Turn with me, if you would, this
evening to the Book of Nahum. That's a few books back from
the beginning of the New Testament. If you're like me, you need a
little bit of guidance there. If your Bible's like mine, that's on
page 1158. Book of Nahum. We're going to
look all through the first chapter. We're going to focus on these
four points, the Lord's authority, His authority, His right based
on who He is and His right to do as He will based on what He's
done. The Lord's authority, the Lord's
justice, the Lord's mercy and the people's peace, which I think
we'll see through this first chapter. Before I read through
the chapter, this is Nahum's prophecy that he wrote in a letter
to the city of Nineveh. And Nineveh represents our sin. It's a good picture of the dreadfulness,
the overwhelming dreadfulness of our sin. This is the same
city that Jonah prophesied against and was likely the largest city
in the world at this time. It was the capital of Assyria,
and the scholars guessed that it had walls that were 150 feet
tall in some places, walls all the way around the city, largest
city in the world, the cultural epicenter of the world at the
time. Again, walls all the way around the city, 150 feet high,
had a river running right through it that was the strength of the
city, just absolutely impenetrable, overbearing, overwhelming, unbeatable. This huge city, and again, I
think you'll see with me as we go through it, it represent our
sin, our sin that's overwhelming in population, overwhelming in
number, overwhelming in the scope and strength of it, just unstoppable. Nineveh. Let's read here through
chapter one here of Nahum. The burden of Nineveh, the book
of the vision of Nahum, the Elkishite. God is jealous, and the Lord
revengeth. The Lord revengeth and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance
on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. The Lord
is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit
the wicked. The Lord hath his way in the
whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his
feet. He rebuketh the sea and maketh it dry. He dryeth up all
the rivers, Bashan languisheth in Carmel, the flower of Lebanon
languisheth, the mountains quake at him and the hills melt, and
the earth is burned at his presence. Yea, the world and all that dwell
therein, who can stand before his indignation? Who can abide
in the fierceness of his anger? His fury is poured out like fire
and the rocks are thrown down by him. The Lord. Lord is good, a stronghold in
the day of trouble, and he knoweth them that trust in him. But with
an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place
thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies. What do ye imagine
against the Lord? He will make an utter end. Affliction
shall not rise up the second time. For while they be folded
together as thorns, While they are drunken as drunkards, they
shall be devoured as stubble, fully dry. There is one come
out of thee that imagineth evil against the Lord, a wicked counselor.
Thus saith the Lord, though they be quiet, and likewise many,
yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though
I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more. For now
will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds
and sunder. The Lord hath given a commandment
concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown. Out of the
house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the
molten image. I will make thy grave, for thou art vile. Behold
upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings,
that publisheth peace. O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts,
perform thy vows, and the wicked shall no more pass through thee.
He is utterly, utterly cut off." Nineveh represents our, our sin. Turn back a little bit to, uh,
to second Kings, second Kings chapter chapter
18. Jerusalem was in bondage to Nineveh
and was in bondage to, to it, to its King. Jerusalem paid a
very high, um, burdensome tribute and it still wasn't enough. Jerusalem
paid this tribute to Nineveh, to the king of Nineveh, and it
still wasn't enough. Jerusalem could not be free. And again, Nineveh, you see it,
you see the picture. Nineveh represents our sin. Jerusalem
could not be free. Look here in 2 Kings chapter
18, starting in verse 14. Nehezekiah, king of Judah, sent
to the king of Assyria, Tulashish, saying, I have offended return
for me that which thou put us on me. Will I bear the King of
Assyria appointed under Hezekiah, King of Judah, 300 talents of
silver and 30 talents of gold. Here's what Hezekiah paid. Hezekiah
gave him all the silver, all the silver that was found in
the house of the Lord and in the treasures of the King's house.
