Christ In The OT Nahum Theology Religion Essay Example
Christ In The OT Nahum Theology Religion Essay Example

Christ In The OT Nahum Theology Religion Essay Example

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  • Pages: 12 (3281 words)
  • Published: October 22, 2017
  • Type: Essay
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Paul Harvey's Rest of the Story is remembered in the book of Nahum found in Christian bibles. This short book carries on the story that began in Jonah, with a prophecy about Nineveh around 100 years later. It is interesting to note that a prophet whose name signifies comfort or solace delivers a prophecy centered on God's vengeance against His enemies.

Comfort can be found by God's people in the prophecy against Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. Assyria was renowned for being one of the cruelest, most savage, merciless, and unfair empires that ever existed. Jonah initially preached reluctantly in Nineveh and the Assyrians repented, resulting in God withholding his anger. Nevertheless, the Assyrians swiftly returned to their previous behaviors. At the moment Nahum penned this message, not only had Israel fallen under the control of the Assyrians but also numerous other natio

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ns. Judah seemed utterly vulnerable.

However, God considers the enemies of His people as His own enemies. This is not a favorable position to be in! Nahum informed the people of Nineveh that God had reached a breaking point; they would soon witness the terror of His divine wrath. Nahum ensures us that God will personally, strongly, and devastatingly judge wickedness and evil. The problem of immorality is ultimately resolved through God's judgment. However, personally, as someone who engages in wrongdoing like myself, this is not reassuring. We would much rather hear about God's love, right? The excessive proclamation, unwavering belief, and extreme praise of God's mercy and grace cannot be overstated.

Rejoicing in the knowledge of God's unparalleled goodness, many Christians have a skewed perception. They prioritize His love while neglecting His other attributes.

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They focus on His mercy, disregarding His justice. They perceive His goodness but overlook His sanctity. Those who believe that God's love and kindness will prevent Him from punishing wickedness lack understanding of His true nature.

According to Charles Spurgeon, those who do not believe in God's punishment for wickedness will also struggle to believe in His forgiveness through the sacrifice of His Son. To truly worship God, we must be filled with a sense of awe and reverence for His majesty and power in all His glorious holiness. The book of Nahum, written approximately 650 BC during a time of fear and uncertainty when the Assyrians had already conquered the Northern Kingdom but before the Southern Kingdom was exiled, shows how the prophet Nahum prayed for deliverance as the Assyrians continued to threaten Judah with the same destructive force they had unleashed upon Israel.

Assyria has once again reverted to its wicked and violent behavior, but God remains in ultimate authority and control. The book of Nahum highlights how God justly and passionately punishes His enemies, particularly those who have mistreated His chosen people. Nahum begins by depicting the God the Ninehevites have provoked, reminding us that God will defend His people due to His inherent nature.

God is covetous. As Christians, we must understand that God experiences the feeling of jealousy. Based on our own experiences with jealousy, it is difficult to think of it without associating it with sin. However, God is justified in demanding our exclusive worship because He is the only true God. Imagine what it would say about God if He didn't care whether we worshipped falsehoods? He is devoted to

Himself and expects us to be devoted to Him as well, for our own benefit. With God, jealousy is not a flaw, but a characteristic.

God's covetousness is justified by His perfection. Any opposition to His will, rebellion against His rules, or objection to His work is deemed evil. God's envy is both righteous and flawless as it serves the well-being of His people. He will avenge them and safeguard His name. The presence of love in God does not diminish the reality of His covetous nature.

In reality, God's covetousness is fueled by His love, leading to Him mustering wrath against His enemies. However, God exhibits patience and is slow to anger. This powerful and awe-inspiring God, whose jealousy drives His ferocity, also possesses immense patience, forgiveness, and endurance. Instead of hastily punishing wrongdoers or passing judgment on His adversaries, He grants evildoers a chance to repent. This showcases His mercy.

He grants His enemies the opportunity to repent; He even instructs them to do so.

