Nahum 1:1-7 Our Responsibility to God

Nahum 1:1-7 Our Responsibility to God

What does Nineveh have in common with major world powers today? God has blessed every nation with their strength. God grants his power to every nation that turn to Him.

In the book of Jonah, a reluctant prophet comes and speaks a word of judgment. The people listened and God relented. Now, 150 years later, with the country at least two generations removed from that exciting event, Nineveh again faces judgment from God.

What had they done that was so wrong? Why does God decide to punish this nation? The overriding theme in these verses is the fact that God gave them a big responsibility. He came to Nineveh in the form of a prejudiced prophet and they repented. Now that they do have the knowledge of God in their midst, they misused it. Actually, they abandoned this knowledge.

Nineveh can be found in the table of nations in Genesis 10. Nimrod was the first king of the region that included Babylon and Nineveh. We know that present-day Babylon is the site of Saddam Hussein and Nineveh is the site of modern-day Syria, a known terrorist nation.

President Bush in his State of the Union speech linked Iraq, Iran, and North Korea as evil nations. He even named many of the terrorist groups in the Middle East. One of these groups, Hamas, is based in Syria. These groups are cruel. And this cruelty comes from a long line of history.

For example, King Ashurbanipal, the last king of Syria before the nation fell, was especially cruel. He skinned captives alive. He forced captive princes to wear around their necks the bloody heads of their king. He would chain these princes from other countries that he exacted tribute and place them in dog kennels.

The nation of Assyria was an especially powerful and wicked nation. They exacted tribute from their neighboring countries, including Israel. Jehu is listed as one of the kings on whom Assyria expected payment.

They have turned from the grace and mercy that God has given them, and have become evil. Many nations turn from God and become evil. The same evil that lurked in the dictator of Germany, was in the king of Assyria. This brings us to our first principle:

PRINCIPLE #1: We are given more responsibility to live Godly lives once we have been exposed to the truth.

In 1:2, the word vengeance is used three times. This is a powerful word associated with God. Vengeance is retaliatory punishment for a wrong that is done. Many people misunderstand the term.

For many people, even Christians, they look at God as a very mean God. We say that God is full of anger and wrath. This is true. But look at why God has this anger. God is holy. His holiness demands that sin be punished. Since men commit sin, His vengeance demands that He punish that sin.

But notice that His vengeance is limited. He does not go around and punish His children. If anything, once His children come to repentance, His vengeance erodes. For example, in 2 Peter 3:9-10, we have a description of the “Day of the Lord” vengeance. But God’s vengeance is meted with patience. He does not wish to exact judgment on His children.

The lesson that Nineveh learned with the prophet Jonah was that they could come to God. But what they did not do is give this gift of salvation to their succeeding generations. This brings up a point that relates to us as Christians. We are given the responsibility with our salvation to share this salvation with others.

We must share it with:

Our family
Our friends
Our neighbors
Our co-workers
Our enemies

This responsibility has another facet. The second principle we learn is seen in 1:3.

PRINCIPLE #2: We must take responsibility for our sin.

Nahum was a prophet who pointed out the sins of a nation. He also told the nation that God would judge them for their sin. Some commentators have criticized Nahum for judging the sins of Nineveh while excluding the sins of Judah. While Nahum was limited in his prophetic scope, we should not be.

We need to learn to take responsibility for our own sin. If we have sinned privately, we need to confess it. If we have harmed another person through our words and actions, we need to ask them for forgiveness. If we have mistreated our friends, family, children, we need to restore our relationship. If we as children have been disobedient, we need confess it to our parents and ask for help.

Nineveh was very disobedient. We will find later in the book specific wrongs that Nineveh has committed.

They committed deceit. So have we.
They committed violence. So have we.
They committed witchcraft. So have we.
They have destroyed their people’s property, and reputation. So have we.

Why is taking responsibility for our sin so important? God expects us to be responsible. Notice in the following verses the active portrayal of the sovereignty of God.

He commands his way through the whirlwind and the storm. (v.3)

He is above the clouds. They are like dust under his feet. (v.3)

He rebukes the sea, and when they do wrong, He makes it dry. (v.4)

He dries up rivers. He wilts flowers. He melts hills. He burns the earth with His presence. God has power over all the world and those who dwell in it. (v.4-5)

God has complete power and control over us. No one can overrule God’s power. The same responsibility to follow God’s direction that He commands out of His creation, He expects out of us.  Which brings us to the next principle:

PRINCIPLE #3: We have the responsibility to follow as God leads us.

The comparison is simple. Just as the creation follows God and His direction – in any way He chooses, we should be as obedient.

He should command His way through us.
He is above us, and we are under His feet.
He rebukes when we do wrong.
He has the power to change us in His presence.

We cannot stand before His indignation. None of us should ever try. If anything, we should be obedient and follow where He leads us. This obedience may bring us out of our comfort zone. Notice in all of the descriptions about “The Lord’s way” with nature, they are clearly not in a comfortable situation.

Flowers wilt and hills heat up. Sometimes, this may be how we feel when God is teaching us something new. This is not an issue of judgment as much as it is an issue of learning obedience.

But this obedience has positive benefits. The easiest benefit is that we avoid this vengeance from God. When we do right, we receive no vengeance. But the other benefit is more comforting to the Christian. This leads us to our next principle:

PRINCIPLE #4: When we are responsible with our relationship to God, He provides all we need.

In this part of the chapter, we see the goodness of God (1:7). God is good. But notice how He is good.

When we encounter trouble, He becomes the stronghold on which we can anchor our soul. We can lean on Him.
When we are responsible with our relationship, He recognizes us. This means that He makes the distinction between who is wicked and who is just. He will not judge harshly those who are responsible with their relationship with God.

Notice the relationship is a two-way relationship. God has made the way possible through Jesus Christ. But our relationship can grow through trust and obedience. When we encounter difficulties in our life, we can know for certain that God will provide.

God provided for the people of Judah during the unpopular reign of Assyria. These words were meant as a word of comfort for those who were struggling. The Israelites were struggling to follow God in these hard times. We too, sometimes struggle to follow God.

But we can know for certain that God has and will provide for us. When we are responsible for our part of the relationship, God always provides for His part of the relationship.