At that time did Hezekiah, he cut off the gold from the doors
of the temple of the Lord and from the pillars. which Hezekiah
king of Judah had overlaid. He cut the gold off the doors
and off the pillars and gave it to the king of Assyria. The
king of Assyria wasn't satisfied. He still, he sent his armies.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem couldn't, couldn't buy its freedom. Again,
Nineveh represents our sin. So we're going to look first
at, at, at the Lord's, the Lord's authority. Starting in verse
two there, God, God is jealous. God is jealous, and the Lord
revengeth. The Lord God is a jealous God. He'll not tolerate any error,
any error. He sets things right as they
are and as they should be. He sets things right. Our Lord
won't tolerate any error. And the Lord alone has that right.
Turn back again to Exodus, Exodus chapter 20. The Lord alone has the right
to be jealous. Exodus chapter 20, starting in verse one. And God
spake all these words saying, I am the Lord thy God, which
have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house
of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods
before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or
any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or is in the
earth beneath. where there's in the water under the earth,
thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them. For I,
the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of
the fathers upon the children under the third and fourth generation
of them that hate me." A jealous God. A jealous God. Because he'll
not tolerate error. He'll not tolerate deviance. He says things right. He's the
only one that has the authority to set things right. The Lord
alone has the right to be jealous. He brought Israel out of the
land of Egypt. He brought spiritual Israel out of the land of sin. He has the right to be jealous
because He alone, He's earned our worship. He has the right
to be a jealous God. He's the one who created us.
He's the one who paid for us. Paid for us with Christ's blood.
He called us by the Holy Spirit. He's earned. He's worthy. He's
earned our worship. He has a right to be a jealous
guy. He's a jealous God. Worship is due Him. The Lord's
described as jealous in this sense. Again, He'll not tolerate
error. His justice is unbending and rigid. Unbending and rigid. And He will be, and this is a
comfort to us to know Him, He will be complete. Satisfied. Unbending. Jealous. Right. He'll be completely satisfied.
When we say, when I say, I'll have things my way, you all know
the saying, right? My way or the highway, right?
Well, that's ugly when talking about humans. When I say that,
my way, I'm going to have things my way. We're usually wrong when
we say that because My way can most usually be improved upon
greatly. But the Lord, the Lord is right.
The Lord is right. He will have his way. He will
have his way. So when the Lord says, come unto
me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. Our Lord's a jealous God. He'll
have it his way. He will give you rest. He'll
have it his way. When the Lord says, my grace
is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness,
then his grace is sufficient because the Lord will have his
way. He's a jealous God. He'll have his way. When the
Lord says, for the mountains shall depart and the hills be
removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee. Neither
shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that
has mercy on thee. then his kindness will not depart. He'll have it his way. He's a
jealous God. He'll have it his way. And you
know that you can apply this to any promise in the scripture.
He shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. He shall be satisfied by his
knowledge. Shall my righteous service and
servant justify many for he shall bear their iniquities that he
shall be satisfied. He'll have it his way. He shall
justify many. for he bore their iniquities.
Did our Lord say it is finished? Then it is finished. Our Lord
will have his way. He's a jealous God. He'll have
it his way. Scripture says there in verse
two, he revengeth and is furious. That means he has fury. He possesses
and controls fury, not like me, not like us. When, when I think
of fury, I think of just unbridled anger that controls me. Not so with our Lord. He, he
has, he has fury that, that he controls. Our Lord has, he possesses
it. He controls it. Our Lord has,
has fury and he uses it for his holy revenge, holy right and
proper revenge against sin. furious justice against rebellious
sin, that that rebellious sin that spit right in God's face
when Adam took the fruit. And that rebellious sin that
spit right in God's face when they said, when our father said,
when we said, we'll not have that man, we'll not have this
man reign over us. That same rebellious sin that
literally spit in Christ's face when our fathers bowed down and
mocked him and led him to the cross to be crucified. He was oppressed and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth. He's brought as a lamb to the
slaughter as a sheep before her shears is dumb. So he opened
not his mouth. Will the Lord punish sin? Will
the Lord punish sin? Look there in the rest of verse
two. The Lord revengeth and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance
on his adversaries. He reserveth wrath for his enemies.
