Nahum warns the residents of Nineveh, as well as us that God’s judgment is coming upon the whole earth. The mountains will tremble, the earth will quake, the seas will dry up, and every resident on earth will experience his wrath. God’s wrath will be all-consuming. But wait! Is there no escape? Nahum doesn’t leave his readers or us without hope. Nahum 1:6-7 says, “Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him. The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.” God’s judgment is an irresistible force against with nothing can stand. The assumed answer to Nahum’s two questions is, of course, “no one can stand” and “no one can endure his anger.” There is no such thing as an immovable object when confronted with the irresistible force of God’s judgment. There is no way to escape it. I remember as a kid, I used to listen to the old song “Sinner Man.” It says, “Oh, sinner man, where are you going to run to on that day?” The seas will be boiling, the mountains will be crumbling, and the stars will be falling.” There is nowhere to run or hide. That’s what the song says in Psalm 139:7-12 “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there, your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.”
But there is a refuge for those who seek God. When the world falls apart because of bad judgment or bad luck, like the Prodigal son, it’s time to go home. The Bible has its own songs. The Psalmist sang in Psalm 27:5, “For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble.” It often takes a calamity in life to turn our attention and focus on God. We soon learn that money, power, possessions, and pleasures of this world are of no help in serious times of trouble. The only true option is to go home. “You can count on God in thick or thin (Psalm 46:1). He is no fair-weather friend. He is a friend at all times. His power is present when you are your weakest. He will not fail you when you pass through the dark valleys of life. God delights to help you in the darkest times. This gives Him greater glory.”[1]
That God is with us wherever we go can be a truth that greatly comforts us, or it can be a truth that fills us with fear. When things go well, we often stray, like the nations of Judah and Israel. When things get tough, we have only one place to turn. God is never tired of forgiving our wayward spirits and is always ready to receive us lovingly in His arms when we turn to Him. He never gets tired of blessing us. The Bible teaches us that Jesus died for us while we were in our sins. When asked how many times we should forgive, Jesus explained that seven times wasn’t enough. Seventy times 7 times was his response which was a figure of speech, meaning always. God is, as one writer put it, “Good and gracious, not willing to destroy or to take vengeance, a God before whom the sinner may tremble; a God in whom the chief of sinners may find forgiveness.” God is “Longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Such is his goodness now. He is rich in mercy. His patience is beyond all conception or measure. And in his longsuffering, there is salvation—salvation to the uttermost. He pities, yearns, pleads, beseeches, spares, prolongs the day of grace, presents pardon, salvation, and life to the ungodliest, free. Yes, freely to the last! Let this long-suffering goodness draw us, melt us, awaken confidence, and win us to love.”[2]
[1] Butler, John G. 2014. Sermon Starters. Vol. 4. Clinton, IA: LBC Publications.
[2] Bonar, Horatius. 1873. Light and Truth: Or, Bible Thoughts and Themes, Old Testament. London: J. Nisbet & Co.