The book of Nahum is about the awesomeness of God (Nahum 1:1-5) and the destruction of Nineveh (Nahum 2-3). Nahum came with a message of God's dreadful judgement but the people of Nineveh did not repent. However, in past time Jonah came to the city of Nineveh and the people repented at the preaching and proclamation of Jonah about faithful repentance in sackcloth and ashes. We ought to learn a great lesson about this; that is, we ought to learn that we must repent when we sin and keep short accounts with God through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
1 The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
The word "Nahum" means comfort; however, little comfort came to the people of Nineveh because of their lack of repentance. He was the "Elkoshite." This may be a reference to his birth. However, this could be a reference of where Nahum bore his prophecy. This book can be dated 663 B.C., but the fall of Nineveh was 612 B.C.
2 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 God is a jealous God; that is, it matters to Him who we worship. If we worship gods He will get angry with us. It may very well be that God hates you, because of the practice of sin in your life. The First Commandment is "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." God is an avenging God and take furious revenge on the wicked who know not repentance. We are all called to repentance because God is righteous and good and pure. God reserves wrath for His adversaries. In wrath God remembers mercy; that is, when God gives His grace to His people they repent in dust and ashes. However, even if God does not give His grace to the people they are still responsible to repent. These people without grace could care less about repentance because they are in the flesh. People in the flesh devoid of the Spirit of grace do not care about the things of God. We ought to care about the things of God because it is His absolute truth. God's truth is divine truth. He reserves wrath for the reprobate. There is no mercy for the reprobate. This is because they give no evidence of being born again. Evidence of being born again is faith and repentance.
The Lord's fury against sinners in the divine Word is only taken away by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. There is no other divine solution! The atonement and sacrifice of Christ alone takes away sins.
3 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.
The Lord is slow to anger. That is, He sent His Son to die for the sins of His people. The Lord has the power to forgive sins but He will not acquit the reprobate. All the elect are acquitted of their sins, transgressions and iniquities.
Exodus 34:6
Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;
Numbers 14:18
‘ The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.’
Nehemiah 9:17
“They refused to listen, And did not remember Your wondrous deeds which You had performed among them; So they became stubborn and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But You are a God of forgiveness, Gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness; And You did not forsake them.
Psalm 86:15
But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.
Psalm 103:8
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
Psalm 145:8
The LORD is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.
Joel 2:13
And rend your heart and not your garments.” Now return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness And relenting of evil.
Jonah 4:2
He prayed to the LORD and said, “Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.
4 He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.
Here we see the awesome power of God like they crossed the Red Sea. It would be good to go over the power of God in the divine Scriptures:
The power of Christ is described as the following:
-Given by God (John 17:2)
-Derived from the Spirit (Luke 4:14)
-Delegated to others (Luke 9:1)
-Determined by Himself (John 10:18)
Manifested as power in the following:
-Creation (John 1:3, 10)
-Upholds all things (Hebrews 1:3)
-Miracles (Luke 4:36)
-Regeneration (John 5:21-26)
-Salvation (Hebrews 7:25)
-Resurrecting believers in Christ (John 5:28-29)
-Jesus' return (Matthew 24:30)
The authority to do things in the following:
-Forgiving sins (Matthew 9:6-8)
-Teaching and Preaching (Luke 4:32)
-Laying His life down to save (John 10:18)
-Manifesting His power and authority (Matthew 28:18)
Benefits from and to believers in the following:
-Life (John 17:2)
-Strength (Philippians 4:13)
-Effective service (First Timothy 1:12; 2 Timothy 4:17)
-Perfected in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Conquest over temptation (Hebrews 2:18)
Glorification (Philippians 3:20-21)
The power of God as manifested in the following:
-Creation (Jeremiah 51:15)
-Keeps watch on the nations (Psalm 66:7)
-Christ's birth (Luke 1:35)
-Miracles (Luke 11:20)
-Resurrection (2 Corinthians 13:4)
-Exaltation (Ephesians 1:19-20)
-Regeneration (Ephesians 1:19)
-Sanctification (Philippians 2:13)
-Believer's Resurrection (1 Corinthians 6:14)
The power of God toward believers:
-Renders praise for (Psalms 21:13)
-Sings of (Psalms 59:16)
-Talks of (Psalms 145:11)
The power of the Spirit of God in the following:
-Conception (Luke 1:35)
-Ministry (Luke 4:14)
-Miracles (Luke 11:20)
-Resurrection (Romans 1:4)
-Regeneration (Ezekiel 37:11-14)
-Effective Ministry (Luke 24:49)
The sources of good power from the following:
-Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)
-Christ (1 Corinthians 1:24)
-Gospel (Romans 1:16)
-God's kingdom (Mark 9:1)
-God's Word (Hebrews 4:12
-New Life in Christ (Ephesians 1:19)
However, powerlessness is seen in worldliness (Genesis 19:14) and unbelief (Matthew 17:16-20). Power is decreased because of sin but through the Spirit all good things are possible because it is by Christ and from the will of the Father.