The Lord is slow to anger and great in power and will not at
all acquit the wicked. He'll not at all, not at all,
not by any means, not at all. Will he acquit the wicked? And
that means exactly that exactly what it says. God, the father
will, will not at all acquit the wicked. Proverbs 11 verse
21 says, though hand joined in hand, The wicked shall not be
unpunished, but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.
And our Lord's a jealous God. He'll have it his way. That means
the seed of the righteous shall be, shall be delivered. Listen
to his power there in the next few verses. They're starting
in verse three. The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and
in the storm, the clouds are the dust of his feet. We were driving the other day
to to mom's house with the kids. And they were looking at the,
they were looking at the clouds, seeing those clouds driving on
52. They were looking at those clouds of the clouds. They're
the dust of his feet. That's the power of our Lord.
Dust of his feet. He rebuketh the sea and maketh
it dry. He dryeth up all the rivers. Bashan languisheth. Carmel,
the flower of Lebanon, languisheth. The mountains quake at him. The
hills melt. The earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world
and all that dwell therein. Who can stand before his indignation?
Who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? His fury is poured
out like fire and the rocks are thrown down by him." Listen,
power. Our God in his power will not
at all, not at all, acquit the wicked. He has the authority
and he has the right to punish sin. He revenges, he's great
in power. He'll not at all, not at all,
acquit the wicked. Our Lord's authority, he'll not
at all acquit the wicked. Our Lord's justice. Look at verse
eight, our Lord's justice. But with an overrunning flood,
he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness
shall pursue his enemies. I mentioned at the beginning
of service, Nineveh had a river running right through it, right?
That was the strength of the city, Everyone bragged about
that river. That was the very strength that
that city was built on. They said, as long as the river
flows, we can't possibly, can't possibly be defeated. That river
was the city's very strength, its foundation. There in verse
eight, our Lord used that very strength against the city. The
river flooded, the Lord flooded the river. They were worried
about it being dried up, but the Lord flooded the river, tore
open the city's walls, led to its absolute and utter destruction. Nineveh was so destroyed that
there aren't ruins that you and I could go visit today. There's
no ruins. This was the largest city in
the world, and it's gone. It's gone. Scholars have to kind
of guess at where they think it must have been, but there's
no ruins for us to go. There's just very, very, very
little rubble. What is left of this great and
powerful, overwhelming, unpenetrable, city. It's gone. And if not for
the mention of it here, which the Lord put here for our, for
our instruction, no one would even know about it. Then it was
gone. That absolute destruction. The
Lord demolished it to absolutely nothing. Look at verse 14. The
Lord has given a commandment concerning thee that no more
of thy name be sown out of the house of thy gods. Will I cut
off the graven image and the molten image? I'll make thy grave
for thou art vile. absolute, utter destruction of
the city. Remember, Nineveh is a picture
of our sin. Our Lord absolutely wiped it
off the face of the earth and out of the people's memory. It's
gone. The strength of our sin, just
like the city of Nineveh, the population of our sin, our sins
are many. Our sins are great. It's a great
city. Our sins have 150 foot walls. Our sins are impenetrable. Overwhelming,
unbearable, unimaginable. You can't even get the breadth
of it all. Someone standing there at that city wall could look
as far as they wanted to in either direction and could never see,
never see the end of it. That's our sin. Just overwhelming. Just like Jerusalem's King Hezekiah,
we send all we have. We can figuratively cut the gold
off the temple walls, off the doors and off the posts. Every
good work that we have. Send it all. The king over our sins says that's
not enough. That's not enough. It still won't be enough. Nineveh
strength was that river running right through it. Just like our
sin strength is the fact that justice must be served. Justice
must be served. That's that river that runs right
through it. Justice must be served. And just as God stopped that
river and backed it up and used that river to defeat Nineveh,
God will not at all acquit the wicked, right? He will not at
all acquit the wicked. That river of justice is strong,
but again, just as God used Nineveh's strength against it and demolished
that city, God uses the strength of justice to show the strength
of his mercy, to show the strength of his goodness. toward us, toward
Israel. You look there again in verse
eight, but with an, with an overrunning flood, he'll make an utter end
of the place thereof and darkness shall, shall pursue his enemies. Lord made an overwhelming flood
in the river and the river ran its course, destroying Nineveh.
