Chapter 2 reveals the futility people experience when God removes His presence from them. Verse one warns the people that danger was approaching. Here is the interesting aspect I found when reading this – Jonah had been sent to Nineveh to ask Nineveh to repent of their wickedness. Why? Nineveh did not have any particular reason to follow God. Did they?
God was preparing Nineveh to receive Israel and Judah during the exiles! Jonah, the reluctant prophet, did not see the vision or picture that God saw. God was sending Jonah to prepare the soil so that He could plant His people in among the heathens. God was preparing Nineveh to experience His glory and power! But Nineveh lost sight of this and now faced God’s wrath.
Nahum tells the people of Nineveh to do the following:
1. Guard the fortress – watch out for treachery within the city
2. Watch the road – influence from outside the city were coming to topple it
3. Brace yourselves – when trouble came it would be lasting and rough
4. Marshal all your strength – God wasn’t helping; it was all on them
This is like the warning we should adhere to when we decide to live with sinful practices in our lives:
1. Guard your hearts, soul, and minds because you will be easily deceived by sin
2. Outside influences will topple our lives because of the influence of sin
3. Brace for the problems sin brings because they last a lifetime without God
4. Without God, our strength alone will never be enough
We only overcome sin through Christ – “I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me!”
God restores lives, communities, and entire nations when they trust Him. Israel and Judah both suffered the consequences of rebelling against God. He removed His presence to reveal that their entire “splendor” could not save them. Their lands were laid to waste. Splendor or material possessions will never make a great nation – but the right spiritual mindset – set on things above in Christ – does make a great nation!
Just think about this timeline in the rebellion of the Israelites:
- They rebelled against God
- They were exiled out of their lands
- Their land laid in waste and ruin
- They re-establish relationship with God (in that place prepared for them by Jonah)
- God returns the people to their lands
- God restores the splendor
I can almost imagine God saying, “Here’s where we left off. Are you ready to try this covenant relationship again?”
How completely amazing! Israel would return to a new splendor – the splendor of God – in the midst of ruin. Just when life seems to steal away everything, God restores our vitality through our renewed trust in Him. We learn that the things that surround us are not as important as our relationship with Him.
All the best war equipment cannot protect a nation from the removal of God’s presence. Sin eats at the nation from the inside out (Guard the fortress). Give sin a little room and it grows like yeast in bread! Look at our nation’s moral fabric and how easily it tears now!
Even with the best technologies and the constant watching of the roads for a coming invasion cannot slow down a nation’s fall if sin has wrecked that nation from within! If I am only watching one direction, I leave other directions ignored (watch the road or all avenues for sin’s destruction). Can a nation survive without coming together to keep watch against sin’s approach?
I cannot imagine being present while an enemy plunders a city. I cannot imagine how I would helplessly react to the cries of “Stop! Stop!” Listen to how the Bible describes it:
She is pillaged, plundered, stripped! Hearts melt, knees give way, bodies tremble, every face grows pale. Nahum 2:10 (NIV)
The removal of God’s presence brings futility (brace yourself - it gets bad!). How does a nation survive when the government is recklessly out of control, drunk on power, and lusting for more?
Just think, all of this happened because a nation, once prepared for the arrival of God’s people and His presence, turned its back on God. It lusted after its own personal treasure (ransacked from others) and God stepped away. God, our good and gracious God, steps away so His wrath can bring justice. His presence was the only thing standing in the way of that wrath (marshal your strength to face God).
I could not imagine facing the full wrath of God.
- Could our nation be rejecting God in this manner?
- Could we be helplessly watching the destructive force of sin as national pride seeks to trump our nation’s inheritance from God?
- Is Nahum a wake up call for the United States, our community, our church, and our lives?
- Is God taking His presence away from our nation as we see new attempts by people to demonize Christians and their belief?
History does repeat itself. This is why I can still have hope and joy. God is slow to anger. He restores life and splendor. He is the restorer of souls. God is the final judge!
When your life hits a rough patch, don’t give up. Face it with the assurance that God will answer. Have faith and trust in Him!
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