5 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.
The Lord is displeased and it fills the whole earth. The Lord provokes terror and the whole earth is threatened with His wrathful majesty. Nothing can stand before the Lord who know not God nor Jesus Christ. We must know God through Jesus and we can stand before His burning presence. We may sin in this life but we have Jesus to forgive us to the Father and He intercedes to the uttermost to save us. After we die we will be glorified and no sin will be able to catch us than.
6 Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.
"It is finished" Jesus cried at the Cross because He was full of God's fierce indignation and God poured out His fury upon Jesus to crush Him. Jesus completed all that needed to be done. I would suggest to you that the Cross is complete. We ought to recognize that Jesus reconciled all the elect to Himself at the Cross of Calvary.
He cried "It is finished" because Jesus took all sin upon Himself. He bore hell upon the tree. He bore the fires of hell and God's hot displeasure. He took our sufferings for sin upon Himself and nothing can undo it. The victory is already won. There is no wrath of the Father can touch us because of Jesus alone. Mary never cried "it is finished" though a sword pierced her heart. Christ accomplished ALL redemptive suffering that needed to be done to satisfy divine justice.
"It is finished" means Jesus took our sin and bore it on the tree. "Nothing but the blood of Jesus!" He propitiated and expiated our sins. Propitiation means God the Son appeased the wrath of the Father. Expiation means Jesus removed our sins as far as the east is from the west. We know our sins have been taken from us because of Jesus. God gave Jesus all our sufferings and was meant to crush Him,
Isaiah 53:10
But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
7 The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.
The Lord is indeed good. Let us see what divine Scripture says of it:
Psalm 34:8
O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
Psalm 69:16
Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.
Psalm 73:28
But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.
Psalm 100:5
For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
Psalm 106:1
Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psalm 107:1
O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
The Lord is a strong hold in the day of trouble, for Scripture says that He brings down strong holds of Satan:
2 Corinthians 10:4
(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
The Lord knows who they are who trust in Him. Those who trust in the Lord are of the elect. We would do well to trust in the Lord. He is our rock and refuge. The whole earth falls apart at His presence because He is a great God and the only true God.
2 Samuel 22:31
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.
2 Kings 18:5
He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.
2 Kings 18:22
But if ye say unto me, We trust in the LORD our God: is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?
Psalm 4:5
Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.
Psalm 7:1
O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me:
Psalm 9:10
And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
Psalm 11:1
In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Proverbs 16:20
He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he.
Philippians 2:19
But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state.
Philippians 2:24
But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly.