See the picture here that the Lord, the Lord made an overwhelming
flood in that river of justice and the river of justice. When,
when Christ took our sin, in him to the cross. He sacrificed
his precious blood and God the Father poured out that judgment. Absolutely poured it out. Held
nothing back. Look back in verse 2 again. God
is jealous and the Lord revengeth. This is the justice that God
the Father poured out on his son. The Lord revengeth. He's furious. The Lord will take
vengeance on his adversaries. He reserveth wrath for his enemies.
He didn't hold back his wrath on Christ. That river of justice
was satisfied. Satisfied. Therefore, God is
satisfied. The sin of his people is just
like Nineveh. There's no trace, no remembrance
of it. And that's what the Lord says,
right? Your sin and iniquities, I'll remember no more. You're
gone. Again, we wouldn't even know
the name of Nineveh wasn't mentioned for us here to have as a picture.
Our sins, what again, what does Hebrews 10 say? Our sins and
iniquities will I remember no more. Not a trace, not a remembrance
of them as far as the East is from the West. Gone. It is finished. No trace, no
remembrance. Our God is a jealous God. He'll have it his way. He
will be satisfied. God's justice. Because of his
justice for sin poured out, Christ drank the cup dry. That cup of
justice poured out on Christ. There's justice for his people.
Look there at verse nine. What do you imagine against the
Lord? He will make an utter end. Affliction shall not rise up
the second time. Affliction shall not rise up
the second time. He made an utter end. He made
an absolute end to sin, an absolute end. When Christ Jesus declared
from the cross, it is finished, it is finished. And affliction
cannot rise up the second time onto his children. That sin is
punished. Affliction can't rise up the
second time. Here's a poem, most of which I've heard before. I've
heard Henry recite parts of this before. From Augustus Toplady. You can't rise up the second
time. From whence this fear and unbelief? Has not the father
put to grief his spotless son for me? Will the righteous judge
of men condemn me for that debt of sin which Lord was charged
to thee? That's what verse nine starts
out. What do you imagine against the Lord? Complete atonement
thou has made and to the utmost limit paid all that thy people
owed, nor will God's wrath my soul distress, if sheltered in
thy righteousness and covered by thy blood, he'll make an utter
end. If Christ my discharge was procured
and freely in my place endured, the whole of wrath divine, God
will not payment twice demand, first at my dying Savior's hand,
and then again in mine. Affliction shall not, cannot,
must not, rise up the second time, their sins and their iniquities. Well, I remember no more the
Lord's justice sin. Sin is destroyed just as it was. Sin is sin is destroyed in Christ's
body. There's no remembrance. There
is therefore now. Now today, there is therefore
now no condemnation to them, which are in Christ Jesus who
walked not after the flesh, but after the spirit. Now, no condemnation. Affliction shall not rise up
that second time. Love has been perfected among
us in this, that we may be bold in the day of judgment, because
as he is, so are we in this world. Affliction shall not rise up
the second time. That's the Lord's justice, the Lord's mercy. Now,
we know mercy and justice go hand in hand. And I hear too often, in fact,
I even catch myself too often saying, Something about the Lord's
justice, but the Lord's goodness, as if they contradict each other.
