Nahum 1:1-7 “The burden against
Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
God is jealous, and the Lord avenges;
the Lord avenges and is furious.
The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies; the Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit
The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies; the Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit
the wicked. The Lord has His way in the
whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet.
He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, and dries up all the rivers. Bashan and
Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts. The mountains quake before Him,
the hills melt, and the earth heaves at His presence, Yes, the world and
all who dwell in it. Who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure
the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks
are thrown down by Him. The Lord is good, a stronghold in the
day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him.”
Last Sunday, Pastor Kyle
continued in our sermon series through the books of the Minor Prophets in the
Bible. These were weighty times in history, but there are times in life today
when some messages can hit you like a lot of bricks because they carry a great
burden. The reality is that Lord God Almighty is the true comfort and the clear
choice for us still is to turn to God.
Exodus 20:1-6 And
God spoke all these words, saying: “I am the Lord your
God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. “You shall have no other gods before Me. “You
shall not make for yourself a carved image — any likeness of anything that is in
heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in
the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve
them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth
generations of
those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me
and keep My commandments.
Pastor Kyle gave us five
comforting divine character qualities that Nahum wants us to remember. (1) That
God’s jealousy means He loves us. Exodus 34:14 says: For you shall worship no other god, for
the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. We are used to the negative human jealousy; that
passion of peculiar uneasiness which arises from the fear that a rival may rob
us of the affection of one whom we love, or the suspicion that he has already
done it; or it is the uneasiness which arises from the fear that another does
or will enjoy some advantage which we desire for ourselves and is awakened by
whatever may exalt others, or give them pleasures and advantages which we
desire for ourselves. But divine jealousy is being suspiciously vigilant;
anxiously careful and concerned for. God is concerned for His people. Kyle
tells us to not get hung up on what Father God wants to get out of our life. Almighty
God redeemed us and bought us for a price, therefore owns us and we belong to
Him. That fact is comforting. The Lord God purchased us back from sin and death
with the atoning blood of Christ. That fact is comforting also. Yet, God desires
for us to respond to Him in repentance of sin and acceptance of Salvation, in a
choice for commitment and obedience. Why? Let’s go to point #2 to see more clues.
Let’s continue Pastor Kyle’s
message from the book of Nahum in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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