8 But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
This is about severe judgement, wrath and retribution. Let us look at what the Bible says about judgement:
The manner of God as Judge:
-According to righteousness (1 Peter 2:23)
-According to one's works (1 Peter 1:17)
-Open judgement (Romans 2:16)
-By Christ (John 5:22, 30)
-In a final way (Joel 3:12-14)
The design of divine judgement:
-Punishing evil (Exodus 20:5)
-Chasten people (2 Samuel 7:14-15)
-Manifested God's righteousness (Exodus 9:14-16)
-To correct (Habakkuk 1:12)
-Warn others through teaching the Word (Luke 13:3-5)
The causes of divine judgement:
-Disobedience (2 Chronicles 7:19-22)
-Rejecting God's warnings (2 Chronicles36:16-17)
-Idolatry (Jeremiah 7:30-34)
-Sins of rulers (2 Chronicles21:1-17)
-Loving evil (Romans 1:18-32)
The kinds of divine judgment:
-Physical destruction (Deuteronomy 28:15-68)
-Material loss (Malachi 3:11)
-Spiritual blindness (Isaiah 6:9-10)
-Eternal Destruction (Luke 12:16-21; 16:19-31)
How does one avoid divine judgment:
-Turning to God for forgiveness (Deuteronomy 30:1-3)
-Turning from sin (Jeremiah 7:3-7)
-Humiliation Jonah 1:1-17)
-Prayer (2 Kings 19:14-36; 2 Chronicles 20:5-30)
9 What do ye imagine against the Lord? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.
There is no one who can take us out of God's judgment than Christ alone. Through Christ alone, we get more than second chances. We can many chances through asking for forgiveness of our sins, and He surely forgives us of our sins. Judgement does not come twice because hopefully the person(s) repented later or judgment does not come again because it totally destroyed them. In this case, we do not have evidence of repentance.
10 For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry.
11 There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the Lord, a wicked counsellor.
12 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.
13 For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder.
14 And 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.
15 Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
Matthew Henry wrote on Nahum,
The Lord God is a jealous God; that is, it matters to Him who we worship. If we worship gods He will get angry with us. It may very well be that God hates you, because of the practice of sin in your life. The First Commandment is "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." God is an avenging God and take furious revenge on the wicked who know not repentance. We are all called to repentance because God is righteous and good and pure. God reserves wrath for His adversaries. In wrath God remembers mercy; that is, when God gives His grace to His people they repent in dust and ashes. However, even if God does not give His grace to the people they are still responsible to repent. These people without grace could care less about repentance because they are in the flesh. People in the flesh devoid of the Spirit of grace do not care about the things of God. We ought to care about the things of God because it is His absolute truth. God's truth is divine truth. He reserves wrath for the reprobate. There is no mercy for the reprobate. This is because they give no evidence of being born again. Evidence of being born again is faith and repentance.
The Lord's fury against sinners in the divine Word is only taken away by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. There is no other divine solution! The atonement and sacrifice of Christ alone takes away sins.
3 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.
The Lord is slow to anger. That is, He sent His Son to die for the sins of His people. The Lord has the power to forgive sins but He will not acquit the reprobate. All the elect are acquitted of their sins, transgressions and iniquities.
Exodus 34:6
Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;
Numbers 14:18
‘ The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.’
Nehemiah 9:17
“They refused to listen, And did not remember Your wondrous deeds which You had performed among them; So they became stubborn and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But You are a God of forgiveness, Gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness; And You did not forsake them.
Psalm 86:15
But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.
Psalm 103:8
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
Psalm 145:8
The LORD is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.
Joel 2:13
And rend your heart and not your garments.” Now return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness And relenting of evil.
Jonah 4:2
He prayed to the LORD and said, “Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.
