own way, and in doing so, dig our own grave.

But praise God, that the grave He prepares for His enemies – the grave we deserve – is the very grave that Christ stepped into for us. In His death, Christ buried our sin with Him so that its condemnation would never rise a second time. And in His resurrection, He provides our way out of the grave, raising us in victory and eternal life. Through the victory His risen Son, God declares that sin’s reign is broken and its end is guaranteed. So, when we look at the world and feel small, when wickedness seems to surround us, do we trust in our crucified and risen Savior?

Do we trust that God will make a complete end of evil – both in us and in the world – and it will not rise up a second time? And do we trust that God has already begun preparing the grave for evil– through His Son who stepped out of the grave and rose in victory? Nahum declares judgement upon Nineveh; a promise to completely end evil. And so, in light of this certainty, He then reminds God’s people to…

D. Worship God Because His Judgement Brings Peace, 12-13, 15

Looking back to vv.12&13, “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. And now I will break his yoke from off you and will burst your bonds apart.’” And skipping down to the end of the chapter, v. 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.”

Here, we see Nahum’s first direct address to Judah – and it’s a message of freedom. God promises to break the yoke that enslaves Judah – to free them from their oppressors. This language would immediately remind Judah of the Exodus. In fact, Leviticus 26:13 says: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke...”

Just as God shattered Pharaoh’s yoke, so now He will shatter Assyria’s yoke. Just as God freed His people then, He will free His people now. Nahum’s message publicly declares that Judah’s oppressor “will be cut down and pass away.” and God will bring peace.   As V.15, says, “Behold, upon the mountains the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace!” God announces “good news”; not in some hidden valley, but atop the mountains - publicly for all God’s people to hear. He proclaims good news and publishes peace with an authority far above that of Assyria. God will rescue His people.

But God’s rescue of Judah not only points back to Pharoah and Moses, it also points forward to the promised Messiah. The Old Testament tells us that God’s promised Savior would come from the tribe of Judah. And Revelation 5:5 refers to Jesus as, “the Lion of Judah”. So, in rescuing Judah, God rescues the very people from whom the ultimate Savior would come –the Lion of Judah, Jesus Christ our Lord. God’s rescue of Judah points us forward to the greater rescue He would provide through His Son; but Christ rescues not from the power of Assyria, but from the power of sin.

Galatians 5:1 declares, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Just as God shattered Judah’s yoke of Assyria, so Christ shatters our yoke of sin. He fulfills the law with all its demands. He breaks the chains of our bondage.

So, while we still wage war against sin in our lives: Ultimately, Christ frees us from sin’s penalty, He breaks sin’s dominating power, and He’ll one day free us from sin’s presence when we stand before Him in glory. In Christ, we have an unshakeable certainty that He will complete the rescue He has already begun. In Christ, we find the greater fulfillment of Nahum’s message to God’s people. Because while Nahum proclaims good news and peace upon the mountains of Judah, Christ proclaims the ultimate good news and peace upon the mountain of Calvary. Through the cross; Christ proclaims, “good news to the poor”, “liberty to the captives”. He provides a peace no empire can threaten and no enemy can overturn – a peace purchased by His blood and secured by His resurrection. Praise the Lord. Nahum’s message of ‘good news’ and ‘peace’ points forward to Christ.

And so, it’s in light of this truly good news, that Nahum’s concluding words to Judah now apply to us, “Keep your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows, for never again shall the worthless pass through you; he is utterly cut off.” In light of the good news of God’s rescue, Nahum calls Judah to keep their celebrations and remain faithful in their worship; to praise God regardless of their circumstances because rescue is coming.

From the very beginning, Christians have worshiped even in the darkest of times. Christians worshipped under the Roman Empire, faced with wide-spread persecution. They worshipped when conquered by the Ottoman Empire, restricted under Islamic rule.  They worshipped during the Reformation, when leaders of both the church and state opposed them. They worshipped in the fields of American plantations, while brutally oppressed and enslaved. And they worship today, in places like North Korea, China, Iran, India and Nigeria, at the risk of their lives. Across the ages - whether in prisons, plantations, or under persecution - the church has continued to worship and rejoice in the living and true God. Nahum’s call to Judah - ‘Keep your feasts, fulfill your vows’ – extends to all of God’s people; to faithfully worship, even in the darkest of times, trusting that God will bring rescue.

And so, we too must remain faithful in our worship. Even in a world that often celebrates sin and despises Christ – that often opposes everything Christianity stands for; that embraces godless ideologies, embraces sexual immorality, and has allowed for the mass genocide of our unborn. Even in the darkest of times, God calls His people to stand firm; to faithfully worship, to rejoice, and to hold fast to hope.

We must not let any circumstances, any fears, any culture, any government, any empire rob us of our joy in the Lord. Because the gates of hell will not prevail; “Though they are at full strength and many, they will be cut down and pass away”…“never again shall the worthless pass through you; he is utterly cut off.” Every power that opposes God will fall, every injustice will be undone. And the Savior who brings good news will come again;the King who once came in humility will return in unshakable glory.

 Therefore, let us continue to worship God knowing He brings both wrath and refuge; judgement and salvation. He judges with perfect righteousness. His power unparalleled. He provides a stronghold for His people. And through the risen and reigning Son of God, Jesus Christ; He will silence every enemy, end all evil, and publish peace to the ends of the Earth. Come, Lord Jesus, come.