The Goodness and Severity of God

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1DRcWCUsyA

"Take refuge in the Lord"

The book of Nahum could be considered a sequel to Jonah. A century after Nineveh received mercy by repenting before the word of God, the prophet Nahum writes about that same city. But the landscape has changed. The generation that believed and repented is no longer there. In Nahum 1:1-8, the prophet presents God without filters: jealous, vengeful, powerful, and good. It is an invitation to know God as He really is, not a diluted or domesticated version, but the God who is terrible in holiness and kind to those who take refuge in Him.

Unlike Jonah, this prophecy was not declared in Nineveh but to the kingdom of Judah, a people oppressed under the yoke of the Assyrian empire. The Assyrians had already exiled the northern kingdom of Israel, scattering its inhabitants and filling their lands with foreigners. Judah, the remaining kingdom, survived as a vassal paying tribute to avoid the same fate. In that context of anguish, Nahum's word about God's imminent judgment against Nineveh was a comfort, a stronghold, and an encouragement of faith. In fact, the name Nahum means precisely that: comfort. As Paul wrote to the Romans: "Consider then the goodness and severity of God" (Romans 11:22).

Take refuge in the Lord because He will not leave the guilty unpunished (Nahum 1:1-5)

Nahum opens his oracle—a burden so heavy it can only be proclaimed—without softening his words: "A jealous and avenging God is the Lord." God's jealousy is nothing like human jealousy, that companion of envy or bitterness. The Lord's jealousy is holy, pure, and perfect. One of the ways it manifests is that God protects what is His. Like a father watching over his child in a public park against any danger, so God watches over His people. Judah belongs to God, and the Assyrian empire has harassed them long enough.

Three times in these verses Nahum declares that God is an avenger. This vengeance is not impulsive or capricious; it is God's retributive justice, exercised in perfection against the injustices of the Assyrian empire. Psalm 94 helps us understand what the people of Judah felt: "O Lord, God of vengeance! O God of vengeance, shine forth! Rise up, judge of the earth; give to the proud what they deserve" (Psalm 94:1-2). God will not let the sins against His people go unpunished.

Nahum continues by saying that God is wrathful—that is, His anger has been kindled against evil. But this wrath is always a moral and ethical reaction to sin. Because God is holy, He must respond appropriately in His righteous anger. Nineveh deserves judgment for its crimes against God's people.

In verse 3, the prophet seems to take a step back: "The Lord is slow to anger and great in power." God had already been patient with Nineveh; He sent Jonah to guide them to repentance. But that slowness must never be confused with distance or weakness. Generally, the phrase "slow to anger" is completed with "and great in mercy," as Jonah himself complained. However, Nahum completes it differently: "slow to anger and great in power." Power for what? Power to execute His judgments. Power to punish the guilty. No one will get away with their sin.

If anyone doubted God's power, Nahum displays cosmic images that come alive in poetic language. From the heavens to the seas, from the rivers to the mountains, the prophet shows that God controls all His creation. God had already rebuked the sea before: He parted the Red Sea for His people to pass through and dried up the Jordan so they could enter the promised land. God made Mount Sinai tremble with violence. If God can move the heavens, the sea, and the earth, can the mighty Assyrians escape His judgment?

It is possible that these truths generate resistance. There are those who would prefer a domesticated God, a trained lion whose roar does not frighten. But God cannot be tamed or diluted. One of the reasons people seek to soften this presentation of God is the fear of man: not wanting to seem intransigent or to look bad before others. Yet the truth of the word does not depend on whether it is accepted or not. No one defines truth; each person joyfully aligns with it. His jealousy, vengeance, wrath, and power are not exercised imperfectly or in disorder. They are attributes exercised in perfection and justice by God.

This is not only the God of Nahum and of the Old Testament. He is the same God of the New Testament. The same attributes prophesied by the prophets also appear in the prophecies of the apostle John in Revelation. As God's people, it is possible to rest in these attributes. Paul expresses it clearly: "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written: Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord" (Romans 12:19). In the midst of injustice and persecution, God is jealous, vengeful, and powerful. In Him we can always trust.

Take refuge in the Lord because He is good (Nahum 1:6-8)

Nahum asks two rhetorical questions whose answer is evident: "Who can stand before His indignation? Who can endure the burning of His anger?" His fury is poured out like fire and the rocks are shattered. The answer is clear: no one. The Assyrians thought no one could stand against them. When Sennacherib, king of Assyria, tried to take Jerusalem, his envoy declared with arrogance: "No other god has been able to stand against us; why do you think your God can stop you?" But Nahum tells them that God has the final word. Not even the greatest empire can remain standing before God's judgment.

And then, before this God who has been presented in all His severity, Nahum makes a declaration that does not contradict what came before but rather supports it: "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him." Precisely because God is jealous, vengeful, and powerful, God is good for His people.

In ancient times, when an enemy army invaded, the inhabitants of the villages would run toward the walled cities. Within them, there was generally a second wall: the fortress or citadel. Those who reached that inner fortress were doubly protected. God is that fortress in the midst of enemy invasion. By punishing the Assyrians, God is saving Judah. That is why Judah can trust that God knows them, that He is not distant nor has He forgotten them, and that in Him they can take refuge. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea" (Psalm 46:1-2).

Conclusion

Those who have trusted in Christ for salvation have recognized that they are no better than the Assyrians. Upon seeing God's goodness and holiness, they realized they were guilty of their sin and rebellion. But by grace, instead of turning away, they ran to Christ as their refuge.

Nahum's rhetorical question resonates: Who will stand before the presence of His indignation? Who can endure the burning of His anger? The answer is that Jesus did. The Westminster Catechism, in its question 38, explains why it was necessary for the mediator to be God: so that He could sustain and preserve human nature from sinking under the infinite wrath of God and under the power of death. Jesus is God and man. He received the payment for the sins of His people, endured the wrath of God, and was able to bear it. On the cross, Jesus took the wrath the guilty deserved to give them the love He deserved.

The only refuge from God's wrath is God's grace. He who turns away from God will be overtaken by His wrath, but he who takes refuge in God will be protected by His grace. God will not leave the guilty unpunished, but He is good: He sent His Son Jesus Christ to suffer the punishment in place of the guilty. There is no reason to put off repentance or to cling to sinfulness, because the day will come when it will be too late, as it happened to Nineveh. Take refuge in the Lord, because He will not leave the guilty unpunished. Take refuge in the Lord, because He is good.