4 He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.
Here we see the awesome power of God like they crossed the Red Sea. It would be good to go over the power of God in the divine Scriptures:
The power of Christ is described as the following:
-Given by God (John 17:2)
-Derived from the Spirit (Luke 4:14)
-Delegated to others (Luke 9:1)
-Determined by Himself (John 10:18)
Manifested as power in the following:
-Creation (John 1:3, 10)
-Upholds all things (Hebrews 1:3)
-Miracles (Luke 4:36)
-Regeneration (John 5:21-26)
-Salvation (Hebrews 7:25)
-Resurrecting believers in Christ (John 5:28-29)
-Jesus' return (Matthew 24:30)
The authority to do things in the following:
-Forgiving sins (Matthew 9:6-8)
-Teaching and Preaching (Luke 4:32)
-Laying His life down to save (John 10:18)
-Manifesting His power and authority (Matthew 28:18)
Benefits from and to believers in the following:
-Life (John 17:2)
-Strength (Philippians 4:13)
-Effective service (First Timothy 1:12; 2 Timothy 4:17)
-Perfected in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Conquest over temptation (Hebrews 2:18)
Glorification (Philippians 3:20-21)
The power of God as manifested in the following:
-Creation (Jeremiah 51:15)
-Keeps watch on the nations (Psalm 66:7)
-Christ's birth (Luke 1:35)
-Miracles (Luke 11:20)
-Resurrection (2 Corinthians 13:4)
-Exaltation (Ephesians 1:19-20)
-Regeneration (Ephesians 1:19)
-Sanctification (Philippians 2:13)
-Believer's Resurrection (1 Corinthians 6:14)
The power of God toward believers:
-Renders praise for (Psalms 21:13)
-Sings of (Psalms 59:16)
-Talks of (Psalms 145:11)
The power of the Spirit of God in the following:
-Conception (Luke 1:35)
-Ministry (Luke 4:14)
-Miracles (Luke 11:20)
-Resurrection (Romans 1:4)
-Regeneration (Ezekiel 37:11-14)
-Effective Ministry (Luke 24:49)
The sources of good power from the following:
-Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)
-Christ (1 Corinthians 1:24)
-Gospel (Romans 1:16)
-God's kingdom (Mark 9:1)
-God's Word (Hebrews 4:12
-New Life in Christ (Ephesians 1:19)
However, powerlessness is seen in worldliness (Genesis 19:14) and unbelief (Matthew 17:16-20). Power is decreased because of sin but through the Spirit all good things are possible because it is by Christ and from the will of the Father.
5 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.
The Lord is displeased and it fills the whole earth. The Lord provokes terror and the whole earth is threatened with His wrathful majesty. Nothing can stand before the Lord who know not God nor Jesus Christ. We must know God through Jesus and we can stand before His burning presence. We may sin in this life but we have Jesus to forgive us to the Father and He intercedes to the uttermost to save us. After we die we will be glorified and no sin will be able to catch us than.
6 Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.
"It is finished" Jesus cried at the Cross because He was full of God's fierce indignation and God poured out His fury upon Jesus to crush Him. Jesus completed all that needed to be done. I would suggest to you that the Cross is complete. We ought to recognize that Jesus reconciled all the elect to Himself at the Cross of Calvary.
He cried "It is finished" because Jesus took all sin upon Himself. He bore hell upon the tree. He bore the fires of hell and God's hot displeasure. He took our sufferings for sin upon Himself and nothing can undo it. The victory is already won. There is no wrath of the Father can touch us because of Jesus alone. Mary never cried "it is finished" though a sword pierced her heart. Christ accomplished ALL redemptive suffering that needed to be done to satisfy divine justice.
"It is finished" means Jesus took our sin and bore it on the tree. "Nothing but the blood of Jesus!" He propitiated and expiated our sins. Propitiation means God the Son appeased the wrath of the Father. Expiation means Jesus removed our sins as far as the east is from the west. We know our sins have been taken from us because of Jesus. God gave Jesus all our sufferings and was meant to crush Him,
Isaiah 53:10
But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
7 The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.
The Lord is indeed good. Let us see what divine Scripture says of it:
Psalm 34:8
O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
Psalm 69:16
Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.
Psalm 73:28
But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.
Psalm 100:5
For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
Psalm 106:1
Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psalm 107:1
O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
The Lord is a strong hold in the day of trouble, for Scripture says that He brings down strong holds of Satan:
2 Corinthians 10:4
(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
The Lord knows who they are who trust in Him. Those who trust in the Lord are of the elect. We would do well to trust in the Lord. He is our rock and refuge. The whole earth falls apart at His presence because He is a great God and the only true God.
