Nahum 1:8-15

[0:00] Again, that's Nahum chapter 1, verses 8 through 15. Please stand for the reading of God's Word. But with an overflowing flood, he will make a complete end of the adversaries, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.

[0:20] What do you plot against the Lord? He will make a complete end. Trouble will not rise up a second time. For they are like entangled thorns, like drunkards as they drink.

[0:32] They are consumed like stubble fully dried. From you came one who plotted evil against the Lord, a worthless counselor. Thus says the Lord, though they are at full strength in many, they will be cut down and pass away.

[0:48] Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no more. And now I will break his yoke from off you, and will burst your bonds apart. The Lord has given commandment about you.

[1:00] No more shall your name be perpetuated. From the house of your gods, I will cut off the carved image and the metal image. I will make your grave, for you are vile. Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace.

[1:17] Keep your feasts, O Judah, fulfill your vows. For never again shall the worthless pass through you. He is utterly cut off. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

[1:28] You may be seated. Good morning. How good it is to be in the presence of God's people together and to be able to worship.

[1:45] Worship with a measure of spontaneity. Lifting up our voices to God together. It's good to be here. Join me in prayer. Lord, we do love you.

[1:56] Thank you for your people gathered. Thank you for your presence among us. Be glorified in us, O God, as we continue our worship through listening.

[2:11] And may your word continue to shape our lives and guide our lives. Sanctify our lives for your glory and honor in this world. We pray in Christ's name.

[2:24] Amen. Amen. This past week it was announced that Chicago had been selected as the site for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

[2:38] It will be the world's largest interactive museum. What an honor for our city. Boom for the economy, hopefully.

[2:50] One billion dollar project will add to our already attractiveness of the city that we live in. The home of institutions like the Art Institute.

[3:02] Field museums. Jet Aquarium. Atler Planetarium. Museum of Science and Industry. What a great place to imbibe culture and get familiar with the culture of the world through these institutions that are among us.

[3:20] Unfortunately, such attractions are not the only reasons that Chicago is newsworthy. Sometimes journalist John Fountain is running a series of articles under the title Chirac.

[3:39] Perhaps that might be a new term for you. It was new to me until about a month ago. But the word Chirac weds the names of two cities.

[3:56] Chicago and Iraq. They do this as an effort to help people see that both are battlefields.

[4:09] Both are places where there are serious life-altering casualties that take place. Sustained on both or in both of those arenas.

[4:23] Let me just read you a little bit of what Fountain wrote within the last couple of weeks. Chirac is dead, they say.

[4:35] But maybe they forgot to tell the killers. Neglected to send the memo to homicidal youngins around Chi-town to put those guns down.

[4:47] Or is it that they aren't listening? Amid this growing swell who readily admits that the words do matter, there also exists the undeniable twist that the word now so hated, the word that now lives and breathes and that was created by the fate of sons and daughters who now can only speak from countless cold graves, so profoundly resounds.

[5:16] Their ghosts whisper, Chirac. Chirac. These slain souls whisper, Chirac. The stats glean five shootings on average every day.

[5:33] 35 a week. 140 a month. Nearly 2,000 last year with more than 400 murders.

[5:45] Chirac. Good neighborhoods turn bad where murder has become the fad. The cries of mothers wailing for their children having passed prematurely. The sound of war and fury.

[6:01] Chirac. Chicago, like Nineveh of old, is both famous and infamous.

[6:11] And our prayer is that in looking at Nineveh, through the lens of both Jonah and Nahum, we are able to listen and learn and live in a city in ways that advance the gospel here.

[6:30] Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? That's our prayer. That would be a worthy goal for the summer as we listen to God's word, to be people who would make a difference even in our city.

[6:45] And our first look at Nahum on a few weeks ago, we saw in verses 2 through 8, a profile of Almighty God.

[6:58] We saw him as the sovereign God who is jealous for his honor, jealous for the people of his covenant, jealous for his glory in the world.

