200 likes | 240 Views
Delve into the pivotal event in global history as Nahum prophesies the downfall of Nineveh due to their brazen arrogance and corruption. Witness God's justice as the city meets its Waterloo, underscoring that no empire is above God's judgment.
E N D
Nahum … our God reigns! Recessional Far-called, our navies melt away; On dune and headland sinks the fire: Lo, all our pomp of yesterday Is one with Nineveh and Tyre! Judge of the Nations, spare us yet, Lest we forget—lest we forget! Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)
Nahum … our God reigns! • a pivotal event in global history • the beginning of the end • our God is a just God • he tells us why Nineveh will fall • language is colourful and chilling
Nahum … our God reigns! • God drew a line in the sand • Nineveh overstepped the mark • they left God out of the equation • their brazen and brutal arrogance • God has blown the final whistle
Nahum … our God reigns! • the fierceness of Nineveh (1-3) • the filthiness of Nineveh (4-7) • the folly of Nineveh (8-10) • the fear of Nineveh (11-13) • the fall of Nineveh (14-19)
Nahum … our God reigns! • God misses absolutely nothing • God doesn’t bat on the back foot • life has no playback button • city was a hive of corruption (1) • Ninevites acted like animals
Nahum … our God reigns! • a preview of the conflict (2-3) • a scene of horrendous carnage • why include this in the Bible? • it affirms that God is God • justice is done, and seen to be done
Nahum … our God reigns! • God doesn’t have to explain himself • but … he spells it out clearly (4) • no one can say that God is vindictive • dancing in the dark with the devil • witchcraft is forbidden in Scripture • Nineveh in the dock, God is judge
Nahum … our God reigns! • the tables are turned (5-6) • guilty of religious prostitution • God strips Nineveh of everything • exposed for who and what she is • sow to the wind, reap a whirlwind • she meets her Waterloo (7)
Nahum … our God reigns! • God communicates with people (8-9) ‘Are you better than Thebes?’ Why should you be treated in a different way?
Nahum … our God reigns! • ruins around Luxor or Karnak • city fell in 663 BC
Nahum … our God reigns! • Assyria butchered the people (10) • they were 7th century BC thugs • they’ll drink same cup of terror (11) • a taste of their own medicine • their resistance is virtually nil (12) • like new figs shaken from a tree
Nahum … our God reigns! • the soldiers have done a runner (13) • for Babylon it was a walkover • they were ‘a bunch of Nancy boys!’ • too late to plug the gaping hole (14) • army like a swarm of locusts (15) • Nineveh’s wealth disappears (16)
Nahum … our God reigns! • city guards are like locusts (17) • fly away when the sun comes out • C T Studd … ‘chocolate soldiers’ • ‘Great Shepherd of the people’ (18) • only interested in Number One • the Good Shepherd is so different
Nahum … our God reigns! • God dealt them a lethal blow (19) • no possibility of recovery • Nineveh is an archaeologist’s dream • no lament to mourn her passing • nations are delirious with joy • there is spontaneous applause
Nahum … our God reigns! ‘The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind, exceedingly small.’ when God finally settles accounts, he settles them in full!
Nahum … our God reigns! • Nineveh was a big fish in a small sea • her importance can’t be downplayed • Jonah and Nahum talk about her • Jonah: God’s incomprehensible mercy • Nahum: God’s unimaginable wrath
Nahum … our God reigns! • Nineveh is no more … • Assyria is no more … • kingdoms rise and fall … • empires come and go … BUT
Nahum … our God reigns! take-home message … our God goes on, for ever and ever!