2 Samuel 22:31
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.
2 Kings 18:5
He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.
2 Kings 18:22
But if ye say unto me, We trust in the LORD our God: is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?
Psalm 4:5
Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.
Psalm 7:1
O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me:
Psalm 9:10
And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
Psalm 11:1
In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Proverbs 16:20
He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he.
Philippians 2:19
But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state.
Philippians 2:24
But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly.
8 But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
This is about severe judgement, wrath and retribution. Let us look at what the Bible says about judgement:
The manner of God as Judge:
-According to righteousness (1 Peter 2:23)
-According to one's works (1 Peter 1:17)
-Open judgement (Romans 2:16)
-By Christ (John 5:22, 30)
-In a final way (Joel 3:12-14)
The design of divine judgement:
-Punishing evil (Exodus 20:5)
-Chasten people (2 Samuel 7:14-15)
-Manifested God's righteousness (Exodus 9:14-16)
-To correct (Habakkuk 1:12)
-Warn others through teaching the Word (Luke 13:3-5)
The causes of divine judgement:
-Disobedience (2 Chronicles 7:19-22)
-Rejecting God's warnings (2 Chronicles36:16-17)
-Idolatry (Jeremiah 7:30-34)
-Sins of rulers (2 Chronicles21:1-17)
-Loving evil (Romans 1:18-32)
The kinds of divine judgment:
-Physical destruction (Deuteronomy 28:15-68)
-Material loss (Malachi 3:11)
-Spiritual blindness (Isaiah 6:9-10)
-Eternal Destruction (Luke 12:16-21; 16:19-31)
How does one avoid divine judgment:
-Turning to God for forgiveness (Deuteronomy 30:1-3)
-Turning from sin (Jeremiah 7:3-7)
-Humiliation Jonah 1:1-17)
-Prayer (2 Kings 19:14-36; 2 Chronicles 20:5-30)
9 What do ye imagine against the Lord? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.
There is no one who can take us out of God's judgment than Christ alone. Through Christ alone, we get more than second chances. We can many chances through asking for forgiveness of our sins, and He surely forgives us of our sins. Judgement does not come twice because hopefully the person(s) repented later or judgment does not come again because it totally destroyed them. In this case, we do not have evidence of repentance.
10 For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry.
11 There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the Lord, a wicked counsellor.
12 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.
13 For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder.
14 And 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.
15 Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
Matthew Henry wrote on Nahum,
These verses seem to point at the destruction of the army of the Assyrians under Sennacherib, which may well be reckoned a part of the burden of Nineveh, the head city of the Assyrian empire, and a pledge of the destruction of Nineveh itself about 100 years after; and this was an event which Isaiah, with whom probably this prophet was contemporary, spoke much of. Now observe here,I. The great provocation which the Assyrians gave to God, the just and jealous God, for which, though slow to anger, he would take vengeance (v. 11): There is one come out of thee, that imagines evil against the Lord—Sennacherib, and his spokesman Rabshakeh. They framed an evil letter and an evil speech, not only against Hezekiah and his people, but against God himself, reflecting upon him as level with the gods of the heathen, and unable to protect his worshippers, dissuading his people from putting confidence in him, and urging them rather to put themselves under the protection of the great king, the king of Assyria. They contrived to alter the property of Jerusalem, that it should be no longer the city of the Lord, the holy city. This one, this mighty one, so he thinks himself, that comes out of Nineveh, imagining evil against the Lord, brings upon Nineveh this burden. Never was the glorious Majesty of heaven and earth more daringly, more blasphemously affronted than by Sennacherib at that time. He was a wicked counsellor who counselled them to despair of God's protection, and surrender themselves to the king of Assyria, and endeavour to put them out of conceit with Hezekiah's reformation (Isa. xxxvi. 