[7:09] The description that begins in verse 2, it actually continues through verses 9 and 10 of today's text. Beginning at verse 11, we then move to the implications of God being the God that he is in this world.

[7:27] What does it mean? What did it mean for Assyria? Nineveh, the capital of Assyria back then. What did it mean for Judah, the southern kingdom, that God was the Almighty God, the divine warrior, if you will, in the world in that day?

[7:45] In verses 9 through 11, I'd like for you to see the following. There, I believe, we see a word of caution. There's a word of comfort in verses 12 and 13.

[7:59] That word of comfort actually spills over in verses 14 and 15 to where there is really a word of contrast that we see there in those verses.

[8:12] What about this word of caution? It was for those who would plot or scheme against the Lord. You see that in verses 9 through 11?

[8:24] What do you plot against the Lord? He will make a complete end. Trouble would not rise up a second time.

[8:37] It doesn't take too much to understand that, does it? But the question was one to ponder. It parallels what we see in verse 6 where there were two questions rhetorically asked, answer understood, and even so as we look here in verse 9.

[8:58] It concerns plotting against the Lord. What do we mean by plotting? Well, the word, it comes from the base word meaning to think or to devise, to contrive or to scheme, and usually, not exclusively, but usually in a very malicious kind of sense.

[9:21] If you know anything about the Lord, you see, and we see him as already being described in the verses that we've looked at already, you know that such actions against him, almighty God, plotting against him, they are futile and ultimately vain.

[9:42] Those who scheme against the Lord put themselves in a no-win kind of situation. Who is actually being referred to and the pronouns in this particular passage are interesting because they have different reference that we see here.

[10:09] So who's the who in verse 9? What do you, who is the you in this, what do you plot against the Lord? Who's he speaking about?

[10:19] Well, he could be referring to Nineveh, the city. If it refers to the inhabitants of Nineveh, the question would be, why do you Ninevites vainly devise against Yahweh?

[10:37] Well, it seems like the ESV editors have opted for that particular option in that we also see in verse 11, from you came one who plotted, and theirs is again against the Lord.

[10:56] It was certainly a message that ancient Nineveh needed to hear, but it also could refer to Judah. In that case, the rendering would be, what do you Israelites think about the Lord?

[11:09] Given what we've seen about him and these verses that precede ours, will he not rise up against your enemies? So it's a sort of maybe an encourage.

[11:20] What do you think? What do you plot? What do you think, again, in a more positive sense, about the Lord? Again, the ESV translation is plausible. Seems to have the Ninevites, who indeed were the active enemy force there in view.

[11:36] But we have to admit, devising and scheming against the Lord is something that all of us need to be warned about. God's people, likewise, because we too have ways of getting off track.

[11:51] This can happen when we exalt our will above God's will, when our hearts are gripped by pride, when we are bent on doing it, whatever it might be, when bent on doing it our way, when we're really blinded to who the real source, the ground for our living and lives are.

[12:17] The question is one that you and I need to ponder also. Not just for those opposing nations, but good for you and me today.

[12:31] What do you plot against the Lord? Did you notice the fate of the plotters in the text? Second part of the verse refers to the Lord making a complete end of those who oppose him.

[12:45] He chases his enemies into oblivion. The fate is certain. It will be terminal. Game over. Trouble would not rise a second time for those who plot against the Lord.

[13:01] Verse 10. Look at verse 10. Because what we see there are several images of vulnerability or instability that come into view. Like entangled thorns.

[13:13] Like drunkards as they drink. They are consumed like stubble fully dried. What's in view is something that is expendable, disoriented, combustible.

[13:27] No real match for the almighty. They are ripe for salvage. Easy pickings, if you will. Easily disposable. Ready to be consumed. Huh? It's vanity.

[13:40] The scheme against God and the end of those who do that is certain. Such as the fate of those who scheme, devise, plot against the Lord.

[13:54] Historically, there had been one who from Syria, Assyria, who had plotted against the Lord's people. Which can be acquainted with plotting against the Lord himself.

