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.
If his readers were
expecting the prophet to begin his message with some modern-day teaching on the
love of God, they would have been greatly disappointed. Too often in our
society, we think of God only in terms of His love or His grace. There is much
more to God than those two attributes.
As a husband, I am jealous
for my wife. I want to be her one and only. I do not want her desiring other
men, only me. I want her to obey my words, not the words of others. God’s
jealousy is much like that. He desires we worship Him and Him alone. He calls on
His to obey His voice, not the voice of the world, flesh, or devil. He is
righteous and His commands are righteous. He is a jealous God, jealous for
people to exalt and follow only Him.
To those who discard God
and follow the ways of the world, God is not pleased. The citizens of Nineveh
have displayed their unrighteousness by flaunting the Word of God given to them
by Jonah and afflicting His people, Judah. Nahum proclaims the jealous God will
avenge. Such individuals will not go unpunished for Yahweh is also an avenging
God, demanding justice for His enemies. That justice will come by His wrath,
His righteous anger reserved for those who live in unrighteousness.
God’s wrath is not an
attribute of our great Sovereign we enjoy discussing. Love is much more
appealing. But God’s love of Himself and His holy character must be expressed
by His wrath against those who do not love Him or heed Him. John 3:36 tells us
that each of us, born in sin, are under God’s wrath while we do not surrender
to the Lord Jesus Christ. His wrath presently abides upon us. We are but one
breath, one heartbeat from experiencing that infinite wrath!
We live in a world where
evil abounds and where justice appears thwarted. Why do the evil flourish? Why
do they get away with their wickedness? Why doesn’t God do something? Make no
mistake, Nahum says. Yahweh takes vengeance on His enemies. He guards or keeps
His wrath reserved for them.
Judgment is coming,
Nineveh! You have turned from God. You have ignored His Word. You have
trespassed His law. You have rejected your Creator. God is a jealous God, an
avenging God. Your unrighteousness must be punished. His wrath is coming!
But the same must be said
to each of us born of woman. Our natures are corrupted by sin and we are
conceived under condemnation resulting from Adam’s sin. His wrath is upon us,
being kept there until the hour He chooses to exact vengeance upon us.
Oh, sinner, turn to Christ
while you may! Now is the time while God’s hand is stayed! Repent of your sins
and trust Jesus for your salvation. He has fulfilled the righteous demands of
God. Only He provides our redemption from and our propitiation for our sin.
Salvation is found in Him alone!
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