7); with this wicked counsellor he here expostulates (v. 9): "What do you imagine against the Lord? What a foolish wicked thing it is for you to plot against God, as if you could outwit divine wisdom and overpower omnipotence itself!" Note, There is a great deal imagined against the Lord by the gates of hell, and against the interests of his kingdom in the world; but it will prove a vain thing, Ps. ii. 1, 2. He that sits in heaven laughs at the imaginations of the pretenders to politics against him, and will turn their counsels headlong.II. The great destruction which God would bring upon them for it, not immediately upon the whole monarchy (the ruin of that was deferred till the measure of their iniquity was full), but,1. Upon the army; God will make an utter end of that; it shall be totally cut off and ruined at one blow; one fatal stroke of the destroying angel shall lay them dead upon the spot; affliction shall not rise up the second time, for it shall not need. With some sinners God makes a quick despatch, does their business at once. Divine vengeance goes not by one certain rule, nor in one constant track, but one way or other, by acute diseases or chronical ones, by slow deaths or lingering ones, he will make an utter end of all his enemies, who persist in their imaginations against him. We have reason to think that the Assyrian army were mostly of the same spirit, and spoke the same language, with their general, and now God would take them to task, though they did but say as they were taught; and it shall appear that they have laid themselves open to divine wrath by their own act and deed, v. 10. (1.) They are as thorns that entangle one another, and are folded together. They make one another worse, and more inveterate against God and his Israel, harden one another's hearts, and strengthen one another's hands, in their impiety; and therefore God will do with them as the husbandman does with a bush of thorns when he cannot part them: he puts them all into the fire together. (2.) They are as drunken men, intoxicated with pride and rage; and such as they shall be irrecoverably overthrown and destroyed. They shall be as drunkards, besotted to their own ruin, and shall stumble and fall, and make themselves a reproach, and be justly laughed at. (3.) They shall be devoured as stubble fully dry, which is irresistibly and irrecoverably consumed by the flame. The judgments of God are as devouring fire to those that make themselves as stubble to them. It is again threatened concerning this great army (v. 12) that though they be quiet and likewise many, very secure, not fearing the sallies out of the besieged upon them, because they are numerous, yet thus shall they be cut down, or certainly shall they be cut down, as grass and corn are cut down, with as little ado, when he shall pass through, even the destroying angel that is commissioned to cut them down. Note, The security of sinners, and their confidence in their own strength, are often presages of ruin approaching.2. Upon the king. He imagined evil against the Lord, and shall he escape? No (v. 14): "The Lord has given a commandment concerning thee; the decree has gone forth, that thy name be no more sown, that thy memory perish, that thou be no more talked of as thou hast been, and that the report of thy mighty actions be dispersed upon the wings of fame and celebrated with her trumpet." Because Sennacherib's son reigned in his stead, some make this to point at the overthrow of the Assyrian empire not long after. Note, Those that imagine evil against the Lord hasten evil upon themselves and their own families and interests, and ruin their own names by dishonouring his name. It is further threatened, (1.) That the images he worshipped should be cut off from their temple, the graven image and the molten image out of the house of his gods, which, some think, was fulfilled when Sennacherib was slain by his two sons, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, by which barbarous parricide we may suppose the temple was looked upon as defiled, and was therefore disused, and the images were cut off from it, the worshippers of those images no longer attending there. Or it may be taken more generally to denote the utter ruin of Assyria; the army of the enemy shall lay all waste, and not spare even the images of their gods, by which God would intimate to them that one of the grounds of his controversy with them was their idolatry. (2.) That Sennacherib's grave shall be made there, some think in the house of his god; there he is slain, and there he shall be buried, for he is vile; he lies under this perpetual mark of disgrace, that he had so far lost his interest in the natural affection of his own children that two of them murdered him. Or it may be meant of the ignominious fall of the Assyrian monarchy itself, upon the ruins of which that of Babylon was raised. What a noise was made about the grave of that once formidable state, but now despicable, is largely described, Ezek. xxxi. 3, 11, 15, 16. Note, Those that make themselves vile by scandalous sins God will make vile by shameful punishments.III. The