[14:06] Because as Zechariah reminds us, he who touches you, God's people, you touch the apple of his eye. Look at verse 11. From you.

[14:18] And here is interesting here. The you actually is referring to the city. Here in this particular instance. From you, that is Nineveh, came one who plotted evil against the Lord, a worthless counselor.

[14:36] Huh? Opposition from the city came in the form of a worthless. And this is the word, if you look, we see the word worthless there, counselor, in verse 11.

[14:47] We see on the back end, in verse 15, for never again shall the worthless pass through you. He is utterly cut off. That's an interesting word.

[14:59] It's the word that often is translated in the Old Testament, Belial. Sons of Belial. They, Samuel's son, or Eli's sons, they were sons of Belial.

[15:12] Worthless men. They did not know the Lord. Huh? It is likely that this Belial-like counselor, or leader, was Sennacherib.

[15:24] And we see that there are different conflicts. You see this, actually, in 2 Kings, chapters 18 and 19. But I wanted to take you to a passage that really speaks about the plotting of the nations.

[15:37] And again, Assyria was just one of many who had targeted Israel with their ills. Turn back in Psalm 83. Because we get, we really get a list of nations who had risen up against God's people, plotted against God's people, and ultimately, in that vein, plotted against the Lord himself.

[16:00] And the psalmist lifts up a prayer and view of that present reality.

[16:15] 83 and 1. Oh God, do not keep silence. Do not hold your peace or be still, oh God, for behold, your enemies make an uproar.

[16:27] actually, their enemies who were actually God's enemies. Those who hate you have raised their heads. Look at verse 3. They lay crafty plans, notice, against your people.

[16:41] They consult together against your treasured ones. They say, come let us wipe them out as a nation. Let the name of Israel be remembered no more. For they conspire with one accord against you.

[16:55] They make a covenant. The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the... So he's listing the opposition here, those who actually plot against God's people.

[17:06] Moab and the Hagrites, Gabal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia and the inhabitants of Tyre. And here it is. Ashur also has joined them.

[17:18] They are the strong arm of the children of Lot. Plotters. Schemers. Who are targeted God's people and ultimately scheming, plotting against God.

[17:33] Is there not a word of caution here? The text helps us to see the futility of planning and scheming against the Lord rather than being in sync with Him.

[17:49] Scheming people are no match for Almighty God. Huh? Huh? The text helps us to see that those who rebel against God put themselves in a no-win situation.

[18:04] Rebellion against the Lord is ultimately suicidal. While we see that they're destroyed, they are...

[18:17] He will make a complete end to them. They will not rise up a second time. Again, this was going to be the fate of the nation. But all those who follow in the footsteps of this kind of pattern can expect the same kind of fate.

[18:35] Huh? It's a word of caution to schemers in verses 9 through 11, but it's followed by a word of comfort for those who find refuge in the Lord in verses 12 and 13.

[18:49] Huh? We must remember that in Nahum, that though we find a word of judgment against Nineveh, against Assyria, the primary audience is God's people in the southern kingdom, Judah.

[19:02] Huh? This comes through particularly in verses 12 and 13 where the Lord speaks first about the Assyrians and then hearing these words from the mouth of the Lord were meant to provide comfort and consolation for God's people.

[19:19] Look at verse 12. Thus says the Lord. Huh? I think this is the only place that you see that particular phrase in Nahum's prophecy.

[19:31] Though they are full strength and mighty, they will be cut down and pass away. Again, a word to his people regarding the enemy, the opposition.

[19:45] They are full strength and many. They will be cut down and pass away. But notice the change. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no more.

[19:58] Again, speaking first of all to God's people about the enemy, the opposition, but then speaking to them about their own plight in those particular verses.

[20:11] The oppressive plight of God's people had not been forgotten. Huh? Even in the midst of all that was happening.

[20:22] Oh, isn't it good to know that we are remembered by God regardless of what's going on in our lives and our situation?