God is mighty

. He possesses unlimited power and can bring about anything He desires. Our God is magnificent because He is supremely powerful, possessing the remarkable ability to create everything He has planned.

God will not leave the guilty unpunished simply because He is patient. Despite His longsuffering nature, He will impose penalties on every transgressor. God's patience should not be seen as a sign of weakness or an inability to punish His enemies. He possesses great power and is unwavering in His determination to administer justice.

Hence, those who commit sins will face death and God cannot absolve them. The Lord will never let the guilty go

unpunished. The mysteries of the cross lie within this concise statement. When a condemned criminal is pardoned, it indicates a serious flaw either in the law itself or its administration.

To absolve the wicked would imply that there is a flaw in either God or His justice system, unless He can do so with sufficient evidence of fairness being satisfied. How can God still be the Justifier of evildoers if He is merely required to punish wrongdoing? In that case, can any sinner ever be saved? Would God set aside His justice in order to show mercy? No, He cannot. Justice is an essential part of His character.

How can He save us? There is only one way: If God saves a guilty evildoer and forgives his wickedness, three things must occur. First, the evildoer must be punished completely to satisfy justice. Second, his guilt from wickedness must be completely eliminated. Third, he must become entirely righteous.

The tasks mentioned cannot be accomplished by us alone, but can only be achieved through the substitutionary work of Jesus. By dying as our Substitute, Jesus bore the punishment for all the wickedness of His people, fully satisfying God's justice. He took away our wickedness and offered Himself as a sacrifice. Similarly, He has credited us with Christ's perfect righteousness in equal measure.

By having faith in Jesus, we become one with Him in His crucifixion and undergo a profound transformation, embracing His resurrected existence. Through this process, we are liberated from darkness and embraced by His astonishing illumination. We renounce our devotion to idols and commit ourselves to the genuine God, fervently anticipating the reappearance of His Son from heaven –

Jesus, the savior who triumphantly overcame death. The righteous Judge shouldered our punishment so that we may serve Him fearlessly.

This grateful and fearless service involves informing others, with a sense of urgency, about the opportunity to face God's judgment themselves. Additionally, it is God's desire for our enemies to become our brothers and sisters in the faith. However, we cannot achieve any of this on our own; instead, we must rely entirely on God. Therefore, during our church gatherings, it is important that we regularly express our dependence on God's love, Christ's righteousness, and the empowering of the Spirit through vocal prayer.

We rely on Him for forgiveness of our wickedness, guidance, provision, and revelation of Himself. During our gathering, we should remember our complete dependence on Him and give Him the celebration, gratitude, and praise that He deserves.

God is autonomous. This means that our God, who possesses covetousness, longsuffering, and almighty power, is also completely autonomous. He rules over everything. The clouds are like dust beneath His feet.

Regardless of the circumstances or location, God has His own distinct manner in all things and with every animal. We can take solace in knowing that our mighty God always exercises His authority over every facet, guaranteeing the salvation, redemption, and welfare of His people. God did not simply create the universe and abandon it to chance. He is neither a distant nor indifferent observer, nor is He ever caught off guard by any occurrence.

He is the God of infinite history. Many years later, after Nahum's prophecy, God unleashed His anger and Nineveh completely fell. The act of judgment is done by God. As the prophet describes God's

fierce anger, he poses a question. When this question is answered, it brings a message of hope for wrongdoers. 6a It is not me! It is not you! God's anger would consume us like a snowflake in an oven. However, Jesus, our remarkable Substitute, stood in front of the fury of God; He endured His anger on our behalf.

Do you see these properties of God? They include being covetous, longsuffering, almighty, mere, and autonomous.

God is good. Our great God is good! Good is as important to God's being as sovereignty, justice, and sanctity. Goodness is the character of our God. His goodness gives us hope, comfort, and strength. Although Nahum has been speaking about the storm of God's wrath, the panic of His justice, and the fury of His anger with whirlwinds, agitating mountains, running hills, and broken stones, He eventually brings us to a peaceful place of rest.