great deliverance which God would hereby work for his own people and the city that was called by his name. The ruin of the church's enemies is the salvation of the church, and a very great salvation it was that was wrought for Jerusalem by the overthrow of Sennacherib's army.1. The siege shall hereby be raised: "Now will I break his yoke from off thee, by which thou art kept in servitude, and will burst thy bonds asunder, by which thou seemest bound over to the Assyrian's wrath." That vast victorious army, when it forced free quarters for itself throughout all the land of Judah, and lived at discretion there, was as yokes and bonds upon them. Jerusalem, when it was besieged, was, as it were, bound and fettered by it; but, when the destroying angel had done his work, Jerusalem's bonds were burst asunder, and it was set at liberty again. This was a figure of the great salvation, by which the Jerusalem that is above is made free, is made free indeed.2. The enemy shall be so weakened and dispirited that they shall never make any such attempt again, and the end of this trouble shall be so well gained by the grace of God that there shall be no more occasion for such a severe correction. (1.) God will not again afflict Jerusalem; his anger is turned away, and he says, It is enough; for he has by this fright accomplished his whole work upon Mount Zion (Isa. x. 12), and therefore "though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more;" the bitter portion shall not be repeated unless there be need and the patient's case call for it; for God doth not afflict willingly. (2.) The enemy shall not dare again to attack Jerusalem (v. 15): The wicked shall no more pass through thee as they have done, to lay all waste, for he is utterly cut off and disabled to do it. His army is cut off, his spirit cut off, and at length he himself is cut off.3. The tidings of this great deliverance shall be published and welcomed with abundance of joy throughout the kingdom, v. 15. While Sennacherib prevailed, and carried all before him, every day brought bad news; but now, behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, the feet of the evangelist; he is seen coming at a distance upon the mountains, as fast as his feet will carry him; and how pleasant a sight is it once more to see a messenger of peace, after we have received so many of Job's messengers! We find these words made use of by another prophet to illustrate the mercy of the deliverance of the people of God out of Babylon (Isa. lii. 7), not that the prophets stole the word one from another (as those did, Jer. xxiii. 30), but speaking by the same Spirit, they often used the same expressions; and it may be of good use for ministers to testify their consent to wholesome truths (1 Tim. vi. 3) by concurring in the same forms of sound words, 2 Tim. i. 13. These words are also quoted by the apostle, both from Isaiah and Nahum, and applied to the great redemption wrought out for us by our Lord Jesus, and the publishing of it to the world by the everlasting gospel, Rom. x. 15. Christ's ministers are those messengers of good tidings, that preach peace by Jesus Christ. How beautiful are the feet of those messengers! How welcome their message to those that see their misery and danger by reason of sin! And observe, He that brings these good tidings brings with them a call to Judah to keep her solemn feasts and perform her vows. During the trouble, (1.) The ordinary feasts had been intermitted. Inter arma silent leges—The voice of law cannot be heard amidst the shouts of battle. While Jerusalem was encompassed with armies they could not go thither to worship; but now that the embargo is taken off they must return to the observance of their feasts; and the feasts of the Lord will be doubly sweet to the people of God when they have been for some time deprived of the benefit of them and God graciously restores them their opportunities again, for we are taught the worth of such mercies by the want of them. (2.) They had made vows to God, that, if he would deliver them out of this distress, they would do something extraordinary in his service, to his honour; and now that the deliverance is wrought they are called upon to perform their vows; the promise they had then made must now be made good, for better it is not to vow than to vow and not to pay. And those words, The wicked shall no more pass through thee, may be taken as a promise of the perfecting of the good work of reformation which Hezekiah had begun; the wicked shall not, as they have done, walk on every side, but they shall be cut off, and the baffling of the attempts from the wicked enemies abroad is a mercy indeed to a nation when it is accompanied with the restraint and reformation of the wicked at home, who are its more dangerous enemies.