[20:32] even in the midst of pain and hurt and ache were not forgotten by God? A new day was dawning for God's people that included God's activity against the enemy, but God's activity for his people.

[20:48] That's what we're seeing. Again, the they is a reference to the Assyrians. Might and numbers were on the Assyrian side. Well, don't we see that again and again where visible resources don't tell the full story?

[21:03] God's people then and now are often the underdogs. Outnumbered, inferior weapons, insufficient numbers, but the mighty were marked for demise.

[21:16] Think about the Old Testament stories. God's people are the underdog. Gideon thinned them down, balled them down, 300 people.

[21:27] I mean, you love the story of David and Goliath five stones can do a lot. I mean, you got all this armor.

[21:38] Some trust in chariots, some in horses, but we remember the name of the Lord, our God. The mighty, in spite of their numbers, in spite of their might, were marked for demise.

[21:54] God's people also had been a chastened people, disciplined people, people under the rod. Judah had experienced the disciplining hand of God, the affliction of God, but that too was going to be behind them, this particular juncture.

[22:10] As a father shows compassion for his children, so the Lord shows compassion for those who fear him. Things were about to change.

[22:20] Notice verse 13. What a picture of liberation you see there. Don't you love that? I will break his yoke from off you and will burst your bonds apart.

[22:32] Servitude would be a thing of the past. Broken yoke, broken shackles, yokes and chains off. You'll be released from the slavery of the enemy.

[22:44] Listen to this. Word of comfort for God's people. Even as he speaks, what's going to happen to the enemy? What's going to happen to them? A picture of liberation. From God's heart to the heart of his people, help is on his way.

[23:01] Word of caution for the schemers. Word of comfort for those who trust it. But notice what we see in verses 14 and 15. There is a word of contrast that distinguishes those who are marked for destruction and those who are marked for deliverance.

[23:18] some were marked for destruction. God's people were marked for deliverance. Look at the bad news in verse 14, how graphic it is. The Lord has given commandment about you.

[23:32] No more shall your name be perpetuated to have your name cut off was to have your posterity cut off. It's over. It's done. You're not going to multiply.

[23:42] Things were coming to a certain end. No descendants. Terminal generation was in view. Not only that. You see, there was going to be a plundering of their idols.

[23:55] Now, it's interesting, friends. Again, we're looking at Jonah on the one hand. We're looking at Nahum on the other. But this is the city that had repented about a century before this at the preaching of Jonah.

[24:10] But guess what? They had returned to their idolatry. You know what you call that, don't you? It's backsliding, huh? They had backsliding and they had returned to the idols of their past.

[24:25] A few weeks ago, Shirley and I were in the audience of some friends and they highlighted a young man who some years ago had turned to the Lord.

[24:40] He had forsaken certain things that were part of his life. He made a genuine profession of faith, a clear statement of faith, even to the point he appealed to us for support, to go on a short-term mission trip and we were glad to be able to support him.

[24:59] But as we heard, this young man has returned to the idols of the past, the patterns of the past. How sad it is.

[25:13] I mean, so here was Nineveh that had repented, but now they're right back where they were. How sad, disheartened we were to hear about this young man.

[25:26] So the question I would ask, are you returning to past patterns paths or practices?

[25:38] It's not a good sign if that's the case. Is your life on a slippery slope where, again, it's looking like yesterday rather than what it should be today on the basis of perhaps what had happened in your life?

[26:00] An indication of the superiority of the superiority of the Lord and the inferiority of the gods of Assyria. They were about to bite the dust.

[26:11] Bad news here. Oh, look at that last part of verse 14. It said, I will make your grave for your vile.

[26:25] Oh, listen to this ominous word from God. Huh? Plan for a funeral basically is what the word is. Three-word eulogy.

[26:37] You are vile. You are despicable. Huh? A funeral and a burial, again, was on its way for Nineveh, for Assyria.

[26:52] But the contrast with what we see in verse 15 is quite striking. Bad news. Verse 14. But notice the good news in verse 15.