The Lord is good; God is inherently good. The presence of goodness is essential for God; if it were absent, He would cease to be God.

John Gill asserts that God contains nothing but goodness and that all goodness emanates from Him. He permits evil, yet employs it for benevolent purposes. While God does penalize wickedness, even such punishment aligns with His inherent goodness. Consequently, God stands as the solitary fount of all existing goodness. As aptly phrased by William Tyndale, every instance of goodness within us derives from His original goodness.

God is eternally good and unchanging. His goodness is constant and incomparable. In everything He has done, is doing, and will do, God is profoundly good. His goodness knows no bounds and cannot be measured.

The Lord's goodness

is an unchanging truth that cannot be fully understood. His goodness is always directed towards His people. The purpose of describing God in this way is to show that His greatness surpasses the enemies of Judah. They do not need to fear because God will judge their enemies. The Assyrians see themselves as the rulers of all animals, viewing the rest of the world as prey. They have already destroyed many cities in Judah, including Lachish, which protected Jerusalem. Graphic images of the devastation caused by the Assyrians can still be seen in Assyrian art today, depicting impaled men and mutilated bodies.

Remember, there were no Geneva Conventions of War so. The Assyrians were equivalent to what Stalin only imagined. When they conquered a city, they would completely destroy it and repopulate it with people from other places to ensure that no issues would arise from that location again. The Assyrians were renowned for this. However, when the most powerful king confronts them, they become the hunted. Assyria's fate is sealed when the one whose anger is as fierce as fire declares to them, "I am against you."

In order to bring comfort and peace, God will entirely annihilate the wicked who pose a threat to His people. Amidst these difficult times, there is solely one location where safety and protection can be sought: within God Himself, who resembles a fortress. Those who depend on their own fortresses and reject this safe haven will face an overwhelming deluge of divine anger. It is crucial to acknowledge that Nineveh was an astonishingly influential and mighty city, renowned for its magnitude, supremacy, and affluence.

The walls of Nineveh depicted

its impressive nature. The city was enclosed by two series of walls, extending for miles. The first inner wall, which was taller, had a width of about 100 pesos, providing enough space for three chariots to race alongside each other. Outside these walls was a fosse that measured 150 passes wide and was 60 passes less deep. The presence of the Tigri's other smaller rivers surrounding the city added to its perceived invincibility. However, God was about to release His anger upon Nineveh.

According to the author of Hebrews, falling into the custody of the living God is a dreadful thing. However, God has a way for everyone to enter into His protective fortress. Jesus is that way. Jesus came to experience the wrath of God on our behalf and to become our own fortress against divine judgment in the future.

Anyone who places their trust in Him will be safely within His protective walls. However, for those who remain outside, there will be no escape. For those within, there is a vibrant life filled with light. But for those outside, there will only be darkness and the sounds of sorrow and frustration.

Jesus, the One who will bear our judgment on Himself when we turn to Him in faith, will be perceived differently by those who reject His remarkably gracious offer and continue to oppose His people. They will see Him not as their Savior but as their Judge. In the days of Nahum, the people of God could look forward to finding comfort from those who trouble them because God will repay affliction to those who afflict His people in order to bring relief

to the afflicted. This will happen when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven with His mighty angels in blazing fire. Jesus, the One who distinguishes between His people and those who oppose them, is coming as the Judge.

According to Peter's instructions, we are to prophesy and proclaim with certainty that Jesus is the chosen one designated by God to judge both the living and the dead. God has resurrected Jesus, who now serves as a just Judge for those who have passed away. Even though Jesus will come to pass judgment, He has already undergone this judgment with compassion for those who have faith in Him. The doors of His secure stronghold remain open until the predetermined moment when judgment will be finalized.

The world outside is filled with terror and devastation, but inside there is life, safety, and peace. It is important to recognize the wrath of God and feel uncomfortable by it, as it is necessary for understanding redemption. Without a deep understanding of judgement, redemption holds no meaning. Learning about the judgement that will come against God's enemies allows us to appreciate what Jesus has saved us from by taking our punishment. It also reminds us of our past before God transformed us through faith in Christ and shows us what we should strive to become as we are conformed to the likeness of our Lord through the power of His Spirit. God's judgment is not partial or incomplete, but rather absolute and certain.