And that's not correct. I mean, I shouldn't talk like
that. We ought not talk like that. It's the Lord's justice and the
Lord's goodness. Not but, and. They go together. They go hand in hand. Look at
verse 7. The Lord is good, a stronghold
in the day of trouble. And he knoweth them. He knoweth
them. that trust in him as a result
of the Lord's authority, his rightful jealousy, as a result
of the fact that he'll have things his way because it's his right,
because it's his authority, as a result of his revenge against
sin, as a result of his justice, blotting out that sin of his
people based on Christ Jesus's holy sacrifice, based on the
Lord's holy sacrifice. As a result of all that, the
Lord is good. The Lord is good to his people.
He's a stronghold. He's a sure hold, a sure hold,
a hiding place that will not waver. It's to say in the day
of trouble that will not waver in the day of trouble. And we're
in it. We're in it. We're in the day
of trouble. Nineveh, Nineveh is still very real to us. Still
looks real to me. My sin still looks very real
to me. We're in the day of trouble. Christ is a stronghold. because
there's no attack against him. Justice is served. Justice has
no claim. There's no attack against Christ.
Christ has earned his position as the cleft in the rock. He's
earned that position. We can hide with no fear. There's
no attack against him. Justice isn't looking for us.
Justice found Christ. We can hide in him with no fear.
He leads us beside the still waters. The waters are still
because The claim against us, the claim against sin, has been
settled. We're bought by his blood. We're
redeemed. Oh, the Lord's mercy. The Lord's
a stronghold. He's worthy. He'll not waver. He's good for it. We talked about
a few weeks ago. He's good and he's good for it. He's sure. He's sure. All in
Christ. Give thanks unto the Lord for
he is good. His mercy endureth forever. His mercy endureth forever. The rest of verse seven there
says, and he knoweth them that trust in him. He knoweth them. He loves them. He knoweth them
that trust in him. He loves them. He telleth the
number of the stars and he calls them by their names. He knoweth
them that trust in him. Matthew chapter 10 says, are
not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them should not fall
on the ground without your father. The very hairs of your head are
numbered. Fear ye not therefore, year of more value than many
sparrows. Our Lord, he knoweth them. He knoweth them that trust
in him. He knoweth them because Christ
knew them. Christ knew his children before
the world was ever made. He knoweth them because he kneweth
them when he was made flesh. He knoweth them because he knew
you on the cross when he was dying for your sins. And child
of God, I talk to myself Christ knows us now. Christ knows you
now. It says, he knoweth, E-T-H, he knoweth them that trust in
him. Christ's mercy is from everlasting
to everlasting. He's a stronghold in the day
of trouble. He's a stronghold. And finally,
the people's peace. Look there in verse 15. Behold
upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings.
publisheth peace. O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts,
perform thy vows, for the wicked shall no more pass through thee."
He's utterly cut off. Sin is utterly cut off. God creates that new nature that
is free to serve. He's free to serve the living
God. He says, keep thy solemn feasts,
perform thy vows. We're delivered from the law
and delivered from the curse and we're free to serve. Galatians
2 says, for I through the law and dead to the law, that I might
live unto God. I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless
I live, yet not I, but Christ, Christ liveth in me. In the life
which I now live, in the flesh, I live by faith of the Son of
God who loved me and gave himself for me." We're free, free from
sin, free from the curse of sin, free from the condemnation of
sin, free from the ownership of sin, from the From the chains of sin, from
the struggle, we're free to serve a living God. We're free. All
because of the Lord's authority. The Lord's authority. He'll have
it his way. He's a jealous God. It's his right. He'll have it
his way. He'll remove sin as far as the east is from the west.
Wipe it off the face of the earth, just as Nineveh. Because of our
Lord's authority. He's a jealous God. He's right.
Because of our Lord's justice. Justice is served, therefore
won't be served again on his people. Christ paid it all. He
either did or he didn't. Is that right? Christ's blood
paid it all. It is finished, he said. He'll
have it his way. The Lord's mercy to his children. The people's
peace. What shall we say to these things?
God before us, who can be against us?