[27:05] Oh, don't you love this verse? We hear it also a similar verse in Isaiah. I believe it's chapter 52. There's somewhat New Testament controls on it, but listen to it here in its context.

[27:16] Behold, upon the mountains the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace. Keep your feast, O Judah, fulfill your vows, for never again shall the worthless pass through you.

[27:31] He is utterly cut off. Plan for a funeral. Verse 14. Plan for a feast.

[27:42] Christ. In verse 15. The foot messenger had come with good news. He had been dispatched to God's people and he was going to give them a message of peace.

[27:56] Well, and what we have here, friends, prefigures the greatest of news that brings us peace with God that Peter spoke about in Acts chapter 10.

[28:08] There he spoke about the dispatch of Jesus into this world. With goodness, listen to what he says. You don't have to turn to it. Acts 10 34. So Peter opened his mouth and said, truly I understand that God chose no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right, is susceptible to him.

[28:28] As for the word that he sent to Israel, here it is, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ, he's Lord of all. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.

[28:43] The good news in the text would be a return to normalcy. Keep your feast, O Judah. There are things that disrupt normalcy, particularly the oppression of the enemy in that day, but keep your feasts, fulfill your vows.

[28:59] Again, it was going to be a return to normalcy in communion and in worship. The enemy has a way of running interference on worship and healthy life rhythms.

[29:13] Worship is to be the norm for God's people. And friends, you and I must never forget that it's people who believe and respond to the good news who can make a difference in the city that has been labeled Chirac.

[29:33] It is that kind of people living out their faith, honoring God in every way, in communion, in community, in worship, but not simply in worship, and in other ways, you and I can make a difference as those who have been recipients of the good news and are living as if it is the reality in our life.

[30:00] A word of contrast, it distinguishes those marked for destruction versus those who are marked for deliverance. Are we not reminded here in this text of the need to seek refuge in God rather than to rebel against him and applaud against him?

[30:20] This kind of message is good for people and nations, for those who lead as well as those who are led. Those who scheme against the Lord put themselves in a no-win situation.

[30:35] There's a great message. Plotting, scheming against the Almighty is folly. It leads to discipline. It leads to destruction.

[30:47] Similar plotting is seen in one of the great Old Testament passages, Psalm 2. Turn there with me. Rebellious leaders plotting against the Lord and against his Christ.

[31:02] We see it in beginning in verse 1. The two contrasts are here. why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?

[31:19] The word, though translated plot, is actually a synonym. It's not the word that we see in Nahum. But again, it's a synonym, but essentially meaning the same thing.

[31:32] The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel against the Lord. There it is. But then look on the back end, verses 10 through 12.

[31:53] Folly in scheming, but wisdom in submitting. It's what's in view. Now, therefore, kings, be wise, be warned, O rulers of the earth.

[32:04] Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son, submit to him, lest he be angry and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled.

[32:15] Here's the word. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. Again, we're reminded of the folly of scheming, but the wisdom of submitting.

[32:30] This is what you and I need. I mean, as we think about what we see in the city, what's needed in the city and our role in it, not to succumb to the environment around us, but in a way be counter cultural in the midst of this kind of world that you and I live in.

[32:54] What am I saying today? Simply this, huh? Those who scheme against the Lord are in a no-win kind of situation. Those who submit to him can be used of him in any situation.

[33:09] May you and I be that kind of people for the glory of his name in the city and for the well-being, our well-being in it. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we honor you this morning and give you praise.

[33:28] You are our great and awesome God, and we bless and we honor your name. Lord, this passage helps us to see the folly of rebellion and the folly of scheming.

[33:39] May we not be people in that vein cut from that kind of cloth, but may we be people who ourselves are impacted by the good news that you've come into this world, the ultimate good news that there's forgiveness in and through Christ.

[33:56] May we be people who are so characterized, marked by that. May we be people who make a difference in the midst of the madness of this world. Those are our prayers this day. We pray in Christ's name.

[34:08] Amen.