God has miraculously transformed us from being His enemies to becoming His friends and His children. It is an astonishing display of love that is difficult to comprehend: that God,

in His great mercy, would sacrifice Himself for me. As a result of this transformation, God is fiercely protective of His people, whether they are the nation of Judah in the past or the Church now. He is filled with rage towards those who harm His people. No matter what difficulties, persecution, or challenges the people of God may encounter in this world, we can confidently and bravely face them knowing that God will never abandon or forsake us. When He comes to judge the nations, He will vindicate us.

God, in His divine nature, will protect His people and issue a warning of judgment towards His enemies. Now, there is a prediction of the destruction of Nineveh. Throughout the chapter, there are recurring phrases that express God's opposition: "I am against you," declares the Lord of hosts. This emphasizes the main message of the book of Nahum. The severity of these words cannot be underestimated. God is not merely saying that He will abandon Assyria or withdraw from them entirely. He is assuring that He will actively oppose them: "I am against you!" This should be deeply contemplated. Consider the magnitude of having the omnipotent God declare, "I am against you," directed towards your existence.

In this book, God informs Assyria that its time has come to an end. God's patience with the nation's wickedness has run out, and the once proud and unbeatable state will be destroyed. The Lord declares that the destruction will be so thorough that the king and his descendants will be completely wiped out, and his lineage will not survive.

God was resolute in completely decimating Nineveh. If God is on our

side, no one can oppose us. However, if God turns against us, who can support us? Disregarding God's mercy leads to experiencing His anger. God sent Jonah to Nineveh to reveal His grace to that corrupt city, mercifully saving them. Unfortunately, over time, they deliberately deviated from embracing the manifestation of His kindness.

Now, the metropolis was under the irreversible sentence of His wrath. Nahum's prediction describes the complete devastation of Nineveh; the metropolis was so completely destroyed that every trace of its existence was lost to history until the 1840s when archaeologists discovered its remains. The Ninevites believed they were invincible. However, when the appointed time of wrath came, God ensured the complete devastation of the metropolis, just as Nahum prophesied. This punishment is avoided because God delights in judging His enemies.

God's judgment is not a mere obligation that He fulfills reluctantly; it is an expression of His hatred towards wickedness and evildoers. He will ultimately judge them, just as predicted by Nahum. In 612 BC, the Medes, Babylonians, and Scythians besieged Nineveh with the help of a concurrent storm. As Nahum had foreseen, the protective river moat around the city flooded up against the walls, causing them to collapse.

Assyria's male monarch gathered his family in a massive funeral pyre and burned himself, his wives, courtesans, and children to ashes. The invaders completely stripped the city, leaving it so bare that its actual location was forgotten for over 2,000 years.

Before we go, let's examine the final sentence of the book, which is a question.

Recall which other prophet ends in a question? Jonah. The prophet who proclaimed God's mercy to

Nineveh. Surely that connection is not accidental.

Nineveh, once a recipient of God's mercy, now faces His anger. God indeed judges wickedness, directly and decisively. Nahum's message to Nineveh was a stern declaration of just punishment, fully deserved by them.

However, his message goes beyond that. It is important to remember that Nahum's message to God's people is one of comfort and solace. He emphasizes that the Lord is a stronghold during times of trouble, the only place of safety in this world being found under the shadow of His wings.

The Lord, who is good, is our refuge and place of safety. He provides protection in times of trouble and is our stronghold. No matter the challenges we face, the Lord remains a secure fortress for His people.

He is the place of safety, peace, residence, and provision. Let us seek refuge in our powerful Stronghold. Let us always trust in the loving care of our Savior. If the good Lord knows us, we need nothing else to satisfy us. He knows us eternally and completely.

God has universal knowledge of us. If the good God knows us, everything is good! Agree?

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